A few months ago, I pulled up to a stoplight in my GN. A Nova pulls up next to me. Back end is jacked up big time on it. It revvs me pretty hard. Instead of revving back, I just build up boost. Light goes green, one car, two cars, and the lead builds for me. We get stopped at the next red. Same thing, same result. Next light, same thing. I figured he'd had enough after the first two. He does a fly by on me and hits a red light leading onto the open 4-lane highway right next to a 3rd gen TA. He revvs at that guy and the TA revvs back. Off they go. The Nova gains about a car on him, but with me 5 feet off his bumper. I look over at the guy in the TA and he gives me a thumbs up and I motion to him to "watch this". As the Nova opens up his lead just enough for me to squeeze through, I pull to the right and punch it. As I spool up, I fly by the Nova and wave at him as I do it. This guy was like at least 50, and wasnt some kid, which really surprised me that someone of that age would be so sore about losing to my lil old v6.
Nova and 3rd Gen TA
- Thread starter Robes87GN
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How is a 14 second GN any better/faster than a 14 second 396 Chevelle?
There were many old musclecars that were much more capable than GN's.
I've owned a few of the more potent muscle cars and SS454 & 427 Chevelles, 440 six pack RR. Trust me, my TTA could not touch those cars - especially the 440-6 RR it ran a 12.72 with the aid of some razor sharp tuning.
THe guy driving the muscle car might be a turd, but I ususally like their car and I'll save the racing for the strip and not the street.
hey i go to all the local cruise nights and i can tell ya first hand that "some" not all people think cause it has a big block 396 it can kill anything. i even raced a guy in his late 50's with a real ls6 454 chevelle. thought he was the best cause it ran a 13.4 at the track....ya it was priceless when i flew past him like he was standing still. your right, 14's is family sedan speeds by todays standards, but in the 80's it was fast, and in the 60's-70's it was greased lightning. your tta has ALOT more potentila than those old cars you had. 12.72 can be had with slicks,race chip, and a good racing chip for crying out loud.
What Matt was trying to say, I think is that some of the older gentleman think that their era was much better therefore their car is much better than our cars. I love older cars, dont get me wrong, but some of these guys can be rather belligerent about their car being faster just because it has a big block in it. I understand completely that older cars were set with big engines, because back then the only way to increase hp was to make the engine bigger. They didnt have nearly the sophistication we have now to improve our engines and drop our cars seconds at a time. A lot of them go out and buy their old muscle cars theyd wish they had kept back in high school and college and think they are still just top of the line.
I don't know how old you guys are, sounds to me like you are younger.
I'm 37, so I grew up on second-hand muscle cars. Just because a couple of guys think they're old musclecar is the fastest thing on the street is not an indictment of every "old" guy that drives one.
If anything, I see the "mine is better than yours" attitude is given off by younger guys in newer cars - particularly the import guys.
As for potential, the 12.72 out of my RR was on a stock rebuild. The only deviation from stock was the .060 overbore and electronic ignition and the run was on radial t/a tires. The older cars have just as much potential as my TTA it just takes a different approach.
I really hate to see our common interest in muscle cars divided by age groups and eras. I'll bet if you get to know some of these older guys, they'd appreciate a GN/TTA if they drove it. Vice-Versa if you ever get to drive an old muscle car with a "big-dumb motor" you'll understand why these guys love their cars.
I'm 37, so I grew up on second-hand muscle cars. Just because a couple of guys think they're old musclecar is the fastest thing on the street is not an indictment of every "old" guy that drives one.
If anything, I see the "mine is better than yours" attitude is given off by younger guys in newer cars - particularly the import guys.
As for potential, the 12.72 out of my RR was on a stock rebuild. The only deviation from stock was the .060 overbore and electronic ignition and the run was on radial t/a tires. The older cars have just as much potential as my TTA it just takes a different approach.
I really hate to see our common interest in muscle cars divided by age groups and eras. I'll bet if you get to know some of these older guys, they'd appreciate a GN/TTA if they drove it. Vice-Versa if you ever get to drive an old muscle car with a "big-dumb motor" you'll understand why these guys love their cars.
I'm fortunate to own both sides of the coin here, and I love both my cars but they are as different as night and day. Both are reasonably fast but in stock trim my GS 455 will walk away from my stock GN. A big block is just a different kind of power. As soon as u mash the pedal that big ol 455 snaps your head back and you're gone. No waiting for boost to build up. God I love big block torque.....lol! On the other hand, the GN is smoother, has more creature comforts and is better for long trips. My GS and GN are both great cars but you have to take each one for what it is and enjoy it.
Tracy, i'm not trying to generalize anyone. my last car was a 1964 impala with a mild 327. even beat my friends 98 gt mustange with that car. i'm 29 if it makes any difference. i see your tta as a wealth of potential. you can easily go mid 11's w/o lifting a valve cover, maybe faster. do that with a stock bb. i love all cars so please dont think i'm a "gn is better than anything" guy. anyways happy motoring and merry christmas.
Nothing beats the torque of a big block all right. What I said wasnt meant to differentiate our ages apart. I am 18, and I love the American muscle cars in any way shape or form. What I was stating earlier was that, this is just one bad apple out of thousands of muscle car owners. You are right, the worst ones are the import kids who dont respect anything and just sound off their cars to be cool.
whitehot84
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Age has nothing to do with muscle car appreciation. I just turned 58 and have always had muscle cars. I had a 67 Camaro that ran 12 flat in 1967. I had a 70 Cuda that was unreasonably fast but my favorite was and is my Buick. I have had a Grand National since 1987 and will probably always have one. It is a low 11 sec street car and I have a tendency to be a little brash sometimes, especially around rice. I don't think it has anything to do with my age. I have always been like this. Chronological age is something that happens to all of us. Maturity has to be developed. I'm still working on that. 
