1971 Models

This was the beginning of the end.  The latest clean air regulations were being phased in, and leaded gas was on the way out.  The muscle-car market had already become saturated, and even without the challenges of unleaded gas, sky-high insurance premiums and increasing public disdain for cars with ‘excessive horsepower’, there would have been changes.  But, with these overlapping factors at play there was a huge deflation of the muscle-car bubble.  The forthcoming oil embargo would be the final blow, though the patient would have died anyway.  Total auto sales really didn’t decline (-0.4%), so it wasn’t a matter of an overall unhealthy market.

1971 saw engine compression ratios drop across the board.  There were some engines, mostly Ford’s and those of Chrysler corporation, that saw either minimal or no decrease in compression ratio, but the vast majority of engines had significant reductions. Some engine horsepower and torque ratings were presented in both SAE Gross and SAE Net values, with the old gross standard still in effect until next year. (All values here are in Gross values; See Understanding Horsepower and Torque).

Total Sales: 7,892,000; change: -0.4%.

1971 Noteworthy Events

• Chevrolet – Chevelle restyled front and rear; Vega arrives.
• Buick -Boat-tail Riviera.
• Dodge -Charger restyled.
• Ford – New compact Pinto; FE block engines retired.
• Plymouth –GTX and Road Runner restyled.
• Pontiac – New smaller Ventura.

The overall market was at almost the same levels as 1970, but there were still increases and decreases among the different automakers. Ford’s sales were flat, while Chevy’s increased by almost one quarter. The Chevrolet increases were offset by declines in the GM stablemates BOP (Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac).

This was a great year for the US auto industry, with the shrinking muscle car segment having been offset by growth in other segments, particularly the new economy car segment.

Why the change to SAE Net Horsepower?

The actual differences in the gross and net horsepower rating systems are covered in Horsepower and Torque. Writings from the time indicate that this legislation had its roots in California (surprise!) before being extended to the rest of the country.

Most writings seem to be couched in language that would indicate that it was ‘for consumers’, to stop evil auto makers from continuing the practice of ‘inflating engine power outputs’ and thus ‘deceiving buyers’. I think that’s giving the fat old white boys in Washington way, way too much credit.

The timing of this legislation is suspect. Why at this time? Why at the time when the performance segment of the auto industry was under attack on so many fronts? I think one would have to be naïve to think that the timing was coincidental. Was there clamor from the public for such legislation? I can’t find any evidence of this. I think it’s far, far more likely that this was perhaps a ‘special interest’ piece of legislation, and regardless, was an example of “look what us ‘civil servants’ have done for you!”. The timing suggests to me that ‘someone’ wanted to put a damper on the performance movement, pure and simple. Starting decades ago, there were to be found people who opined that “Nobody needs a car with more than 100hp!”. Pick a year from the past six decades, and I’ll bet that you wouldn’t have to look to hard to find someone who believed that the government should limit auto horsepower.

To be clear, the SAE gross method did not ‘over rate’ horsepower, it merely rated engine output with no accessories driven, no fan, no air filter or air breather, and optimal tuning of carburetor and ignition. Of course, this change occurred at the same time as the phase-out of leaded gasoline and the phase-in of the new emissions regulations, which results in a hodge-podge of variables that aren’t straightforward to untangle. For example, say an engine was rated at 400hp gross in 1970 and at 220hp net in 1972. One might be tempted to chalk this difference up to net versus gross, but there’s more to the story. What might not be apparent is not only the obvious compression ratio reduction, but also the changes in camshaft, carburetor jetting and ignition timing in the name of cleaner emissions.

See Understanding Horsepower and Torque for more information.

Chevrolet

The big Chevys received a complete remake this year.  The full-size cars were now equipped with power disc brakes as standard equipment, as were Camaros and Monte Carlos.  Chevelle had its front and rear-end refreshed.  The two large squarish taillights of ’70 were replaced with two round lights on each side.  The quad headlights were gone, being replaced by single units on each side.  The parking lights were moved from the bumper to the corner of the front fenders, adjacent to the headlights.  The grille itself was also changed, now having a horizontal bar across the middle and no longer having a ‘blacked-out’ look.

Nova was only minimally changed, the biggest change being the deletion of the four-cylinder engine.  Camaro also received very few changes. 

Compression ratios dropped to 8.5:1 for the base engines.  The hottest 454 made 365hp and the Camaro Z/28 350 was rated at 330hp.  Chevy dropped compression ratios more than anyone else in 1971. Finally, the 400 small block was introduced, becoming the largest member of this family. It was very much a non-performance engine and is perhaps best forgotten.

Chevy Approximate Sales: 1,830,000; change: +26.1%.; industry rank: 2^nd.

Vega

For Chevrolet the new Vega was a huge product.  This was the car that was going to go toe-to-toe with the imported cars and the new compacts from domestic automakers.  It should be noted that this car was also immensely important to GM.

It was mandated by GM corporate that this be a corporate project, and although handled by Chevrolet initially, they had limited ability to make design decisions.  This did cause some problems with a number of Chevy personnel.

Vega would have three models, all two-door: a sedan, a coupe and a station wagon.  The sole engine was a new 140cid four-cylinder.  The engine featured a die-cast aluminum block, cast iron heads (lower cost), a single overhead camshaft, open block deck, siamesed cylinders, and a 1bbl carburetor.  It also used an electric, tank-mounted fuel pump, the first in the industry.

Chevrolet would sell 274,000 Vegas this year, compared to Ford’s 352,000 Pintos.  Vega was a couple of hundred dollars higher than Pinto, as well as a couple of hundred pounds heavier.  Vega’s 42 extra cubic inches over Pinto gave it an additional 15hp, 90hp versus 75hp.

