EPA superbird on spike TV

[nascarxx29]

Its the story of the white nichels engineered 440 superbird 168703 .It was used to research emissions.It started as a alpine white column automatic .Converted to a 4 speed

[70charger_boy]

and this was the car that killed the musclecar?  correct or not?

[Ghoste]

Not.

[PocketThunder]

i thought insurance company rates and the oil embargo killed the muscle car.. 

[70charger_boy]

The EPA superbird was used to test emmisions from the cars on the street and since most of the cars gas were leaded the results from the tests led to stricter standards.  Thus, getting rid of leaded gas and high insurance rates the musclecar died...only to be resurected later

[Aero426]

The EPA superbird was used to test emmisions from the cars on the street and since most of the cars gas were leaded the results from the tests led to stricter standards.  Thus, getting rid of leaded gas and high insurance rates the musclecar died...only to be resurected later

"I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of... disagree with you on that" - Bill Lumbergh. 

The muscle car was already well on the way to being dead by the time the EPA Superbird was completed in 1972.   The EPA Bird was a high speed platform used to chase airplanes and measure particulates.   One of the things they were interested in was  "Where do tires go?"   

High insurance and government mandates spelled the end of the vintage muscle era.  But the EPA Bird had nothing to do with that.   

If you read between the lines of who was involved, you can see that the EPA Bird was sort of a government "pork" project.    There was funding to build the car.   John Moran of the EPA formerly worked for Dow Chemical, sponsor of the Nichels #99 Daytona.   John Moran knew Ray Nichels needed work, and his company would be able to build the car.    Nichels won the bid for the contract (possibly the only bid) and the car was built.   It was used for a relatively short period of time and dissapeared into obscurity.   

[Brock Samson]

The EPA superbird was used to test emmisions from the cars on the street and since most of the cars gas were leaded the results from the tests led to stricter standards.  Thus, getting rid of leaded gas and high insurance rates the musclecar died...only to be resurected later

ok,..  and your sources are?..
kinda like Lido designed the Mustang?..

[Brock Samson]

  "thus"?

 

[Ghoste]

And incidentally, leaded gas was phased out because it plugged catalytic converters.  The cat was a GM invention and it came along in the early 70's when all the carmakers were having trouble meeting the new emission standards and the converter proved to be an excellent way to get well on the way to target.  IIRC, General Motors held a patent or manufacturing rights or some such on the thing for many years.

[Brock Samson]

related thread..

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25267.0.html

  ""It quickly became apparent that we were up against a situation that would require everything we could throw at it:' Huebner continued. "That was the prob1cm of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), a major component of Los Angeles smog. It was a case of all hands to the pump to check NOx emissions on the conventional piston engine. Experts in this area were hard to come by and our most able engineers were in the turbine project. They moved over and explored catalysts and exhaust manifold reactor systems to reduce chemical emissions on our internal combustion engines. meanwhile, turbine work stopped except for some experiments with its combustion and metallurgy."

  from this article from the early '70s..
http://www.turbinecar.com/76huebner.htm

and that is called an "accreditation"

[Ghoste]

Accreditation??  What are you, some kind of newspaper guy or something?  Next thing you you'll be giving us lecture on facts vs. opinions.