Were 1980s cars really that bad?

[Chazman]

Originally Posted by old5.0

Just out of curiosity, why is that? Understanding that there's a difference between Pure Stock and actual as-delivered-off-the-showroom-floor vehicles, a Pure Stock legal roller cam 5.0 will run low 13's, so what is it about the TPI Chevy that would keep it from doing that?

Off the top of my head, Pure Stock allows an added point and a half of compression, gear ratio changes, bigger exhaust, carb tuning, bigger tires, etc.