Joined
·
144 Posts
I've been thinking again, that's dangerous, thinking about cars with frames and without,
Yesterday I was installing my Hurst shifter and got stuck on the driver side pin install so I jacked her up by front cradle and put jack stand under passenger side at factory preferred location...........looking at the underside of my car I got to thinking..........wow, not a lot of strength here.
You can argue why we no longer have cars with frames, some say because crush zones became mandatory, some say insurance company influence, unitized construction being easier to repair, etc...........doesn't matter.
But in the case of the Challenger like many frameless unitized construction performance cars they end up quite heavy. Should a V6 Camaro weigh 3760 pounds? Jesus that's the weight of a 1970 chevelle 4 door V8 wagon!
A 55 chevy is only 3100#?! Hell a full size 70 Monte Carlo is 3400#, its huge
I know, I know, Kevin (mrchen) you say, you are just getting old. Yeah, I am but I miss those days of my 70 Chevelle full frame, 454 with 12 bolt posi and ladder bar and coil over suspension. You could throw anything at that car, once motor plate was in, ladder bar and cross member set up and small roll cage it could handle 2000 hp.
Boy what my Challenger would run if she was 6-700 pounds lighter!
How much stiffer would she be if built on a frame?
Are these new cars better? In some cases yes, in other I would argue no, no the Challenger is not. Safer in an accident, as a better muscle car, no
Yesterday I was installing my Hurst shifter and got stuck on the driver side pin install so I jacked her up by front cradle and put jack stand under passenger side at factory preferred location...........looking at the underside of my car I got to thinking..........wow, not a lot of strength here.
You can argue why we no longer have cars with frames, some say because crush zones became mandatory, some say insurance company influence, unitized construction being easier to repair, etc...........doesn't matter.
But in the case of the Challenger like many frameless unitized construction performance cars they end up quite heavy. Should a V6 Camaro weigh 3760 pounds? Jesus that's the weight of a 1970 chevelle 4 door V8 wagon!
A 55 chevy is only 3100#?! Hell a full size 70 Monte Carlo is 3400#, its huge
I know, I know, Kevin (mrchen) you say, you are just getting old. Yeah, I am but I miss those days of my 70 Chevelle full frame, 454 with 12 bolt posi and ladder bar and coil over suspension. You could throw anything at that car, once motor plate was in, ladder bar and cross member set up and small roll cage it could handle 2000 hp.
Boy what my Challenger would run if she was 6-700 pounds lighter!
How much stiffer would she be if built on a frame?
Are these new cars better? In some cases yes, in other I would argue no, no the Challenger is not. Safer in an accident, as a better muscle car, no