1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR vs 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR vs 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR versus 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR v.s. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

The two charismatic cars from Ford and Chevy have received much of its 60 DNA. Today, the Corvette is a relatively demanding double-digit sports cars with big horns V-8 forward, a car that offers a lot of performance and style for the money. Back in 1968, the Corvette has the self-same. The big difference, one could argue that today's car looks a little tame, while Bill Mitchell styling was sexier than anything the Europeans could manage this side of a Lamborghini Miura.The '68 GT500KR as the latest GT500 was the ultimate Ford pony car, sporting a big bad V-8 and balls and spoilers galore. Unlike the Corvette, the old car has not look that different from its modern counterpart, the slavishly aping iconic styling of the '68 Mustang. Then as now, the Ford is a relatively coarse unit of KR with a live rear axle compared to the Corvette rear axle and rear drums, as opposed to all-round disc brakes.
Our GT500KR was provided by Chris and Karen Burkhart, who are the third owner of this 41,000-mile example. The Panel of the work and the interior fully original, but the Highland Green paint was applied again and Burkhart has modern radial BFGoodrich T / A tires, a hot cam, and a freer flowing exhaust fitted in his 28-year ownership.The KR-for "King of the Road" -was a development of the '68 GT500, with the so-called Cobra Jet 428-cubic-inch engine in place of the Police Interceptor unit. The GT500 was nominal at 360 horsepower, while the KR was on 335. "That was done for the insurance," says Chris Burkart. "Everyone knew that was a joke and the actual number was somewhere just north of 400 horsepower, 440 pound-feet of torque." Compared to a stock '68 Mustang GT500 gained an abundance of spoons and vents, a fiberglass hood and trunklid, a front strut brace, wider rear brake drums and shoes, a 8000-rpm tachometer, a 140-mph speedometer and a rollbar , The heavy-duty Mustang suspension and power brakes and steering were standard on all GT500s.Before we tested the car at nearby Michigan Dragway Burkhart was open about strengths of the car. "It's a green light car. It's good in a straight line, and that was it." He's right about the straight part. Burkhart advised test driver Dave VanderWerp to the selection for the three-speed automatic transmission in D leave ", put your foot on the brake, press and hold the speed on, and hope for the best." The best part was a strong 13.9-second quarter mile, a 0-to-60 in 5.4 seconds and a 30-to-50-mph acceleration, which is comparable with that of some AMG Mercedes.
 VanderWerp came grinning. "The thing it pops back home, just like you would for the drag strip, it is a cry, man," he said, still in the period slang. What not to convey the numbers is the noise of the GT500 makes her suck the strip, the V-8 roar like the soundtrack of Bullitt, the progress of chirps penetrated by the tire as the brawny V-8 broke traction in all three gears. On the road, the torque, power and frenzied noise driving experience dominate. That's a good thing, because the brakes, handling and road holding are pretty hopeless. The car feels awkward when you start hustling it, partly because it like crazy and under control partly because the incredibly lightweight steering has almost no feeling wants. It rides very well, but how modern Mustangs, never as if the front and rear ends are completely in sync feels. In fact we were through, as the new car has the old cars surprised accepted attitude: great in a straight line, but a bit wayward when the road begins the curves.Barry Davison 1968 Corvette Coupe is a big-block 427 rated at 435 horsepower and equipped with aluminum cylinder head option LS9 and a four-speed manual transmission. Davison, who has a garage full of Corvettes, is only the second owner of this 26,000-mile car. Original owner Dave Sullivan drag racing he finally put it replaces the frames in a 454 engine, and as low as 10 seconds run elapsed times. "I decided to restore it," Sullivan said, "when the cars to be launched valuable." He had the original frame in his garage, and transferred the work of Werner Meier, a former GM engineer who Masterworks Automotive Services in Detroit "runs burb of Madison Heights. The car has been restored to factory default, except for the thin Goodyear Speedway cross-ply tires . The tobacco inside is completely original and is a 60 vision in vinyl and plastic.Meier, who still looks after the car, and Davison alternately running the tape for our tests, between some carburetion issues. "The three double-barrel Holley's not triple double for anything," Meier said. At the end of Davison Vette set better times, with a thick 13.8-second quarter-mile and a 0-to-60 in 5.3 seconds. Those days are fast for a 1968 car.The Corvette is much more complete than the Mustang, as the current machine. It feels like a sports car from the moment you sit in it, deep down, in contrast to high. The brakes have more power and feedback, the steering more weight and road feel, and it rides stiff on broken pavement. The Corvette shows that handling and road holding are very different things: Although the Vette produces a weak 0.65 g on the skidpad, the balance is sweet. You can turn give with slight understeer, then use the accelerator pedal to shift the attitude of neutral behavior to oversteer in a gentle, progressive manner. It just feels lighter on its feet, a logical consequence of their 259-pound less. You expect the Corvette be a Rorty animal, but the noticeable Detroit Backbeat is dull compared to the Mustang. The four-speed shifter needs positive efforts, but adds the sports car experience.In the same way the new Corvette competes with the best European sports car for less money, so the '68 car to low Porsches, Jaguars and Ferraris even stacked against his rival time. The Mustang, on the other hand, feels bigger, heavier and more cumbersome, although its performance and character are making just as popular, a typical American view of the sports coupe. 

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