A Sweet New Engine

It should come as no surprise that Vega was slated to receive the new GM Wankel engines that never made it to market.  The rotor sealing problems that plagued virtually every other rotary manufacturer spelled its doom, as well as enormous challenges in making it meet the scheduled future EPA regulations.  GM spent $50M to license the design ($339M 2019$), as well as countless millions in R&D and other costs.  It would be interesting to total all of the money that all companies worldwide have invested in the rotary engines and then divide by the number of such engines that have made it to market.  One damned expensive engine! 

Vega would go on to be the subject of recall after recall.  Quality problems abounded.  One involved an air pocket that prevented primer from reaching certain areas of the car.  If anyone noticed this, nothing was done for quite some time, apparently.  The block did not use iron liners, I’m sure as a cost reduction measure.  I recall having read that the aluminum alloy they used for the block ‘should have’ worked adequately, and that this design was well tested. 

Let’s Use Aluminum!

The reality is that the aluminum cylinder walls prematurely wore, resulting in poor ring sealing and excessive oil burning.  I don’t know what the root cause of this was, given the assumption that adequate testing was indeed done.  Were the test engineers doing something that didn’t reflect real-world conditions, such as temperature extremes and sometimes-infrequent oil changes?  It’s not too hard to picture the test guys changing oil really often and then pleasing the big bosses with the kind of engine performance they were hoping for.  I’m just guessing—I really don’t know.  One thing for sure is that Chevy started their very own shit-storm with their little Vega car!

In 1980 the H-body cars (Vega, Monza, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Astre, Pontiac Sunbird, Olds Starfire) were gone, having sold some 3.5 million copies.  This compares to a roughly equivalent number of Pintos sold by Ford and Mercury (as Bobcats).

Vega, it should be noted, is a bright star in the constellation Lyra.  It’s about 25 light years from Earth and is hotter than our sun, as well as 40 times more luminous.

Vega 2300 Booklet

This is a sales oriented brochure for the upcoming Vega. It reflects GM’s perspective on the small-car import market. As such, it’s an interesting piece of history. Note that it doesn’t provide much technical information or specifications. Also, keep in mind that Vega wasn’t General Motor’s first response to the import challenge. The paragraph below the graph mentions the first attempt to address the import problem.

Values for 1958 and 1959 were well above the trend. Why? I suspect it has a lot to do with the U.S. recession of this period. Interestingly, gasoline prices actually fell during this period, likely reflecting the drop in demand. Keep in mind that right around the corner from now (’58 – ’59) the U.S. automakers will introduce their own smaller cars, such as Corvair, Chevy II, F85, Tempest, Special, Lancer, Falcon, and Comet.

Chevelle

Still a nice-looking car.  Even after all these years, it’s still hard for me to get used to the dual headlight look, rather than the quads. Signal lights were moved to the front of the fenders.

The rear styling of Chevelle was changed, too.  The single square taillight on each side now became two round lights per side. This was a lot like Camaro but mounted in the rear bumper rather than above it, like Camaro.

I loved this quad headlight look so much; I think I actually mourned for it when it was changed. It was just soooo perfect!

I’m more neutral about the rear styling. Sure, change it to four taillights, I don’t care! But that front…

Camaro

Camaro used both split-bumpers and one-piece bumpers, depending upon the options.  The split-bumper look seems to be favored, though both are nice.  With the split-bumpers, you might as well not even have them, for all the protection they offer!  Undeniably attractive, the split bumper option was part of the Rally Sport (RS) option package.

The rear-end retains the four round taillights.

Nova

The wide stripes really helped to make the Nova SS look like it meant business. There was little discernable exterior change in Nova this year.

Yeah, I’m sure about it. The stripes totally make this car.

Chevelle was a good-looking car.  To me, it will always have quad headlights, but it’s hard to deny the appeal (in ’71) of the new, single-unit lights.  I’m sure that many people at the time thought the quad headlights looked ‘dated’.

Comparing the handling of Camaro to that of Corvette.  Smart advertising.  Camaro now looked as modern as Corvette, in its own way. You will recall that Chevrolet had been pairing Corvette and Camaro in Camaro advertising for some time now, and I suspect that this was the most successful and effective of any such pairings done by anybody.

Should’ve Been a Winner

I don’t remember Vega being so highly praised for its handling, but apparently it was. The dimensions of Vega were right, the look was right, and it had a modern aluminum OHC engine. It should have been one helluva successful car, and it was. Sort of. If they had just gotten ahead of the quality issues. And maybe not designing it at ‘corporate’ and jamming it down Chevy’s throat?

Oh, what might have been!

Here’s the Vega engine. Not much to look at, is it? Displacement was 140cid, with 3.501″ bore and 3.625″ stroke. Compression ratio was 8.0:1, lifters were hydraulic, and carburetor was a 1bbl. 90hp was all in at 4,800rpm.

Vega Aluminum Hypereutectic Alloy Block

Apparently, GM Research Labs did quite a bit of research into aluminum alloys for a block without cylinder liners.  This was purely a cost savings measure.  It was estimated that $8 per engine could be saved, a considerable amount of money.

Reynolds Metal Company produced an aluminum alloy that Chevy chose for the Vega block.  The alloy, A-390, had 17% silicon, 4% copper and 1% iron, with traces of other elements.  The special casting process produced a uniform distribution of the 25µm silicon particles.  A special etching process then exposed the silicon particles, resulting in a hard, scuff-resistant surface.  Sealed Power produced chrome-plated rings that didn’t have 90° sharp edges for this engine.

