Is it good money after bad or is it an investment in the future. Only you can answer that but if you extend your best foot forward every time at least you can be confident that you didn't cheat the process.
So it went with the latest project on the Formula. Do we ignore obvious problems and just stick to the original plan or do we dig a little deeper and see if we can't advance toward our ultimate goal.
The desired result was to replace the front shocks, that was going to happen regardless. However, experience has taught me that we weren't going to get away that easily. The end result was not so much a surprise as an inevitability.
In the videos below you'll learn what it takes to tackle this project as well as learn about what you should be watching for.
Remember, you're dealing with a primary safety system here. Shortcuts only invite disaster.
I'm hopeful the following is helpful in your project!
It's been close to 4 years since I brought the Formula home. 4 years and 18000 miles later it's been a tale of love. But not that sweet unconditional love beaming from your dog's eyes when she looks up at you. No, no, no. This is the kind of love that demands all of your attention, a few pounds of flesh and most of the contents of your wallet if you don't put the brakes on every once in awhile.
Love hurts....
One way or another it always does.
Considering my ownership of this family heirloom began with $500 worth of parts and the front of the engine in pieces within 24 hours of delivery the tone was set.
BUT!
Opportunities abound if your eyes are open. Which led to a new YouTube channel and more relevant content in this blog.
I've been busy trying to make a living doing something other than turning a wrench or saving somebody's server so time's short and so is the money. That means projects fall into 2 camps; Things I want to do to the Formula and things I HAVE to do.
Seems there's lots of things I've HAD to do in the past 6 months. Luckily, every one of them has been documented with a video.
Speaking of which, the 3 videos below show what I've been up to. To sum it up: The car doesn't sound like an old rocking chair anymore, the transmission stopped hitting the floorboards and starts easier now that the PCM has some clue as to what the engine termperature is.
For a lot of you the weather is still very much "Winter" so you're probably not out and about or turning wrenches on your baby too often. So what to do?
Well, if you're like me you find some favorite automotive videos on YouTube and maybe even subscribe. Oh and don't forget the companion channel to this blog...Gearhead Garden Channel
One thing to remember about HOWTO videos on YouTube though. Use the information at your own risk. Don't take anyone's word as gospel and research from more than one source. Anybody can post a video on YouTube even if they're a complete idiot!
This first example of a channel I follow comes from Scotty Kilmer. I like Scotty, he reminds me of my step-dad and his information is usually pretty good. He's a mechanic with almost 5 decades of experience under his belt that he's more than willing to share on his YouTube channel. Along with videos like this, he also does a weekly Q&A show on his channel where he answers questions about car repair. In this video he talks about the different grades of gasoline and when to use them.
This next example comes from a specialty automotive supply company called Eastwood. I've known about Eastwood for 20 years and purchased specialty tools and products that I couldn't find anywhere else. Their videos usually cover some procedure using their products. The devil's in the details and Eastwood is a good place to go to deal with them. There's a lot of good information that's helpful when you're trying to restore a classic. This video features a project 79 Camaro Z28 and a primer on paint and finish techniques by TV's Keven Tetz.
The last Video is from a channel called Ramblin' Around. It's basically a talented DIY Car guy named Jordan who details among other things the trials, tribulations and triumphs of putting an '87 Trans Am back together. Lots of interesting stuff here. This guy bleeds 50 weight but isn't full of himself. It's the quiet guys who do the real work which is why I like his channel.
So that's it. I figure if I don't have any new content for you at least I can turn you on to someone who does. Stay tuned though. I still have the 95 Formula and will eventually get enough money and time to get it to pass emissions. Expect a few videos and some writeups when that happens.
You can be sure I'll detail those adventures here.
There's no denying it, when most people think muscle cars
it's likely the first image they think of is a Mustang. That is, if they're under 40 and don't know
any better.
Oh yeah, the hallowed names
of GTO, Chevelle and Challenger eventually show up in there somewhere but Ford's
marketing department has done a bang up job of obscuring history with the
Mustang.
