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  1. #1

    Default PHR Article 1984

    Cool retro article featuring the new for 1984 muscle cars. Miss the days when the performance car choices were so numerous and varied among manufacturers. AND affordable.

    http://www.shelby-dodge.com/pdf/art-...le-cars-96.pdf
    1984.5 GT 5.0 5 Speed ANALOG
    BBK Long Tubes/H pipe/FM
    Edelbrock Intake/Holley 600
    8.8 w/FMS 3.73s
    Steeda Shifter

    2010 GT 5 Speed DIGITAL
    Track Pack
    Pypes Violator axle back
    Airaid Cold Air

  2. #2
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    Nice find!

    I love the other ad's and other content too! The partial column in there mentions a Kraco indash radio that records and comes with an external mic! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
    '85 GT

  3. #3
    FEP Power Member vintageracer's Avatar
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    None of the 1984 models cars from any make and manufacturer can be considered "High Performance" by anyone's standards!
    Mike
    Remember, "Drive Fast, Turn Heads, Break Hearts!"

    1995 Ford Powerstroke F350 "Centurion" STRETCHED Crew Cab Dually

    I like "Cut & Coach Built" vehicles!

    www.musclecardeals.com


  4. #4
    FEP Member 86MustangGtRob's Avatar
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    That was a cool article. I love the ad for after market turbo chargers.

  5. #5
    FEP Power Member dagenham's Avatar
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    Did the girl come with the Centerline jacket? lol

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by vintageracer View Post
    None of the 1984 models cars from any make and manufacturer can be considered "High Performance" by anyone's standards!
    By today, but for 1984 low 15s-high 14s was hustling.
    1984.5 GT 5.0 5 Speed ANALOG
    BBK Long Tubes/H pipe/FM
    Edelbrock Intake/Holley 600
    8.8 w/FMS 3.73s
    Steeda Shifter

    2010 GT 5 Speed DIGITAL
    Track Pack
    Pypes Violator axle back
    Airaid Cold Air

  7. #7
    FEP Member Dadsccat's Avatar
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    LOL I used those Rhoads lifters in a 350SB build back in the day
    Shawn


    Currently in the stable:
    83 Capri RS Crimson Cat
    90 7 UP Mustang
    87 Mustang GT
    83 Porsche 928S
    69 Thunderbird Landau
    65 Cadillac Calais 4DR Hardtop
    02 Thunderbird

  8. #8
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dagenham View Post
    Did the girl come with the Centerline jacket? lol
    Nope, but between 1983 and early 1985, I guess she sold a lot more Centerline alloy wheels to people who didn't really want Centerline wheels! Tanlines and Lemans Jacket sure helped sell those Centerlines. But lets not forget the inherent goodness of the product. The other Le Mans style Silver Jackets Centerline sponsered did that too.



    And a whole raft of Lil John and BCV Racing Pushrod engined stock block Indy 500 Eagles with Centerline wheel support.





    These days, they'd photoshop out the tan lines, and although Sandy Olsson Pink Ladies Silver Jackets were so Grease, memrobillia sold product then, still sells product now.

    Remember, Centerline had a tough market, and it was 100% race based gear that migrated to the OEM replacement arena.

    1978 Marketing



    1981-1982 Marketing



    1983-1985 Marketing



    1987-1989 Marketing






    Actually, I think it was between October 1 1981 and June 4, 1984, that the USA stopped the hide strung CAFE/Fed/EPA navel gaze, and grew a set. Born in the USA, the Boss was back.

    US cars exported from 1973 to 1984 were often top notch GM or Ford package cars. Worldwide respect for TransAm's, Corvettes and Mustangs and even Maverick Grabbers with modifications you didn't dare do to a streeter in the emmissions era USA.

    Performance handn't died, it was in remission


    just like the V8 Convertible,
    the V8 turbocharger,
    the V8 supercharger
    and just like the proper perfomance V8 aluminum engine block were.

    Everyone knew how to make them haul, look at
    the alloy engined Vector W2,
    the Edsel Ford II approved Ford backed Autocraft AC Cobra dealer network for 250 hp 302 4v Windsor powered Mark IV Cobras,
    the slow but steady ramp up of Port Injected CARB approved emissions certified Turbo and Supercharged engines on proper US V6's and V8's.

