Back in the day we had so many to choose from.
Printable View
Back in the day we had so many to choose from.
Muscle cars? Not my bag. The more you can haul home, the better the car. I'll take a Ford Explorer. Some are bigger, but the additional bucks don't add up to improvement. Sorry, Lester, but I just had to thread hijack.
They were cheap back then also,when it was decriminalized I traded 2 lbs of weed for a 1965 GTO 6 pack convertible and two 1967 GTOs,which was like $500 back then.
I had a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach1 that I paid $200 for that was a lot of fun but my friends 69 super bee beat it so I sold it.
I have had every SS version of Chevrolet chevelles from 1965 to 1969,not probably considered a muscle car but I bought a 1969 XKE that was packed up in boxes,restored it and had fun with it,but it was to hard to climb in and out.
I wish I would have kept any one of those.
Now it is puttering about at a top speed of 45 mph in a 1946 chev 1 ton but if I run across a fixer upper 67 GTO I would grab it, so I guess I could claim that as my favorite.
The last one I had I dropped a 455HO out of a Trans-am in it and it lasted 4 days before somebody ran a red light and t-boned it.
I think it is sad the younger generations never got to experience Detroit muscle and the prices are now such they have limited access.
Most Mopars from that era and ‘63-‘67 Vette’s blue!!
I had a 70 Plymouth Duster, muscle car body but with a slant 6. Bought it 3 yrs. old while in high school. Had a factory green paint job that I loved. Great car except for those black plastic seats on a July day!
They're not cheap now:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ic/4429294002/
My first and only muscle car was a new 68 Plymouth Road Runner coupe. Was working at Chrysler Trenton Engine with lots of overtime. I managed to make 2 payments a month [[Who can afford that now ?). About $3200.00 out the door at Bistran's C-P on Eureka in Wyandotte. Wish I still had it.
Not a big muscle car person but always liked the ole Grand National.
The right classic Audi can haul too, but some forget about their power. Would love a bit of time behind the wheel of a [[not quite classic) 2014 Audi R8!
I had a Dodge something old with a slant six. What a darling. Bucket seats and all I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 401don
Quote:
Originally Posted by lpg
I bet you do. One in pristine factory condition, would set you back about 30 G's now, depending on options. I myself am a Muscle Car lover, as I was a youngster when they were popular, and guys in my neighborhood had them. I'm partial to Mopars as well.
One of the biggest regrets of my life was not getting a Hemi powered car back in the 1960’s when I had a chance to. We always thought that the muscle car age would go on forever. America will never see a time like that again. To prove my point, this happened yesterday:
Friday, Janurary10, 2020, Peter Dapena, CNN Business
1968 Ford Mustang GT driven by Steve McQueen in the movie "Bullitt" just became the most valuable Ford Mustang ever sold at auction. It went for $3.7 million, including auction fees, at the annual Mecum collector car auction in Kissimmee, Florida.
Attachment 39504
Really? Please provide evidence that a GTO 6 pack ever existed!Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
You must be young,6 pack was 3 2 bbl carbsQuote:
Originally Posted by Wheels
The term actually started with the Chrysler 440 6 pack but everybody just referred to the 3x2 set up as a 6 pack.
We could get really technical and eliminate everybody from the discussion that did not have a factory numbers matching muscle car that was stored in a garage with 5000 miles on it but in the 70s you could buy them cheap and use them as a daily driver without worrying if a leaf landed on them.
here is one
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KonyEPb5zd0
You have never been around car people or muscle cars or you would know GM never called it a six pack and you would get laughed out of a Pontiac meet for using such a term! Maybe you had a Nocar Mopar?Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
^ Yea okay,My guess is it was intended to be a fun thread but for some reason that mentality kicks in that actually changed the car scene from a lot of fun into a lot of obnoxious people.
No where did I ever say GM called it a six pack and if anybody is that anel retentive at a Pontiac meet that they would laugh somebody out for calling it a 6 pack,when that is what it commonly was referred to,then they need to scrap their cars and find another hobby because the car scene was never intended to be like that.
I noticed at the last Turkey rod run at Daytona the Pontiac club guys were trying to get $1500 for the set-up when they pop up for $400 to $600 in the street.
I pulled a crate of hard to find Pierce Arrow parts out of the trash dump one day,I could have sold it for $12,000 but asked $500 because it is about keeping the cars and history on the road,it’s about people,cars and the stories.
I pulled a 2.5 liter out of a 1985 chev S10 and stuffed a 472 caddy motor in it,I wonder if the 2.5 liter Chev S10 club would laugh.
