In 72 which engine was the hoottest?
Race Director
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From: Taylor Michigan
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Paul G)
Actually none of them made the power of 1970 C3`s or earlier. GM was in their second year of detuning all of the engines available as a RPO option. High compression solid lifter engines were done. A 270hp 454 ci was the highest HP available. The slippery slope started in 1971 and culuminated with a 305 ci 180 hp in 1980. The Vettes were almost done for. Low hp automatics power steering, power brakes and air cars dominated production after 1970. :cry
Melting Slicks
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From: Long Island NY
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (gdh)
Corvette Repair in Long Island just got in a '71 ZR-1. 1 of 8
http://www.corvetterepair.com/ZR1.htm
http://www.corvetterepair.com/ZR1.htm
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Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Taylor Michigan
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (mvftw)
Rare car by the numbers, but down on HP from the LT1 of 1970 which was 370 HP.
Corvette Repair in Long Island just got in a '71 ZR-1. 1 of 8
http://www.corvetterepair.com/ZR1.htm
http://www.corvetterepair.com/ZR1.htm
Safety Car
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From: Pearland TX
St. Jude Contributor
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Ironcross)
Actually none of them made the power of 1970 C3`s or earlier. GM was in their second year of detuning all of the engines available as a RPO option. High compression solid lifter engines were done. A 270hp 454 ci was the highest HP available. The slippery slope started in 1971 and culuminated with a 305 ci 180 hp in 1980. The Vettes were almost done for. Low hp automatics power steering, power brakes and air cars dominated production after 1970. :cry
Burning Brakes
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Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Paul G)
LS5 454ci, 270hp Engine 3,913
LT1 350ci, 255hp Engine 1,741
M21 4-Speed Manual Transmission, close ratio 1,638
Keep in mind that with the Gross to Net HP change, the drop-off in HP seems much larger than it really was. For instance, the LT1 was 330hp in 1971 and 370hp in '70 both rated in SAE Gross. Translated to SAE Net, it was264hp and 296hp. Heck, the legendary 427ci/435hp tripowers were actually 348hp, or roughly the same as a stock C5. (Granted, they had much more torque!!!)
LT1 350ci, 255hp Engine 1,741
M21 4-Speed Manual Transmission, close ratio 1,638
Keep in mind that with the Gross to Net HP change, the drop-off in HP seems much larger than it really was. For instance, the LT1 was 330hp in 1971 and 370hp in '70 both rated in SAE Gross. Translated to SAE Net, it was264hp and 296hp. Heck, the legendary 427ci/435hp tripowers were actually 348hp, or roughly the same as a stock C5. (Granted, they had much more torque!!!)
Safety Car
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From: South Central Louisiana
St. Jude Contributor
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (71-LS5)
Actually none of them made the power of 1970 C3`s or earlier. GM was in their second year of detuning all of the engines available as a RPO option. High compression solid lifter engines were done. A 270hp 454 ci was the highest HP available. The slippery slope started in 1971 and culuminated with a 305 ci 180 hp in 1980. The Vettes were almost done for. Low hp automatics power steering, power brakes and air cars dominated production after 1970. :cry
The 71's were not part of that detuning process as the LS-5 still had 365HP. I don't know about the '72's.
The 71's were not part of that detuning process as the LS-5 still had 365HP. I don't know about the '72's.
Race Director
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From: NM
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (LAvetteman)
The 71's were detuned. The LS5 for 1970 was 390 hp. The 71 LS5 was 365hp.
tom...
Le Mans Master
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From: Silver City NM
St. Jude Donor '05-'07
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (sammyb)
Translating gross to NET and eyeballing what horsepower cars had back in those days is an imprecise science at best. For instance, many performance cars were UNDER rated as far as actual horsepower. The factorys "played" with horsepower ratings for all kinds of reasons. Ford rated the 428 Cobra Jet at 335 horsepower. That was pure :bs They under rated it so that it would compete in and dominate SS/E class racing. Real horsepower numbers are much closer to 360-375 for that engine, depending on whether you got a ram air version or not. The L-88 is another example of "fudging the numbers".
While it SAYS 430 HP@5200RPM, what they FAILED to say was that it CONTINUED ABOVE that RPM to make more and more horsepower.