    The return of the now built in Ohio CKD de Tomaso Pantera ,

    but even so, the Fed Regs put the kybosh on the 5.0 1985 Paxton Saleen Mustang, which couldn't easily and reliably work with either the CFi or a 4-bbl VECI plumbing....it took another six years and Port EFi to even come close to passing the 50000 mile aged Emissions durablity tests.

    The Japs from 1982 to 1984 were worried about launching into a Trade war with the USA.

    Home, the Japanese had the Mazda 929 based hardtop Cosmo and RX7 Turbo 12A and then 13B Rotaries,
    the two liter 4 valve per cylinder Turbo R31 Skylines with remoddeled, re-jigged L20/24/28 engines in the 180 hp to 210 hp RB20DET, a DOHC six cylinder turbo version of the ancient L and Z series fours and sixes,
    the 16 second 1/4 mle Honda Civic CRX, the almost as quick Honda City Turbo and Turbo II.

    In the US, the Calty design team had the wide flared P type A60 Supra Twin Cam, but Toyoda held back the horspower war, and when the turbo twin cam arrived, it was welded to a heavier than Z28 A70 chassis.
    the Nissan USA marketing of the Turbo 280Z and the much balsier Z31 1984 300ZX 50th Anniversary Edition Nissan,

    and Subaru had major concerns as the AWD XT6 2.7 Liter was likely to exceed the low tax MIT capacity limit. Again, Japan buckled, and was scared that it would sucker punch the USA into a body slam.

    In 1984, you could no longer dump a 50 states compliant stroked out small block into your Pony car, but plenty did that to the B cars and the series Miami Vice premier, "Brother's Keeper," on September 16, 1984, just amped up America to aspire to more. Performance moved up into a kncoked off 1972A V12 Fazz Convertialbe, even if it was fake and GM Corvette underneath.

    It wasn't Farm Aid, Live AID or Feed the World, it was people like Boyd Caddington and Lil John that pushed people to aspire to more in a tough legal climate.

    1984, it was about time the US started to explore how to beat the CAFE Fleet MPG targets, and make some proper machines again.

  9. #9
    FEP Senior Member Dave9052's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vxr500 View Post
    Cool retro article featuring the new for 1984 muscle cars. Miss the days when the performance car choices were so numerous and varied among manufacturers. AND affordable.

    http://www.shelby-dodge.com/pdf/art-...le-cars-96.pdf
    Cool article thanks for sharing

  10. #10
    FEP Super Member xctasy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vintageracer View Post
    None of the 1984 models cars from any make and manufacturer can be considered "High Performance" by anyone's standards!
    Um, across the world, Ford, GM and Chrysler pulled all its non US performance engine options back. The homolgated race engines were rally beaters, making 13 second 1/4 miles with engines of 230 to 260 hp or more.

    The world was caving in, and Ford, GM and Chrylser (and AMC too) had scaled eveything back to core business on existing tooling. Nothing revoltionary happened for performance except the front drive X and J cars ( the 660 and J2000 Turbos were standout), the Mopar K and the little Erika front drive Escorts and Tempo's were just stop gaps.

    In 1984, US big three cars listed were performance cars. In the 1980 EU and 1980 California USA emissions standards, performance was dented hard the world over.

    When 308GTSi and 400i Ferraris lost 40 hp to injection, and a 1973 Aston Martin lost 37 hp, you'd better believe factory 13.6 second 1.4 miles of the Ferrari Daytona era were over. CAFE did the rest. Any Pontiac, Chevy, Mopar, AMC or Ford V8 in the 340/343/350/351 cubic inch area could have awakened any F car M or Eagle or Fox, but those engines got downgraded to thinwall, open bulkhead V8's like the 255 or 301, and that was all about reverse engineering how many MPG you could get with how little horepower.

    The USA had its performance aspiartions all worked out come 1983, an the answer was Port EFI, turbos and overdrive gearboxes. Compared to anywhere else in the world, your 1984 cars were stalwarts. The exception was exotica, which had been blunted by lead free fuel, compression ratio reduction, and its was only the 944 Porsche with the 11:1 compression TOP 2.5 liter engine and the Raymond Mays "Fireball" High Efficency Jaguar 5.3 liter V12 that had the balls to try compression ratio upgrades on regular gas. As soon as that happened, Detroit with its Bell, Defense and Silcon Valley Technology knew it could do better than those expensive big bore spacing, space inefficent OHC engines.


