Muscle Cars!?

Question

Who would win in a race a 71' Chevelle(stock) or a 80' Corvette(stock)?

Answer 1

Chevelle,easy

The "muscle car" version of those 2 cars was:
SS454 Chevelle
L-82 Corvette

The '71 Chevelle was the beginning of Low Compression/ Unleaded Fuel engines.
It lost a Bunch of power ,down from the 1970 versions

The Hi-Perf L-82 Vette was available with Auto Trans Only,,,No 4speed.

.
....................................................................................
Here's Car&Driver Road Test of the Vette

http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtests/7479/road-test-chevrolet-corvette-page4.html

Curb weight 3330 lbs

Standing 1/4-mile 15.9 sec @ 88 mph

Zero to Seconds
60 mph ___7.6

A Spec sheet
http://www.idavette.net/facts/80.htm

Curb Weight: 3,336 lbs

.................................................................
1971 Chevelle

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1971-chevrolet-chevelle-ss-454.htm

0-60 mph, sec: 6.0
1/4 mile, sec. @ mph: 14.35 @ 97

That's about 1.5 seconds & 10mph better than the Vette

***That link states weight was "4000 lbs"
I don't think that's correct.
Tuff to find a spec sheet with actual weight,,but I didn't look very hard

Wikipedia claims weight is:
Curb weight
3520 lbs (1600 kilos) for 1968(Bigger,longer car)
3260 lbs (1482 kilos) for 1970 SS 454

Here the weight is:
http://www.edge-inc.net/cars/index.cfm/page/data/id/1006.htm

3550~3700 lbs

Here's Stripped,Base Model weight
6cyl,3spd manual,no power windows,etc
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9480/Chevrolet_Chevelle/default.aspx

Weight 3165 lbs

............
I think around 3500lbs is about correct
Not much difference between Vettes and Chevelles,,weight-wise

.........................
Not a fair Match between a 350 and a 454,,certainly not as far as dragstrip times and 0-to-60.

The "Hi Perf 350" Chevelle version vs the Vette would be.
Performance would be Very Similar,,probably a toss-up

At "extreme" levels,,the Corvette's IRS is not as quick as a straight axle.

But in 350 Stock,,Street Cars,,It's not a disadvantage.

The Vette might even be a bit quicker outa the hole.
Shorter wheelbase & quicker weight transfer give it a theoretical advantage in initial traction.

But the Chevelle's greater rear overhang weight offsets much of that advantage the Vette may have.
The weight bias on the 2 cars is similar.

On a One-Run,,or Best Run basis,,,Flip a coin.

On a 5~10 Run Average,,,the Chevelle has an advantage.

Vettes are known to have higher underhood heat than the A Body cars.
Their power tends to sag a bit after an extended flogging
......................................
A Base Engine 245Hp/L65 SS350 Chevelle
and a "upgrade" 230Hp/L82 Vette would be VERY near equal

The HiPerf 270Hp/L48 Chevelle is actually the " Upgrade Option Equivalent" of the L-82 Vette.
It would consistently outperform the Vette,,,having almost 20% more power and a very similar weight

Base Model SS350>>245Hp
vs
Base Model L-48 Vette>>190Hp,,,,,,
Outcome seems obvious enough,,,with near 30% HP Difference favoring the Chevelle

..................................
"On Paper",,in a drag race,,
1)Base Model vs Base Model
Advantage:Chevelle

2)Hi-Perf SS350 Chevelle vs Hi-Perf L-82 Vette
Again,Chevelle

3) Base SS350 Chevelle vs HiPerf L82 Vette
Toss Up/about even match

4)"Max HP" Option SS454 vs "Max HP" Option L82 Vette
BIG mis-match.
Oh Well,,,the Vette is still a Nice Looking car

Answer 2

The 80 Vette has a Stock 350CID Hi compression and may be about 280HP the 71 Chevelle stock could have a396CID, 454, or SB 350CID the same engine that is in the Vette.

If The Chevelle has the Bigger engines it will beat the Vette in a 1/4 mile race but not by much. If the Vette has the 427CID it will Beat the Chevelle by a half car length.

if both cars has the 350CID than it will depend on the drivers and the reaction ET time off the line.

Answer 3

Stock is too vague of a description. If they both had 350 small blocks, it would be a close match. The Chevelle is heavier, but it has more torque and power. But the Corvettes throttle response is quicker because it's fuel injected. Late 70's through the 80's engines were going through a rough experimental change, trying to save on gas, and emissions tests; so their power took a huge nose dive. The 350, once pumped 325-375 horses stock... in the 80's it was lucky to get 175-200. I'd still wager the Corvette... unless the '71 had a 427 pushing it.

Answer 4

Hello, I have a couple of vettes which are modified The 81 corvettes stock can't even standup against the accura of that era unless its been modified That 71 chevelle came with I believe the 307, 350, 396 and 454. The curb weight of the chevelle is a factor inthe race, also the engine to launch that heavy body.

I say the chevelle with any thing over the 307 engine.

Answer 5

If the Chevelle is a 6, then the Corvette would win. Really, there are too many variables and these are 30 year old cars.

Answer 6

The chevell would win because because the 80 corvette was fast on a straight away but it sucks on the corners. The chevelle would be faster inb the 1/4 mile and be able to power around the corners

Answer 7

if you get right down 2 it the vette's not even a true muscle car anymore, not by definition anyway, just a name anymore, any
true motor head willl tell you the same thing, id favor the 71 chevelle, true there a good bit heavier, hence the old title of heavy chevy,,,but the power to weight ratio is better in the chevell, look at the vette now, deicent body style for the year mentioned, but the mills were not really all that hot, ,, not for stock built mills anyways,

Answer 8

the 80 corvette only had the 5.7 350 the chevelle was available with the 454 you tell me whod win that one lol even the standard everyday chevelle had the 396

Answer 9

1980 Vette, 180 Hp ChevelleV8 275 Hp at the least. I had a 1989 V6 Olds 98 with a V6 100,000+ mi(230 Hp) that out ran the Vette

Answer 10

There's too many possible configurations for the Chevelle. A 80 vette is pretty much one flavor plus Auto or 4spd.