Tuned Port Injection

 Back to cars again.  I joined a TPI site on Facebook and was surprised to see how many enthusiasts there still are for this GM variant of port fuel injection, which only came on Camaro Z/28s/IROCs, Firebird Formula and Trans Ams, and Corvettes, and only between 1985 and 1992 on 5.0L and 5.7L V8s.  With GM’s LS-series V8s being the current performance standard among the GM crowd, that tuned port injection still has many adherents is a remarkable surprise.  My own L98 is still languishing in a machine shop in Fairfax, Virginia, rebuilt, balanced and blueprinted with a new camshaft and aluminum cylinder heads since the donor vehicle (intense weeping) burned up in 2012. 

Carburetors.   Before any form of fuel injection, there were carburetors to mix air and fuel so an engine could make the car go.  Carburetors use a venturi inside the barrel to suck gas up and mix it with air.  They’re sized in “barrels” depending on the engine they go on.  Four and six cylinder engines typically get one barrel carburetors, six and eight cylinder engines get two barrels, and V8s usually get four barrels.  The Rochester QuadraJet is GM’s most popular and common four barrel carburetor (and what’s on my ’76 Firebird’s Olds 455 right now), the Carter AFB (Aluminum Four Barrel), now made by Edelbrock, is a popular alternative, and Holley has traditionally made aftermarket four barrels.  The ’67-69 Firebird Sprint had an overhead cam straight six with a four barrel (QJet) – Delorean was proud of that, but no one else seemed to care. 

Generally a well-tuned four barrel is all a V8 needs, but some have even more.  The Pontiac Tri-Power (1964-66 GTO) and Mopar Six-Pack set up had three two barrels.  For idle and part throttle, the engine ran off just the middle (inboard) two barrel carburetor, and at larger throttle openings up to WOT (wide open throttle, pedal all the way down to the floor) the outboard two barrels would open up, for a total of six barrels.  Some engines went even further: the ’67-69 (first generation) Camaro Z/28 had two four barrel carburetors on its fairly small 302 cubic inch V8, and the 426 Hemi had two Carter AFBs, a total of 8 barrels, aka a “dual quad” setup.   I haven’t seen a dual quad setup with QuadraJets, though.  Listen to “409” by the Beach Boys, citing the “four-speed, dual-quad, positraction 409”. 

Mechanical Fuel Injection.  Engineers weren’t satisfied with carburetors and tried mechanical fuel injection in the late 50s.  The Corvette, some Pontiac Bonnevilles and Chrysler 300s, got this deal, but mechanics were hard-pressed to work on them due to their rarity.  Mercedes insisted on putting mechanical fuel injection on all their cars from 1959 to the early 70s, at which point they switched to electronic fuel injection.   And literally all diesel engines, by design, have mechanical fuel injection.  Diesels inject the fuel directly into the cylinder on the firing stroke, which ignites immediately upon hitting the highly compressed hot air in the cylinder.  Mechanical fuel injection never managed to effectively compete with carburetors. 

Electronic Fuel Injection.   Carburetors are actually fairly complex, as they have to handle all the different fuel needs of the engine mechanically.   For cold start conditions, there’s a choke.  For idle, when the throttle is closed (e.g. at a stoplight) there’s an idle circuit.  For off-the-line boost, there’s an accelerator pump. 

But imagine if you simply had 4, 6, or 8 injectors, connected to a computer, which pulse on and off to inject fuel.  The computer could ascertain how much pulsewidth to use, and simply pulse the injectors on and off.  If the engine still doesn’t have enough fuel for its needs with the injectors continuously open, simply upgrade to larger injectors or higher fuel pressure.   Moreover, a performance makeover is as simple as replacing the EFI chip (PROM) or reprogramming the ECM (electronic control module) with a unit designed for that purpose.  And if any sensor is reporting back bizarre readings outside its normal range, the computer can shoot back a trouble code, to give the engine some self-diagnostic capability.

