Cooter's Truck

[Crazy_C]

here is a question that has been buggin me for ages

the general lee is supposed to be the fasted vehicle in hazzard - right

and cooter sometimes helps the dukes with stuff - right

and they sometimes race away from law together - right

then how come cooter's truck can keep up with the general, even if the general is hitting the redline

has cooter got nitrous in his truck or something cos there is something wrong with a 2 ton work truck keeping up with a 1 ton race car

uncle jesse's truck cannot always keep up with the general, but when he does it is usually bo driving the general

daisy's jeep and roadrunner cannot keep up with the general

so what has cooter done to his truck to make it so fast

whatever he has done - is this why he is called CRAZY cooter

[DixieDavenport]

Just an option here: Cooter was a genious!!!!!

Bo was the driver. Luke a pretty fair mechnic. But COOTER was the mechanical genious!! In Repo man it refers to the wrecker as being suped up! IT was suped up and so wasa the General Lee but like yoou said it was a wreck trucka and heavier. Maybe too when Cooter keeps up with the they aren't running wide open.

DixieDAVENPORT

[Crazy_C]

yeah - i had another idea

the general had a v8

maybe cooter's truck was running twin v6's - that would explain the power and speed of it, but the power weight ratio would still mean that the general can outsprint it

the truck could house twin v6s so it is a possibility

who knows though - he was crazy after all

maybe you have some of the davenport crazyness dixie - just don't try to make a 500mph klunker

[MaximRecoil]

"Twin V6's"? How would that work exactly? BTW, the number of cylinders has nothing to do with how much power a motor can make. You could make a 1,000 horsepower 2 stroke 1 cylinder if you wanted to though it would rumble so violently that it would tear away from any motor mounts instantly. In general, more cylinders = a smoother running engine. Displacement is the major factor along with being able to circulate enough air through the system. More cylinders usually = more displacement but this is due to practicality, not necessity. A 500 cubic inch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 16 cylinder could all be built if anyone wanted to and they would all have similar power potential.

The most powerful internal combustion motors for cars on the planet are hopped up V8's, Hemi's usually. They are in top fuel dragsters and make over 3,000 horse and can do the 1/4 mile in about 4 seconds at over 300 MPH.

As far as Cooter's truck keeping up with the General Lee; it seems to me that most everything kept up with the General Lee. I can't think of any scenes offhand where they simply floored the General and left anyone in the dust. Those emissions-era bogged down 360's in the Chrysler B-body cop cars, the random 4 door sedan "Bad Guy's Car", Jesse's 300-6 powered Ford F100's, Daisy's 304 AMC (at best) Jeep, Cooter's various "tonners". Boss Hogg's 472(?) Cadillac -- all seemed to be able to keep up with the General Lee. I would say that it was because it is hard to make an interesting chase scene if the General just leaves everyone in the dust.

About Daisy's car (the 1971's in particular); that was the same car as the General Lee for all intents and purposes. The 2nd generation Chargers and the 2nd Generation Road Runners didn't share any outer body panels but they had the same chassis (B-Body) and pretty much the same drivetrain options. They both could be had with a 426 Hemi; the '71 Runner could be had with a 440 6bbl and the '69 Charger could be had with a slightly less powerful 440 4bbl. The 383 was available in both of them but only a 2 bbl version for the '69 Charger and a higher performance 4 bbl version for the '71 Road Runner. Transmission and rearend options were the same on both cars.

In 1972 we hit the start of the emissions-era (and no more Hemi) and by '74 it was in full swing. So while identical drivetrains could have been optioned on the '69 Charger and the '71 Road Runner; by '74 (like Daisy's original car was; from the first few episodes); all Mopars; even, all muscle cars, were mere shadows of their former selves. No "muscle car" from '74 could touch a '69 Charger R/T.

[Jeff Kleb]

For the most part, what you said is correct. That being said, it is hard for any car -- regardless of power output -- to reach its maximum speed or power output on Hazzard County's dirt roads. 250 or 500 horsepower won't do much good if you just spin the wheels and fishtail everywhere.

On a related note, why is the General Lee never dirty? I hit one spot of dirt along a paved highway on my way home and my whole car is filthy. Hazzard must have a lot of car wash places.

You said that no car from '74 could keep up with a '68 or '69 Charger R/T. I can think of maybe one exception to that: a 1974 Pontiac Firebird with the 455 Super Duty H.O. engine. I know horsepower measurements prior to '72 were "gross" and later cars were rated at "net" (more realistic) horsepower, so a 275-hp Firebird could probably give an older 375-hp Charger a run for the money. If you have ever ridden in one of those SD Firebirds (only made in '73 and '74), you would be quite impressed with what it could do with a 'smogger' engine under the hood.

