Vanishing Point....1968.

[Lucky13]

It's Friday morning 5th of July 1968 and you sit with some friends in your local bar in Chicago, the music is streaming out from the radio, the usual hits. The topics discussed are the usual, birds, cars, Vietnam etc... After a few rounds of billiards you return to the bar for a top up of your favorite brew and head back for the table, where your friends are now talking about how far you can drive in less than 24 hours...
After listening to the discussion you say "I bet that I can drive to San Fancisco in less than 24 hours...."
After some wild arguing back and forth it's decided that it's worth giving it a shot and you all tip in to buy a car for $5000, and also that you're the one to do the drive....
If you succeed, it's also decided that you'll keep the car and recieve another $5000....cash!


.....so fellas, WHAT $5000 car would you get for the adventure if it was you?

[Njaco]

Don't think there is any such thing as a $5000 car to ride like that. But I would do it in 1963 Shelby AC Cobra!

Ok just realized you said 1968. How about a Mustang GT 500 or similar.

Speaking of the movie, the old man in the desert was in a famous WWII airplane movie. Know which one?

[syscom3]

I have the DVD for "Vanishing Point".

I even wrote a movie review for my class on it. Got a thumbs up by my instructor for picking a classic film!

[Lucky13]

Just watched the flick myself to night and saved it on my Sky+ box....that's what gave me the idea for the thread..

[Njaco]

Gotta love a naked blonde on a mini-bike!!

[Lucky13]

Bike?? Yeah..... Btw, I picked the price $5000, because a factory new '68 Dodge Charger R/T cost about $4800 with the Hemi engine.....the car I'd choose. It certainly has to be one of the best looking muscle cars ever made!



For $3,506, the R/T came with the 375-bhp 440-cid four-barrel Magnum V-8, heavy-duty brakes, R/T handling package, and F70-Xl4 tires. The rear bumblebee stripe could be left off, while inside, the original Charger's space-age interior gave way to less flashy, more functional decor.

The only engine option was the mighty 426 Hemi, at $605. Chrysler strengthened it for '68, with a slightly longer-duration cam, new valve springs, and revisions that reduced oil consumption. It was still underrated at 425 bhp, but as Car and Driver marveled, "There just isn't more honest horsepower available off the showroom floor than you get from this bright orange monster."

Either engine could be hooked to a TorqueFlite automatic with a floor lever or a four-speed with a Hurst Competition-Plus shifter. Automatic was the ticket for straight-line acceleration, and Hemi cars got a special high-stall-speed torque converter (3.23:1 gears were standard). The driver could upshift at 6500 rpm, or let the TorqueFlite do it at 5500. In traffic, the Hemi could be driven like a docile small-block yet was more than half a second quicker and 10 mph faster in the quarter-mile than a 440 Charger.

The '68 model's new bucket seats lacked support, and its flying-buttress roof pillars reduced rear visibility. On R/Ts, handling was a nose-heavy chore, and such essential items as a tach, power-front disc brakes, and power steering were options. Still, Charger sales increased sixfold over '67, leaving just one question: How would McQueen have done against a Hemi?

[syscom3]

The car in the movie was a Challanger.

I have no clue why you had to bring up a Charger.

[Lucky13]

Originally Posted by syscom3

The car in the movie was a Challanger.

I have no clue why you had to bring up a Charger.

I know that the car in the movie is a white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Sys...
This why I brought up the '68 Charger..

Originally Posted by Lucky13

It's Friday morning 5th of July 1968 and you sit with some friends in your local bar in Chicago, the music is streaming out from the radio, the usual hits. The topics discussed are the usual, birds, cars, Vietnam etc... After a few rounds of billiards you return to the bar for a top up of your favorite brew and head back for the table, where your friends are now talking about how far you can drive in less than 24 hours...
After listening to the discussion you say "I bet that I can drive to San Fancisco in less than 24 hours...."
After some wild arguing back and forth it's decided that it's worth giving it a shot and you all tip in to buy a car for $5000, and also that you're the one to do the drive....
If you succeed, it's also decided that you'll keep the car and recieve another $5000....cash!


.....so fellas, WHAT $5000 car would you get for the adventure if it was you?

[pbfoot]

Definately an Olds Cutlass 442 with the 455cid at 390hp it would go like snot although not quite as fast off the line as Mopar but a better built car and far more comfortable .
Hurst/Olds) 455/390: 0-60 in 5.4 sec, 1/4 mile in 13.9 sec @ 103 mph.

[wilbur1]

Before you mopar guys get your panties in a huff For 5 grand i would buy a used FORD GT40 with a cleveland 351 with 4 48ia carbs, makes 450hp on pump fuel an will han anything on the road its ass especially on distance driving....

[Lucky13]

...and miles per gallon is??

[wilbur1]

During the le mans races (which they while in production ) won 4 times in a row were averaging 15 to 18 mpg. kinda scary when you think about it but they also had 5 and 6 speed gearboxes in them

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I would take a Chevelle SS with a 427 in³ Big-Block 435 horsepower (324 kW) L71 V8 engine.

Man I love Chavelle's. This guy I know on post just had one shipped over. I will have to ask him what year it is.

[Njaco]

Ok change my thinking. I'm with Wilbur - a GT 40.

Ot how about a bike like an Electraglide?

[Lucky13]

Just have to ask fellas, can you legally drive from Chicago to San Francisco under 24 hours?