The block was a hypereutectic alloy (“u-tek-tic”), meaning that there was more silicon than is normally soluble in aluminum, relative to temperature.  Special molds, casting and cooling techniques are required.

Corvette

This year Corvette made almost no changes whatsoever, other than the use of lower compression ratio engines.

There was the ZR1 option which consisted of brake and suspension upgrades, as well as the LT1 engine.  The ZR2 option offered everything the ZR1 option did, but with the LS7 454 in place of the LT1.  The ZR2 added about one third to the price of the base Corvette. 

Approximate sales: 21,800; change: +26.7%.

Corvette was almost entirely a carry-over for 1971. The base 350 lost 1.75 points of compression and 30hp.

This was only the fourth year for the new Corvette style, known decades later as the ‘C3’ series. The look was still fresh and contemporary, and sales surged this year by over one quarter over 1970 levels.

This might be a part of a larger advertisement.

It’s a nice view of the car, regardless.  Gotta love that green!  I believe it’s Brands Hatch green.

Yeah, Corvette is all that and more!

Note that the LT1 lost 40hp and the LS6 25hp with the reduction in compression ratios.  There wasn’t much else done to the engines, other than the compression ratio reduction.  All of the other ‘go fast’ stuff was still used.  That would change next year, though.

The top 454 dropped 2.25 points in compression and 25hp in output. The top 350, LT1, dropped 2 points in compression and 40hp in output.

Impact Extrusion

The ad above mentions ‘impact-extruded aluminum alloy pistons’. This is the same metal working process that’s used to make rifle cartridges. With this process, an unheated metal slug is forced at extreme pressure through a die. The finished metal product stronger than the slug from which it was formed.

Buick

Buick sales fell sharply for 1971.  The GS and GS 455 series were combined into one series, and the Wildcat series was replaced by the Centurion.  Electra 225 underwent a restyling and Riviera was all new for ’71. The 455cid V8 continued as the mainstay engine.

Approximate sales: 551,000; change: -17.3%; industry rank: 7^th.

Riviera

The rear and roof styling of Riviera were totally rethought, the result being one of the most memorable vehicles and looks of this era.  Riviera rode on a 122 in. wheelbase that was three inches longer than previously.  The length of the body was also increased by the same amount.  Shipping weight was up roughly 100 lb.

The front-end of Riviera continued the theme of ’70, now with a pointed grille area.  Quad headlights were horizontally placed as before.  The rear, though, is where the magic happened.  Gone was the attractive though unremarkable design of the ’70, having been replaced by a breath-taking boat-tail design.  It was actually reminiscent of the ’63 through ’67 Corvette design, though with a shallower rear window, due to the height of the rear fenders.  It was a fantastic look, and it worked well with the rest of the design features of the model.

1971 saw another stunning new version of Riviera, with breathtaking lines quite unlike anything else.

The rear styling of Riviera was nothing less than inspired.

Skylark

Skylark continued its gorgeous styling, with very few changes from last year. One exception was the front bumper, which was lifted to the lower edge of the headlights. This part of the bumper split the grille, with a small portion of the grille below it. Not bad, but I did like the open grille look of last year.

The rear-end of Skylark was clean and uncluttered, with taillights integrated into the bumper.  This was almost exactly the same look as last year. But, hey, it was still a great looking car.

This is the 1970 GS front end. See what I mean about the look of the unobstructed grille, and how cool it looks?

The two ’70 series, GS and GS 455, were combined into one series for 1971.

Buick MaxTrac Traction Control System

This system was developed by GM’s AC division and was available on the 1971 Riviera.  It functioned somewhat like a modern traction control system, but more crudely and with some key differences.  It was absolutely forward-thinking at its finest.

The rear wheel speed was monitored via the speedometer cable, at a rate that was directly proportional to indicated vehicle speed.  The front wheels were monitored with the aid of a sensor at a rate that was also speed proportional but at a lower frequency than the rear wheels.  If the controller detected that the rear wheels were rotating at a faster rate than the front, there was wheel slippage.  The controller then reduced engine power by cutting spark to some of the cylinders.  This option was around through ’73 and then discontinued.  It’s been said that the system was held in low esteem by the EPA because of the function of limiting engine speed by cutting spark, thus dumping some amount of raw fuel into the exhaust tract.  Regardless, it would be some time before the traction control systems of today made their appearance.

Buick AccuDrive System

AccuDrive was introduced by Buick in the 1969 model year.  This was a less significant advancement than MaxTrac, but it didn’t share the short life of MaxTrac.  It was a redesigned front steering geometry and front suspension that added to stability, particularly by greatly reducing bump-steer.

From https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/690490/

“ACCU-DRIVE” STABILITY WITH COMFORT THE 1969 BUICK CHASSIS 690490

Buick engineers are well pleased with their ’69 Chassis. Benefits of a unique front suspension camber curve are documented. The effects of various suspension parameters on ride and handling are explained. These were varied independently of one another in the course of evaluating over 30 suspension configurations.

From this angle the car looks like a spaceship!

You could certainly say that the boat-tail design borrowed heavily from the ’63 – ’67 Corvette but incorporating this design into a car this large was certainly inspired thinking.

The crease line from the rear deck runs through the top, too.  This is such a cool look!  Also, notice how the bumper conforms to the tip (butt?) of the tail feature; this could not have been more artistically designed.

Pre-tested tires!  Geeze! Are we back to advertising meaningless features again?

