This is an 80's appreciation thread

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 04/04/2019 at 13:13 • Filed to: None

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But it’s not about Radwood-style nostalgia. Rather, this thread is to acknowledge the advancements in the automotive industry that occurred during this period. I don’t think any other decade saw such a rapid change in the way cars were designed and built. Here’s a breakdown:

Unibody construction took over almost completely

FWD became the default layout

ECUs and EFI took over for carburetors

V8s fell out of main use for passenger cars

The Minivan exploded onto the scene

The Sport Compact segment was created

Vehicles like the S10 Blazer, Ford Ranger, and XJ Cherokee paved the way for the trend of trucks and SUVs as DDs and family vehicles

Aero started to become a larger priority in mass produced cars.

Automakers entered the decade like this:

And ended it like this:

Those two Thunderbirds look 20 years apart, but really they’re just SEVEN. 1982-1989.

Computers were a large driving force behind these changes. The eighties were the decade of electronics. We saw more extensive use of automation in manufacturing, increasing consistency and precision. Cars started being designed extensively using CAD, allowing for designs to be modeled and optimized quicker and cheaper.

The auto industry more or less reinvented itself between the late 70s and early 90s, and the decade marks the cutoff between “modern” and “classic” cars.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:21

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1980 Corvette engine bay:

Hot mess of stuff tacked on to make things work, sort of.

1990 Corvette engine bay:

Pure hotness.

Nothing > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:22

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Vacuum everything!

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 13:23

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Packaging was definitely a big improvement. Traditionally built cars had so much empty or poorly used space in the engine bays and fenders.

Chariotoflove > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:29

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I remember learning to drive in a square Delta 88 in ‘84 . By the time I got my own Cutlass Supreme in ‘88, it looked like a sleek spaceship in comparison, with digital gauge cluster.

way2blu does a rev update > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:30

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Don’t forget:

Cheap mid-engine fun first became widespread in the ‘80s too :D

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:33

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It’s not so much packaging as they stopped having equipment retrofitted and started being clean sheet designs. MP FI allowed for new manifold designs that were previously problematic because now the manifolds were dry and you didn’t have fuel pooling or condensing issues in cold weather. They got a chance to “reset” the clock. The box changed, but the heart didn’t for so long, and then they got a chance to say “If only we weren’t limited by this random design decision made in 1953 that was completely arbitrary at the time.” They got to make engines modern.

For GM, the LS line was the last huge leap where they got rid of much of the stuff that had become vestigial on modern engines like distributors. Carburetors were truly the aftermarket concession rather than the design goal.

For Ford, the mod motor was the big leap. It changed how they designed engines almost completely. They went to an OHC architecture and never looked back... sort of.

Chrysler’s step was the 4.7 and Hemi lines. I loved my 4.7, though as soon as the word “hemi” was spoken, aftermarket development stopped.

What is truly interesting though is GM, they had the Northstar, Aurora, and LT5 DOHC V8s, and now they have no DOHC V8s. Almost as if it was an interesting experiment in time. 

nerd_racing > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 13:33

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mmm no push rods.  Perfection! 

nerd_racing > Nothing 04/04/2019 at 13:33

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The vacuum systems in my AW11 were a nightmare! 

InFierority Complex > way2blu does a rev update 04/04/2019 at 13:41

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Let’s not forget that there were 100k or so of these running around in the 70s.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:42

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MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:43

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I’ve owned 2 80's cars. My first vehicle was an 88 S10 Blazer 2 door Tahoe (yes Tahoe was part of the trim level). We got it when I was 13 and built the motor. Was an awesome truck until the cancer ate it’s exterior too far.

And my current 82 Capri of course:

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 13:45

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Almost as if it was an interesting experiment in time.

I think packaging and weight is becoming so much more important that the small size of a push rod engine is worth the disadvantages. Look at Ford bring a 7.3l push rod into their lineup.

My bird IS the word > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:45

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Also, turbochargers became practical and mainstream, and small cars became good.

Maxima Speed > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:46

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Automotive technologies you say?

vondon302 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:46

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I miss hot rodding 70s era cars. So much room for improvement and no computers to get in your way and stupid simple. Too bad they rotted away in front of your eyes.

And cheap too. This cost 1000 bucks in 85.

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 13:46

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lets not forget that many of our favorite 90's cars were developed deep in the 80's.  The 80 series land cruiser, for example, was started at the end of the 80's.  

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 04/04/2019 at 13:47

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Hence the “sort of”.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 13:51

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That’s what I figured you were referencing.