EFI got its start in the 1950s, but back then computers ran on vacuum tubes, not nearly as small or fast to run an engine in real time.  Bendix, which had started the whole thing, sold its rights to Bosch.  When transistors came around in the 1960s, Bosch was finally able to develop a practical ECM, and thus K-Jetronic debuted on 1968 model year VWs.  In 1972, Mercedes switched over to EFI on all its cars, and in 1976 Cadillac and Lincoln started as well.  In the early 80s, computers had gotten even better, so the Big Three could finally put EFI on more mundane cars like Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Fords, Dodges and Plymouths.

Throttle Body Injection.  Port fuel injection has an injector at each cylinder.  When I bought my 1992 Pontiac Firebird (not the Formula), it had a 5.0L V8.  On top of the engine was the familiar circular air cleaner with the snorkel.  Huh?  This 1992 car has a carburetor?  Nope – spin the wing nut off the air cleaner cover and voila – two egg-like things with wires pointing down in what looks like a carburetor but isn’t: the throttle body supplying fuel to all 8 cylinders.  TBI is a mid-range system in between carburetors and port fuel injection.

TUNED PORT INJECTION.  Finally getting to my subject.  By 1985 GM had developed a performance port fuel injection system for the Corvette, Camaro and Firebird.  Dropped onto the small block Chevy V8 in 5.0L (LB9) and 5.7L (L98) size, the system made between 205 and 230 HP on the LB9 (the higher rating on T5 manual engines) and 225 and 245 HP on the L98.  Most of those got the 700R4 automatic transmission, as GM knew only Corvette owners would be willing to pay $3000 just to get a five speed manual ZF transmission. 

The TPI setup has a baseplate, a pair of runners, a plenum, 8 injectors on a fuel rail with a fuel pressure regulator, and a throttle body.  It has a distributor, HEI, either in-cap or external coil.  Supposedly the whole setup is optimized for 5.0L V8s and is a bit restrictive on 5.7L V8s.  Naturally the aftermarket has made larger runners, a larger baseplate (apparently the plenum is not the choke point) and larger throttle body plates.   My own L98 was upgraded with SLP parts: larger, siamesed runners, plus headers, a larger throttle body, 3” exhaust, a performance PROM, etc. for a total of 50 HP over the stock rating, thus 290 HP.  On my watch I added a TPIS baseplate and upgraded the transmission and rear end (3.73 rear ratio).

Again, 1992 was the last model year any GM vehicle had this system, and the LS motors are GM’s current performance standard.  But I’m still seeing strong interest in TPI engines, often transplanted into trucks and other cars other than Camaros, Firebirds or Corvettes.  Naturally those cars are also getting LS swaps. 

C4 (1984-96) Corvettes have a clamshell hood which hinges up from the front, not only on top but around the sides, leaving the top of the front tires exposed.  In Camaros, the TPI intake flows straight forward and splits into two inlets in front of the engine.  On Firebirds, the TPI intake takes a 90 degree right turn and winds up taking its air from a box at the front right corner of the engine compartment.   Camaro TPI air filters are small and square, while the Firebird TPI air filter is a short cylinder. 

More power.  For those wanting more, there were nitrous setups for TPI engines, bolting on between the throttle body and the plenum.  Nitrous is really only practical for drag racing cars, though.  Paxton and Vortech both made supercharger setups which bolted to the front and pumped air into the throttle body.  Of course, nowadays the most often advice would be to swap in an LS motor.  Not having driven any late model GM cars (1998 or later) with those engines I can’t comment.  And I’m still trying to find an ’88-92 Firebird Formula to drop in that rebuilt L98 sitting in the machine shop….

Firebird the First Generation

Sorry for more of this, after one on my other Birds and another on Burt Reynolds, but I realized the ’67-69 models were underrepresented in my blogging. 

Now the GM F-body is limited to current Camaros, themselves based on the original 1969 Camaro.   Both models started with the 1967 model year to compete with the Ford Mustang.  The Camaro consistently outsold the Firebird by a wide margin, though.  I can’t resist a blog entry devoted to the earliest Firebirds. 

