The official Muscle Car fan and discussion thread.

[AverageJoe90]

This is an idea I've had for a long time. I've always been a big fan of muscle cars myself for several reasons:

1.)Who doesn't love the sound of a rip-roaring V-8?
2.)Back in the '60s, and early '70s, they were a major symbol of youth freedom & fun......like the hippies. =)
3.)They still are today; they are also wonderful pieces of the lighter side of American history.

(P.S., as a side discussion, when cannabis legalization starts really taking off, who else thinks that it would be EXCELLENT if somebody managed to develop a hemp-based substitute for regular gasoline? Keeps all the old cars running and it's actually good for the environment, too!)

(P.P.S. Has anyone on here actually owned and driven one, or more, of these cars? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences. ;))

[taterguy]

1. It's spelled mussel car, dumbass

[AverageJoe90]

14. LOL. =p

[kayakjohnny]

2. I had one of these....

It started out looking just like this.

As the years went along, it got more horsepower and I got more tickets.

Twelve in one year. Had to plead to the judge.

If your thread stays up very long, I'll come back and add to it.

Thanks for posting.

Muscle car threads never get old for me.

Cheers.

[onager]

3. Oh yes!

Let me try to fire up my rapidly aging and failing memory, and list the road-burners I have owned.

I'm a geezer, so I was around in the era when most of these were just "used cars" and you could buy them fairly cheap:

1. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T - 440 Magnum engine w/Torqueflite automatic. Green/green.
2. 1964 Corvette coupe - 327/4 spd. Silver exterior and interior.
3. 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible - 400/4 speed. White, black top, red interior.
4. 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible - 400/auto. Red, black top, black interior.
5. 1968 Pontiac GTO convertible - 400/auto. Red, white top, black interior. A very strange GTO, it had a bench seat and column shift. But I sent the VIN to Pontiac Historical Services and they confirmed that it was originally built as a GTO.
6. 1971 Pontiac GTO hardtop - 400/auto. Dark Green, green vinyl top, green interior.
7. 1975 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am - silver, black interior. I loved that car. But I very briefly owned a gold '78 Trans Am and just hated it.

I used to have a lot of fun buying these things and fixing them up. For various boring reasons, I don't do that any more.

But I still have my Weird Hobby of building scale model cars (and other stuff). In some ways, that's more fun. With a scale model, I don't end up laying on the concrete garage floor at 2 AM, cussing and trying to get a part installed. So I can run to the Pomona Swap Meet and find MORE old parts.

(And with a scale model, I end up with the X-Acto knife embedded in my thigh, or a critical part eaten forever by the Floor Monster. But I'll skip all that.)

[kayakjohnny]

4. Damn!

Nice post!

[fegi052li]

10. I agree

Awesome cars

[REP]

6. Drool-worthy Pontiacs

I never had any Pontiacs that awesome, but damn I loved 'em. I think I love yours, too.

[REP]

5. Debated muscle vs sport when I got my latest car

Ended up sport, but the Pontiac (Opel) GT came very very close to being my new ride. Sacrificed a little HP for a little more practicality (what I drive is 308 HP).

I would give my left nut for one of these (and I'm a chick):



(technically a sport)

My husband had two of these:



Got a lot of tickets.

[onager]

7. Ha! Tell me about it!

My husband had two of these...Got a lot of tickets.

Back in the day, a friend of mine was in a very bad wreck that totalled his car.

So naturally...he took the insurance money and bought a 1970 Chevelle SS-454. It was a 4-speed with the "Cowl Induction" setup, just like that one in the photo. His was yellow with black SS stripes. The interior and vinyl top were that "Saddle Leather" color. Very sharp car.

He asked if I wanted to drive it. What a ridiculous question!

IIRC, that Cowl Induction "flipper" opened up when the gas pedal was stomped. I did that, and man, that car screamed.

It screamed so loud, I didn't even hear the siren of the police car trying to pull me over.

This was small-town South Carolina, so I paid an "on-the-spot" fine which probably went in the cop's pocket. I had a date that night, and since I was suddenly broke, she ended up paying. She wasn't too happy about that.

Thanks to everyone for the comments on my previous post. I still buy the old car mags and keep up somewhat. Just yesterday I went to the Autobooks store in Burbank and stocked up.

Including the latest "Hemmings Muscle Machines." Which has an article about a 1971 Dodge Demon with a 426 Hemi stuffed into it. Argh!

[REP]

9. He had two '71s - 454s, no cowl ... still pretty damn fast

Spent a weekend with the popo over one incident...

Me, I've only taken my current mobile up to 120. On the highway.

I'm still coveting all your GTOs. Damn.

[AverageJoe90]

16. A Hemi Demon?

Damn. Kinda reminds me of all those Yenko Novas that were running around the place back in the late '60s. A 427 Nova fitted with a tall-enough gear ratio could possibly go as fast as 160........if you could keep it on the road, that is.

[Ptah]

8. It wasn't a muscle car but it had a 440 with a 4-barrel

When I was in high school, Dad had a 1967 Chrysler 300.

Not quick, but would cruise like an aircraft carrier at warp speed.

:woohoo:

[Brickbat]

11. Love those 300s. We have a 1970 Chrysler Newport 383.

Two-door hardtop. Oh, does that thing cruise...

[wakemewhenitsover]

12. My first car was a used '69 Pontiac LeMans...

Navy blue (zero gloss remaining) with a white vinyl top (rusted out underneath the vinyl), 350 V-8. I bought it from a used car lot. The salesman saw me eyeing it and asked if I was interested. The price was not posted on the car, and my level of bargaining savvy consisted of confessing, "Yeah, but all I have is $600." He said he'd ask the manager if he'd accept the offer (what a guy!), and he did! Actually, the thing ran forever. The only problem I ever had was, after a trouble-free drive up the eastern seaboard, I reached my destination (Maine), rolled over a pothole, and the entire left side exhaust system fell off, from the manifold back. I never had the cash to replace it, which produced two effects: (1) a very mean growl anytime I accelerated; (2) plenty of well-leaded fumes in the cabin.

[Bombero1956]

13. Gotta love the sound of a V-8

The red one is mine. I've had it since it had 53 miles on the odometer. I have just 4 more payments left and then I'm starting on upgrades. So far I've only done a few things to it like the cold air induction and flash tune and Borla Stingers. The yellow one is my cousin Tom's who installed a polished intercooled ProCharger and body kit.

[blueknight]

15. my favorite

was my 69 GTO.400 and would fly! loved that car!

[HopeHoops]

17. STILL own a '68 Galaxie 500 fastback, 390. Had a '69 Cutlass, 350/4bbl and a 73 Buick 455/4bbl.

The Cutlass and Buick have both gone to that great race track in the sky. My grandfather bought the Galaxie new and I still have her but she needs some work. That car would blow the doors off of damn near anything I encountered and is the only car I've had up over a buck twenty. The owners manual says not to do more that 70mph in 1st gear - it's an automatic but I've manually shifted into 2nd at 75 - talk about a neck snapping experience.