Firebird vs. Thunderbird

[Rafterman]

I have a 68 Firebird w/ a 400 engine. my friend has a 66 Thunderbird w/ 390 engine. Which one would would have the ost power and most likely win ni a street race. distance and all other specs excluded.

[MagicRat]

Your Firebird would be faster in a race even if 2 spark plugs fell out.

Those T-birds were not a performance car by any stretch of the imagination. They are intended for smooth, quiet luxury travel.

Even the mildest Pontiac 400 is factory rated at 330 hp. The Ford 390 is rated at 280, partly because the T-bird 390s sacrificed some power for smooth, quiet operation.

Finally, those T-birds may look small, but they are based on a shortened version of the full-size Lincoln unit body shell, so they are HEAVY......approx 4300 lbs; about 1000 lbs heavier than a first gen Firebird. All that weight slows them down, too.

[MrPbody]

Agreed with MagicRat! Even in a Fairlane, Mustang or Cougar, 390 is no match for the 400 Pontiac. My GTO NEVER lost to a 390 ANYTHING. A close friend had a '67 XR7 with the 390 GT (335 HP). Even with 4.10 gears and a "wide ratio" Top Loader, the Cougar wouldn't TOUCH The Judge... Come to think of it, never got beat by a 428 (Ford) either... 429? Different story. 427? I think I only raced one, and it was in a '68 Torino. Got beat by a couple lengths that night!

T-Birds of that era are REALLY COOL cars (IMO). Not fast, though. Just class. The 4-door cars are the COOLEST!

Jim

[t/a 6.6]

hahahahahahaha, fire bird lossing to a HAHAHAHAHA a thunderbird!!!!!!! That is rich. Dear god you have a first gen which is like the king of muscle cars. Well that is sooo much over kill its not even funny. I have a 78 ta with the z motor cranking out a mesily 250 horsepower. My friend has a first gen t-bird. We took them to the drag strip and looked in my rearview mirror and for he just kept getting smaller and smaller. So i can't imagine how sad of a race a real firebird vs a t-bird would be.

[MrPbody]

T/A6.6,

Your friend has a "fisrt gen" T-bird? And he RACES it? Not smart. Oh, what year T-bird are you refering to? The first ones were 2-seat "sports cars" in 1955. They were okay, but a '55 Corvette would STOMP them in a drag race.

Jim

[t/a 6.6]

yey i'm not sure of the year but its not a two seater
he says it a first gen and like you said he's about as smart as a leaf blower for a super charged engine (or fast as a honda)

[89firebirdformula]

o yea your firebird could really do some damadge to a thundertird