Oldsmobile F-Body.   When the Camaro and Firebird were in development phase, Oldsmobile asked to be included in the mix.  But GM brass decided that three versions would stretch the market too thin.  Instead Oldsmobile was given leave to make what became the 1968 Hurst Olds, a black & silver special edition Cutlass with ram air and a hot Olds 455.   Fun to imagine what an Olds F-body would have looked like…

Model Years.  Only three: 1967, 1968, and 1969.  The 1967s were late coming out, in February 1967, whereas the 1967 Camaro came out in September 1966.  The 1967 and 1968 models had a full chrome bumper (upper center), the 1969 (see 1969 Trans Am lower left) had the chrome in the middle with body color on the sides, a look few people liked.  The ‘67s and ‘68s can be distinguished as the former have vent windows – the little triangular windows in front of the main windows, designed to let air in without having to roll down the main windows, a relic of an age when A/C was far less common than it is now - and the latter don’t.

Logo.  By now we’re used to the FIREBIRD with upraised wings of fire, prominently featured on 1973 and later Trans Ams and known as the “Screaming Chicken”.  But back then the wings were lowered and it looked more like a native American Indian thing, which is how it was inspired. 

Convertibles.   Although convertibles made a comeback in 1991-92 for the end of the third generation, and briefly in the mid-90s with the fourth generation, they were available across the board for ’67-69.  No roll cages, though, and the body stiffening made them heavier than hardtops. 

Overhead Cam Six.   (Upper left picture).  At this time, six cylinder engines, almost all inline, were the entry level engines with no special features or attention.  DeLorean, the Pontiac manager, decided to spruce it up by giving it an overhead cam and a brand new rubber timing belt.   Innovative and unique, but an idea which fell by the wayside in an era when V8s were king.  Later on Buick turbocharged its 3.8L V6 and made the Grand National and GNX superior cars – the engine even found its way into the 1989 Twentienth Anniversary Trans Am, the only Trans Am with a six cylinder engine.  But before the Buick V6, there was the Pontiac OHC 6.  Oh, some people even put them in Jaguars….

Models.  Whereas later the models each had a variety of available engines, for the first generation the models were determined by the engines themselves.   The 400 was the top end, and with Ram Air were the absolute best.   Note: the 400 was shared with the GTO, but the lighter Firebird would have been a faster car. 

Base.   OHC 6 with a one barrel carburetor.  Hardly anything special.  The OHC displaced 230 cubic inches in 1967 and 250 in 1968 and 1969.

Sprint.  Add a Rochester QuadraJet to the OHC Six – amazing.   No one was putting four barrel carburetors on six cylinders, as even V8s came stock with 2 barrel carburetors.  With its lighter weight came better handling.  Moreover, models with the four speed manual transmission got a slightly hotter camshaft.  DeLorean was proud of the Sprint model but no one else cared.

326/350.   Next model up had either a 326 (1967) or 350 (1968-69) cubic inch V8 with a two barrel carburetor and a single exhaust.   Note the 350 is NOT the same as the Chevrolet V8 which debuted in 1967 in the Camaro SS.

HO.   Slap a QuadraJet and dual exhaust on the 326 or 350 and you have a better model.

400.   (Upper middle picture, a ’67 hardtop).  The top model, includes the GTO’s 400 cubic inch V8 with fake hood scoops, QuadraJet and dual exhausts.  This was my dream model but as yet I haven’t been able to buy one.  

The stock 400 cubic inch V8 (6.6L) put out 325 HP (gross) and was itself a good engine.  In fact, the engine continued to be available in Firebirds up to the 1979 model year in Trans Ams and Formulas, though by then reduced to 220 (net) HP and only available with a 4 speed manual.  The late 60s were its glory days, and a buyer who wanted the hood scoops on his/her Firebird 400 to be truly operational could pay more for the Ram Air option.  As noted below, this changed the engine itself to some extent. 

Ram Air I (1967 and early 1968).   This option opened the hood scoops for true cold air induction.  However, the rest of the engine was pretty much the same as the standard 400.

