Thread: Cars of the '70s

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It was a diverse decade for cars, which memorable ones can you recall from that time? I think the Vega Cosworth was a nice looking under appreciated model that sadly never reached its potential.



Datsun 280ZX

AMC Pacer X

[QUOTE=MattC;450454]It was a diverse decade for cars, which memorable ones can you recall from that time? I think the Vega Cosworth was a nice looking under appreciated model that sadly never reached its potential.

I don't remember it as those "diverse" or "memorable" cars! My friends and I felt like we were abandoned by detroit! After releasing Boss & Shelby Mustangs and 454 Chevelles, etc. etc. they gave us Pintos & Vegas! AMC Pacers? MEMORABLE? Not for me.. I was glad to have forgotten 'til now!

We lamented that there was no horsepower after 1972!

Being a performance buff.. the first couple years of the decade were okay... but then performance fell off, as compression ratios went in the tank.

From a styling standpoint, some of the new cars were sleeker than the '60s models. The GM F-body Camaros and Trans Ams were neat. I bought a '76 T/A... flared the fenders, and put some TruSpoke wires on it. Not even close to the performance I was used to... but it looked neat.

It was also the decade of plastic parts... which started showing up everywhere on the cars. Unfortunately they did not yet have the technology to produce parts that would endure very well.

“.......we were abandoned by detroit!........... they gave us Pintos & Vegas!.....”


Admittedly Detroit and insurance companies had closed the door on factory performance cars, but they did provide fodder for the street racers. Here is what I was driving in the 70’s.



The Pinto had a hot dog 302 C4 and 9” and the Vega truck (a long story that involved a hack saw and 12 pack of beer) had a 327, Tri-Power and 4 speed.

Ya make the best of what you have.

hack saw and a 12 pack? you have to give us more!

after owning a 75' rally sport which was a family friend deal, i'll never own another car or truck from newer than 69' lack of design, rittled with poor performance and even worse castings

I had a couple of very nice cars....'73 Vette, 454, 4 speed and my cruizer, '75 Pontiac Grand Prix, 400, automatic. Had to get something with a big block to have even decent power in a factory car.... Some other street stuff in the 70's included a '64 Ford short box step side with a 390, 4 speed, '70 Maverick, 'glass front end, doors, and deck lid 351W, 4 speed and a few others. Never was one to depend on the factory to build my toys so I guess it didn't really effect me... New cars were just for daily driver's and cruizers....

"..... Never was one to depend on the factory to build my toys so I guess it didn't really effect me....."

I was pretty much in the same boat as you Dave. I’d almost forgotten though I did have one stock one (for a while anyway) car in the late 70’s.

In 79 I got shipped down to Panama for a couple of year. I was authorized to ship a car down, but the catch was if I shipped it back to the states It had to be inspected when it came back and all the emissions crap had to be in place to include the catalytic convertor. I could have shipped the Pinto or Vega down but would never get them back in this country.

I picked up a 77 Mustang II Ghia with a factory 302, 4 speed and 8” rearend to ship down. Not a bad little car really...... once all the emissions crap was removed and a set of headers and 4 bbl was installed.

Yeah, but the problem I and many others were feeling was the small blocks down to 150 / 160 horse and even the Big Blocks down to a couple hundred. The EPA was chasing us for emmisions and no one knew what to expect next. All you kept hearing in the little books was the death of cars.. all gloom & doom.

Then in 79 Ford comes back with the 5.0 HO, and Detroit starts showing muscle again. Heck the 79 HO 302 had what 225 HP? But the 68 302 had 210 with a two barrel carb and cast manifolds. Big deal , but I guess it was something and we had fodder for our "mechanical pleasures" again! LOL..

During the scare years, my pal Lyle went around buying up all the 'good number' Chevy and Pontiac parts he could, mostly for pennies on the dollars... Together we bought a few big block 4 speed cars (one of them a '66 Impala drop top 396 that his ex still has!) and held onto them through the 80's then sold stuff for at least double what we had in it. I remember Lyle sold a complete Vette 427 to some dude in New York for 4 times what he paid for it--he bought dinner that day!!!!! My best deal was a '67 Firebird drop top, 400 4speed car I paid $900.00 for in '74--used it as a toy, drove it rarely, sold it in '96 for $13,500 with the two big expenses over the years being a new top and a set of tires.... Lyle and I have talked about it many times, why in the heck didn't we buy up 10 times as much stuff as we did!!!!!

In the 70's I moved from automobiles to pick up trucks, all with 460's - and since we had big travel trailers, they were always somewhat modified. Most cars of that period were, IMHO, uninspired, mostly because gas went from pennies per gallon to over a buck - and gas mileage was important to the working stiff.

Both 73-74 amx's were kinda cool. I also like the 73-87 body style 1/2 ton shortbox 454 trucks

Oh yeah, it was the pickup truck and van era too.

It says a lot about the times when the fastest (to 100 MPH) US production vehicle in 1978 was a small block powered Dodge ½ ton pickup (the Lil Red Express Truck).

The one thing with the trucks thru the first ¾ of the decade was that based on GVW they weren’t required to meet the car emission standards which meant regular gas and no catalytic converters. Chrysler jumped on that band wagon with the Warlocks and Lil Red Express trucks.

For Chrysler the demand for the Big Block toy type trucks was just not there however. In 76 Chrysler produced less than 200 Short bed 2WD trucks with 440s (70 stepsides and 121 fleetsides). Customers were willing to spend the money on stripe kits and paint but not on big motors.

This is one of the few exceptions as it has both the stripe treatment and 440.

If it weren't for the Pinto's & Mustang II's, many of us wouldn't have independent front suspension in our streetrods!

Start of the decade had this Super Bee (1971), but you also have to admire the creative ways like the 1973 Grand Am, which could have a SD 455.





As an import rotaries had 4 on the floor and drank like a V8, so it wasn't all bad.



Cosmo & Savanna

i am still in love with the early 70's cars. to me they offered speed and comfort.