I used to have a '79 Oldsmobile with a 403 V-8 (witha four-barrel, of course) that was rated at only 190 horsepower, yet it would "lay to rest" quite a few cars with a lot more rated power. No, it was not a dragster.....but it did have one heck of a kick to it once it got going. Maybe there is something to be said for torque. Boss Hogg's Caddy would probably have a top-end speed close to or greater than that of the General Lee - depending upon the axle ratio.

Ah, this board is awakening the gearhead in me!

[MaximRecoil]

That being said, it is hard for any car -- regardless of power output -- to reach its maximum speed or power output on Hazzard County's dirt roads. 250 or 500 horsepower won't do much good if you just spin the wheels and fishtail everywhere.

That's true. On dirt, driving ability comes more into play more than horse power and of course, that is where the Duke characters shined. Even so; while most people remember only dirt roads in Hazzard, there were plenty of chases on pavement; especially in the Covington episodes. Even on pavement I don't recall the General Lee just leaving anyone in the dust.

On a related note, why is the General Lee never dirty? I hit one spot of dirt along a paved highway on my way home and my whole car is filthy. Hazzard must have a lot of car wash places.

The same invisible elves that washed their car constantly were the same ones that could repair dents and twisted/bent/busted chassis on the fly, lol.

You said that no car from '74 could keep up with a '68 or '69 Charger R/T. I can think of maybe one exception to that: a 1974 Pontiac Firebird with the 455 Super Duty H.O. engine. I know horsepower measurements prior to '72 were "gross" and later cars were rated at "net" (more realistic) horsepower, so a 275-hp Firebird could probably give an older 375-hp Charger a run for the money. If you have ever ridden in one of those SD Firebirds (only made in '73 and '74), you would be quite impressed with what it could do with a 'smogger' engine under the hood.

Late 60's Mopar engines were quite underrated. It is hard to draw a comparison from the official numbers themselves. The best way to look at it would be to find some quarter mile times. In general, in stock form, a 2nd generation 440 Charger R/T was a low 14 second car. The Hemi R/T was a high 13 second car. I don't know what the Firebird that you mentioned was capable of. Either way, I already covered my bases here because I said "muscle car" and as we know, the Firebirds/Camaro's were "pony cars", not muscle cars

I used to have a '79 Oldsmobile with a 403 V-8 (witha four-barrel, of course) that was rated at only 190 horsepower, yet it would "lay to rest" quite a few cars with a lot more rated power. No, it was not a dragster.....but it did have one heck of a kick to it once it got going. Maybe there is something to be said for torque. Boss Hogg's Caddy would probably have a top-end speed close to or greater than that of the General Lee - depending upon the axle ratio.

Yeah, your Olds sounds like it was high geared. As far as Boss' Cadillac goes; definitely a highway cruiser with plenty of top end. You can work those cadillac motors over pretty good too but they are better when dropped into a light hotrod than in Boss' behemouth. I would say that a Hemi Charger with 3.23 gears or higher and a 727 Torque-Flite would still have more high end than that Cadillac though. Drop in a race Hemi and suitable cogs and you are going to push near 200 MPH if you think you can keep the rear on the pavement at that speed. It was the '69 Dodge Charger Daytona with a race Hemi (the big wing gave it enough downforce on the rear to remain stable at such speeds), duct taped for aerodynamics, that was the first NASCAR car to top 200 MPH (they did it on the Talladega Speedway). The funny thing about the street Hemi was that there wasn't much separating it from a race Hemi (i.e. it could be easily converted to "race hemi" status; Chrysler even published a parts list back in the day for people wanting to do just that). Higher compression (12.5:1 compression rather than 10.25:1 if memory serves), headers rather than exhaust manifolds and different intake manifolds were the major differences. Also, cast iron heads rather than aluminum heads were used on the street Hemi.

[Jeff Kleb]

Stop it! You're giving me flashbacks now. Ah, the late-'60s cars (Ford, Chrysler and GM) were all forces with which to be reckoned. Since you mentioned it, I recall my great-grandmother's 1966 Chrysler (Newport?). That thing didn't have a 440 in it, but it sure would go.