So peak HP is much closer to 500+ HP at peak RPM. Chevy did this because GM was clamping down on hot engines. After 1970 insurance companes charged outrageous rates to insure high horsepower cars. Plus the new NET numbers came out. There are so many ways and variables in measuring horsepower that people shouldn't get hung up on it. No one way is any more superior to another. Since there is no standardization (yet), you can pretty much pick whatever number floats your boat :D
Dep
While it SAYS 430 HP@5200RPM, what they FAILED to say was that it CONTINUED ABOVE that RPM to make more and more horsepower.
So peak HP is much closer to 500+ HP at peak RPM. Chevy did this because GM was clamping down on hot engines. After 1970 insurance companes charged outrageous rates to insure high horsepower cars. Plus the new NET numbers came out. There are so many ways and variables in measuring horsepower that people shouldn't get hung up on it. No one way is any more superior to another. Since there is no standardization (yet), you can pretty much pick whatever number floats your boat :D
Dep
Burning Brakes
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Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Dep)
Dep is right. In fact, it wasn't until about 6 or 8 years ago that HP quotes starting getting accurate -- mostly because of products like the G-Tech Pro make it easy to look at HP and know if a car has short-changed the owner on advertised HP (like the Mustang Cobra of '99 and the Miata (twice now!))
Insurance on high hp cars was the largest factor for underrating. The Camaro Z28 of 67-69 is also a prime example of a car significantly underrated.
Then there were companies that never advertised HP at all, such as Ferrari in the 50s and 60s.
But at the end of the day, all of these cars have more HP than you can legally exploit. It's fun to have all the HP and torque of the hi-po cars, but even the base Corvettes from any generation put a grin on your face.
Insurance on high hp cars was the largest factor for underrating. The Camaro Z28 of 67-69 is also a prime example of a car significantly underrated.
Then there were companies that never advertised HP at all, such as Ferrari in the 50s and 60s.
But at the end of the day, all of these cars have more HP than you can legally exploit. It's fun to have all the HP and torque of the hi-po cars, but even the base Corvettes from any generation put a grin on your face.
Race Director
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From: Taylor Michigan
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (sammyb)
All the Auto companies had insurance problems as they still do today. Plus speed and HP created problems even in NASCAR. And today there still trying to slow them down. Starting with the 1971 models all companies detuned their engines from outside pressure. It`s as if they knew the Jews were going to kick the poopie out of the Arabs in 73. Gas prices went through the roof and low MPG Vettes, were either sold {my 63 FI coupe} or like my {62 FI and 68 L88} parked. It sure helped keeping the milage off of my Vettes. With the lower HP there was not much of an incentive to buy new Vettes. Hell, you couldn`t even buy a roadster for several years. Now todays Vettes are a different story, more HP. Added to this are improved higher HP crate engines available from all the companies probably to fill the gap they started in 1971. Just buy the one of your choice and drop it in. I`m sure there are hundreds if not thousands of 71 to 82 Vettes waiting for more HP. :lol:
Instructor
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From: Bellevue WA
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Paul G)
All I can add to this is that, way back in 1973, my brother-in-law had a new "country club" corvette: white 454 automatic with power everything. He harassed me because I "only" had a little-bitty 350 in my '71 LT-1, although he did think the 4-speed was kinda cool. After the inevitable head-to-head competition (where I handed him his doors, windows and everthing thereto attached) all he could say was: "Wow, I didn't think a 4-speed could make that much difference." Heh, heh. ;) LT-1's are just way too much fun.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Frederick MD
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Paul G)
I posted earlier today, but I'm a newbie and must have screwed it up. My question: w/o/ looking up numbers, what drivetrain typically came behind a '72 L48 w/ a 4spd? Tranny, axle, gears. I have no ps, pb, windows, ac.
Thx,
PLATZIE
Thx,
PLATZIE
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: Vancouver BC, Canada
Re: In 72 which engine was the hottest? (Paul G)
hi/low compression, gross/net hp, over/under rated.... :smash: :sleep:
my stock '72 LS5 made 226@4500 rwhp, 321@3250 rwtq on a MD-250 dyno
[Modified by Turbo-Jet, 9:52 PM 11/10/2003]
my stock '72 LS5 made 226@4500 rwhp, 321@3250 rwtq on a MD-250 dyno
[Modified by Turbo-Jet, 9:52 PM 11/10/2003]