Fastest muscle cars

[Cobra Jet]

Sad note.at least he had his dream car.a friend had 67 vette with 427 435hp
Incredible car.in the day though they weren't considered muscle cars fir some reason.same thing with mustangs they were pony cars yet the article has camaro.still interting video it was a L89 tripower car with solid lifters.i think the l88 was 4bbl 425hp

They were not considered Muscle Cars or collectibles or high value back then because they were “just a car” and daily transportation. No one gave a shit if the car had a huge tire ripping engine or not or if it would be valuable 50+ years later. When the 70’s “gas crisis” hit, people dumped any such vehicle for literally pennies…. They didn’t care, some were in a crisis mode and did what they had to do…

The only reason many of these Classics are valuable today is for the above facts - they were throw aways and not many remain today. Hell, people are still throwing them away or letting them rot into the ground because “some day” they’ll do something with it as it turns back into ashes and earth before their eyes… Then they die themselves and the car is estate sold or just junked by family who “doesn’t want it” and doesn’t know squat about it or why ABC held on to it for 50+ years.

People today don’t really value anything of the past - NOT ALL people but many - they just don’t… Hell you’re lucky if you can get today’s mid-youth to tune a carb on a. Classic car, they wouldn’t know anything… they just want someone else to fix it for them…

Even today there’s cars that to some are collectible and to others it’s just a driver.

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[Torched10]

They were not considered Muscle Cars or collectibles or high value back then because they were “just a car” and daily transportation. No one gave a shit if the car had a huge tire ripping engine or not or if it would be valuable 50+ years later. When the 70’s “gas crisis” hit, people dumped any such vehicle for literally pennies…. They didn’t care, some were in a crisis mode and did what they had to do…

The only reason many of these Classics are valuable today is for the above facts - they were throw aways and not many remain today. Hell, people are still throwing them away or letting them rot into the ground because “some day” they’ll do something with it as it turns back into ashes and earth before their eyes… Then they die themselves and the car is estate sold or just junked by family who “doesn’t want it” and doesn’t know squat about it or why ABC held on to it for 50+ years.

People today don’t really value anything of the past - NOT ALL people but many - they just don’t… Hell you’re lucky if you can get today’s mid-youth to tune a carb on a. Classic car, they wouldn’t know anything… they just want someone else to fix it for them…

Even today there’s cars that to some are collectible and to others it’s just a driver.

Nice note.i bought my 65 gto in 1990 for 6500 bucks
The 4 spd tripower vert were pretty rare
I sold it for 65 and had 15k in it
Joined gto club and it came in 2nd at national show.it wasn't a trailer queen would drive it if didn't rain
I still miss that car but the Mustang made more sense
The clutch on gto was getting to me
Without thinking bought a 2014 shelby and after a year couldn't handle that clutch either.in fact it was alot worse
Love the 10 speed and the car overall
It's 2019 gt pp1 vert with only 8k Mile's on it
It's 3rd car

 

[ralph7]

I owned a 64 tri power GTO in 76 that was a very fun car that actually got good fuel mileage for the time if you kept your foot out of the tri power. It was a delete A/C, PS, PB, sound proofing and mastic car with 4 wheel drum brakes and single cylinder master cylinder that only weighed 2875 pounds since Florida used vehicle weight to determine registration costs. It was originally bought in Colorado by a Pontiac mechanic that sold it to me for 800 bucks with 40K miles on it. He had modified the tri power linkage so you could leave the outer carbs unhooked and only run on the center carb. I could get 18 mpg around town and 22mpg on the interstates at 80 mph on the center carb, then hook up the outer carbs to have some fun. You had to feather the throttle to get it to hook up and not just go up in smoke in the first 3 gears. You could be cruising at 60 mph and drop into second and punch it and light the rear tires up at will.
I wish I still had that car but sadly wrapped in around a 72 Sedan Deville on a wet road when I forgot I still had the tri power hooked up and went to pass another car and it immediately went into a 360 degree spin.

BD

Ain't no way those cars weighed 2875 lbs.
More like 33-3400 lbs. at least.

