I hate to say it but its true that without quite a bit of money you're not beating the rice burners. They go faster for cheaper. A stock subaru runs 13's some nissans are quicker than that. When you go to the strip look at the times these things run. They sound sickening like a misfiring weed whacker and look rediculous but they are fast. I would rather have a nice looking classic car that rumbles. Street racing is illegal and dangerous anyways so if you're not going to the strip don't sweat a few tenths.
Just a few thoughts here. First, there was a song that Dr. Demneto used to play called
The Ballad of Irving, about a gunslinger named Irving who's the 142nd fastest gun in the west. There's a line that goes "
A hundred and forty one could draw faster than he, and he was out gunning for 143!" So what's the point? In racing, Rule #1 is "There is always someone faster than you are." Rule #2 is "There are always people slower than you are." So yes, there are some imports out there who's owners have invested thousands and thousands of dollars into superchargers, NOS, turbochargers, and other crap to make their cars quick as lightning, but... there are many, many, more who invested $100 in a fart can muffler and a cheap set of strobes. The former of these groups tend to participate in those well organized/high illegal street races and the later group tends to do nothing but bench race in shopping center parking lots.
We tend to fall into a middle area. We generally don't get involved with dangerous and illegal street events, but we want to do more than just come rumbling into a parking lot sounding like we're fast but being all show and no go. The only thing worse than getting beaten in races is coming off as a muscle car legend wannabee with a car that's done up just for show. I've always looked at the situation as if I light up my tires going light to light, I might get a ticket. If I go 80+ MPH, I'm going to jail. So all-out racing has never been worth the risk to me. But smoking some Mustang or Camaro or ricer through two or three lights? To me, that's where the fun is at.
It's a simple fact of life that driving a 60s-70s muscle car means you're gonna get challenged. Some duffus in a Mustang, Camaro, or ricer is going to come sliding up next to you, and start gunning their engines to see what you got. If you're like most guys who are drivers first and not collectors, it's hard to swallow being the weakest link for long.
So, for example, I know from experience that my modded 360 is enough to beat every Mustang except a 2012+ Cobra. But, I see probably several dozen V-6 and GT Mustangs for every actual Cobra out there, so when a pony comes up and gets ornery, I have no problems whipping his ***. ;) If my car still had the original 318, I would just have to wave, smile, and say thanks but my car isn't as good as yours and that would pretty much defeat the purpose of driving it in the first place.
