Friday, June 19, 2009

Friday Fun Thread: Bring on da Muscle...

Heh. Here's a good one. Top Ten Muscle cars. I'm certain that this list won't be controversial... heh heh heh...



1. 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge. Bar none, this is the muscle car di tutti muscle cars. This is also my second favorite car in the entire world, and was responsible for me owning a 1972 Pontiac LeMans with a rebuilt 400 CI motor right out of college. The plan was to turn it into a LeGoat (restore the body, get the GTO cladding). The reality was a lawn ornament that I wound up selling - at a hefty $200 profit - to one of my sister's friends...

2. 1987 Buick Gran National. Not much that came out of the 1980s for American cars was anything even vaguely resembling a muscle car. The Gran National, however, gave a brief, shining glimpse of what had once been, coupled with an insight into what could be on the horizon. In the aftermath of the emissions control BS that crippled American muscle in the mid-'70s, the turbocharged Gran National offered performance again.

3. Shelby Cobra. Any list of muscle cars that doesn't include the Cobra is wrong. End of story. Small frame. Lightweight body. Ginormous motor stuffed under the hood. American car from the 1960s capable of close to 200 MPH top speed. Side pipes. Roadster. R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r! Unfortunately, so few were made that remaining Cobras are far beyond the reach of all but the most Leno-esque of collectors...

4. 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302. The late 1960s/early 1970s were the golden years for American muscle. The Chevelles, 442s, 'Cudas, Roadrunners, etc. ruled the roost with big block power. Ford wasn't as heavily invested in the muscle car wars as Mopar or GM; however they did offer the Boss 302 Mustang, one of the more enduring icons of the muscle car era. Power was a respectable 290 HP in a (for the time period) small car, and the Boss 'Stang competed in the Trans Am series against the AAR 'Cudas and Penske Camaros...

5. 1970 Hemi 'Cuda. Speaking of the Plymouth Barracuda... What's not to love about a car named after one of the fastest predators of the sea? The Barracuda underwent two body style changes from its introduction in 1964 (when it was based on the Valiant) to the 3rd generation body style from 1970-1974 (1974 shown). The 426 Hemi put out 425 horsepower, achieving the sought-after metric of 1HP/CI that was the grail of muscle car motors.

6. Chevrolet Chevelle 454SS. This is a stand-in for any member of the "GM Quartet" - the Chevy Chevelle, Oldsmobile 442, Pontiac GTO, or Buick GNX. The LS6 version of the 454SS put out 450 horsepower, and is generally considered one of the fastest muscle cars going. This engine would launch this steel monstrosity down the ¼ mile in low 13 second times, generally the realm of mildly customized specialty cars...

7. 1957 Chrysler 300 C. The 300 series is considered by many to be the "grandfather" of the American muscle car, with the "300" standing for the 300 horsepower coming out of the 331 CI "FirePower" V8 in the original 1955 300. The 1957 300C offered a 375 HP 392 CI V8. From its introduction in 1955 through the 1957 model year, the 300 was the fastest American car on the road.

8. 1969 Chevrolet Corvette 427. 390 HP in a fiberglass bodied car? Sign me up! The '68-82 C3 body Corvette (called the "Mako Shark" after the concept 'Vette in 1968, it replaced the 1963-1967 "Stingray" monikered C2). The fabled ZL-1 427 put out 585 horsepower, making this 'Vette a contender against the offerings from Ferrari.

9. Ford Torino GT 428 Cobra Jet. Just getting something the size of the Ford Torino moving at all is an impressive feat. Getting it moving at speeds approaching those of a muscle car (14.2 second ¼ mile!) is an engineering marvel unto itself. This particular car makes the list for sentimental reasons - a good friend of mine who restores old cars just resuscitated a '68 Torino GT and has been working on it periodically.

10. 1992 Dodge Viper. Hmmm. Open top. Side pipes. Ridiculously overpowered engine. Where have we seen this car before? I'd argue that the single most important thing that the Viper did was to re-invigorate the American muscle car market after the torpor of the late 1970s and 1980s...


Okay, so there's my list of my Top Ten favorite muscle cars spanning some 5 decades. I have a hunch that there might be a few that y'all feel deserve a spot on the list, or some on the list that you think don't quite make the grade.

Have at it!

That is all.

20 comments:

Sabra said...

What, no Impala? No Camaro? Sigh. You're going to lump those in with the Chevelle, aren't you?

Jay G said...

Sabra,

I try to even the lists out among the manufacturers whenever possible. This list was already pretty GM-heavy as it was; fortunately Ford's pretty light in the muscle car department.

I mean, heck, every one of the quartet is a right fine muscle car - the Hurst Olds, the GNX, etc.

