This Drag Race Between a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette And a 1976 Pontiac Firebird Formula Will Make You Sad About 1970s American Motoring - gallery

The C3 Corvette still looks amazing, but has fallen far from its glory days

On its best day, the 350 cu-in V-8 makes 250 hp at 5,200 RPM and 285 lb/ft at 4,000 RPM. On the plus side, the "Vette" comes with a 4-speed manual and 3.73 gears

Heavy despite the fiberglass body

The 1970s saw the C3 Corvette drop the classic, chrome bumpers in favor of fiberglass panels and a more streamlined design. While still having a fiberglass body, the C3 comes in at 3,750 lbs, driver included

The Pontiac Fierbird Formula suffered even more in the 1970s

Despite having the optional 400 cu-in V-8, it comes with a 7.6:1 compression ratio. This is good for 185 hp at 3,600 RPM and 310 lb/ft at 1,600 RPM. It also has a 4-speed manual and comes with 3.42 gears

The Pontiac Firebird Formual is even heavier

Granted, the Firebird never featured a fiberglass bodywork, but that still doesn't excuse a weight of 4,065 lbs, with the driver inside. In 1976, the Firebird Formula was heavier than a lot of full-size Muscle cars from a few years earlier

The drag race was a surprising turn of events

More torque was the only thing the Pontiac Firebird Formula had going for it. Despite that, it managed to beat the lighter, more powerful Corvette, twice, with over a second difference in ET

The Corvette might have won in a 1/2-mile race

The Corvette cnsistenttly had a higher trap speed than the Firebird Formula. However, 1/4-mile just isn't long enough for the Corvete to catch the Firebird, which had a best time of 16.63 seconds vs the C3's 17.26 seconds

While both cars are no strangers to resto-modding, especially late C3 Corvettes, they signify an era of American motoring we all want to forget. Unfortunately, history sometimes repeats itself and this time, we may not even have V-8 engines

Swipe up for more details on both cars and to watch the race