Future next gen S2000 owner > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 04/04/2019 at 13:59

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That motor is gas though and specifically designed for HD truck and what not. High revving and hp aren’t all that important. I wonder if there is an inherent torque advantage from the pushrod design over a DOHC. It doesn’t really matter what your Comcast bucket truck revs too as long as it can leave a stoplight decently quick.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Future next gen S2000 owner 04/04/2019 at 14:15

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Yea, and even so look what GM has been able to do with the LSx engines . It’s not like the Corvette is a slouch compared to the competition. I’m kind of excited for Ford’s new engine...a 5 year old F350 with that engine will probably be peanuts compared to a diesel (given current trends continue).

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 14:34

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Ah the 80s - when mid engined, rear wheel drive cars became available to the masses.

And if that doesnt seem mind blowing enough, consider that we were just 10 years removed from......Whatever this was:

The 70s were basically spent by automakers trying to pretend it was still the 1960s. The 80s were spent making sure the 70s were never repeated again.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 14:36

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I didn’t just mean engine packaging but the whole car. Some of the more excessive designs of the 70's would have something like a foot between the engine and radiator and then another two feet of empty space to the front of the car. They’d already started downsizing by the end of the 70's and the trend continued into the 80's. You started seeing parts that were designed around each other for a compact fit, rather than just making the car big enough for the standard parts to fit wi thout interference. Overhangs got smaller and wasted sp ace was minimized. The ratio of cabin volume to total volume grew hugel y during the 80's.

Say what you want about the K-Car, it started some packaging trends that are visible today in pretty much every current car.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 04/04/2019 at 14:46

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Well I have one of those Valiants and it is small compared to all the other cars at the time. The car was designed in the early 60's as the Lancer/Valiant. They were pretty much made for fifteen years.

BeaterGT > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/04/2019 at 14:54

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To be fair, that’s the ZR1 engine bay which is fairly unique in regards to other offerings . I’m sure the TPI/LT1 implementations didn’t look as clean ( I know mine didn’t) . I still love seeing that intake though, 4 cams is just crazy talk .

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > way2blu does a rev update 04/04/2019 at 15:06

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The “affordable mid-engine” class was just four cars though, so I’d lump them under Spor t Compact

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Maxima Speed 04/04/2019 at 15:09

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European and Japanese cars were a bit ahead of the curve on some of this stuff but yeah, there was such a huge leap in car construction and tech in the 80's.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition 04/04/2019 at 15:17

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Yes but did you ever have a picnic next to a foggy swamp while someone you loved fed you pieces of an apple as the wind gently blew over your feathered hair and John O ates inspired m ustache?

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 04/04/2019 at 15:35

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I guess I have a photo to recreate, if it ever stops raining here in Oregon.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition 04/04/2019 at 15:39

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I’ve got one for myself when I’m working on my Fiero:

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Maxima Speed 04/04/2019 at 16:10

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MMMM, 959 is still a dream car for me.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 16:11

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I want that Lesabre.

Kiltedpadre > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 17:42

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My parents had a 1989 LeSabre T-type in the exact same color as your lead image. They replaced it in 1996 right before I got my license. They said if the dealer offered them $3000 in trade or less they’d keep it and I could have it as my first car. To this day I still remember the trade in offer $3200. I had to share a car with my brother; a car he had completely trashed by that point.

MM54 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 18:56

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The tech entered the computer age and the design went from tradition to futurism.

ranwhenparked > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/04/2019 at 20:47

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The ‘80s was a period of pretty dramatic change, I feel like things have slowed down a bit now. Today, I saw a brand-new Kia Niro on temp tags park right next to a Dodge Journey, one of the oldest designs still on the market, and, I have to say, the Journey really doesn’t look any older stylistically.

Drivetrain, interiors, and general technology has advanced a lot, but styling seems to have more or less plateaued -unless you look at the really trendy stuff with giant grilles and wacky creases and floating C-pillars that are going to look dated 15 minutes after the new model comes out.

Although, even in the late ‘70s, automakers were already self-conscious about the older design language - cars with chrome bumpers, upright grilles, and formal rooflines were already being referred to as “classic style” in advertising, to distinguish from the more modern aerodynamic models hitting the market. There was a big generational shift going on - Baby Boomers were well established in their careers and fully emerged as the major purchasing block, but the WWII generation was also still only in their 60s and 70s and still had plenty of money to buy cars, and the two generations had wildly different tastes. Which  is how the Taurus and the LTD Crown Victoria shared the same showroom floor.

Hamtractor > vondon302 04/05/2019 at 10:59

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I had that exact same car in Powder Blue, for my first car.  Funny thing is, I bought it in 1991 for the same price.  $1000.00.  Threw some cherry bombs on it drove it like an idiot for a year until I wrapped it around a pole.  Young me was the dumbest me...

vondon302 > Hamtractor 04/05/2019 at 11:03

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I wrecked mine 3 times lol. Putting the 455 in it wasn't a good idea.