Ram Air II (late 1968).  (Upper right picture).  WOW.   Pontiac finally made round port cylinder heads which well outflowed the stock D-port heads which were normally standard.   This made the car much faster than the standard 400, making the RAII models favorites at dragstrips – so much so that by now the original 110 run are down to a handful.  Properly tuned RAII models ran consistent mid-12 second quarter mile times at the dragstrip and were highly competitive, which explains their popularity. 

Ram Air III (1969).    Using Ram Air, but only D-port heads.   The entry level Ram Air engine in 1969.

Ram Air IV (1969).    Improved round port heads, the RAIV engine became the most popular 400 cubic inch Pontiac V8.   So much so that when Edelbrock finally came out with aluminum cylinder heads for Pontiacs, they used the Ram Air IV heads as the basis, even though the RAIV heads are actually cast iron. 

1969 Trans Am.  (Bottom left picture).  Nowadays the Trans Am is famous because of the 1977 Special Edition – the so-called “Bandit” Trans Am from Burt Reynolds and “Smokey and the Bandit”, but the model got its start at the end of the first generation.   By now the model has far eclipsed the race series in popularity, but back then the Trans Am races were still going strong.  They mandated the use of a car sold to the public with an engine no larger than 305 cubic inches, which prompted the Camaro Z/28 with its 302 cubic inch V8 (the Z28 option, mandating a hardtop – the only convertible owned by Chevrolet GM Pete Estes – and a four speed manual transmission), while the Camaro SS had a 350 or 396.   However, Pontiac’s experiment with smaller V8s didn’t pan out.  That didn’t stop them from paying SCCA for the right to use the name, and slapping it on a Firebird 400 with either a Ram Air III or Ram Air IV 400 cubic inch V8 – thus the model didn’t even qualify for the race it was named after.   The ’69 Trans Am came in one color, white, with a pair of blue stripes, a different hood, and a spoiler.  Essentially it was just an appearance package on a Firebird 400.   For 1970 and the second generation (1970-81) the Trans Am became a model of its own.   Of the 697 Trans Ams made in 1969, 8 (4 automatic, 4 manual) were convertibles, making them highly valuable.  

Idiosyncrasies.   Air conditioning was available but rare – the compressors were heavy and inefficient.  Skinny bias ply tires were standard back then, and even the best wheels, Rally II, were steel and not aluminum.  Power steering and power brakes were also options, not standard.  For that matter, front disc brakes weren’t even standard, so four wheel manual drum brakes were common – try stopping quickly with those.   The steering wheel was skinny, and the linkage further back, with no sway bars, so aside from the Trans Am, these early models didn’t handle very well.  Oh, and bench seats and column shifters were also available, though fortunately rare – though I did see a Firebird 400 – upgraded to a 428 – with those.  Even so, the bucket seats were little more than a slab. 

In fact, by the time I began actively searching for a ’67 or ’68 Firebird 400, I had my ’92 Firebird Formula 350, which had excellent seats, stellar handling, overdrive (TH700R4), power steering, and four wheel disc brakes – oh, and air conditioning.  Its Tune Port Injected (small block Chevy) 350 put out 300+ HP, net (not gross).  By every standard the ’92 was a much better car.  I may have been disappointed that my search failed, but getting back into the Formula was not nearly as disappointing as getting back into a Cavalier or Tercel would have been. 

My own?  I may have mentioned my trip to Detroit in October 1995 to buy a 1968 Firebird 400 hardtop, which failed.  The car was advertised in Hemmings, and the owner swore it was roadworthy and promised to meet us with it at the bus terminal in Detroit.  Thanks to an overnight bus trip from DC to Detroit, with a 3 a.m. stopover in Cleveland, my buddy Phil and I wound up by ourselves at the terminal, and the owner conveniently forgetting his promise.  We had to get a cab to the airport, then a rental car to his house near Flint.  There we found the car almost impossible to start with its ignition switch poking through the left knob hole where the radio would be.  We tried to locate a flatbed truck, to no avail, so we simply drove the rental car all the way back to Northern Virginia.  So much for that.

