My first car was a 4 door '68 Chrysler New Yorker. Dark blue with a white full vinyl top, and a LOT of chrome. It had a 440 TNT engine in it with dual exhaust. The original owner was the City of Orlando chief of Police. It had power everything, must have weighed well over 4,500 pounds.
Built like a tank. I had an accident with it one time and rear ended my buddies 78 Ford F-150 truck. The impact drove the rear bumper up under the bed of his truck. It flattened out the chrome on the leading edge of the driver side front fender, and "straightened " out the front leading edge of the hood. (it no longer had a slight V shape on the leading edge)
I went through 3 speedometer cables, a drive shaft, an alternator belt that "somehow" tossed, and "numerous" rear tires................... (sorry Dad)
I didn't have the quickest car in High School. But I had the FASTEST !!!!!! There is a difference between acceleration and top speed. I would challenge guys with SS Chevelles, Mach 1 Mustangs, Corvettes, and even Chargers / Challengers to have a go at it from a 30 MPH roll. They would pull slightly ahead at first, but then I would catch up to them and pass them like they were in reverse.
Times were different back then...................... I learned about working on cars and how little tricks would make a big difference.
I discovered that an alternator with a larger pulley didn't toss belts as easy at a High RPM, as does one with a small pulley. (thanks Dad)
But there was a trade off with charging at idle, especially in a car with power everything.
I found out that it's not good to have the rear wheels spinning in the dirt and then hitting the pavement with the GO pedal on the floor. (especially in a car that was SO heavy the driveshaft and floor pan didn't like that too much)
I still have the engine and 8 3/4 rear end.
