Ah yes, Detroit muscle. American automobile ingenuity at its
finest. I’m talking 1960s era Chevys,
Fords, and Mopars, and I’m talking ones that go fast. Ok, I expect the
typical Listverse flak about this list being “too American”, but cry me a river. If someone wants to do
a European Sports Car list, more power to ya, but these machines are my
idea of heaven on four wheels.
This is of course not a
definitive list but before you comment, please note: you’ll find no
pony-cars here, my friends. Maybe I’ll do a follow-up list of Camaros, Mustangs, etc. if this one is
well received, but for this one I wanted to profile the more humble
looking street machines. And sorry, I love ‘em, but in my world ‘vettes
are “sports cars”, not muscle cars, so that marque is likewise omitted.
And so without further ado, here are ten of my favorite muscle machines,
right down to specific model-years that are of special appeal to
collectors and enthusiasts. And yes, they are in no particular order
(well maybe slight consideration) so don’t obsess about the ranking.
10. 1963
Impala Z11 427
Chevrolet’s famed 409 engine was
immortalized in the 1962 Beach Boys
song of the same name, and was the desire of many muscle car
enthusiasts in the early 60’s. In ‘62 the hot set-up was to order the
409 in the lightweight “bubble-top” Bel
Air 2-door hardtop. Well, kicking it up a notch in 1963,
Chevrolet introduced the Z11 option package for its Impala line. The
package included a modified 409 increased to 427 cid by way of a stroked
crank, and had special heads, valves and a two-piece aluminum intake manifold sporting dual
quads. Output was rated at 430 hp. The additional Z11 features were not
limited to the engine compartment however, as the hood, fenders bumpers
and other items were made of aluminum to lighten its overall curb
weight. This was a RPO (regular production option) package supposedly
available to the general public, but appears to have only been
selectively sold to racers with the intent of furthering Chevrolet’s
cause at the drag strip. No matter, the ‘63 Impala SS with a standard 425 hp 409 was plenty fast
for the average joe, regularly turning sub-15’s in the quarter mile.
Only 50 or so (qtys vary by source) Impala Z11s were sold in 1963, and
there are 7 known to be still in existence today.
9. 1964 Ford Thunderbolt
Fomoco’s answer to keep pace with
the lighter and faster Chevys and Mopars of the day was to cram its
biggest motor, the big-block 427, into one of its smallest models, the
mid-sized Fairlane 2-door coupe. Major front-end frame modifications
were needed to accomplish this, as well as a large hood bulge necessary
to accommodate the hi-rise manifold and twin fours, with air induction
routed through dummy headlight openings in the grill. But nonetheless it
was a factory-produced car available to anyone from their local
dealership, listing at $3,750. Even so, it was purely designed for
racing, with plexiglass windows, fiberglass body panels, and a spartan
interior that lacked armrests, sun-visors, mirrors, sound-dampening
insulation, and was radio- and heater-delete. Imagine those kinds of
shortcuts in comfort and especially safety features being allowed in
this day and age. Truth be told, the Thunderbolt was not really suitable
for everyday use. Perhaps that’s why only 100 T-bolts were sold in
1964. But beware; these cars could pull down mid 11s in the quarter
mile!
8. 1969 AMC SC/Rambler
It is easy to forget that muscle
cars (and cars in general) in the U.S. weren’t limited to the “Big
Three” automakers. In 1969 American Motors Corp. joined forces the well
known parts company Hurst Performance and surprised everyone with the
SC/Rambler (aka “Scrambler”). The SC stood for “stock-car”, but this was
a race-ready production vehicle. Maintaining the typical
small-car-big-engine strategy, AMC stuffed their 390 cid 315 hp V8
power-plant into its light-weight Rambler Rogue hardtop coupe. This car
could hold court with many of the more popular machines of the day, as
stock vehicles regularly turned low 14s at the strip. No options were
available (except an AM radio), which kept the price below $3,000. All
cars had plain grey vinyl interior with bench seats and red white and blue headrests,
carpeting, and a Borg-Warner 4-speed with a Hurst shifter. But perhaps
the car’s most striking feature was its bold paint scheme and a large,
functional “Ram Air” induction hood
scoop. The first 500 units all were a base white with a wide red
side panel running the length of the car, and had a blue stripe running
front to back across the top of the car. An arrow graphic pointed
towards the scoop and lettering noted the engine size. Additionally
striking were the blue two-toned mag wheels. When these cars quickly
sold out, AMC released a second batch of 500, this time with “B” trim,
which was mostly white with narrow red and blue side stripes. A third
batch of 512 units was later released which are thought to have gone
back to the “A” trim, though this is a source of controversy among
enthusiasts, as vehicle VIN codes do not differentiate between the two
paint schemes. What is known is that of the total 1,512 SC/Ramblers
built, the majority of surviving examples today have the “A” trim. The
SC/Rambler is perhaps one of the least remembered muscle cars from the
era.