Ohweee! Saw one last summer. Still purring strong. This was the Buick monster - GNX! Love it:
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/0...80s-buick-gnx/
https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...l-gnx-history/
https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/...llery/?slide=8
^ there is a 1987 with 85,000 miles on it on market place down here no rust,needs paint and says sitting not running asking $8000 but even at that if one gets it and has less then 15k in it that is a lot of car for that money.
Those cars screamed,handled and rode nice. I have a friend that has one with 15,000 miles on it,I was stupid enough to race him in my corvette,even at 55 he walked away from me like I was stopped.
When I ordered my 68 Road Runner I asked about a Hemi. $714.00 option. But since I ordered late, I would have to wait till the 69's came out. Took the 383 instead. Hemi car would be worth a fortune today.Quote:
Originally Posted by CassTechGrad
Slant six "The leaning tower of power". I machined thousands of those 78 pound cylinder heads. Fun times.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
I had a 1969 Mustang coupe. My dad bought it for me off of the Ford employee tag lot. If was red, with black vinyl bucket seats. I drove it during the summers back and forth to work at Greenfield Village. In fall, when I went back to college it stayed at home, so my mom used it. I LOVED that car. In September of 1974, I moved into my own apartment, by November the car was stolen from the complex parking lot. I have missed that car my whole adult life.
Indeed! A far cry from some of those later Dodge and Chrysler straining 'tickity-ticking' nondescript motors of the 90's!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lpg
Those SS Chevelles were nice [[ and VERY costly and collectible now) Too bad you never acquired the 1970 model.
Absolutely!!! What an awesome time to be interested in cars that had style, uniqueness and flair!Quote:
Originally Posted by lester wild
You're right .. The prices, the uniqueness, the flair, and the options these cars came with made most young men interested.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
That $714 seemed like so much money back then [[ and it was) That hemi [[as you say) would be a phenomenal investment today!Quote:
Originally Posted by lpg
Maybe Ken Browns got one of these left over 1969's somewhere on his lot, way in the back, that's been overlooked all these years!The old car Bible says base price was $2945 for the post car.
Attachment 39505
Ah, memories. My first car was a 1963 Plymouth Savoy with that slant six, purchased in 1966. The only options were an AM radio and the push button automatic. The only chrome was on the bumpers. Oh, with cloth covered bench seats.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
I was making around $84.00 a week at that time.Quote:
Originally Posted by lester wild
Dodge called it “6 Pack”
Plymouth called it “6 BBL” [[barrel)
When referring to the GM cars I always said “Tri Power”
Ford’s name for it...idk?
My father used to race a 32 coup that had a flathead with “3 duces”.
Chrysler called it 440 6 pack
My uncle has two 1940s? Cadillacs that are sitting there for over 50 years in the back 40,both of those engines are 3 two bbl set ups.
Pontiac called it tri power but for those of us that were just having fun with our cars it was 6 pac,3 duces,3 2s Nobody would demand you hand over your car if you called it other then it’s technical name,just your pink slip if you lost in those cases.
We used to buy the set-ups out of the junk yard for $50 also the factory dual 4 bbl but those were harder to find.
I was never really into fords and can say never saw a factory 3 2bbl set up.
My father was also a judge at car shows for over twenty years so my first one was at age 6.
Bell Glade Florida was a test track for Ford design experimental motors for NASCAR in the 1960s.
In the 1990s I pulled a 289 out of a shed there that had 3x2 set up on it that was all stamped FoMoCo,along with 2 3bbl carburetors.
The 3 bbl carbs were made by Ford for NASCAR and were 1100 CFM? Chrysler got mad so they were never allowed to run them.
In 2000 I bought a salvage yard that had been closed for years a good 1/4 acre of it was racks 15’ high filled with rust free body parts from the 1950s and 1960s,there was probably 50 engines all strictly muscle car related,Hemi etc.
The car fad had not kicked in yet and the Internet was not that established so I posted a listing on Hemmings and had people from all over the country bringing in Uhauls and I charged them $250 for all they could load.
Which was more then scrap price at that time,it was not like now where a piece of trim can bring $150 and rust is considered patina,they were all cherry picked parts,who would have thought in another 15 years it would have been a nice pot of gold.
If anybody is interested there is a series on YouTube put out by Hagerty which is a insurance company that specializes in classic and collector car insurance out of Traverse city.
