Best handling American car built in 60's or 70's?

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Besides the Corvette, built by GM, Ford, Chrysler, or American Motors during the 60's and 70's? Shelby, Yenko, and the like excluded, regular production cars, unmodified, not COPO.

I'll offer it's a 1969 or 1970 Z28 Camaro, or a Boss 302 of the same years.

Best handling defined by fastest lap on a racetrack.
 
Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
'88 Fiero GT?



60's and 70s cars is what the OP asked for.
 
I had a 1971 AMC Javelin 360 with the "Go Package".
It came with E60-15 tires which were considered kind of wide at the time. It did handle pretty good and was the best handling
American car I've owned.
 
Originally Posted By: ledslinger
Besides the Corvette, built by GM, Ford, Chrysler, or American Motors during the 60's and 70's? Shelby, Yenko, and the like excluded, regular production cars, unmodified, not COPO.

I'll offer it's a 1969 or 1970 Z28 Camaro, or a Boss 302 of the same years.

Best handling defined by fastest lap on a racetrack.


The cars you list are the one's I would think of, a '70 Z/28 LT1 car has better front end geometry & more HP & TQ than a '69 Z/28 DZ 302 car. Mustangs had funky front ends 'til the Mustang II came out. Then you got the other Pony cars like the Cuda' & AMX Javelin.

The bottom line is they all sucked in stock form with the tires that were available at the time.
 
I'd nominate for consideration the '64 Monte Carlo Rally Falcons, powered by the new high performance 289 motor rated at 305 horsepower. The power plant was equipped with hi-po goodies including a special high-lift camshaft and a 10 to 1 compression ratio. The motor was topped with two 4 barrel Carter carburetors.

The motor was mated to Ford’s aluminum T-10 Transmission box with an optional set of gear ratios. The differential was Ford’s bullet proof 9-inch type that was borrowed from the full size Galaxie. The differential was a "limited slip" and outfitted with the larger rear drum brakes and axle from the Galaxie and Lincoln.

The front-end spindles were borrowed from the luxury Lincoln and outfitted with Thunderbird brakes. Fifteen-inch wheels were the smallest size that would accommodate the larger brakes. Adjustable shock absorbers were mounted at each wheel.

These '64 Rally Falcons weighed only 2,156 pounds wet, almost a thousand pounds less than the stock Sprint. The weight savings was mainly gained from the fiberglass pieces that were specially made for the hood, rear deck lid, front fenders and doors. The front windshield was made from safety glass, but the remainder of the windows were made from Lexan which is a lightweight polycarbonate material.

The new Falcon utilized a High Performance 289 engine built by the same group that build the GT-40 engines that would produce a undisclosed amount more than the 305 rating. Included in the package was a larger radiator and an external oil cooler to help the engine to live at 7,000+ rpm.
 
The 67-69 Camaros weren't known for their handling. They were more straight line cars. When the '70s Camaro/Firbirds came out, they had an improved suspension.

The 78-79 WS-6 Trans Am was a good handling car, despite being overweight. They had to do something to make these cars fun to drive as they were castrated in the power department.
 
Originally Posted By: chainblu


The 78-79 WS-6 Trans Am was a good handling car, despite being overweight. They had to do something to make these cars fun to drive as they were castrated in the power department.
the 403 olds and auto trans was in the california cars. No 400 pontiac or 4 speed
 
Actually, from the original muscle car era, there is a winner: a 1974 Firebird with the Radial Tuned Suspension. (Basically: it's a WS6 without rear discs.)

Late 70's, probably the Mustang II.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: chainblu


The 78-79 WS-6 Trans Am was a good handling car, despite being overweight. They had to do something to make these cars fun to drive as they were castrated in the power department.
the 403 olds and auto trans was in the california cars. No 400 pontiac or 4 speed


I had the Oldsmobile 403/400 turbo-hydramatic, and the 403 was a beast/torque monster tweaked slightly. It was a good handling car with the Goodyear Eagles I ran on it and the radial tuned suspension. I called up Competition Cams, and they had some good information on the cam and heads. Cam had a fast lope, and it worked great with the automatic trans. Aftermarket headers, and can't remember what mufflers, but it was a blast to drive.
 
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Nothing handled better than the back seat of my old man's 73 New Yorker.
For some reason i think this is not the handling your talking about
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: hemitom
Nothing handled better than the back seat of my old man's 73 New Yorker.
For some reason i think this is not the handling your talking about
grin.gif



very nice, high five
banana2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Does the 70s Mercury Capri count? It's Ford, but it's German.


Ah yes, the Essex wide boy special...

'71-'77 Mercury US models were actual Capri/Capri II's, where as the later one's were modified fox body Mustang's

Cosworth Vega is a good contender
 
If you're talking about handling as a combination of mechanical grip, neutral attitude and lots of 'feedback' available to the driver - all decided by lap times,

It has to be the GT-40, doesn't it?
 
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