| Today the term muscle car refers for all sorts of cars | | | | passenger side windshield wiper. Performance was |
| with large engines and great performance. However, | | | | amazing. Gas Ronda dominated NHRA's 1964 World |
| "back in the day" it described mid-sized automobiles | | | | Championship by running his Thunderbolt through the |
| that had big engines stuffed between the fender wells. | | | | quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 124 mph. Later, the |
| Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs were not | | | | NHRA changed the rules to require 500 models of a |
| considered muscle cars by the purists. Even today | | | | car to be manufactured for Super Stock competition, |
| many gear heads only consider the mid sized cars | | | | and Ford, which had been losing $1500 to $2000 on |
| from the 1960's as true muscle cars. Everything else is | | | | each Thunderbolt sold at the sticker price of $3900, |
| a sports car, pony car or just a plain old car. | | | | gave up. In the end, it was the NHRA and its ability to |
| So what was the most important of these original | | | | change the rules that stopped the Ford from |
| muscle cars? We have chosen five of the most | | | | dominating the drag strips for many years. |
| popular cars for a retro comparison to determine the | | | | Although the Fairlane faded form Ford's performance |
| king of the hill. The selectees are the 1961 Chevy | | | | spotlight as the Mustang took off. It came back in 1966 |
| Impala SS, the 1964 Pontiac GTO, the 1964 Ford | | | | and 67 as a very nice looking car. Large engines |
| Fairlane, the 1966 Dodge Charger and the 1968 | | | | 'encouraged' great performance numbers also. |
| Plymouth Road Runner. Let the showdown begin. | | | | 1966 Dodge Charger |
| 1961 Chevy Impala SS | | | | Although it resembled a Coronet with a fastback, the |
| Many consider this the first true muscle car. A 409 | | | | production Charger carried design cues from the |
| cubic inch motor was dropped into the Chevy Impala | | | | Charger II concept car. Both maintained the swoopy |
| and a legend was made. With the help of the Beach | | | | fastback that was very popular during the mid-sixties. |
| Boys and their song about the car ('She's so fine, my | | | | The electric shaver grill used fully rotating headlights |
| four-oh-nine') it became an icon for the baby boomers. | | | | that when opened or closed made the grill look like |
| Chevy's marketing for the car described it as designed | | | | one-piece. Inside, the Charger used four individual |
| "for young men on the move...(who) won't settle for | | | | bucket seats with a full length console from front to |
| less than REAL driving excitement." | | | | rear. The rear seats and console pad also folded |
| Performance was very good for the era with Motor | | | | down which allowed for more cargo room inside. In the |
| Trend driving one from zero to sixty on seven | | | | rear the full length taillights carried the Charger name. |
| seconds and completing the quarter mile in 14 seconds | | | | The car was radically different than anything else on |
| at 98 mph. The car became a legend. | | | | the road and when fitted with a street Hemi it was |
| 1964 Pontiac GTO | | | | one of the fastest cars on the road. A Hemi equipped |
| The GTO was another marketing success for | | | | car could do zero to sixty in less than seven seconds |
| General Motors. Although the car was not the fastest | | | | and the quarter mile in about 14 seconds. It was a big |
| car on the market it quickly became successful as an | | | | and radically designed car. And best of al, it was fast. |
| all a round muscle car. It was relatively affordable, | | | | 1968 Plymouth Road Runner |
| relatively fast and relatively handsome. Many consider | | | | By 1968, muscle cars had become fast, luxurious and |
| it the first modern muscle car. Although that is | | | | expensive. The young people that consisted of the |
| debatable, it is definitely the first successful muscle car | | | | primary market for these types of transportation had |
| in terms of sales. | | | | been priced out of the market. Plymouth recognized |
| Performance was very good with Car Life and Motor | | | | this and exploited to its fullest potential. First, the |
| Trend both measuring zero to sixty times of less than | | | | stripped down a Belvedere to its most basic form and |
| seven seconds and quarter mile times of around 14 | | | | then gave it a large motor. Then the marketing |
| seconds. | | | | department found a simple way to change the image |
| 1964 Ford Fairlane | | | | of the car from that of a bare bones racer to a unique |
| In 1964 the Fairlane was redesigned and the tail fins | | | | automobile. A popular cartoon character and a unique |
| were removed. Other improvements included | | | | horn was all that was need to bring this car to the |
| upgrades to the suspension in order to improve | | | | masses. |
| ride-quality. Interior enhancements included full carpeting | | | | The Road runner was an instant success. The |
| for the floors and turn signals that turned themselves | | | | combination of affordability plus outstanding |
| off after the steering wheel was turned. However, the | | | | performance had won the day again. Performance |
| big news for 1964 was the Thunderbolt. The | | | | was remarkable with 13 second times for the Hemi |
| Thunderbolt was one of fastest dragsters ever | | | | and 15 second times for the base engine in the quarter |
| produced by a manufacturer. Ford stuffed a heavily | | | | mile. |
| modified 427 cubic inch engine with two four-barrel | | | | The Winner |
| carburetors mounted on a high-riser manifold into the | | | | All five of these muscle cars were trend setters in |
| relatively light weight Fairlane. The car had a ram-air | | | | their day. But the one that appeals to this author as the |
| induction system with air vents mounted in openings in | | | | greatest of the early muscle cars is the 1966 Dodge |
| the grill left by deleting the inboard headlights. | | | | Charger. It was a radical departure from the past with |
| Other modifications included: equal-length headers, a | | | | its fast back design and the four passenger bucket |
| trunk-mounted battery, fiberglass hood, doors, fenders | | | | seats. It just looked like a muscle car. Performance |
| and front bumper, Plexiglass windows, and other | | | | was strong and the price was reasonable. The 1961 |
| lightweight options included deleting the rear door | | | | Chevy Impala Super Sport is a close second and if |
| window winders, carpeting, radio, sealant, sun visors, | | | | more had been made it may have actually won this |
| armrests, jack, lug wrench, heater, soundproofing, and | | | | little compression. |