Old Cars with New Technolgy vs New Cars

[Fastbowtie]

This post is probably going to start a firestorm but here it goes. Today I was at work and a friend of mine got on the discussion of old cars with new technology vs new cars. The conversation basically went like this. I was telling him about a car here on this form that was pulling 1.12 G's on the skid pad. His comment back to me was that new cars such as say the 04 Cobra for his example could always out handle any old muscle car with anything you put on it. His argument was that the cars were using old outdated designs. I had pointed him to the DSE site. Of course his response was that anything that was made 38 years ago was designed with a unfixable flaw. (I can see already everybody frothing at the mouth.) I had tried to explain to him that most of the aftermarket stuff that was out already had been designed recently. My 1st example was the new DSE sub-frame for the Camaro. I told him that the frame was designed to hold larger front wheels and was hydro-formed and that Hydro-forming was the current trend in the automotive industry. I had explained to him that these frames also were available with rack and pinion. He also had a problem understanding that if you were using 2006 brakes on your old car that it would stop as good as the 2006 vehicle because the rest of the parts were 38 years old. I told him that as far as handling goes you could easily out perform the Cobra by changing certain items. R compound tires were added in there to help him understand how they could help stop the car that was running 13" front and 12" back disc brakes with hydro-boost (thanks Paul at Hydatech). I also tried to explain that the geometry on some of the vehicles had been corrected such as ATS spindles. Anyways I would like some of your input. (Let me duck 1st before you start firing away.) Thanks.

[XcYZ]

This could be argued either way. I guess what turns me off about new(er) cars is that my Mom can go out and buy the same one as me. Not cool.

Ok, seriously now... He's right to a point. We can build muscle cars to compete with about anything out there, but the cost factor will be considerably higher then just going out and buying a late model Vette or Mustang.

[Stuart Adams]

To me nothing cooler than a properly setup pro touring old muscle car. You probably will never convince him. That's ok. I have a E55 AMG car that has its place but a PT 69 Camaro is cooler. I would never drive a PT car everyday though.

His 04 Cobra will never be as cool as a muscle car, PT or not. More cars and parts for us.

[mazspeed]

Any car can be made to go faster and handle better. Yes you can make an older car handle better then a newer car, but it is harder to do this. If you take a new Ferrari down the street and park it next to nicely done 67-69 Camaro, the Camaro is going to get more looks. Forget about the vette and the mustang which will just get glanced over for a modern muscle car. I have almost 400 miles on my Camaro and the looks I get when I drive down the road are from a quick stare to a full on neck twist with thumbs up. It's a cool factor. Plus a mustang is not going to go up in value anytime soon.

[Fastbowtie]

The only thing I could add here would be If you started with a 6 cylinder camaro with a near perfect body for a low amount of money (say $6000), you could still be well under the cost of a cobra.

[Stuart Adams]

No matter how much cash you throw at an 04 Cobra it will never be as cool as most of the cars on this site.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by Stuart Adams

No matter how much cash you throw at an 04 Cobra it will never be as cool as most of the cars on this site.

So true.. look at my 2000 SS.. I spent TON of money on that car and it could outhandle most cars on this site.. but who cared? Sure it was cool but the moment a classic parked next to me it got all the attention.

Also, mods are worth almost nothing on a new car. At least on an old car it adds value.

I guess it's that I love the styling of the old tin and the performance of the new stuff.. guess that's why Im building Penny.

[Stuart Adams]

Cool car Steve.

Just have to look at how many car shows there are and how many spectators show up all across the country for old cars. Not many 04 Cobra's there. Final answer.

[Derek69SS]

The laws of physics are not effected by the age of the car/parts/design... proper geometry is proper geometry, regardless.

You fix the geometry, and use the right combination of parts, and it will outhandle a new car.

[Ummgawa]

You could postulate his theory by asking if he took the brakes and running gear from his Cobra, removed them and installed the brakes and running gear from a 64 mustang (drums,belted tires and 6 banger), The Cobra would still be a better car because the sheetmetal is newer.

That dog will not hunt.