High compression ratios, high-octane fuel and no emissions control all helped from a performance-based standpoint. It is not until well into the 1980s when technology/computers were able to overcome EPA rules, unleaded fuel, low compression, etc., etc. Do you remember how 'awesome' the 1985 Mustang GT was in its day with 210 horsepower? Hard to believe that it is up to 300 in a stock '05 GT now.

One of the biggest limitations on cars back in the '60s and early '70s was tire and suspension technology. It is hard to get all of that torque onto the pavement or to steer into some hard curves. New cars definitely have the advantage on that. Heck, my 2005 Toyota 4Runner probably pulls more g's on the skidpad than those old MOPARs.

Regarding the hemi, I find it funny that Chrysler has brought it back. Many folks buying the new Magnums, 300s and Ram trucks might not even have been alive when the "original" hemis were ruling the tracks. Also, there was a dual (4-barrel) carb option for some of those cars.....but you hardly ever saw them. It was not the most streetable engine - kind of like the high-zoot 427 3x2 that Chevy had in the '67 and '68Corvette.

Check out http://www.carsinbarns.com if you want to see some old Superbirds and Daytona Chargers - along with other muscle cars - that are shamefully rotting away.

[MaximRecoil]

One of the biggest limitations on cars back in the '60s and early '70s was tire and suspension technology. It is hard to get all of that torque onto the pavement or to steer into some hard curves. New cars definitely have the advantage on that. Heck, my 2005 Toyota 4Runner probably pulls more g's on the skidpad than those old MOPARs.

Mopars were ahead of the game in their day with unibody and torsion bar front suspension. Have you ever read "Mopar Action"? I haven't read it in about 7 years but that magazine was a riot. The staff was always doing stuff like "The Rental Car Nationals", the "Rental Car Bumper-to-Bumper Burnouts", The Rental Car Nitrous project -- they juiced a rented [from Thrifty] Neon and ran in the 13's with it. They did it for like $20 or something from autoparts store parts (and gave the complete how-to and even recommended Thrify Rental cars) and the switch for the nitrous was wired into the horn. The airbox caught on fire and they say it was barely limping when they returned it to their local smiling Thrifty agent. It was a hilarious article; as most of their project article were.

Edit: Some searching turned up the original article scanned in. Check it out here.

Anyway, they decided to enroll in a driving class and everyone showed up with fancy modern cars (rice burners, new Camaros/Firebirds, etc.) They showed up with a rough '68 Valiant 4 door (A-body), LOL. They had left the suspension stock; added some wider wheels and wider modern tires and installed subframe connectors. They also dropped in a new crate 380 HP 360 from Mopar Performance and upgraded the rest of the drivetrain to go along with it. They probably did a 4 wheel disk brake upgrade as well; been a while since I read it.

They were zipping around all of the new cars on that track; much to the disbelief of every one else there (Valiants don't look like much, lol). It was a long running article, stretching over several issues of the magazine, complete with lots of photos and it was an absolute riot to read.

[Jeff Kleb]

A Valiant? A friend of mine had one of those (or maybe it was a Dodge Dart - I do not recall) that was equipped with the Slant-6 ("Tower of Power") engine. I think he drove it forever and it just would not die - even running with hardly any oil in the sump!

It rusted out before the powertrain gave up. Chrysler had a good thing going with that engine, as many of them were even used in taxicabs.

Funny story about the juiced Neon. Amazing what a little recreational chemistry can do, eh?

[MaximRecoil]

Yeah, those "Leaning Tower of Power" slant-6's were tough as a bag of badgers. I have heard lots of stories of them running with very little oil. Not only did a lot of taxi's have those motors but a lot of the old Mopar NYC police cruisers had them as well; they were concerned more about reliablity than performance. There was even a Hemi slant-6 with three 2 bbl carburetors available in certain Aussie Mopars; notably their late 60's Valiant-based A-body "Charger R/T":

"In August the E38 R/T Charger was introduced with a 280 HP ‘six pack’ Hemi engine, a high performance version of the 265 6 cylinder fed by 3 dual throat Weber carburetors. It was available dressed with stripes, blackouts and R/T decals - a true muscle car. In June 1972 the new E49 R/T was released, a similar vehicle but with engine output now reaching 302 HP, it was Australia’s fastest accelerating car at 14.1 seconds over the quarter, a title it retained for nearly 2 decades (not bad for a six cylinder!)."

BTW, here is another funny Mopar Action article. Out of all the articles I have ever read in any magazines; the juiced Neon and the hacked up Imperial that I am linking to here were the most memorable. Fortunately I found them online because I checked Mopar Action's site first and they want $6 a piece for back issues, lol.