The guy drives across country and stops in towns and asks people at a filling station or restaurant if they know anybody that has any classic cars sitting around,then he goes from there finding them,the whole point is that there are a lot of them still out there sitting in garages and sheds and fields if one wants to look.
“Dual Quads”
:cool:
My badass 1971 Dodge station wagon with a 383 and 4 barrel.
Like this one, but with the funky faux-wood:
https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/upl...3282694933.jpg
A rare option back in the 1960’s on some cars, a paisley or “Mod” vinyl roof. Few were sold I suspect.
Attachment 39507
Quote:
Originally Posted by EastsideAl
Station wagons are one one of the most over looked when it comes to muscle cars,a lot of guys that had to give up their 2 door when families came into the picture,ordered station wagons with performance packages that were no slouches.
The Hagerty guy has a one off Ford Country squire S/W that came factory order with a 429 CJ engine in it.
I had a 71 dodge MSP chase car with a 440hp in it that would fly given its weight.
I may be weird but even as a station wagon that one has sexy lines.
Here's to all the muscle cars that ran up and down "Blood Alley".
Just seen a 69 roadrunner or super bee in a magazine green with the mod top. Definitely a one off! Odd but cool as hell!
2 years after I bought my 68 Road Runner a friend and I planned to go to Chicago to Nickey Chevrolet to look at and buy a 427 Nova SS. A few weeks later another friend showed up at my house on his brand new BSA Lightning. After a test ride I no longer wanted another muscle car. I bought a motorcycle and never looked back. For a lot less money you could go faster than most muscle cars of the era.
The epitome of anti-muscle car!
To think I owned one. UGhH...:eek:...
My choice:rolleyes:......https://www.hotrod.com/articles/orig...ons-kissimmee/
I don't know why Ford & GM made the decision several years ago to make the mustang and camaro back seats unusable. I understand these cars are mostly bought by boomers like me, mostly as a 2nd vehicle. Still, the seats don't need to be the size of a charger but I would buy one if it had even a cramped, but still occasionally usable back seat for the odd time I want to throw grandkids or my nephew in the back to head to a restaurant.
39 posts and no mention of the Javelin.
Okay,I had a purple one that I bought for a winter beater,it was horrible on the ice and snow,no traction.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
Cool body style but I cannot remember if it had a 360 or a 390,I traded it for a Jeep with a snow plow,I guess I figured if I could not drive in the snow I might as well make some money pushing it.
The muscle car became popular because it was affordable to the average buyer,in England the Jaguar XKE was the desirable sports car to have but it was not affordable to the average buyer.
When Ford introduced the English version of the Escort in the early 1970s for the first time the average buyer could buy a sports car,it was considered a sports car because it could do 120 when most were puttering about in 50 to 60 mph cars,it knocked Jaguars sales into the dirt.
It was considered as a luxury sports car suitable for the county house and the factory workers home.
I guess that version got lost on the drawing board when they introduced them here.
^^ Depending on the year, it could have had the 290 base V-8 or the next in line, 343 V-8
Since we are on the subject of muscle cars where did you buy parts ? I went to Gratiot Auto Supply, Hi-Po shop [[Mayfair Auto Parts) in Taylor and Ramchargers.
A neighbor down the street had one of these Ford Nucleons when I was a kid. My parents told me never to go near that car.
“In 1957 this automobile-of-the-future was called the Ford Nucleon, named for its pint-size atomic fission reactor in the trunk. The car’s reactor setup was essentially the same as a nuclear submarine’s, but miniaturized for automobile use. It was designed to use uranium fission to heat a steam generator, rapidly converting stored water into high-pressure steam which could then be used to drive a set of turbines. A typical Nucleon would travel about 5,000 miles per uranium charge.
”Attachment 39513
Here's mine! LOL...My first car. The wheel wells were already rusted thru by the time I got it in 1977.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...8fe1CjXSetaA&s
^^^ LOL! The shock towers of my Chevette were rusted thru in no time. The turn signal broke off in my hand. Had a motor like a sewing machine!
Now that's funny! hahahahaha!Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maof
I had had one of those,I liked the little car and there was a lot of design put into them,they special built rail cars so the cars could be transported standing straight up,they made the battery,oil and gas so they could drive up to the rail car and drive away at the destination.
The Chevy Vega crosworth version engine alone was selling more for then what the car sold for new after they got a bad rep,I remember at that time they were coming out with corn ethanol mixed in the gas and people blamed the engine problems on that.
I never had a Vega, however, i did own 5 Pintos.....
loved them....