7. 1968 Dodge Charger R/T
Sleek “coke-bottle” body styling
and a mean-looking black-out front grill with hidden headlights sets the
Dodge Charger apart from the competition. The R/T (road/track)
designation is what Dodge used to denote a car equally suited for street
performance or drag racing. Heavy duty suspension provided superior
handling (compared to the typical muscle car), and with a powerful 375
hp 440 Magnum V-8, this car ran the quarter-mile in just under 15
seconds, and listed for about $3,500. Not good enough? R/T Chargers with
a Hemi under the hood (only 475 produced) would cost you an extra $600,
but dropped that quarter time down to the mid 13s. A total of 96,100
Chargers were built in 1968, with 17,000 of them having the R/T
designation. Fans of the 1968 movie Bullit might recall that Steve
McQueen’s nemisis drove an awesome black 440 Magnum R/T Charger in
perhaps one of the best chase scenes ever put on film. You can watch it
here.
6. 1969 Ford Fairlane/Torino Cobra
Officially, these are known
simply as Cobras, according to period Ford advertising and sales
brochures, and more importantly, the dealer winder-sticker. Really
though, these are Fairlanes, as the Torino designation was an option
package for the Fairlane body-code and was not yet a separate model line
in 1969. Sometimes also referred to as the Torino GT or Fairlane Cobra,
this naming convention generates some debate in collector circles. This
line featured two body styles: the hardtop (aka “formal roof”) and the
much more common “sports roof” fastback. The Cobra performance package
included as standard the 335 hp 428 Cobra Jet V-8 with a Holly 4bbl.
Optional Ram Air didn’t increase horsepower, but it boosted the
performance peak to 5,600 rpm. Also included was a locking rear
differential, which was exclusive to Ford. Quarter mile times were
typically in the 14.5 second range. Exact production figures are
difficult to come by, but it is estimated that about 14,000 Cobras were
sold in 1969, with the vast majority of them being the fastback version.
Naturally, I prefer the rare hardtop (pictured here), which number
about 3,000.
5. 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner
Mopar
struck paydirt when it came up with the idea of capitalizing on the
muscle car wave of popularity by offering the low-priced Roadrunner to
the masses in 1968, with 1969 being a particularly stellar sales year.
They were definitely marketing the younger audience with better
affordbility, as well as licencing the Warner Brothers cartoon character
as its namesake and mascot, including the well-known “beep-beep” sound
for its horn. To keep the price down, Roadrunners were minimally
appointed, but these cars weren’t toys, as performance and suspension
features were not compromised. Base stickered at under $3,000, the price
quickly went up when you started beefing it up with power options. Who
wants the standard 383 cid mill when you could get a 390 hp 440 with a
three-two “Six-pack”? Well forget even that; what you really wanted
under the hood was the 426 Street Hemi. Featuring hi-po goodies such as
Hemi heads, 10.25:1 compression and two fours, its rated output boosted
to 425 hp at 5,000 rpm. It could run the quarter in 13.5 seconds and had
a top speed of 140+ mph! Over 80,000 units of the various
configurations were sold in 1969, with the “no-post” hardtops being the
most desirable among collectors. But the real find today is the rag-top,
of which only about 2,200 were produced.
4. 1966 Oldsmobile 442
Technically, pre-1968 Olds 442s weren’t an
actual model, but rather “442″ was an option package available for the
Oldsmobile Cutlass. The standard L78 400 cid engine incorporated a
single 4bbl carburetor and was rated at 350 hp. The favored set-up for
muscle car buyers was the upgraded L69, which was a one-year-only
configuration that featured a hotter cam and a triple 2bbl carb
“tri-power” arrangement, which helped increase the power rating by
another 10 horses. Quarter-mile runs were as quick as 14.8 seconds.
Rarest of the rare was the W-30 version of the tri-power motor, which
also incorporated an air induction system via tubing from the front
bumper. There were only 54 factory-released copies of the W-30, although
another 97 were dealer-modified installations. Finding a W-30 442 today
is next to impossible (at this writing, one is available on eBay for
$70k!), but lacking that, the “regular” tri-power L69’s are most desired
by collectors.
