Hello from a Newbie,

Wow, what a trip down memory lane here folks! Here is my short story.

My sisters starts dating this guy who owns this 1 year old 78 Formula, yellow with tan interior. I fell in love with the color and set out on my mission when I turned 16 to start a search for my own 78 yellow Formula with tan interior. Two years later as I was just about to give up and buy a brand new 1981 Z28 4 speed car, I found my new ride. A trade in from the previous weekend at a Toyota lot in Huntington Beach, Ca was a 1978 Formula with all the right colors, 403 motor, TH 350 trans and a 2.56 gear out back. It had manual windows and no A/C. I met my girlfriend and now wife in that car, she is a motor head like myself and helped me with keeping it lean and clean. I lowered the car 2” all the way around, I ran BFG 295/50-15’s out back and 275/50-15 up front. The car weighed 3,750 lbs without driver.

The car ran a 16.21 ET at Orange County Raceway, with a 67 mph thru the traps bone stock. I rejetted the stock Q-jet carb, recurved the stoch HEI distributor, true dual exhaust on stock manifolds ( I ran headers for a while and didn’t like them so I went back to the stock manifolds), edelbrock performer manifold and a dual snorkel “cold air” cleaner. The car ran consistent 14.30’s at 102 mph with the 2.56 gear. The car ran on ###### water grade fuel, never burned a drop of oil and would get 22 mpg on the highway if I would keep my foot out of it. I later went to a posi 3.42 gear which the car would then run between 13.98 and 14.03 all day long at the same 102 mph. Up until the late 80’s, a 14 flat car was pretty darn good, and I didn’t loose to many street races. As a side note, I once had the car up to 5,000 rpm in 3rd gear with the BFG tires and the 2.56 gear. I remember I did the math at the time and calculated the mph to be in the 150 range, it was a stupid thing to do. A few strange things happened at about 130 MPH, the windows sucked out of their roof seals and onto the roof.

Many people gave me a hard time about the engine package I was running, but it served me well and caught many a hot rod off guard. It wasn’t a revver motor. My best ET’s were shifting just below 5K, from 2 to 4K rpm, that motor was a torque monster. Very unusual for a short stroke motor. In the 156,000 miles I drove the car, it never broke anything!

Eventually, the car sat covered in my garage until 1990, not getting out much. A street racing ticket (against a SS396/325 hp car) and no A/C was not compatible with my career. I also had a new house and wife, meaning it needed to go. A gentleman from New Zealand purchased the car for a client of his. As far as I know, the car is still over there. That was a damn good car.

Keep up the good work, for those of you that still have these cars, enjoy a timeless classic hot rod.

Just so you know, I have a very similar story. When I was 16 I owned a 68 GTO, it was my baby. But like you say, life and more important things come along and away goes the dream car. Now, much later in life as things have slowed down quite a bit and the kids are now starting lives of their own I have my Formula. What goes around comes around my friend, don't give up hope that you can't renew that dream.

Welcome to TFS!

Thanks. I would buy another one, but only if I could get my old car back. Now its LandCruisers, KTM's and Karts. No regrets, just good memories.

cool story! Hope you get the opportunity to own your dream car again.

to TFS!

That is a cool story and never say never. I know someone who had to sell their car due to a similar situtation to your and quite a few years later he happened to be driving along and saw a car that looked like his for sale in a little bitty used car lot. For old times sake he stopped to look at it just to relive some memories and low and behold it turned out to be his car. Let's just say it didn't sit at that lot too long and it's now back home in his garage after being away from it for over 20 years.

It would be nice to have it back again, but of course I say that about all of the cars I've owned at one time or another, but then haven't we all? As much as I love the old school stuff, I like the new stuff to. I currently have a 95 Impala SS with a few bolt ons. Modern performance cars will idle in traffic all day with the A/C blowing ice cubes and getting 20 something MPG. Old mussle cars are VERY cool, but would never do that and get good gas mileage.

As my wife say's, its best to leave those fond memories of the Formula, just as we left them.

sigh, "I guess your right (as I scan yet another iron lot) dear"

My formula gets about 20mpg in traffic and this is florida, the air's on all the time.

Keep looking, you will find one somewhere.

Matt

If I could find one for the right price, I would probably buy it.

Awesome story man! Welcome to TFS. Keep looking and you shall find.