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Performance - at least from cars sold out of the showroom - died out a bit during the 1970s. Lower compression ratios, restrictive exhaust systems, catalytic converters, low octane gasolines and emissions control devices really put a damper on things. There was one year ('77 or '78) when the fastest regular mass production car sold in the USA was the mid-sized Plymouth Fury / Dodge Monaco sedan with the 440 big-block V8. It was faster than the Camaro Z/28 or the Chevrolet Corvette, both of which were powered by small-block 350 as the top choice. Many police departments probably held a candlelight vigil when Chrysler stopped building them.
Some backyard mechanics found some ways to wake up a 'smogged' engine. In your state, that could probably have landed you in jail. Other states had more lenient inspections or didn't require annual inspections at all. Parts catalogs (Summit Racing, etc.) sold enough stuff via mail-order where you could add some life to your car. I remember seeing some of their brochures in the mail and daydreaming about what one could do for a tired car that still had some potential. Street racing, which is more dangerous than we realized back in our youth, was quite popular in Pennsylvania 40 to 50 years ago. At least back then there was some effort to used deserted roads or to run late at night. Sometimes a big four-lane bridge over the Susquehanna River was used. Generally, there were not that many police officers around like there are today and most of the cops from Lower Allen, New Cumberland or Camp Hill (Cumberland County) would not pursue somebody across the river into Harrisburg (Dauphin County). However, the city cops in Harrisburg WOULD chase you outside of their city, no matter where you went.
Many folks had CB radios and police scanners back then too. The police used the old VHF low or VHF high band radios on just one or two channels, so it was easy to monitor calls. After UHF and digital 'trunked' radio systems came into being many years later, t was almost impossible to listen to them anymore. PA had a lot of small departments (some with 2 or 3 officers on a shift) that combined into "regional" police forces - such as the Northern York County Regional Police Department, the West Shore Regional Police Department, etc. That occurred after I had moved out of the area. In the early 1980s, you could drive past the township or borough police station and if their two or three cars were parked there, then nobody was out on patrol in that jurisdiction. With regional departments, they were harder to keep track of because the territory was much larger. Overall crime back then was a lot lower too. It was just a different time.
You live in California where the county sheriff's department is often the primary law enforcement agency. In Pennsylvania, sheriff's deputies typically only do courthouse security, warrant service, prisoner transport, etc. They do not enforce traffic statutes or general criminal laws under normal circumstances and they don't 'patrol' like regular cops do. State troopers in PA have full jurisdiction statewide, but they generally function like a highway patrol on the major roads. They CAN respond to non-traffic calls if necessary and will often handle things in townships that don't have a police department (there are many of them). In PA, only state troopers can use radar or laser and they have to use it in stationary mode. Local police use VASCAR, E.S.P., ENRADD and other devices that do not transmit any radio signal (but they also are not detectable).
Here in Virginia, we have cities and counties with their own police forces, state troopers (mainly traffic enforcement - but they can enforce any state law anywhere in the commonwealth) and sheriff's offices. In many counties, the sheriff just handles civil process, jail operations and warrant services. In my rural county, we don't have police, so the sheriff does everything - from patrol, traffic enforcement and answering 911 calls. We live on the far western edge of the county where we are close to the border of two adjacent counties. I have yet to see a deputy cruising around out here at all and the sheriff's station is a good 35 minutes away. Not much crime out in this area, which is why we chose to move here. I think it is kind of interesting that most all cop cars in CA seem to be black & white - city police, sheriffs and highway patrol. In VA, the state police used to have blue over grey, but now they are all silver. County police are often blue or white cars. Sheriffs generally use brown, black or white - but you might find a blue or silver one from time to time. The state law that required them to be turd brown was allowed to sunset long ago.. All law enforcement agencies in VA must use blue flashing lights, but they can also use blue and red together. The prettiest color for cruisers is that bright blue used by the Michigan State Police. Anyway, enough about that.
You mentioned the MGB GT. A friend of mine had a 1973 MGB with the leaky soft top. Was the MGB GT the one that had a hatchback look to it? I can only imagine how fast that would have been with a V8 stuffed into it. Triumph had the TR6 and TR7 back in the day, but they did have one model with a V8 in it (TR8?). There used to be a car called a Sunbeam Tiger (Maxwell Smart had one) that some people found a way to stuff a Ford V8 into them. No idea if it came with it from the factory, but a lot of them seemed to have ended up that way. In grade school, a neighbor had a car called a Bradley GT. I think it was a kit car or something. A high school classmate of mine had a Nissan 260Z (I think they only made them one or two years between the 240 and 280) with a very nice exhaust system on it. That would have been really cool with a V8 instead of the inline-six.
After my wife retires in two more years and we both begin to take our Social Security benefits at age 62, I am going to try to talk her into letting "us" get a Superformance Racing Cobra 'rolling chassis' - where you get a complete car (not a 'kit' car at all) ready to go, but without an engine or transmission. We'd have to spec it out and hire a company to install it for us. My favorite one is the MKIII Roadster (without side pipes). I have no doubt that it'd be more than 100k 'turn key' and I'd have to drive to South Carolina to get it - but I have been contemplating something like that for many years. I have seen some that come up for sale when the owner died or moved. Other older people get to where they cannot drive a manual transmission, so they end up having to sell them. Good deals are out there, but seldom anywhere nearby.