Yeah, don’t worry if there’s a little gravel in the tread.  That’s from our pre-testing of those suckers! Did the tires I just bought get pre-tested? I sure as hell hope so! I think. (Now I’m getting all anxious again…)

Oldsmobile

This year didn’t seem many changes at Olds.  The ‘big’ news was the arrival of the Custom Cruiser station wagon, displacing the Vista Cruiser as the largest Olds wagon. This beast displaced 5,000 lbs.   (‘Big News’; big station wagon, get it? Never mind…)  Everything else was the same as everywhere else.  4-4-2’s 455cid V8 was now making 340hp with its 8.5:1 compression ratio.

Approximate sales: 568,000; change: -10.4%; industry rank: 5^th.

4-4-2

4-4-2 was still one hell of a good-looking car.  The grille is a bit different (blacked out) and the parking lamps are now round.  I find this slightly more preferable than the ’70 look. You?

In place of the quad vertical taillights from last year, the two dual lights were now stacked.

4-4-2 updated the front styling from the ’70 look seen here. I prefer the ’71 grille and I like the ‘4-4-2’ emblem moved to the grille. I also like the round parking light/turn signals on the ’71.

The rear bumper of the ’70 was nice, with its taillight treatment. For 1971 it was kinda like “Uh, we need to change something, right? How about we take these taillights and flip em on their side? Think that would work?”

This reference in the second paragraph is to the Select-Fit process that Olds that was part of the W-30 455 build.

While noteworthy and well worth advertising, this falls well short of true ‘blueprinting’.  Still cool, though.

Dig the body-colored wheels!  Gorgeous!

Blueprinting in a Nutshell

You might wonder just exactly what engine ‘blueprinting’ is. In one sentence, it’s: checking and modifying engine components to make them as perfect as possible, as the factory would have made them if not limited by time and cost, then reassembling the engine in a manner to ensure uniform recommended clearances and optimal rotating balance.

New parts have to be checked as well. Manufacturers have tolerances (naturally) and tolerances can stack in such a manner as to violate or compromise desired clearance values. A simple example: Lifters should have 0.0005 to 0.0015″ clearance; lifters themselves should be between 0.9040 and 0.9045″. Let’s say the bore is 0.9060″, with a 0.9045″lifter diameter. This gives us a 0.0015″ clearance, the largest allowed. But what if the lifter had been 0.9040″? The resulting 0.0020″ clearance would be 0.0005″ over spec. Generally speaking, a tolerance toward one side (high/low) should be matched with the mating component having a tolerance toward the other side.

Some Blueprinting Elements

• Block holes cleaned, oiled, retapped if necessary.
• Holes chamfered if surfaces are machines.
• Block align-bored
• Cylinders bored with main bearing caps torqued to spec. and with torque plate.
• Connecting rods beam-ground, resized, magnafluxed and stress relieved.
• Crankshaft magnafluxed, journals resized. Oil passages chamfered
• Components matched by weight, and rotating assembly dynamically balanced.
• Combustion chamber volumes matched.

This list is by no means all-inclusive.

Cutlass was an incredibly popular car in the early 1970’s. It’s hard to appreciate just how popular this car was. In 1976, Cutlass will be the best-selling car in America.

Toronado

Okay. I wasn’t really keen on the ‘second series’ Toronado front design, but it kinda grew on me. This one, though, I’m really having a hard time with. What in the name of all that’s holy were they thinking?

The 1970 front styling was unique, sure. It was reasonably attractive, something I have a hard time saying about the ’71.

This ad talks about the Olds G-Ride system. It’s unclear everything it entailed, but one element was Pliacell shock absorbers. These shocks had plastic membranes that separated the hydraulic oil from the gas, preventing the fluid from becoming aerated when driving on rough surfaces.

Wow!  Here’s all the sweet crap you can get for no extra charge with your new Cutlass hardtop. But it already had carpet…

One is sporty and one is luxurious.  No! Both are sporty and both are luxurious!

Pontiac

This would be the third straight year Pontiac saw sales declines, which moved them to 4^th in the industry, behind Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth.  The Executive series was axed and Bonneville slid into the empty space.  The new Grand Ville was placed at the top of the lineup.  A new grille treatment helped address the ‘beak’ look the big Pontiacs had last year, with the sole grille areas being in the protruding central section.  Grand Prix mostly kept the previous grille, but the bumper now ran across it, minimizing the beak effect.  The big Pontiacs still had quad headlights, but Grand Prix went to single units on each side.  The rear treatment of Grand Prix was reminiscent of a boat tail, though tastefully subtle.

The intermediate series received shuffling and renaming, and now included LeMans T-37, LeMans, LeMans Sport and GTO (with ‘The Judge’).  Front end styling was new, with the remainder of the bodies left alone. 

Approximate sales: 587,000; change: -15.1%; industry rank: 4^th.

GTO

GTO wasn’t much changed from the sides or back, but the front was substantially updated.  The quad headlights were no longer positioned within the Endura bumper and the bumper itself was less substantive.  The divider between the split grilles was now thinner and sharper, and seemed to extend further forward.  The hood scoops were now two horizontal slots that were placed well forward, being just behind the top of the bumper.  The two air intakes were positioned at a slight angle to one another, not laying on the same line.  Note how similar the ’70 models the car styling otherwise was.

The 300hp 400 was standard on GTO, with the 325hp and 335hp 455’s optional. The 335hp 455 HO was standard on The Judge.

No real changes seen from this angle.  Still attractive as hell.

The front design of the ’70 GTO was gorgeous. The change in ’71 was just a bit of a ‘love it or hate it’ sort of look; not totally, just a bit. I struggled with it when it came out, since the 1970 was just so freakin gorgeous.