Over the years I’ve seen a few at car shows, parked on the streets, etc.   Someone in McLean had a ’67-68 convertible 400 in burgundy; in Falls Church a burgundy 400 hardtop; and in Alexandria a red 400 hardtop.  I test drove a 67 400 hardtop in gunmetal grey, and a 1968 400 convertible in white with a black interior.  Sadly, my budget precludes another, so I’ll hold onto the ’76 and upgrade its Olds 455 to Rocket standards.   Maybe someday… 

The Beast is Back in Black

On Wednesday, May 23, I finally got my car back from the body shop.  I had dropped it off on February 5, and had to drive two different cars until now.  It was originally supposed to simply have the front bumper cover and left fender replaced, and it turned into a complete repainting.

 The car had last been painted from September 1997 to January 1998, which was a color change from the original factory teal (aka “Dark Aqua Metallic”) to black.  Even that involved bringing the car back to paint the engine compartment, buff it several times, and finally have the decals put back on in June.   Until then it had the Knight Rider jet black finish to it.  And since it will be some time before I put the decals back on again this time, it will be KITT again for awhile.  Here are some thoughts about the whole deal.

 Work.  This car is my daily driver.  I drive it in good weather, rain, snow, etc.  I park it in garages, on the street, in mall parking lots, etc., everywhere I go.  I take pains to park away from the idiots and morons, but I can’t control when some dumbass will pick – of all the spaces in an otherwise empty parking lot – to park his behemoth of an Explorer next to my car.  So since 1998 it had accumulated a wide variety of dents, dings, scratches, and even some rust.  The paint on the hood and roof began to oxidize (probably just the clearcoat) and became a cloudy grey instead of jet black.  Suffice to say, it had seen better days and was in desperate need of attention.  Thanks to the body shop, all those dents, dings, scratches and rust are gone, and once again it’s straight.  Even more to the point, because black is the one color which is least forgiving of even the least imperfection. 

 Cheap, good, and fast – pick any two.  Well, the paint job is great, the price was right, so the missing element was time.  This is why it took so long.   It was frustrating and annoying, wearing my patience to the bone, but the wait is over.

 Rarity.  Between 1987 and 1992, they only made less than 55,000 Formulas.  There are only 6,500 ‘91-92 Formulas, and of these, only 1,000 are 1992 models.  Of these, even less have the far more desirable 5.7L V8 (aka “Formula 350”); the rest have the anemic 5.0L V8.  The days are long gone that I regularly saw third generation Formulas on the street, and months go by before I see another 91-92 Formula.  These cars are getting rarer and rarer every day.

 Other cars.  The inequality of this is that few owners of economy cars have ever driven, much less owned and driven on a daily basis, any sort of performance car.  In Brazil and Europe, performance cars are extremely rare, limited to the Porsches and Ferraris, with no Firebirds, Camaros or Mustangs available for the common man (or woman) with a limited budget to enjoy.  Scoff, if you wish, that Camaros and such are “poor man’s sports cars” (which is true) but there was an excellent reason why the 1965 Mustang sold so well: until it came around there was NOTHING which came close to filling this valuable niche in the market, a performance car that the average person could afford.  Truth be told, the Firebird is not put together like a Swiss watch, with the top quality ingredients, fit and finish of a BMW or Mercedes.  Some of the models are extremely cheap in appearance.  And unlike Hondas and Toyotas, these are not reliable cars.  Even when pampered, lavished, and kept up on routine maintenance, they will still break down and give all sorts of problems.  Part of the reason the cars are getting rarer and rarer is that there is little reason to salvage or maintain the lower (non-Z/28 or Formula/Trans Am) models, and not enough motivation to do so even for the performance models.  Even my car, with the top V8 available, in the last year for its generation (1992) only has a blue book value of $4-5,000. 

 Having said that, how does the car compare against a 2006 Nissan Versa (rental car) and 1998 Dodge Neon (customer car) which I drove while I was waiting for my own car to be finished?

1.  Fuel economy.  Hands down, both economy cars won this big time – hardly surprising.  They could pass a gas station without stopping and I could get down to Stafford and back without filling up all the time.  With gas getting expensive again, this was a big plus.

