Thanks, FG, I appreciate it. I've felt better today so I'm going back to work tomorrow, so I'll definitely be trying these cars out when I get home. The 650S somehow looks way more appealing than the 12C ever did.
Glad you are feeling better VXR. Those two are just waaay to similar for me in looks, I do like both cars though, and the new one has really got the turbo whine going if you like that type thing. Wonder what the LaFerrari FXX is like!
The weight is most likely what handicaps it most. Buick had the right idea of fitting a smaller turbocharged engine; lighter and faster
To get an accurate idea of the Monte, I own an '83 with quite a bit taken off of it (emissions crap, ac pump, heavy exhaust manifolds in favor of headers etc.) and it still weighs 3650 with me in it, I weigh 198. I love the car to death from a looks standpoint, but it is a dog of a car, I have quite a bit done to it and it'll only do a 8.71 1/8th mile (Roughly 13 and some odd seconds 1/4 mile)
It has a aftermarket cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, headers, 4.11 rear gear, 3 speed out of an 80's IROC camaro, and a nitrous system and it will do an 8.71, I can provide proof by way of time slips if anybody wishes to see it.
Would quite like a picture of the car itself, as a Brit I'm not overly familiar with the Monte Carlo. Was it the basis for the Olds Aero thing, too?
Nice Hood! I always go for that option in Forza on the muscle cars. I also just saw a Monte Aero Coupe, which made my question redundant.
I'm glad I like that hood because I bought it out of necessity as my engine was/ is too tall for the stock hood
Probably worth noting that the majority of the power loss experienced in 80s v8 american stuff can be easily reversed and very cheaply by a cam and some ignition work. They were smogged, retarded and stifled up to the hilt back then. There is still a 5.0 v8 under all the crap. My dad solved the problem in his 1981 corvette by fitting a forged 383 stroker motor. However one of the easier options was to buy a cam for 114 dollars that would have lifted power by 80hp or so.
Well a lot of the restriction was in the lobe profiles of the cams, most motors being tuned for torque rather than hp. Most came with dished rather than flat top pistons to keep the combustion ratio down. There was a lot of smog gear, recirculation valves and canisters all of which added weight and sucked power, the removal of which could cause issues with the onboard computers a lot of these cars were sprouting at the time. Most of these changes were to keep cars all state legal, so they could be sold in california without alteration, a state which has incredibly draconian emissions laws. A lumpen great 5.0 or 5.7 block still has just as much potential to produce awesome power as any other motor but during the 80s it became difficult to find it.