Not familiar with all the car jargon you're talking about but, it was a fun little car to drive. Only paid $250 for it [[well my bf at the time did).Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
I had two Chevette's - hated them, but in college and broke so...
It was slight step up when I move to my first hatchback Toyota Tercel. LOL!
I even had a Ford Escort that got over 200K miles!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncledave54
It did look sexy, particularly that front end. The ones from a couple years later looked even more so, but by that time Chrysler had toned down the performance a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
I bought mine a few years after it was built from a girlfriend's father who was a doctor. When my friend who was a real gearhead saw what was under the hood he freaked out. We took it in his garage on the southwest side and milled the heads, swapped out the cam and rear end, screwed with the tranny, and stuck a bigger badder Holley 4 barrel on it. We also pulled out the third seats and a lot of interior crap and hung some new rubber on her.
Then we took it out on Fort, Telegraph, Gratiot, and Woodward and had some fun with it. With the new diff the back end would step out, but a couple well-placed bags of concrete solved that problem. It sure sucked gas like a thirsty man in the desert, which wasn't great in those days of quickly rising gas prices [[$1 a gallon, who could have imagined that?) It was a real stomper though, and unhappily surprised more than a few people. Until the night when I was flying down Fort St. and the flywheel cracked.
I was planning on doing some traveling anyway, so I just traded it back to my friend [[who, apropos of the discussion above, also had a yard full of Pintos) for a 318 Dodge van with broken front springs and motor mounts [[it had belonged to a state cop who moonlighted as the leader of a Greek wedding band, and the whole interior was covered in purple and orange shag carpeting). A couple hundred bucks later I was on my way to Florida, Mexico, and California.
I was Johnny come lately but the only car of power that I had was a 77 Cutlass Supreme with a 350 4 barrel
The movie Bullitt had really put the Charger and Mustang on the map for muscle. Too bad the Steve McQueen mustang changed design the following year
Just read a news article that Dearborn Steel Tubing [[DST) is closing and all employees are terminated. They are the company that built the famous Ford Thunderbolts for NHRA drag racing in 1964. I was in there once and it was very interesting.
My favorites.
Attachment 39531
Attachment 39532
Man, that's too bad. Hope they find employment somewhere. Everyone is talking about how good the economy is, well that must hyperbole and it's not great for everyone, as numerous companies are closing their doors lately.Quote:
Originally Posted by lpg
The proportions on the side view coke-bottle styling of the Charger were almost perfect. Dodge Main 1968, as many as you want, any color, any options, just come up with $3014, or $3480 for the R/T, and drive them away.
Attachment 39534
I don't follow muscle cars as much as the Fin Era. I grew up with my Dad working on the family Oldsmobiles and others. My Brother who is older had a 1967 Olds Cutlass S, 1967 Pontiac Tempest, 1969 Olds 442 convertible in rough shape, a 1970 Chevelle Malibu, 1971 Chevelle Malibu SS.
My toys are a 1960 Chevy, turquoise and white sedan with a 283 small block v-8 2-barrel, Powerglide, and a 1959 Chevy Kingswood 348 Powerglide, [[in process) :) All restorations are -in process-
My mother had a 1960 chev in 59,I was born 7 months later,I told her TMI.
A friend had a 1969 Super Bee,he was getting on it going down an entrance ramp and hit black ice,we slid sideways and took out a light pole,it bent the passenger side front tire over and the police followed the black mark it left on the pavement 12 miles to his front door the next morning.
We took it to the junk yard and got $200,took that $200 and went 50 miles up to northern Minnesota and pulled a 1960 chev out of the chicken coup,there was at least 3” of chicken crap built up on it.
We brought some gas and a battery,fired it up and drive it home,dry rotted tires and all,it stunk so bad he had to stick his head out of the window,it was winter.
It had no rust and actually cleaned up nice.I think it was that orangish red color and looked really nice with Crager SS on it.
I think that would be my two favorites,67 GTO or a 59/60 chev.
Remember they said the air got under the back fins at speed and made it unstable in the rear.
They are another one that looks nice even as a station wagon.
Me, grandma, and pop's Hudson Terraplane. Car was awesome. Well, to me, at that age, anyway.
Attachment 39536
“On the sea that’s aquaplaning, in the air that’s aeroplaning, but on the land, in the traffic, on the hills, hot diggity dog, THAT’S TERRAPLANING”
I would not mind a 36 or 37 as a daily driver.