3. 1969
Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee
I’m listing both versions of the
‘69 Coronet muscle car here, because they are both very similar (and
very cool), but each one has its own unique advantages. The R/T option
designation was available on several Dodge models starting back in 1967,
and signified “road/track” performance. In 1969, many Mopar fans opted
for the slightly less expensive Coronet Super Bee (boasting its unique
logo in the rear-end bumble-bee striping). This was Dodge’s equivalent
to the Plymouth Roadrunner, and as such, was equally minus many luxury
features, making it lighter in weight as compared to the R/T. Super Bees
are also much more common, especially those equipped with the base 383
cid (over 24,000 units sold), which was not even available in the R/T. A
few Super Bees came with either the bigger 440 six-pack or the 426
twin-four Hemi. The R/T was only offered with the 440 Magnum or the
Hemi. These burners routinely ran the quarter-mile in the mid-13s. As
for the R/T being the rarer of the two models, about 6,800 R/Ts were
produced in 1969, 400 of which were the R/T convertible (all Super Bees
were hardtops). Ten of those rag-top R/Ts had the Hemi, and only four of
those left the factory with the four-speed tranny.
2. 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396
Chevrolet’s “Super Sport” option
package was first introduced for the 1961 Impala and soon spread to its
other model offerings including the Chevelle, which began life in 1964.
The 1966 model year saw the Chevelle take on what I consider to be its
best looking body style, with its most-recognizable feature, the classic
forward-thrusting front fenders. The Super Sport version also included
special wheel covers, red-line tires, and a black-out grill which showed
off the SS badging to further compliment its bold appearance.
Enginewise, the 396 was basically a de-stroked big-block 409, and was
available in several configurations starting with the base-rated 325 hp
version. The top option was the RPO L78 which was a mid-year release.
Thanks to its 11.0:1 compression ratio, a hot cam, and other tweaks,
this baby generated 375 hp at 5600 rpm, could go 0-60 in about 6.5
seconds and ran 14.5 second quarters. In 1966, Chevelle SS 396s with the
L78 engine option numbered only about 100 units, and accordingly are
highly prized today.
1. 1967
Pontiac GTO
Photo courtesy of Rob H. of Connecticut
Many enthusiasts consider the “Goat” to be the first muscle car,
and its classic split grill front-end design is among the most
recognizable features of all muscle cars. Starting life as an option
package for the 1963 Pontiac LeMans, the GTO became its own model series
in 1966. Model year 1967 was the last year of this first-generation
look with the stacked headlight design, and is showcased here. Standard
equipment included bucket seats, a walnut-grained dash panel, duel
exhaust, and a beefy suspension. A look under the hood found a bigger
400 cid motor than the prior year’s 389. Pontiac also went from a
tri-power (three 2bbls) carb setup to a single 4bbl for the 1967
edition. The top performance option in 1967 was the 400 HO, rated at 360
hp at 5,100 rpm. Adding the Ram Air induction option slightly increased
peak rpm. These GTOs typycally ran the quarter-mile in the low 14s.
Almost 82,000 GTOs were sold in 1967, 13,872 of which had the 400 HO,
with Ram Air installed in only 751 of these units.
bonus
1963 Plymouth/Dodge
426 Max Wedge
This entry is more
about an engine, rather than a specific vehicle model line, hence the
entry as a bonus item (plus, I couldn’t think of any other way to
squeeze it onto the list!). The 426 RB Wedge (aka Max Wedge) was
introduced by Mopar in 1963 as a factory produced “racing only” engine,
and was sold through 1964, until it was replaced by the more famous 426
Hemi. According to sales brochures, cars ordered with the Wedge were
“not a street machine” but were “designed to be run in supervised,
sanctioned drag-strip competition”. The usual combo was to order it in
Plymouth’s lightest weight model, the Savoy (pictured here), but it
could also be found in the more luxerious Belvedere and Sport Fury
models. The Dodge equivilent was typically found in the Polara, but in
both marques, it could be ordered in any model offered (including wagons
and convertables). 2,130 Mopar vehicles with this motor installation
were produced in 1963. Boasting dual quads and 13.5:1 compression, this
power-plant produced 425 hp at 5,600 rpm. Lightweight stockers with this
motor flew down the strip in a blinding 12 seconds.
Source:
http://listverse.com/2009/08/15/10-classic-american-muscle-cars/
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