Add in the Penske Camaro (hey, it *did* get an honorable mention!), the Impala SS (either the 60s variant or the 90s), and this list could have been "Top Ten GM Muscle"...

Bob said...

1967 Pontiac GTO convertible, gunmetal blue with a white ragtop.

1971 Plymouth Roadrunner. Any color. Maybe sky blue, I remember Richard Petty driving one of that color that year.

Brad_in_MA said...

Jay,

1970 Olds Cutlass 442 with the W30 performance package. No. Questions. Asked.

- Brad

John the Texaner said...

In the Mustang department, I'm more partial to the 1969 428 Cobrajet Sportsroof model. It is my dream car, in fact.

Stretch said...

The FBI had 50 Grand Nationals modified for "special purposes” at Quantico. All exempt from emission controls. All police cars have (had?) exemptions to the emission restrictions. Add the Plymouth Fury III that the Virginia State Police headquarters motor pool modified and you have the makings of the perfect I-95 showdown.

Jay G said...

Stretch,

IIRC the CT state police had Gran Nationals for their interceptors for a while.

I know for a fact that the MA State police looked into having Calloway turbocharge the Chevy Impalas they were using in the 1970s. Had to scrap the plan because GM wouldn't honor the warrantee if the turbo was installed...

TOTWTYTR said...

1965 Olds F85 four door sedan. Maroon with vinyl bench seat, AM radio, and of course no AC. But it did have an automatic transmission.

Oh, also an Olds Rocket 330 ci V8 with a four barrel carburetor.

It was 1971 or so, I-95 from Dedham to Providence had just opened. The road was so new that the cops didn't even patrol it yet. From Quincy to Providence and back in less than 90 minutes.

Yeah, that was my favorite muscle car.

TOTWTYTR said...

CTSP had the Grand Nationals in the mid to late 1980s. All of the ones I saw where black.

Keith said...

To me, "muscle car" means big, heavy, strong. And nothing fills that out like the '70 454 SS Chevelle. Muscle car isn't about being light to go fast.

agg79 said...

Great list, man.
Everyone has ther favorites (mine's a 68 Mustang) but your list is pretty damn good. Although I'd debate you on the '87 Gran National.

Paul, Dammit! said...

My '70 cutlass 442 says Brad is right on. PS Brad, if you're reading this, she's for sale.

the pistolero said...

That list looks just about perfect. You do know what may be the biggest reason for the similarities between the Viper and the Cobra, right? And yes, an original Cobra would be hideously expensive these days. I know 20 years ago they were worth about $400,000 apiece.

Buffboy said...

As someone that still has the 1971 Plumcrazy RoadRunner he bought in 1976, I'm gonna name a little Japanese car as one overlooked in your list. The 240Z, a 2 seat, comfortable, surprisingly roomy, car that wasn't a lesson in terror when it came to a curve unlike your 454 Chevelle. Throw in that it had a power to weight ratio(in stock form) of the 67 SS396 Chevelle and you have something that made the mid-70 to early 80s bearable in the age of smog gutted American muscle. Being relatively inexpensive and getting 24mpg didn't hurt either.

Cliff Smith said...

1967 GTO 400 ci, Hurst shifter, 4/11 positraction rearend, burgandy, my first car. It was purchased late june 1967 with a down payment of money saved and won after I finished my active duty servace in the USN.

Old NFO said...

Wrong year Vette! 1967 L88 435 horse, 4 speed, ragtop with side pipes!

Sabra said...

Jay, you could have dragged this sucker out for three weeks with posts dedicated to each of the big 'uns.

My daddy used to have one of these:
http://www.67classicmustang.com/images/mystang1_lrg.jpg

Same color, almost, but without the stupid stripes.

He also had one of these:
http://classiccars.com/Uploads/Preview/267385.jpg

'67 was a damn fine year for Ford.

SpeakerTweaker said...

1968 Pontiac Firebird. (At least) all the sex appeal of the Camaro, with the powerplant offerings of the GTO or better. But, I do have ownership bias.

{nitpick}Grand National{/nitpick};)

I'd still lay down a serious chunk of change for a straight-bodied and in-tact-interior Grand National. A buddy back home had an 87 Grand Prix with a full 84 Grand National set of guts, from the radiator to the exhaust. Seems he had a buddy who drove an 84 Turbo Buick up a telephone pole...



tweaker

Anonymous said...

69 Z/28 Camaro and Shelby GT500 both deserve a mention here, and the Viper? the thing's a piece pf junk, like everything dodge touches

Rich Pinnell said...

Usually I do not post on blogs, but I would like to say that this article really forced me to do so! Thanks, really nice article.