2.  Performance.  The flip-side of this! The Versa could get out of its own way from a stop, but quickly ran out of breath.  It’s a hot rod so long as you never leave a parking lot.  As soon as you get on a major road, let alone the highway, you’re quickly reminded that it’s a 4 cylinder under the hood.  In the Neon I frequently had to put the gas pedal to the floor just to get up to 60.  Whereas in the Formula, with its 300 horsepower V8, (even with 210,000 miles) I can get the car moving quickly to 60 with only part throttle.  It gets up to 80 without breaking a sweat.  And with its wide tires (245/50ZR16 size on 16x8” wheels), low stance, and performance suspension, the car handles terrific.  The Versa and Neon both wallowed on curves and their narrow, skinny wheels & tires did a poor job of biting the road. 

            People have asked me, “don’t you get frustrated in this muscle car when you’re stuck in traffic?”  Yes, I do.  But I get frustrated stuck in traffic in ANY car – even a Versa or Neon that can’t even cut loose when the traffic does lets up.  Traffic jams are frustrating no matter what car you drive.

            It’s clear to me that the people who cynically whine that “you can’t use all that power” have never owned such cars and are just full of sour grapes.  I haven’t been to the dragstrip since 1998 and yet I’ve still been able to enjoy the power, performance and handling of my car on the roads, highways, etc. without street racing, without a stack of tickets for speeding or reckless driving (you can get both in an economy car if you’re simply unlucky or a bad driver) or prohibitively expensive gas or insurance.  Some cops have it out for such cars – I know from personal experience – but others are, to the contrary, performance enthusiasts and far from being hostile to Firebird and Camaro drivers, respect and admire such cars.

3.  Features.  The Versa, despite being the cheapest rental car, had a killer stereo.  Lots of rich bass and midrange, perfect!  And it had power everything.  None of this yank-yank-yank on the windows.  The Neon had a big hole where the stereo used to be, until Tim put a factory CD player in there – which worked 60% of the time.  The presets didn’t work on the radio, meaning I had to manually twirl the dial to change stations.  Hey, it’s a ’98 and I was paying zero per day for it, so I won’t complain.  The Formula is somewhere in between: manual everything but a respectable stereo with 6-disc changer in the trunk.

            Incidentally, I can convert the Formula to power windows, door locks, etc. if I scavenge a parts car for the required parts.  Maybe in the near future I’ll do so.  For the time being I’m focused on getting the rear spoiler and getting the car to pass inspection.

 It’s a great car, and now it looks as great as it runs.  It’s definitely a keeper.

The Formula

The Bird. I've had the car now for almost 11 years. People tell me to get rid of it, to get something newer. To them, it's just an old, outdated car. To me, it's far more than that.

Transportation. For most people, a car is just a machine, a means of getting from point A to point B. It has as much charm, beauty, or soul as a blender, a refridgerator, or a toaster. They don't care how fast it goes, how it looks, how it handles - just so long as it works reliably and cheaply. Replace their Honda Civic with a Toyota Corolla or Nissan Sentra and they won't blink, much less complain - same with a Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry vs. Nissan Stanza. It's just a car. So what? When it gets old you replace it with something new - whatever dealer is giving the best rate, or whoever Consumer Reports rates highest that year.

For me it's something else, something more. I bought this car - 1992 Pontiac Firebird Formula "350" - because I wanted this particular car. Last year of the 3rd generation (1982-92), a Formula vs. a Trans Am (much less a Z/28); and with the 5.7L (350) V8, not the anemic 5.0L (305) V8 most of these cars came with. The 350 is not just 45 (or .7L) more, not just a bigger engine - it's a much better engine, born in 1967 when the horsepower wars were in full swing. The 350 responds well to modification (unlike the 305) and this car is definitely modified: headers, 3" exhaust, aftermarket intake manifold and runners, chip, 3" driveshaft and 3.73 gears – among many other changes. And this engine certainly gets the job done, even with 200,000 miles on it.

