LLLosingit

iTrader: (4)

I've been wrenching on cars for almost 50yrs, Was a wrecker driver for quite a few, Newer cars are safer period. There is no point is trying to get through to someone like you. The fact remains the same, Speed does indeed kill. I've seen relatively low speed accidents kill and also shocked that people walked away from crashes that I couldn't tell what kind of car it was at first glance. People are always under the impression that old cars were built better and are heavier. That far from the truth, Sure old cars had a thicker gauge body panels but that about it. Most of them weighed less than 4,000lbs and many weighed less than 3,000lbs No boxed frames, No collapsible steering column, Most didn't have seatbelts and some only had lap belts. Doors would pop open in minor accidents. Better hope you don't put one on it top because it will pancake the top so tight they have to cut you out. Frontal crash over 30mph sometimes meant the motor and trans was shoved into the floorboard hard enough to trap your legs/feet between the floor and dash and you had broken ribs from hitting the steering wheel. Dashes were steel so chances are you were going to either break your legs or you at least felt like it for a few weeks. Hell I've seen floorboards wrapped around feet to the point that you could see their shoes. Those cars folded like wet cardboard all the time because there were no crush zones.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

In terms of the original topic...

...agreed. And, as it applies to the original title/point of this thread, that's why I don't feel that LS power is inherently "too much" for cars of the era in question. Cars have been able to reach universally dangerous speeds for many decades, that's not something specific to LS1-or-later power plants. Sure, the LS1 can do it faster than the average I8/V8 of the '50s, but that has more to do with how you drive the car (vs. its ultimate potential). Cars don't reach those speeds by themselves, regardless of the engine (well, except maybe the self-accelerating toyotas... )

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

bammax -- and yet, somehow, the death rate per mile driven has consistently been dropping over time. There's been a slight uptick since 2014/15 or so - likely due to cell phone usage in the car. Recent rates are 5 TIMES lower than they were in the late 50's/60's. Why? Because cars are safer now than they've ever been. If you keep insisting, a reasonable person might begin to think that YOU might be one of the dummies that was injured in all those nhtsa links above. (chuckle)

https://cdan.nhtsa.gov/tsftables/Fat...ty%20Rates.pdf