So is today's car the best engineered example of the breed
in its 50+ year history? Of
course it is.
The question is, can it really be called a Mustang? In Ford's rush to globalize its offerings it
seems the Mustang is destined to join the ranks of other fine examples of
Ford's "world cars." [sic] An
"honor" bestowed on such legendary models like the Escort and Fiesta. [even more sic-kening]
So is it any surprise that the 2015 redesign was so
"sophisticated?"
It saw the first appearance of an independent rear
suspension as standard equipment in a Mustang (except for 99-04 Cobras) which until now was a feature left to those "copycats"
over at GM and Chrysler. Coincidentally,
both the Camaro and Challenger owe much of their engineering to "them civilized" folk in Australia and Europe. European tastes won't tolerate a car with a live axle unless it's 100 years old and requires a crank handle to start it.
Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against IRS ( the suspension not the tax guys) but
if your buyers don't care about carving corners at the Nürburgringthen who are
you really trying to impress with an American coupe?
Let's not forget such "must-haves" like that center mounted touch
display with GPS and smart phone integration.
A feature no self-respecting BMW or Mercedes owner would be caught dead
without.
Or the price. This one's a sin all 3
current pony cars suffer from. Instead
of being within reach of "Joe Six Pack" the entry point of these cars
is more in the realm of "Joe Six Figures." Considering the average price of a pony car with a decent V8 hovered
around 3 grand in 1969, you'd come up about 10 grand short (around 25%) in today's money when you adjust for
inflation.
I'm not even going to get into the very "euro" trend of sticking
a damned turbocharged 4 banger in everything.
An option now available on the Mustang! Yeah, Ford's done it before but nobody looks on those days with nostalgia.
Finally the look.
Sorry, but the new Mustang isn't a Mustang at all. It's a squished ripoff of an Aston Martin Vanquish. Think I'm nuts? Forget the goofy stripes or hood scoops and
take a close look at the two photos below then tell me who the Mustang is really
being aimed at. It sure as hell isn't
the traditional pony car buyer!
Nobody should be buying a Mustang thinking they're getting a cheap Aston
Martin!
I've been screaming this from the rooftops since the first photos of the
redesign leaked and nobody was listening. I'm sure it has something to do with most buyers not getting past the engine compartment and 7" touch screen in the dash.
Ford is trying to upscale Mustang's market which is a mistake for a car as
iconic to middle-class America as the VW Golf is to Europe.
Get real, nobody looking at a Bimmer is going
to consider a Mustang folks. America's population
is aging meaning the people with the cash to afford the gouging won't want it
for much longer. They'll go buy a 5 series BMW sporting big puffy seats with built in butt massagers. That leaves the target demographic
populated by debt-burdened millennials enamored more with smart phones and public
transportation than an overpriced European wannabe. Offering up a 4 banger
won't help either, especially when it costs 2 grand more than the base V6!
The idiocy of it is stunning.
In short, the 2015 Mustang is all wrong.
It's only tenuous link to the mark's heritage is a throaty sounding powerplant wrapped in the bodywork of a cheap European knockoff. It's more
Ford Focus than Ford Mustang. In fact, side by side it's hard to tell which one's styling is influencing the other. My money is on the Focus... Bottom line...It's a
sellout with no redeeming features outside of its power train. Not that it's all bad. Take that power train and stick it in an '08 Mustang GT and you might have something! Even the 2010-2014's retained more heritage than this car. Those were cars I wasn't wild about either but at least they weren't trying to be a Ford Ka!
Hopefully the Camaro and Challenger will stay true to their heritage and their
market.
Last time I pretty much laid out my dilemma. 20 year old car, Emissions testing Nazis,
questioning my life choices...
So I won't rehash it here.
It's a problem anyone with a car roughly the same vintage as their parent's high
school diploma knows well.
This time we're going to attack the root cause of our NOx
failure at the emissions testing station.