Power and Torque. You step on the gas, and the car moves, NOW. No hesitation, no delay, no reluctance. Economy cars react like "hey, what's the big hurry? We'll get there...eventually." This car reacts, "SIR YES SIR!" on the double. Even when merging on the highway, or passing, the engine barely breaks up a sweat. It's up to 90 without even noticing. Again, this is even with 200k on the odometer. Some economy cars have some off-the-line oomph, but they run out of breath quickly. In this case the car just keeps pulling through the RPM band. The mid-range torque is incredible.

Style. This changes over the years. Some cars are going to look dated after 10-20 years - some after 5 years. But some cars have a unique style which transcends years. The classic VW Beetle. The 1968-70 Dodge Charger ("Dukes of Hazzard" body style). The '70-81 Trans Am. I think the Pontiac designers got the angles, style and curves dead on in 1982. They even beat the Camaro, which has a rounded nose and rear, not nearly as sharp and well-proportioned as the Firebird. The problem with economy and regular cars (as opposed to sporty cars) is that they LOOK like standard cars. You go out into the parking lot in the mall to find your Accord or Camry, and you’re looking for one car among many, that looks like all the others. Nothing special or different. Nothing to get excited about. These cars lack passion, soul, or character. Even the new GTO (2004-06) suffers the same fate: although it has a 400 HP 6.0L V8, its looks come nowhere close to matching its performance. This is not a problem the Firebird ever had. To the contrary, the Firebird looked fast even when it had a pathetically slow 4 or 6 cylinder engine under the hood. Of course, with a strong engine, the package works even better.

 Camaro vs. Firebird vs. Mustang. The Ford Mustang came out first, in April 1964 (as a 1965 model year). GM had nothing comparable (certainly the Corvair didn’t qualify) so they pushed out two of their own cars, two-door four-seater sporty cars, front-engine rear wheel drive. The Chevrolet Camaro came out in September 1966 (as a 1967 model year); the Pontiac Firebird was late, February 1967 (also 1967 model year). Each rapidly eclipsed the Mustang in performance, if not in sales. Up until 1982, Firebirds had Pontiac V8s and Camaros had Chevrolet V8s – from 1982 onward, both cars were only available with Chevrolet V8s, not much of a difference for the Camaro crowd, but a huge letdown for the Pontiac nuts.

 The Firebird dominated both the Camaro and the Mustang. In 1969 the Trans Am was introduced, which became the top performance model, available with the largest engine Pontiac made, the 455. The Camaro was not available with Chevy’s 454, and the top model, the Z/28, wasn’t even offered in 1975-76. And as for the Mustang: from 1974-78 it was the "Mustang II", a rinky-dink little car, which even tried to rip off the Trans Am with a "King Cobra" model. Combine "screaming chicken" hood bird (73-81), 455 (7.5L) V8 (71-76), 400 (6.6L) V8 (70-79), and WS6 performance suspension, and a back seat (unlike the Corvette) and the Trans Am (and Formula) were the best deal in town for performance in the 70s, bar none.

Formula vs. Trans Am. The Trans Am has always been the extroverted, flashy, ostentatious model. The Formula has been the sedate, subtle model - all business, all performance, no pretention. Always available with the top engine and suspension – it was even possible, some years, to order a Formula with a better engine than the standard Trans Am engine. And in 1987-92, the Formula lacked the ground effects which made the Trans Am look fat - the auto equivalent of cellulite. A neater, trimmer, svelte look. All the better.

Acceleration vs. Top Speed. People whine about performance cars: "you can't use all that power!" Sure, you're not going to use anything over 90 mph in this area. But they confuse acceleration with top speed. We don't need, and can't use, that extra 20 mph from 120 to 140. But we can use an extra second 0-60. From stoplight, to merging on the highway, acceleration does make a difference in day to day driving. It's a difference you can feel in normal driving, particularly when entering traffic and getting onto a highway from an onramp. And a car that accelerates well is far more fun to drive. Finally: you can drive a fast car slowly, but you can't drive a slow car fast.

No one is going to mistake me for David Hasselhoff. The car doesn't talk to me, doesn't have Turbo Boost, won't go 300 mph (no production car will), and the black paint has seen better days - and isn't bulletproof. One of these days I'll get a new paint job (the current one dates from 1998). But it still does the job well. That's what matters to me.