This is the rear of the ’70 GTO. Looks like the rear of the ’71. I guess Pontiac spent all of their restyling energy on the front redesign.

Firebird Trans Am

It’s kinda funny to note that Trans Am has the cool front turn signals that GTO had in ’69! The ’71 was essentially unchanged from the 1970 version, at least visually. Mechanically, there were some very real changes.

Pontiac gave up totally on compression ratios this year.  Most engines were 8.2:1, with the top 455 having an 8.4:1 ratio.  Question:  What was the last year that Pontiac compression ratios averaged this low?  Answer: 1955!  Don’t miss the cool honeycomb wheels.

The 455 engines didn’t replace the 400 V8’s, which was a bit unusual for a GM company. Well, more specifically, a GM company that wasn’t Chevrolet!

The top-shelf 335hp 455 HO was the standard engine on Trans Am.

Pontiac Honeycomb Wheels

The gorgeous Pontiac honeycomb wheels arrived in 1971. They were the absolute essence of cool! Although they looked like cast aluminum and many people thought they were, they were actually ‘polycast’ urethane, with a steel wheel as the base. The finishing applied resulted in a cast aluminum look.

It had been desired to actually cast these from aluminum, rather than merely imitate it, but Pontiac management wouldn’t begin to go for it given the cost. The wheels were about 5 pounds, or 25%, heavier than similar size wheels. They were available in 6″ x 14″ and 7″ x 15″ sizes. The last year for them was 1975.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix had a clean and tasteful look with the single headlight per side and the bumper running across the grille.

The bit of a ‘boat-tail’ made for a good look from the back.

This wasn’t a bad looking front end. The change to dual headlights and the bumper crossing the grille in ’71 did not improve the looks, at least not to me.

The 1970 Grand Prix had a similar rear to the ’71, but it didn’t have the bit of a point that the ’71 would get.

Not a GTO

With the GT-37 you could get the go-fast goodies without the high price.  This was in fact kind of the realization of the original Judge concept!

This well-done advert points out that all of the aero stuff on Trans Am ‘works’.

Note the last sentence- “…sticks to the road like stepped-on gum.”

This big Pontiac is well presented in this advertisement.  The drawing shows the accent lines on the hood well.  The car had a nice frontal appearance.

Honestly, the only way I can tell that this is a Grand Ville is by noting the script on the driver side of the grille.  The front look of Catalina, Bonneville and Grand Ville was remarkably similar.

This year Grand Ville replaced Bonneville as the top-of-the-line Pontiac.

I  well remember this advertisement!  Certainly, the advent of low-compression engines didn’t mean the end of GTO, although many would say that the last model year fit to bear the name was but one year away.

The paragraph delineated by the red lines is pure marketing magic.  You won’t see any difference between the ’70 350, 366 and 370hp engines and the 300hp of ’71?  How fast was a ’71 GTO 400?   Fifteen point what?  C’mon, Pontiac.  The band is just starting their last song, and then the dance is over.  No encores, at least for many, many years.

Still SAE Gross Ratings

These horsepower and torque figures are derived with the S.A.E. gross method, as are all of our other 1971 values. The top Pontiac engine last year was the 400cid Ram Air IV, rated at 370hp. Remember that the RA IV was one of a handful of engines that were intentionally under-rated by the factory. True output was 400+hp. Given that, Pontiac’s top 400 engine this year was from 70 to 100hp down from last year. 1970 was the last year for both the RA III and the RA IV.

Dodge

Dodge saw several changes this year, although it’s debatable whether any of them were positive.  They ‘borrowed’ the Plymouth Duster body and produced the Demon.  This car rode on a 108 in. wheelbase, the shortest of all of the Dodge-produced cars.

Which brings us to the Colt.  This was a ‘captive import’, produced by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan.  The Colt had a 95.3 in. wheelbase and weighed right at 2,000 lb.  Average cost for the four models was just over $2,000.  It seemed to be well placed to compete against Chevy’s Vega and Ford’s Pinto.

Sadly, Coronet ceased to be a muscle car this year.  The wheelbase was increased, weight increased, and there were no more two-door models.

Charger now rode on a wheelbase that, at 115 in. was 2 in. shorter than last year.  It also underwent a total redesign.  It’s hard to accurately compare the old Charger with the new.  The ’71 was still attractive, and it could be said that it had styling features that were contemporary.  It seems to have lost some of the ‘toughness’ of the ’68 –’70 models, though.  You could well imagine the ’68 – ’70 Charger passing you at such a rate as to leave you wondering ‘why bother’, but the ’71 didn’t have that feel.  Somehow, it seemed ‘too refined’.  On top of that, the ‘bread-n-butter’ performance V8, the 383, now only made 300hp on reduced compression ratios.

Challenger was mostly a carry-over for ’71.  While Charger sales remained fairly level with last year, the numbers for Challenger, in its second year, were terrible.  Sales dropped by well over 50%.

Approximate sales: 551,000; change: +1.5%; industry rank: 6^th.

Challenger

Both the front and rear of Challenger received mild changes for ’71, but the overall look followed closely to the beauty introduced last year.

Challenger had its rear-end restyled just a bit for ’71. The divider between the taillights is now black, having been silver, and says ‘Challenger’ rather than ‘Dodge’. Also, the area above the taillights is body color, rather than silver.

This is the grille and bumper from last year. To many, this will always be the iconic Challenger look. Yeah, the ‘new 71 was attractive. But it was the ’70 that the 21st Century Challenger was influenced by.

I’ve never met an owner of one of the new Challengers that was unaware of the earlier ’70’s series, but I suspect there are plenty of them out there. Might be fun.