If you recall, the standard for a 95 Formula in Arizona is 2.00 and I
managed to crush the scales at 5.99.
There are two primary emissions systems that contribute to
this failure. The first is the EGR or
Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve and the second is the Catalytic Converter.
As I see it, the Catalytic converter is a secondary emissions component. Meant to clean up whatever
the other primary systems left behind.
There are exceptions such as certain vehicles that eliminate the EGR
altogether and incorporate similar functionality within the intake system of
the engine itself.
But most of us with older cars will still have to deal with
the tried and true EGR valve.
Considering it's exposed to constant exhaust heat, depends on a seal
made of rubber and failure of said seal negates its function you're going to
have to deal with it at some point.
The good news is that at least on mid 90's GM F Body cars ( 93-97 Firebird/Camaro) with an LT1 V8
the diagnosis and replacement is straightforward.
I should clarify here.
Diagnosis is easy, replacement would be easy if you could somehow wrest
the engine out of the car in under 5 minutes.
That's not going to happen in a 4th generation F Body.
But enough of that...
The EGR's function is to circulate exhaust gases back into
the combustion chamber to cool it down. Combustion temperatures above 2500F cause NOx, a noxious gas that creates
excess ozone and irritates respiratory ailments among other things.
So the emissions Nazis are gunning for you if your car
exceeds their standards.
On the 4th Gen F body LT1 (V8) cars the EGR is located on the back of the intake manifold in
pretty much the most inaccessible location GM could come up with.
Now if Camaros or Firebirds had hoods that tilted forward ( like the same vintage Corvettes do) it
would be no big deal. Thing is, these
cars are cursed with about a foot of bodywork hanging over the engine. Thank that 60 degree windshield for that one.
Still, you can deal with the EGR and the Fuel pressure
regulator as well ( since it's in the
same location) so long as you're willing to lay across the front of the car
to get to them.
Which is what I had to do to replace mine.
But we're jumping ahead here.
Before we start turning wrenches we need to figure out if we
need to.
Assuming the rest of your emissions components are working
within specification, high NOx generally only comes from the aforementioned
high combustion temperatures caused by a bad CAT or EGR valve.
The simplest test for a bad EGR is to stick a vacuum pump on
the vacuum port on top of the EGR and give a few pumps. If it doesn't hold vacuum it's junk, no
exceptions. The EGR relies on a flexible
diaphragm that moves in and out as vacuum is applied to it.
That diaphragm operates a rod ( pintle ) that allows a measured amount of exhaust gas to recirculate
in the combustion chamber which helps cool it down and decrease NOx emissions.
If that pintle doesn't move then NOx can run rampant.
The other reason the EGR system can fail is if the EGR
passages in the manifold become clogged up.
If the exhaust gas can't get to the combustion chamber it can't cool it down.
It can also cause the engine to run too lean ( too much air not enough fuel ) which can
increase HC emissions as well.
Vacuum leaks can contribute to high HC and NOx as well and a
torn diaphragm in a 3 inch disk is a pretty big leak.
So now we know the problem, the solution is pretty
simple.
Replace the valve...
While you're at it, check out the EGR passages and clean
them out if they're full of crud( as best
you can considering where the EGR is.)
Removal is easy, 2 (1/2 inch) nuts on a couple of studs. Of course getting to them requires draping
yourself across the front of the car but once you get positioned, it's not so
bad. I'd also recommend the use of an
offset boxed end wrench since the bolts are partially shrouded by the EGR
"disc."
Pop it off, remove the gasket, clean up the mating surfaces ( there's likely to be a sticky film left by
the old gasket) and clean out the EGR passage of any carbon build up. Then just bolt the new one on, torque the
bolts down and reconnect the EGR vacuum line and you're done!
Really not much more to it.
Below is a video that outlines the diagnosis and testing
procedures.
I don't know if it's just that people are too lazy to look
stuff up or they just like being annoying but lately I've seen the term,
"Muscle Car" applied to everything from trucks to 4 door sedans.
And it's wrong...
