Isn't the moonhawk a bit slow for 6.1L

its a bit slow, a grandmarshal will beat it and thats only 4.5L, how come its a bit slow. I swapped the engines so i have two in the moonhawk and the 4.5l beats it with the 3spd auto and the 6.1 loses

 

you want to compare a fuel crisis era car to a 20-30 year newer car... You realise in the fuel crisis era, this low power output was normal

 

oh yeah! but why would people buy a 6.1L v8 if there was a fuel crisis? anyway the moonhawk is still one of my favourite cars!

 

They didn't. They bought a Honda instead

 

Its pretty realistic, a 1976 cadillac eldorado with a 500 cui, 8.2L v8 made a whopping 190 horsepower (gross), not great fuel mileage when you have to put your foot flat to the floor just to get up to highway speed to merge

 

It wasn't just the fuel crisis. It was also (probably more so) the smog regulations that really hindered performance. And not just on big engines. In 1980 a Dodge 3.7L 6 cylinder made 90hp while the 5.9L V8 made 165hp. So for the time, it made perfect sense to get the bigger engine if you were willing to accept the fuel economy trade off, just as today.

 

that's why muscle guys hate Honda. Honda kicked their buts back in the 70s.


why malaise era cars were so slow was because of things like catalytic converters and other types of smog gear.


don't forget American cars weren't as well built compared to what japan was producing around the time. well they were still better then what the brits were making in the 70s.