The ‘silver’ look of the ’70 Challenger was changed to a ‘black-out’ look for 1971. Both were very attractive.

It Was a Little Bit Like This…

Back in the day, Heineken was regarded as the ‘premium beer’ by most of us beer drinkers. No, there were no craft breweries yet; that would come much later. If you were to arrive at a large party with a keg of Heineken, it’s safe to say you would be very well received. Maybe like the guy driving something like a Ford Galaxie who pops the hood to reveal a transplanted 427 SOHC. After the initial shock wore off, you’d spend the next few hours questioning why God didn’t make you as cool as this guy.

Well, Dodge drove up to the party and then hauled their big old keg of Heineken through the front door. People were impressed. Problem was, most of the party goers had either left already or reached the point where consumption was no longer likely. If poor ole Dodge had just arrived earlier when the party was still going strong…

Dodge Demon

Demon was a nice-looking smaller car with sporty performance. It also had one of the coolest emblems ever!

The Demon sure is Duster-like, isn’t it?  Actually, a pretty nice-looking car, all in all.  The striping design is simple but cool.

Color-coded bumpers were optional on charger.  Chrome still looks good, though. Note the new divided grille. We started off in ’68 with an undivided grill, divided grille in ’69, undivided in ’70 and back to divided this year! Whew! Do you think this was all planned by Dodge, or was more of a ‘make it up as we go along’? I’m thinking the latter.

Charger

I like to think that when the ’71 Chargers first appeared, people would have recognized them as Chargers, even without having first had a look at the front end.  The front was a give-away, of course.  Did this model do justice to the original Charger concept?

The ’70 Charger grille already had been enclosed by the bumper, but this year the Dodge designers decided to go back to the center divider, like the ’69 model. The ’71 didn’t offer hidden headlights, either.

The rear was modified to reflect some of the styling of the front, in that the bumper now enclosed it. The ’71 would have full-width taillights, too.

Pretty Bumpers

Changes like these are kind of interesting with the hindsight we have now. The bumper regulations that would be here very shortly would make mounting taillights within the bumper almost impossible, as the bumper would have to displace upon impact. And yet, here were auto designers saying, “That’s a good look, lets wrap the bumper around it!” You can thank the fat ole white boys in D.C. for this great piece of legislation. (Sorry for the rant)

Gotta say that I like the optional color-keyed bumpers.  They were optional. They weren’t standard. Gotta pay extra. More bucks. Upgrade.

Scat Pack

It’s probably fair to say that this advertisement is sexist.  Yet, I like it!

It looks like her left arm is behind her back, with her left hand on her right wrist.  Frankly, this bothers me waaaay more than the thought that this advert might be sexist. She’s a redhead, too, and cute. I like redheads. A lot. You have to say that Dodge certainly excelled when it came to lo-buck performance. I really, really, really like the seal, too.

Did I mention that I like the seal?

To me, the previous body style will always be ‘the Super Bee’.  Regardless, this is a cool, well-done advertisement. Note the wordplay here; mill is slang for engine, then ‘run of the mill’! Cool, huh?

Again, Dodge and Plymouth owned the ‘budget’ muscle car segment, offering great products and through great advertising.

The compression ratios of the 318, 340, and the 426 engines remained close to the same as 1970, while other engines experienced declines. The top 383 dropped 1.5 points of compression and 35hp. The three 440 versions lost 15hp, 5hp, and 5hp, with compression ratio drops of 1.1, 0.4 and 0, respectively.

1971 Dodge Scat Pack Brochure

Yes, this is the same image from above. I just liked it so much, I thought “Why not…”.

1971 Dodge Challenger Brochure

1971 Dodge Charger and Coronet Brochure

Plymouth

1971 saw the departure of the wonderful Belvedere.  The intermediate Plymouths now featured the ‘fuselage look’.  The front bumper was rounded on both sides and enclosed the grille, which was fitted with quad headlights.  It used the same general styling cues as the ’70 grille but was a much different interpretation.  The side windowsill line followed the lead of the Barracuda, in that it swept up at the back, lifting up to the ‘hips’ of the rear fenders.  The Satellite series bore the same overall styling as the ’71 Charger.  While not an unpleasant look at all, it just seemed to lack the gravitas of the previous styling.

This last point is kind of hard to explain.  Despite some similar styling cues, the new ’71 cars almost seemed unrelated to the ’70 models.  The ‘70’s had an edgy, brutish look that seemed to say, “Mess with me and I’ll tear your face off”, while the new models were more like “Hey, what’s up?  Wanna play?”.  GTX and Road Runner were still offered but were they really the latest versions of these two iconic models or were they merely the result of “You’re the GTX now and you’re the Road Runner!”  I guess it’s up to you to decide.

Should anyone be interested, we’ll note that the Valiant group consisted of Valiant, Duster and Scamp, all of which had very little in common, at least visually.

Approximate sales: 702,000; change -6.0%; industry rank: 3^rd.

GTX

Oh, I like this look! It’s just so ‘swoopy’ yet muscular. The color keyed bumpers are gorgeous, aren’t they?

I would have loved to see the wing be more substantial, and maybe painted body color.  Something like the GTO or 4-4-2 maybe.  For this body, it has always looked a bit ‘aftermarket’ to me.  Am I wrong?

The grille of the ’71 bore the same overall style of grille as the ’70. Bumpers were totally different, even if the ’71 didn’t happen to be body color.

I just love the ’70 GTX rear view. The ’71 look was more contemporary, perhaps, and did match the overall design of that car well. I dunno. When I hear ‘GTX’, the 1970 is the image that’s in my head.