What's
most annoying, however, is to have a Camaro Z28 or a Mustang GT lumped in with
the likes of a Hyundai anything.
Living in an ever more connected world has spread more than
just American political ideology. American
culture itself has exuded influence over nations to whom the concept of an
"American Culture" would have been an oxymoron a generation ago.
Perhaps that's why people think a Hyundai is a Muscle car.
Those people are confused...
The term "Muscle Car" is and forever will be a
uniquely American idea exclusively applied to 2 door coupes with at least a V8
engine, rear wheel drive and manufactured in North America. That's not arrogance, it's in the
dictionary.
"any of a group of American-made 2-door
sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving"
I know that definition doesn't say
anything about which set of wheels provides movement but trust me, no American
"high performance", "Muscle Car" was ever propelled by
anything but the rear wheels.
To be fair, however, I'll stick to
Webster's precise definition of what a "Muscle Car" is for my little comparison.
Now, let's apply the 3 rules ( 2-door, American made, Powerful) to a pair
of vehicles commonly (and often erroneously)
labeled "Muscle Cars" by the automotive press and see if they fit. For illustration we'll use a Chevrolet Camaro and a
Hyundai Genesis
coupe.
In the chart below, I'll put a check mark next to the 3 Primary factors if the car in question meets the criteria to be a
true Muscle Car.
2 Door Coupe
American Made
Powerful Engine Available
Camaro
X
X
X
Genesis
X
From the chart we can see that the Genesis
does not meet the criteria for 2 major reasons.
Reason one, it's manufactured in Korea not the U.S. Yes, Hyundai makes cars in Alabama but not
the Genesis coupe. Hyundai is also not
technically an "American" auto maker since they're a foreign
corporation.
Second, the powerful engine bit. While the base engine in the current Camaro
makes 326 HP with its V6 to the Genesis 346 HP V6, these days under
400 HP is considered pedestrian in anything but a minivan or a hybrid.
The next step up in the Camaro line is the
SS with a standard 426HP naturally aspirated V8 with available options all the
way up to 580HP. That's another mark of
a muscle car. It's frequently defined
more by its power output than it's model.
The Genesis Coupe, comparatively, retains the same 346 HP V6 throughout its trim
levels even though its Sedan
sibling, the "5.0," offers a 420HP V8 option.
Why is that important?
One tenet that isn't covered by Webster's
simple definition is something any Muscle Car enthusiast knows all too
well. Muscle cars aren't about slalom
courses, fuel economy or practicality.
They're about slapping a ridiculously overpowered engine into an
otherwise spartan coupe and holding on for dear life when you mash
the Go pedal.
I mean, c'mon guys. Does anyone really see practicality in a
580HP vehicle than can only carry 2 occupants comfortably, has the ride quality
of a buckboard and gets worse mileage than a full size pickup truck?
I used to own a 2008 Mustang GT and the
thing I always found hysterical about it was the child seat hooks behind the
back seats. I never had a need for them
but if you do I can guarantee you won't be using them for long because Muscle
Cars aren't about baby seats. They're about stroking that part of our psyche
where explosions, video games, and thrill rides exist.
The only thing that compares with such
madness is the world of supercars sporting names like Ferrari, Bugatti and Pagani.
They too are completely impractical with
the added characteristic of being astronomically expensive. If they have a child seat hook it's sure to be
somebody's idea of a joke. It's a world
where you could pay upwards of half a million dollars for a vehicle without air
conditioning, a radio or the ability to roll down the windows.
Still, we dream about them don't we.
That's the point. Nobody gets excited about a Chevy Cruze or a
Hyundai Accent no matter how many racing stripes or turbochargers they put on
them. Cars like that just make too much
sense for those of us for whom the lizard parts of our brains exude an
influence.
Muscle cars are about the antithesis of
American (or anyone else's) societal norms of family and practicality. They were born out of a 60's youth culture
bent on rejecting everything their parents held dear. It's a unique expression of American excess,
individualism and lunacy that rings hollow anywhere else on the planet except for
maybe Australia.