Robert Johnson -Terraplane blues
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=It-tJ8DOjIk
Love it! Thanks! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
I went from a 66' Chevelle and a 71' Nova SS to a Chevy Vega and Chevette in fairly short order.:[[Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
To replace the starter in the Chevette, you had two options without using special manufacturer tools - lift the engine off frame, or pull the steering column out of the dash! I went steering column.:mad:
^^^ LOL! Uselessly quaint options, indeed!
What a sewing-machine-motor trash car! Chevy's half-hearted response to the Honda Civic, I suppose. Epic fail!
I had a Chevy Nova that was way cool until the engine went. It ran great.
I once married a woman who owned a Chevette [[1970, I think). That should've been my clue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
I am now married to a woman who once had a Chevy Nova [[1964 I think, but before my time). Much, much better decision.
We were warned about what would happen under Governor Gretchen WhitmerQuote:
Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid
60's and 70's were the Golden Age. Although car tech has advanced light years and it is incredible what "supercars" or sports cars are now capable of, I'd take a Chevelle or RS Camaro any day.
Yeah, Chevelles going for mad money at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale this weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by lester wild
Somebody near my old neighborhood, I think they lived on Annott between Manning and Pinewood, was a tester for the Chrysler Turbine car.Quote:
Originally Posted by CassTechGrad
A family friend works at the place in Highland Park where they restore old Chrysler Corp. vehicles. He showed us around and started up one of those turbine cars. Interesting to say the least.Quote:
Originally Posted by pjbear05
Chevelles and Camaros are nice, but they're a dime a dozen. Too may were built, and I haven't seen one that's truly different, other than those that are extensively modified. I tend to favor models that are rare, and off the beaten path.Quote:
Originally Posted by pjbear05
My cousin had purchased him a 1972 Plymouth Satelitte after getting out of the army in 1976. He had thrown some craigers on it and use to peel out at the corner of my block when leaving. He then purchased a 1970 orange with white top and white interior Dodge Challenger which had a 440 in it
IsQuote:
Somebody near my old neighborhood, I think they lived on Annott between Manning and Pinewood, was a tester for the Chrysler Turbine car.
Jay Leno is one of two private owners of the Chrysler turbine cars.
Man, hethe walking encyclopedia of every car of the last 120 years !
New video on YouTube every late Sunday Night.
What's going to happen to that collection when he dies ? 170 cars and 150 motorcycles. And all his Automobile wall art of the last century.
God bless him.
Imagine being able to hang-out with Jay Leno and his gang for a Las Vegas weekend. It’s gotta be the best time you could ever have.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigb23
A couple of things that disappeared when the cool 70,s fazed out were Holley, Thrush Woody Woodpecker, STP, etc stickers on muscle cars.
Another was the jacked up rear ends. With that came the saturday night burning rubber on side streets. That sort of disappeared when the k-car square body era came around.
My dad took a ton of photos of the Chrysler Turbine car that was displayed at the 1965 NY World's Fair. I got to see it in person when it was on display at the Henry Ford Museum about 8 or 10 years ago. It was there for only a limited time. I don't know where it's stored now. I imagine at that "car museum" that used to be at the FCA HQ.Quote:
Originally Posted by pjbear05
I can readily find a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda in my brother's garage, which has been there for a number of years for when he "gets the time" to refurbish it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
I had Doug's Headers stickers in the quarter windows on my 68 Road Runner.Quote:
Originally Posted by canuck
I liked the Super Bee livery myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by lpg
Olds Toronado '67 -- best car Detroit made - 425, supercharged:
https://imganuncios.mitula.net/oldsm...7071756669.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/J2AAA...E0/s-l1600.jpgMy apologies, the pix didn't get right-sized ...
There was one on display at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, just outside Kalamazoo. I spent an entire enjoyable day there a few years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie5275
I grew up near Waltham and Manning and saw a Chrysler Turbine many times in the neighborhood, probably the same one that pjbear05 saw.
I won't be mentioning the Javelin, but rather the two-seat AMX. Only about 15,000 were made from 1968 to 1970. Still own one with only 23,500 miles on it.Attachment 39689
The fender had two pieces that came together along this knife edge. I believe they used silicone bronze to fill-in the joint then each one was finished by hand. It shows what the auto companies could do if they wanted to back then.Attachment 39691
^ lots of cool innovations,they were front wheel drive,useing a chain to drive the transmission,one with 25,000 miles sold for 18,000 at auction,for that kind of money it is hard to beat as a daily driver.
During the gas shortage and high prices in the early seventies,that car would have had a $50 trade in value,you could not give them away and a lot got crushed.
When you look at the brass era cars and a lot of these,you could put them in your living room as works of art.