‘Cuda

‘Cuda got a very different grille in 1971. It’s hard to explain, and just has to be seen. It was attractive, but it seems a bit strange that Plymouth went to quad headlights when must of the industry was going away from them.

‘Cuda 340 was a new model, which included not only the hot little small block, but also the billboard graphics and wing. The 340 was previously not available in the Barracuda.

The billboard graphics here are evocative of the similar ‘HEMI’ graphics on those cars. Cool, for sure, just a little bit too much for me. However, I realize this is personal taste and if you find them gorgeous, you’re not wrong.

I liked this look. I guess the Plymouth designers still felt the need to gussy it up for ’71.

The clean styling of the ’70 rear wasn’t changed much for 1971.

Road Runner

I may have seemed a bit critical of the new body style.  To be clear- yes, I would totally own a car like this!

I might suggest that this looked pretty okay as a two-door, but that didn’t carry over to the four-door all that much.

This is a really cool advertisement, isn’t it?  340 on the left and Hemi on the right!  Affordable and not so affordable. This shooting was at Motor City Dragway.

Motor City Dragway

This facility opened in the late Spring of 1957 in St. Clair County.  It was the first full-time paved strip in Michigan.  Competition soon arrived in the form of other dragstrips, some closer to Detroit than Motor City.  It seems that there were more years that were financial struggles than boom years, with the recession of 1973 seeing hard times for many such facilities across the nation.  Vandalism prevented the opening of the 1978 season, and that was it for the Motor City Dragway.

The link below has a more complete story, as well as pictures of the now-decrepit track, the timing stand and the concession stand.  Anyone who raced there and has a story to tell should contact us, and we’ll make it available to all.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/detroit-drag-strips/

Do you remember the “Rapid Transit System’ advertisements?

Track Pack Options

Both Plymouth and Dodge offered the Track Pack and Super Track Pack options in ’68 and ’69.  The following is a summary of what the options contained.  The most obvious difference is the 3.54 gearing versus the 4.10.

Track Pak – Code A33

(Available with 4-speed Manual Transmission w/ 440 or Hemi.  N.A. w/ AC)

• 4-speed Heavy-Duty manual transmission with Hurst shifter with wood-grained shift knob and reverse warning light (available in Package only)
• Power steering cooler (if equipped)
• HEMI suspension with front sway bar
• 3.54 H.D. 9-3/4″ Dana rear axle
• 7-Blade Torque Drive fan (Std. Hemi)
• Dual Breaker Distributor (Std. Hemi)
• 26″ High Performance Radiator w/ Fan Shroud (Std. Hemi)
• Sure-Grip differential
• Firm Ride shock absorbers

Super Track Pak – Code A34

(Available with 4-speed Manual Transmission w/ 440 or Hemi.  N.A. w/ AC)

• 4-speed Heavy-Duty manual transmission with Hurst shifter with wood-grained shift knob and reverse warning light (available in Package only)
• Power steering cooler (if equipped)
• HEMI suspension with front sway bar
• 4.10 H.D. 9-3/4″ Dana rear axle
• 7-Blade Torque Drive fan (Std. Hemi)
• Dual Breaker Distributor (Std. Hemi)
• 26″ High Performance Radiator w/ Fan Shroud (Std. Hemi)
• Power Disc Brakes
• Sure-Grip differential
• Firm Ride shock absorbers

Ford

There were only a few significant changes at Ford this year, other than the introduction of the new Pinto.

The Fairlane was now history, after having been offered for a very long time.  This year would see the end of the FE big-block engines, the 390 and the 428. A new 400cid V8 was introduced, being part of the Ford 335 series of engines. The other member of this family was the 351 Cleveland. The 400 was a 2bbl-only, nobody-really-cares type of engine.

Mustang would debut a new body, with a 1 in. longer wheelbase, 2 in. longer body, and weighing roughly a hundred pounds more.  The styling was contemporary, with color-keyed bumpers and longer and lower lines.  Boss 302 and Boss 429 were no more, although the new Boss 351 made 330hp, and was really a pretty sweet package.

Mustang sales were sharply off from 1970, and only half of the 1969 total.  This ’71 –’73 series would see fairly flat sales, and then the ’74 Mustang II would exceed the yearly sales of any of the years from – ‘68 to ’73.

Approximate sales: 2,054,000; change: -2.0%; industry rank: 1^st.

The Ford Pinto Saga

The Chevy Vega and the Ford Pinto were both aimed at exactly the same market segment, and at each other.  Though you might not say either was short-lived, but they were both severely flawed in their own ways.  Pinto’s gas tank debacle is well known.  What’s not as well known is that their tank placement was pretty much in line with other cars of its size and price.  The unforgivable mistake Ford made was to compare the cost of a redesign to move the tank to the cost of litigating the lawsuits that would occur from doing nothing!  In writing, they essentially weighed the cost of a human life!  This was to cost them dearly, as it should have.  This became what the Pinto was remembered for, now and forever.  Both Chevy and Ford came out swinging against the imports.  Chevy struck out, and Ford got a base hit.  Far from the success that could have been achieved by both companies, had top management not had their heads up their respective asses!

A 1969 View of the Future Pinto

All stops are out at Ford to make its forthcoming small car — to date called Phoenix — a VW-beater in every respect. The car, which might debut as early as next spring, has as its goal outstripping “The Bug” (that shouldn’t be too hard), power, economy, handling, ease of service. Particular emphasis is given to the latter. Right now the ubiquitous Bug is the closest thing the auto world has to Henry’s marvelous T, meaning parts and VW-tailored gadgets are readily available, that an owner needn’t be more than average brave to risk doing his own repair work. So, to beat VW at what has become its own game, the word at Ford is to make the Phoenix “the most serviceable car ever built”. Considering the Model T history, that’s a real order.