So I've been a little lazy keeping up with the monthly car video posts. But I've found a few vids that I've watched more than once so I figured I share them with you. The first one is kind of ridiculous. A hand built 2010 Lingenfilter Trans AM (made out of a Camaro) versus a 1968 Firebird 400.
The next one is a test drive of a stock 1968 Firebird 400
When I had to sell my 2008 Mustang I was in the market for
another car. Obviously it had to be
cheaper mostly due to the reason I sold the Mustang in the first place...I was
broke....
However, I don't drive boring cars and preferably that
includes the additional requirement of not being junk. So after a few weeks of diving through car
ads from private owners and dealerships I had finally settled on a year range,
mileage and model.
My criteria was more focused than most. I wanted a 4th generation Camaro but it had
to be in good mechanical order, have no major body damage ( meaning door dings
and scratches I could buff out were fine) and have "relatively" low
mileage.
This was late 2013 meaning I had to limit my choices to
nothing older than a 99 model year.
Considering the Camaro went out of production in 2002 this could be a
tough haul.
Availability was limited and many of the examples I found
were either too beat, too expensive or came from shady operators known for
pulling a fast one.
I didn't need to buy a car that was going to spend most of
its life on the back of a flatbed.
That said, I knew I had to be reasonable. To find a decade old car with less than 100K
miles and minimal wear and tear was a fantasy where I lived. Maybe
back east or in Florida somewhere but here in Arizona people drive their cars
everywhere. That's mostly because the major Phoenix metropolitan areas are stretched out to the horizon in all
directions and public transit is a continuing joke among the populace.
Still, I knew what I was after and having had experience
with 4th Gen Camaros and Firebirds, I knew what I was in for with a used example.
After pages of Carfax
and Autocheck reports ( Autocheck is the better
option BTW ) I finally settled on what appeared to be a very nice 2001 V6
Camaro. The price was a bit high but the
Carfax (and Autocheck ) reports were clean and the mileage was a relatively low
107K. Before you ask, 107K is less than
10K per year and I already knew this drivetrain could go 200K with good
maintenance.
So after a few phone calls with reports in hand I made my
way down to the dealership. Which was an
adventure in itself since I lived about 60 miles away. It was an across town gauntlet that took me
through the worst parts of Phoenix midweek traffic but I got
there.
On arrival, I found what at least appeared to be a well
maintained Camaro with just about every available feature except leather seats.
It was Light Pewter Metallic in color, had
the 3800 Series 2 V6, Automatic Overdrive transmission, power windows, locks
and mirrors not to mention T-tops and a premium sound system. The interior
showed almost no signs of the normal wear a life lived in Phoenix would inflict
upon it.
That was primarily because the car spent most of its life in
Salt Lake City, Utah according to my vehicle history reports. A region far less severe on interiors
and plastics but more prone to the scourge of rust.
As such the first check was the underbody of the
car for rust since that part of the country gets a good bit of snow and with it
all that great Salt Lake Brine spewing from the plows.
In the past, I'd looked at other vehicles from that area that suffered everything from minor surface rust to outright Swiss cheese.
And I wanted none of it.
The nice thing about a 12 year old car is that If there was
a problem, it would have shown up by now.
The car passed my initial inspection but I was somewhat dismayed
at the condition of the underhood compartment. I realize that many mechanics advise owners to "just leave it
alone" under there but I do my own work on my cars and having thick cakes
of grunge all over the engine compartment makes it harder to trace down
problems when they happen. It also makes
me wonder why there's "cakes" at all.
But hey, it's a 12 year old car so you know something's
going to happen....
I soldiered past the grunge and went off a little checklist
I keep in my head comprised of years of experiences with
this exact model of vehicle. I've listed
it below..
·Leaks
- oil pan, timing cover, valve covers, manifold (especially at the back of the
engine), water pump, power steering, transmission, rear axle, drive axle at the
transmission and differential.