Factory Five Racing sells Cobra 'kit' cars that are pretty good, but that's way out of my league and it would be cost-prohibitive to hire somebody to help me build one because they'd be doing most of the work. I know what parts are and what they do, but I am not mechanically-inclined enough to tackle something like that. Backdraft Racing has some good products too, but I don't know that much about them. A car like that is an old man's dream. After four Mustangs and two Corvettes, it would be the next logical step for us. Haha!!
My wife saw a new 2025 Toyota GR85 parked next to her at work and now is muttering under her breath that she'd like to have one. I am trying to talk her back from the ledge. Do you like them? It's also the same thing as the Subaru BRZ and they both have the "Boxer" engine. It looks like a V4 after an elephant sat on it. Haha!!
The TR8 engine was an American V8 the same used in none USA available (grey market) vehicles. The MG tried to compete with the Datsun z when they came out. But to many import restrictions so they bowed out. In fact all MG's from the rubber bumper time period were factory build with the engine compartment ready for the V-8. So while my projects were unique here in the USA the only thing, I was very far ahead of most was what I did with the basic engine itself.
No comment of early emission congested engine bays from the 80's. It why I owned very few of them.
As for the Cobra (*after you read the thread I suggested) a the better way is to shop and buy a Cobra already built then to have one built. About 75%+ of the Cobra's custom built the owners tire of them within 2 years. They can't work on them and some parts are custom and can only be acquired from the builder which means that if it breaks you need to find a machine shop to bult the part.
Don't take this wrong and judging my your response history of previous and presently owned vehicles very few wives enjoy a weekend ride up in the hills or around town in the summer in a Cobra and almost none will ride in colder weather. You have been cautioned. lol
Have you actually looked at the front of my Mazda? It completely Dabadge every sticker emblem and anything that has a Mazda symbol painstakingly removed interior engine compartment and exterior
I have a few thousand dollars of left over AC parts from one of my past business.
Oh, I love that "AC" emblem on the front. That's kind of cool. If you had one on that back, it might throw off the police a little bit if a cruiser was behind you.
I was watching "On Patrol: Live" not long ago and they were in California. They pulled over a guy driving a BMW and I though the tail lamps looked odd. The cause for the stop was that the plates didn't match the car. The cop asked for the guy's license and when the driver asked why he was stopped, the cop replied, "Your license plate comes back to a Hyundai and you are driving a BMW."
Now I knew why the tail lamps looked funny. The car WAS indeed a Hyundai, but the guy driving it had put BMW emblems on it (totally sacrilegious to any car nut) to impress girls or something. After a few laughs, he was let go with a warning. I figured that if any state had a law against mis-labeling a car, it would be California. On that OPL show, they sometimes ride with Humboldt County Sheriff's Department. In the past, they would ride with the Fullerton PD and Fontana PD. They have some BIG police departments out there. Eight officers roll up for a drunk guy at a 7-11.
I never thought of putting a different emblem on a car like that. Haha!! Anyway, there is a guy with an old Ford street rod around here. Under the Ford logo, he has, "Powered by Chevrolet" in tiny letters. I had no idea how common that actually was.
P.S. I could probably convince my wife to ride in the Cobra and I do share some of your sentiment about finding a nice used Cobra. Some people find that the bloom is off the rose after a few years. It was kind of like that when my wife sold her Corvette and then I sold mine. We don't really miss them very much. I don't like the looks of the mid-engine 'Vette (the C8) and you cannot get a manual anymore.
Oh, I love that "AC" emblem on the front. That's kind of cool. If you had one on that back, it might throw off the police a little bit if a cruiser was behind you.
I never thought of putting a different emblem on a car like that. Haha!! Anyway, there is a guy with an old Ford street rod around here. Under the Ford logo, he has, "Powered by Chevrolet" in tiny letters. I had no idea how common that actually was.
Most have no clue what AC actually means on a car/truck unless you look it up. Its not what you think!
So when asked I tell them and that throws some that think they know what AC means totally off and to them they accept it and often state "oh is that made in a forien country"?
One of my cobras that had a Chevy engine many thought it was a F I literally use to stand behind people at car and Cobra shows and hear the experts suggest it was either a 302 or 289 Ford. I suppose the fact that I had Ford small block valve covers and a front drive distributor might have been the reason for the experts making a mistake LOL.
I also did the opposite in my 57 Chevy before I pulled the small block out got the BB. I ran the same configuration and hard core Chevy fans just shuck there head thinking I would do such an abomination engine transplant of a Ford into a Chevy . rolmao.
I often DEBADGE my vehicles for various reason. Mostly I hate most all emblems. The other reason is it identifies many times what you have under the hood. No one business is I run a Turbo or Supercharger... lol.
I have already seen people with "TURBO" badges on a car that is not turbocharged and "GT" emblems on a car where no such trim exists. It is not something I encounter often, but it often provides a good laugh and a brief moment of levity.
I have already seen people with "TURBO" badges on a car that is not turbocharged and "GT" emblems on a car where no such trim exists. It is not something I encounter often, but it often provides a good laugh and a brief moment of levity.
