Oh I do understand. I remember my Chrysler 300H chirping the tires when the Torqueflite banged into high at about 80 mph and the speedometer just kept climbing, and climbing, and climbing some more until I was going the fastest that I have ever been in an automobile. Then it climbed some more. I love the feeling of acceleration in the mornin'.
Are you talking about the 1970 Chrysler 300H??? That's a huge car. Chirped the tires at 80 mph, that's NOT a car, that's a Rocket ship. I remember when I was thirteen, my family were driving home from visiting my grandparents in NC, heading back to Virginia. We came through this small hick town, and I saw this 1962 Impala SS pull out onto the highway. Super good looking car too. Had a 4-speed because I could see him smoking the tires as he shifted gears. He got up to my dad's door at about 70 mph and slammed shifted into 3rd gear and chirped the tires. I'm sure he was running a 409, because most of those guys in NC were NASCAR fans. MY dad had this "shocked look" on his face and said DID you SEE THAT??? YA dad, that was cool. Dad says, I can't believe he peeled rubber at that speed... YA dad, can WE GET ONE? WHAT, hell NO. O' come on dad..... That was a blast. VET (good old days)
I'm just happy with a great block personally. But for numbers matching collectors it matters. Ide think...
1962. It was about 6" shorter then a 1961. Mine had the standard 413 solid-lifter dual-quad "standard" engine. An optional 405 HP 413 was also available, but with the long (really long) ram manifolds it was a pain in the arse to service. Unless you were going to seriously drag race the thing they were not worth the aggravation. A 1962 300H with the long rams set the low ET in it's class in the 1962 (or 1963, I forget) NHRA Nationals. It lost in the last round to a 421 Pontiac, when the 300 H's driver broke traction. You don't expect a large luxury car to be that fast. My 300H was easily the fastest car that I have ever owned. If I could find a really nice one for a sane (not cheap) price I would buy it tomorrow. Edit: I had a boss who bought a 1962 Impala with a 250 HP 327 4-speed. It would move pretty well; I can only imagine what a 409 would have been like. The 409 wouldn't get 21+ mpg on the highway though.
I didn't read thru all 6 pages here, but my opinion is this: Matching numbers is only important if your buying the car as an investment or if your a collector. Too much value is placed on "numbers matching" in the Buick world.. Sure, it's numbers match, and it needs a full bore resto that will outstrip what you can sell it for down the road.. that logic never really washed with me. Got a numbers matching survivor? cool, but the fenders are flapping and it's still a rotbox.. you can dress it up and make it cool with the "hip" crowd with all the fancy sounding names you want, but a rotbox is a rotbox.. Worry about numbers if your collecting, and paying big bucks.. otherwise, who cares what number is stamped on a block that goes by you at 100mph.. certainly not me. That said, I do like the car to look correct. JW
I know that if mine had been a complete numbers car, I'd have never been able to afford it. The fact that it still has the original M21 and "ON" rear was a bonus - as well as a miracle - taking into account it was passed around Lebanon, PA like a cheap hooker during its first 10 years on the road and presumably saw its fair share of beatings. Dano and I have discussed - at length - the amount of "freedom" you have with a solid NOM driver. You're much more inclined to actually drive it and less afraid to park it somewhere you typically wouldn't with a restored numbers car. I focused on preserving a car that's been well cared for 53 years after leaving Flint and in retrospect, I'm actually glad the complete, born with drivetrain isn't intact. Well, my wallet is, anyway...
I dunno. I drive my numbers cars to work a few days a week if its nice out. I put I think 1300 miles on my zone car last year. Even if I own it 20 years, at that rate I'm not really hurting it, no one is really looking at that on a 50 year old car. I'm also not sure I'd park a non-numbers car anywhere I wouldn't park a numbers car. If someone is gonna steal it they aren't checking if its numbers. My agreed value insurance covers or doesn't cover it all the same regardless. For me, the thing is that they cost top dollar, but they hold top dollar. I generally cycle through cars every few years, and when I stick to that theory, I've never lost any money. I always make some.