·Noises - weird squeaks, rattles?
This particular engine usually needs the serpentine belt idler pulleys
replaced at around 100K. When they go it
sounds like a bad power steering pump or alternator bearing rattling around.
·Components - Is it all there? This
car was missing the battery hold down for example.
·Rubber - Just like it sounds, check the condition of all the soft parts
including belts, weatherstrip (especially with T-tops like this car had)
gaskets etc.
·Tires
- A tire depth gauge is your friend.
This car had new tires which was suspicious. Tires with more use will show problems with
suspension and steering problems.
·Brakes - I visual check of the rotors and calipers showed that the car
was about due for a brake job which likely meant rebuilding the calipers and
new rotors. It had 4 wheel disks so
everything X4.
·Paint and body - Condition of the paint, obvious repairs,
scratches or dents. On this generation
of Camaro/Firebird paint is more likely to be an issue than bodywork since the
clearcoat used during the run of these cars was notorious for premature failure. The only metal body panels on the car are the
hood and rear quarters (behind the door) which is where the dents will be. I also check the rear hatch for alignment
issues and cracking in the area just above the trunk lock.
·Interior - Condition, cleanliness, parts missing ( knobs etc) do all the
power accessories work, Heating/AC system work?
So with minor exceptions noted and deemed acceptable, I
consented to take the car for a test drive.
I already knew if I bought the car I was looking at least $500 in brake
work but that wasn't a deal breaker.
That leads me to a little rule I have about buying used
cars...
If you buy a used car expect to have to fix it within the
first year (more likely the first 6 months) of ownership.
It's a fact of life that nobody is going to sell you a 12
year old car that has no issues. You are
always buying someone else's troubles. Budget
$1500 and stick to it. Unless the car is
free take a pass on anything that's going to cost you more. We're talking about a daily driver here, not
a collector car BTW. I need to get to
work with this thing not treat it like a trailer queen on some concourse show.
So on our test drive I took the car out on some back roads
and gave it a bit of the "lead foot" to see how it would react. The car performed acceptably but the engine
seemed to be running a bit rougher than it should have been. The Transmission shifted well enough but I
discovered a new concern.
The Steering....
Having owned almost this exact car before I knew what the steering
should feel like and this car was all wrong.
It had almost no power assistance and felt much heavier than it should
have. I currently own a 1995 Firebird
Formula with a 5.7 Liter V8 that weighs about 200 pounds more than this car on
the front end and the steering with a performance ratio isn't nearly as heavy as this car was.
That meant at a minimum I had an issue with the power
steering pump or worse a problem with the rack.
Either way that equaled anywhere from $60 pump to an $800 rebuilt rack and
a car out of commission for 2 days.
At this point I'm having my doubts but we're still within my
$1500 repair budget...
Truth be told, there isn't much about the car I didn't have
experience repairing myself or having someone else do, so none of this was all that
frightening.
I chose the title of this post carefully. Note the "thankfully" part of the
"One that got away."
Nothing I'd seen or experienced to this point made me want
to pass on this car especially since it's flaws gave me more ammunition for the
negotiations. I also had cash on hand so
I was in no need of financing and the headaches that come with it.
I knew it would last at least long enough to get it home and
drive a few weeks before I started turning wrenches.
Except that "thankfully" part kept coming up....
I was ready to make the deal, got the price knocked down to
an acceptable level and was waiting for the salesman to come back while I
looked the car over one last time before I handed over the cash.
Something nagged at me.
I hadn't checked the fluids yet...
So I did.
Engine oil was new, obviously, an oil change an tire pressure check is all you get out of a dealership for maintenance...
Brake fluid was at level and clean...good..
Power Steering fluid was bright red, clean and full with a
good consistency ( Which actually made me worry more that the heavy steering
was a problem with the rack assembly )
Automatic transmission fluid....
...
...
Burnt, Black and sticky...
No SALE!
That was it, the needle that broke the camel's back.
Even though the tranny shifted fine in the test drive, black
fluid was a big no-no...