From October 1969 Popular Mechanics

This is the prototype Pinto. It doesn’t appear to be a hatchback, but that’s hard to tell. It’s certainly different styling than the hatchback that finally appeared.

Mustang

Mustang Hood Scoops

These are ‘NACA’ scoops.  NACA is an acronym for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was formed in 1915.  Wilbur Wright was on the board of directors in 1920.  Most, if not all, airfoils are defined by a NACA numbering system that assigns digits to several different criteria that define the airfoil.  An airfoil is the cross-section of a wing, at a particular location in the wing.  A wing might have a somewhat different airfoil at different points along its length.

I’ve heard that the ‘skin effect’, the slow-moving air at a surface, makes this a poor design.  This isn’t really true.  99% of the benefit from most hood scoops comes from the intake of cooler air, rather than the always-hot under-hood air.  The blacked-out hood, hold-downs and scoops made for one killer look!  See the section I Love Hood Scoops.

What do you think about the rear view?  It’s almost like something is missing, with that large expanse of black.  Maybe looking to past Mustang styling here might have yielded something more pleasing?  Heck, I could be all wet!

Another design for Mustang’s rear. I like this far more than the look directly above, don’t you?

The new ’71 front end seemed to be totally different from the ’70 shown here. The two designs did use some similar styling cues, though.

A better look at NACA ducts, this time on a Ferrari F40.  There were at least eight on this car.

The fact that Ford chose to use them is really cool!

1971 Mustang Brochure

Thunderbird

If you liked the 1970 Thunderbird… Yeah, you know the story. To Thunderbird: “No change for you this year!”

The ‘full-panel’ taillights are cool looking. Thunderbird didn’t receive much updating this year. Sales were off almost a third over those of last year.

Note the high-lighted ‘you can do most repair jobs yourself’.  Is this a dig at imports?  What made Maverick special in this regard?

Actually, some sources cite Maverick as being dated, even relative to 1971.  So, maybe the ad is true!

“Our technology is so freakin’ old that you can repair our new car yourself!”  Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

(I think they could use a little more yellow in this ad, no?)

This was rather creative, with the dress of the model having the same stripe as the car.

Back in ’74 I took a date to see ‘Blazing Saddles’ and borrowed a friend’s ’73 Mustang fastback.  I remember thinking that I couldn’t see a thing out of the rear window.

The reference to Trans-Am racing seems a bit out of place in 1971.

One of many Pinto advertisements. Pinto adverts tended to be well done, which makes sense, as Ford had a ton resting on it.

Mercury

Comet was back, after a one-year absence.  It was basically a Maverick.  You might recall that Maverick was based on the Falcon platform, which was introduced by Ford at about the same time Mercury introduced their Comet platform.  Go figure.  Maybe it’d be more accurate to say that Comet was retired after ’69 and this new version was just a badge-engineered Maverick.

The central grille feature of the Montego was softened substantially, which is a good thing.  Mercury evidentially felt the same way, hence the change.

Cougar underwent a redesign this year, the first real one for it.  The front now had a central, protruding grille section, with quad headlights that were no longer hidden.  The rear deck had two sails off of the sides of the rear window, which formed sort of a tunnel for the window.  In the rear, the taillights and license plate completely filled the encircling bumper.  The overall look of the ’71 Cougar would be around for the next few years.

The Capri, a captive import made in Germany, made its debut this year.  It was advertised as the ‘Sexy European’ and rode on a 100.8” wheelbase.  Power was from a 71hp four, or an optional 100hp four.  Mercury still had some performance engines with high compression ratios, unlike the GM companies who just rolled over and played dead.

Approximate sales: 365,000; change: +12.3%; industry rank: 8^th.

Cougar

Cougar had a larger look this year but wasn’t really larger than before.  The front look was different and unique, but if you were to park a ’70 and ’71 side-by-side, you’d sure see the family resemblance.  I always liked the accent crease along the sides, but it was removed for the ‘71’s.

The big expanse above the rear bumper didn’t lend itself to adding a wing.  For me, this just doesn’t work visually.  Am I wrong?

The ’70 front design was the fourth and final version of the original design. The new ’71 design carried some styling cues of the original design.

The always-attractive Cougar rear design was jettisoned for 1971. Nothing was retained; even the bumper design was totally different.

Montego

Montego had clean lines, though rather generic.  Still not the most attractive front end, but way ahead of the ’70 model. 

I’m sure not a fan of the ‘Ben Hur’ (chariots—Google it…) type wheel covers like this, that stick out a mile.  Shouldn’t there be sharp blades mounted in the centers of those things?

Montego might not go down in history as the best-looking car ever, but it did have some nice lines.  The ‘love it or hate it’ front from last year is (thankfully) gone.

Kind of a cool advertisement.  The blue-green theme works well.

1971 V8 Engine Specs

1971 Newspaper Ads

Quite a few Darts to choose from here.

Yeah. I think I’ll take the ’69 GTO, please.

I think the 1970 Charger R/T is my choice.

Yeah, the Vega will last you a good long time. Until the cylinder walls wear out, that is. Should be a good several months till that happens, though. Think I’ll go with the Boss 302. I have no idea whatsoever what the ‘Johnny Cash Special’ is.

Maybe the ’70 Olds 4-4-2? It’s the same price as the Cutlass Supreme. That ’66 Chevelle SS 396 is only $1,295.