I was driving down the local cruise strip, which is an eight mile street, three lanes each side, and stop lights every 1/8 - 1/4 mile. Anyway, it was Sunday afternoon and I had just washed and waxed the 87 T, so I thought I would take it out for a spin since I had just set it on kill the day before with some Xylene and a tad more boost. It didn't take long before I spied a late 70's Trans Am, which was in really great shape. I wanted to take a closer look because the car did look really nice from a distance and I have always been partial to well maintained TA's. The guy must have thought I was trying to antagonize him, because he would rev his engine, which sounded really nice, and pull away from me when I got up close. All I really wanted to do was see if it looked as good up close, which it did.
Finally, I gave up and dropped back to just below the speed limit, which was 45. He dropped back as well and started revving his engine and surging forward. After a mile or so of this, I decided I should test the Xylene out since I didn't get much chance the night before. At about 37mph, we both dropped the hammer. His engine roared to life as my car downshifted and began whistle a fearful tune via the open K&N and TE-44. To my surprise, the 275/50 BFG's broke loose and I was literally thrown into the rear of my seat. The garage door opener was also thrown from the sun visor and it proceeded to knock my right on the forehead. That said, the race was over almost as quickly as it started and he was several car lengths behind before I could even think to look. I must have been in a sweet spot since the combination of downshifting and boost literally left him standing still. I felt like I had just launched from an aircraft carrier. At the next light, the following conversation took place.
"What kind of gears do you have in that thing?"
"3.42"
"What kind of engine is that."
"It's a 231 V-6"
Long pause and a look that was priceless.
"This is a 400. You must have that thing bored out or something."
I said, "Something like that"
I told him he had a nice looking car and he said the same. The light turned green and we went our separate ways after that. It's fun to win, but it's also fun mix it up withj a good sport.
Finally, I gave up and dropped back to just below the speed limit, which was 45. He dropped back as well and started revving his engine and surging forward. After a mile or so of this, I decided I should test the Xylene out since I didn't get much chance the night before. At about 37mph, we both dropped the hammer. His engine roared to life as my car downshifted and began whistle a fearful tune via the open K&N and TE-44. To my surprise, the 275/50 BFG's broke loose and I was literally thrown into the rear of my seat. The garage door opener was also thrown from the sun visor and it proceeded to knock my right on the forehead. That said, the race was over almost as quickly as it started and he was several car lengths behind before I could even think to look. I must have been in a sweet spot since the combination of downshifting and boost literally left him standing still. I felt like I had just launched from an aircraft carrier. At the next light, the following conversation took place.
"What kind of gears do you have in that thing?"
"3.42"
"What kind of engine is that."
"It's a 231 V-6"
Long pause and a look that was priceless.
"This is a 400. You must have that thing bored out or something."
I said, "Something like that"
I told him he had a nice looking car and he said the same. The light turned green and we went our separate ways after that. It's fun to win, but it's also fun mix it up withj a good sport.