    Chrylser pulled out of the Simca concern, and all the European development performance cars died. You USA guys matched the German and UK Capri 2.8 Injection, the Aussie Falcon 4.1 EFI, the South African XR6 Cortina 3.0. The turbo 2.8, turbo 4.1 and 5.0 Ford Sierra XR8 were legitimate options, but they cost and arm and a leg. The wole reason for 1979-1981's performance retrenchment was the quality price tradeoff.

    As I say, you could add a 1982 Mictrotech twin point EFI system upstream of your turbo, and make any 3.8 Buick eat any Ferraris dust. Thats what the aftermarket did to the Buick GNX, and it was only the 5.0 that could match it. The F body as soon as the big block was gone, was always an also ran. The IROC and 5.7 liter options never clawed back the teritory the way the 5.0 did. The front drive K car and Omni, they were the Fox teriers of the 80's. The Escort and Ford EXP Turbo , the return of the Mustang 2.3 Turbo with EFI, they were in house attempts to collaspe the additional cost or performance. And they worked!

    EPA city/highway 26 / 42 mpg, 124 mph, 16.7 second 1/4 mile, 0-60 in 9 seconds from just a heavy 120 hp Escort EXP with only 8 pounds boost.

    US mass production resolved the insane cost of performance everywhere else. in Australian in 1982, a 730 dollar, 188 or 200hp Cleveland would drop 16.9s or 15.8's factory, and go to 118 to 126 mph, but the 1983 4.1 liter in line six EFI replacment was 930 dollars to get 16.9 seconds from 149 hp, and , get this, 4400 dollars to get a T03/70 turbo, upstream US Microtech injection, and 255 hp for 14.9 second quarter mile.

    Without four extra cylinders, and down 53 hp, the 1978-1981 BMW M1 kept the top speed and improved the 1/4 mile times the best De Tomaso Pantera gave (BMW M1, 164 mph and 13.7 secs verses 1971 non emissioned GTS, 165.5 mph and 14.1 second ET)

    The 2.2 EFi turbo K car car engine was Port EFi at its finest. It ended up in the Omini GLH with something like 175 HP and able to do 15.9's two up.

    Don't forget. Chrysler Europe already had production 234 to 260 hp twincam engines in the late 70's

    https://www.facebook.com/avengersunb...4266212298319/

    The 2v 5.0 Mustang was almost faster than the 4V 5.0's and 5.0 CFi's. After the European Union and California 1980 emssions standards were rolld out, performance was a sub 16 second 1/4 mile, 0-60 in less than 8 seconds, and a top speed of over 130 mph. The 1982 5.0 Mustang GT and Capri RS 5.0 were able to do that, and these cars were heraled as performance cars.

    In terms of the best peformance per dollar (any 275 hp 1968-1971 340 Mopar, or 400 Pontiac Firebird, 389 Pontiac GTO)

    or the big 8 factory performance cars
    1964 Pontiac GTO. ...
    1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake. ...
    1968 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi. ...
    1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. ...
    1969 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet. ...
    1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. ...
    1971 Plymouth Hemi'Cuda Convertible. ...
    1973 De Tomaso Pantera

    or the best 12 1960 performance cars https://www.caranddriver.com/flipboo...s-of-the-1960s

    The late 70's and early 80's had there wings clipped, but so it was for every SuperCar of the Seventies as well, the world over. A read of the European Supercar top speeds and 1/4 mile, standing kilometer and 100 to 120 mph accelerations is very sad compared to any other period in the 60's.

    Quote Originally Posted by xctasy View Post
    ....these cars sold and saved the nameplates and US industry. It may have been despicable to some, but the cars "panned" were loved and accepted over here. We all need to get a life, the malaise era was darn hard, and you guys and gals got through it. Time to have a Beer and say thank G-d we engineered our way outta that crap hole...

  11. #11
    FEP Supporter
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    Quote Originally Posted by xctasy View Post
    Time to have a Beer and say thank G-d we engineered our way outta that crap hole...
    Amen brother!!!
    '85 GT

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