Did they pull the old sawdust trick? Whatever it was I was having none of it. A transmission rebuild in this car was
potentially $1000 or more.
Budget broken, we're done.
I found the salesman, grabbed the sales contract out of his
hand and promptly tore it up.
I'll leave out the dramatics that ensued afterward with the
salesman and the general manager chasing after me as I went for my car and just
tell you that 2 days later I got a phone call offering to sell me the Camaro
for $4000 out the door, taxes and all.
From a car that would have cost me $7400 with tax and
license to $4000 in two days.
I still took a pass.
I don't buy junk and hopefully after my cautionary tale,
neither will you. Yeah, it was a 12 year
old car but the mileage was only 107K.
When I sold a similar Camaro with 155K miles it had none of these issues
and I never had to invest in a new transmission. In other words, I knew better.
So what do we take from all of this?
Do your homework! Get
a vehicle history report on any car you plan to buy. I found some great deals that turned out to
be not so great when the reports showed structural damage on one and a salvaged
title on another.
Get educated! Don't
assume a shiny coat of paint and a test drive is the end all be all. Learn what to look for and get involved with
communities that own that model. Did you
know there's even forums for Chrysler minivans?
The info is out there, go find it!
Finally, budget for repairs, they're going to happen. You are buying a used car meaning it's up to
you to keep it running. Don't count on
the dealer or the seller to have taken care of all the issues.
BTW, below is some video I took of the car on the day in question. Another good idea and since you probably have a smartphone, no reason not to!
This isn't Motor Trend, Car and Driver or Automobile Magazine....
Nobody is sending me the latest cars to thrash and hurl around the slalom course. The closest I can do is a rental and with limited exception you're not going to get to experience the best of the breed.
However, when it comes to pony cars I've got a good deal of experience. Which means, at least for the purposes of this blog, that I have some degree of authority about comparing them.
For the uninitiated, a pony car follows a basic formula. It's a 2 door coupe with sporty styling consisting of a long hood and a short deck (or trunk) and rear wheel drive. That's right, you'll never see a front wheel drive pony car. The only torque steer you'll experience is the rear of the car sliding sideways when you tromp on the go pedal.
While not as practical as your average minivan they aren't the gas slurping monsters they once were. Modern engine technology has actually allowed pony cars to be more fuel efficient than their more pedestrian competition with their V6 (and some cases V8) engine options. And yes, most of them can accommodate a child seat easily.
The term comes from the namesake of one of our competitors, the Ford Mustang. First available in 1964 the basic design set the ground rules for all that came after. The iconic silver Mustang emblem is where the "Pony" in Pony car comes from.
This comparison will have a few basic ground rules. Those being...
They must follow the Pony Car formula
They must have the same basic equipment (meaning no performance upgrades or extra options)
They must have a V8 engine
They must have a manual transmission.
They have to be available at a dealer, no special orders
So this year's competitors come from Ford, Chevy and Dodge in the form of:
Ford Mustang GT
Dodge Challenger R/T
Chevrolet Camaro SS (1SS package)
They all come in around the $32000 mark when equipped according to our rules. Comparisons are primarily based on purchase and not leasing although lease options are still available on one of our contenders. It's late in the model year so we're primarily looking at dealer inventories as automakers have moved on to their 2015 models.
This is a bang for the buck shootout meaning we'll look at what a base model pony car with a V8 gets you at similar equipment levels for the same money.
In other words, we're looking for more Go than Show for as little money as possible.
Even with a basic level of equipment it's important to note that all our competitors are still considered "premium" options for their respective manufacturers . Nobody would ever put a Camaro in the same class as an Aveo or a Focus as a contemporary of any Mustang. Features like power windows, locks, and other creature comforts are a given.
Upgrades above our base configuration usually consist of leather seating, performance upgrades, convenience electronic packages and special body kits and paint.
So sit back and enjoy the video below while I walk you through the magical land of new pony car performance on the cheap.
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