Pulled valve cover from the 1978 chevy nova I6 manual.

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: Dallas69
Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
But... but.... why do the geezers call them “the good old days”?
I’m pretty sure that’s the same model I was conceived in. That, or a ‘73 Chevrolet with a 307. Neither one is paticularly inspiring

The Good Old Days-
No Amazon
No Social Media
No Starbucks
Sounds good to me.

Yeah, but you're forgetting;
Inflation
Disco
Pointy Collars
Sounds BAD to me! And I was there...


Yeah, I don't remember much good from the "good old" days either.

 

[littleant]

Originally Posted By: Kira
ADDITIONAL RESPONSE:

Anyone who implies that there were no differences in [censored]/German QC vs that of US cars in the '70's & '80'S is a troll.

The garbage quality of US cars was flabbergasting. So, so often the owners of US cars had a friend or relative in the car business it became normal to ask who it was whenever a new US car appeared.

Really too bad to watch happen.

In fact, I remember a review of a latter VW beetle and the reviewer said, "Everything feels like it works well" when describing the knobs etc.

With all the GM "brand bloating" and cheapness during that time, it's too bad Ford didn't zero in on quality with just Ford, Mercury and Lincoln. I suppose Chrysler could've done the same thing with their QC but didn't.

Regarding drinking and smoking on the job? Do drug testing. What's so puzzling?

Agree. Toyota and Honda heads above but still rusted out but kept running. Remember Pontiac Olds and Buick with 350 Chevy engines in them. Buick 350 converted to diesel.

 

[Number_35]

Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
... We had regular deliveries of Chevy 305,350 and 454 that my boss bought from his brother that owned an auto wrecking yard. ... Anyway, the valve covers and intakes would come off and it would just be a hard, black cake of cooked, hardened oil and carbon. That all had to be chipped out so not to gook up the hot tank. Oils back then were not so good. ...
You didn't know the maintenance histories of those engines, I'll guess. Decently maintained '70s cars didn't normally have that kind of buildup in valve covers.
Agreed. I had a '71 Toyota Corolla, bought by my dad in '74 and taken over by me in '75. It was pretty sludgy, and I started a regimen of 2000 mile oil changes. I ran Quaker State 10W-30 and Fram filters. Within about a year, perhaps eight oil changes, the engine was spotless. The short OCIs were probably excessive, but in the days of leaded gasoline did keep the engine healthy.

 

[Number_35]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Originally Posted By: jakewells
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Made during the Malaise period. Likely a mid week production.

?



Check out some stories during that time. Cars were junk back then. Rusting on the showroom floor, missing parts, on and on. It was a bad time for the American auto manufacturers not to mention the economy was in the dumps.


Would something from Japan or Germany have been better in terms of quality?

For what a sample size of one is worth, I drove a new '76 Nova (250 inline-6 w/ 3-speed automatic) as a company car at my part-time job, and loved it. The car was smooth and comfortable, power was fine, throttle response was smooth. It was pretty much the best car of that era that I'd ever driven. I think by then a lot of the emissions control bugs had been worked out - there was none of the jerkiness associated with the carburetor add-ons of just a couple of years before. I would not write this off as a bad car just because it was from that era.

And as others have mentioned, the old domestic push-rod engines had some definite advantages.

The Japanese cars of the 70s had some good features (rear window defroster grids, and beautiful manual transmissions) but tended to rust terribly.

 

[udidwht]

Originally Posted by CourierDriver
Never heard of a chevy 6 giving anyone grief...most likely hearsay....remember some folks are just angry and wanting to vent,,imho. A long time ago I posted my 67 Beetle, got a lot of grief from some on how their VW beetle did not keep them warm and so on and so and it turned out to be one of the best cars I owned, never gave me any trouble and we ran it hard,,,ancient old 30 wgt oil or 10w30 back then...

I hear you....I own a 1972 VW Westy with a Type 4 engine...miles ahead of the Type 1 motor. It was originally my grandfathers. It has been the most reliable car I've owned. I've rebuilt the engine (stock 1.7L) to 2056cc and it will get roughly 21mpg US on the highway and ~ 16-17 around town. Running 40mm IDF Webers, Web Cam Web 73 w/Solid lifters, S&S exhaust 4-1, HeadflowMasters AMC re-worked new heads 42x36mm, 002 trans

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Some of their relatives built that pos 66 Dodge Dart I special ordered. Assembled by Hamtramck monkeys, also high on pot.How much smarts does it take to correctly install and torque back-up switch fro four-speed New Process transmission?