 

[CorvZ061]

Nice note.i bought my 65 gto in 1990 for 6500 bucks
The 4 spd tripower vert were pretty rare
I sold it for 65 and had 15k in it
Joined gto club and it came in 2nd at national show.it wasn't a trailer queen would drive it if didn't rain
I still miss that car but the Mustang made more sense
The clutch on gto was getting to me
Without thinking bought a 2014 shelby and after a year couldn't handle that clutch either.in fact it was alot worse
Love the 10 speed and the car overall
It's 2019 gt pp1 vert with only 8k Mile's on it
It's 3rd car

I put a McLeod RST twin disc behind the 680hp big block in my Chevelle, even with the mechanical linkage, the clutch pedal isn't much heavier than the clutch was in my old 2020 GT. It was a game changer in that car. prior to it I was running heavy single disc clutches to hold the power.

 

[Buldawg76]

Ain't no way those cars weighed 2875 lbs.
More like 33-3400 lbs. at least.

In the 70s and as far as I know Florida still uses the weight of the vehicles impact to the roadways to determine the cost to register the vehicle with the DOT so the registration had the vehicle weight clearly stated on it. This GTO only had an AM radio and alternator with no other power accessory at all and did not even have seat belts either. Once you add power brakes, PS, A/C and sound proofing and other creature comforts I would agree on the 33-3400 pounds. This was a bare bones stripped down hot rod model so I stand by the 2875 pound that the state of Florida listed in the vehicle registration.

BD

 

[young at heart]

Ain't no way those cars weighed 2875 lbs.
More like 33-3400 lbs. at least.

I didn’t want to point it out but yep.

 

[Buldawg76]

I guess the state of Florida must like leaving money on the table by undercutting the vehicle weights for registration fees. I know it was only about 20 bucks to put a tag on my GTO while I had it.

BD

 

[bobdes368]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[young at heart]

Thanks for sharing.

Gotta love your sense of humor!

 

[BossPapa]

Back in the day, all the magazines used to have slightly different lists. I remember the 1971 Boss 351 was the quickest of the 60s/70s Mustangs.

I own a Boss 351 and hate to admit in 1971 it was actually rated 4th fastest in the 1/4 mile. 1st and 2nd were a Torino and Mach 1 both with the monster 429 SCJ motors. Ford did a great job on all of these old cars back then!

 

[OldPhart]

Hi - While I’m fortunate to be alive and healthy in my 80s and able to still enjoy rowing thru the gears, I also consider my self very fortunate to have been in the midst of the ’60s muscle car wars. I bought a new ‘65 GTO (4-speed/4BBL) upon graduating from college (just a little more debt). Got married while in the service and traded for a new ‘68 (auto) as soon as I got out in order to please the new wife. Had that for 14 years and 130,000 trouble free miles but by that time it had more rust than paint showing. After retiring I bought a restored ‘65 4-speed Tri-Power and had that for a dozen years. A couple of years after buying the ‘19 Bullitt which was not nostalgic to me because I never previously owned a Mustang, but is much more practical and user friendly, I sold the GTO to friend. When the Grim Reaper visits, I will have a smile on my face from the great memories of which cars will play a role... Bruce

 

[Hack]

I own a Boss 351 and hate to admit in 1971 it was actually rated 4th fastest in the 1/4 mile. 1st and 2nd were a Torino and Mach 1 both with the monster 429 SCJ motors. Ford did a great job on all of these old cars back then!

I'm sure owning one you know all the details better than I. 429 SCJ has the reputation of being a great engine. As do the 428 PI and Boss 429.

I know some lists said that different cars were faster. The list I remember said the Boss 351 cut a 13.2 - 13.5 second quarter mile, which seems optimistic compared to what a Google search tells me now. And the 1968 428 Mustang was second in that list IIRC.

Hi - While I’m fortunate to be alive and healthy in my 80s and able to still enjoy rowing thru the gears, I also consider my self very fortunate to have been in the midst of the ’60s muscle car war. I bought a new ‘65 GTO (4-speed/4BBL) upon graduating from college (just a little more debt). Got married while in the service and traded for a new ‘68 (auto) as soon as I got out in order to please the new wife. Had that for 14 years and 130,000 trouble free miles but by that time it had more rust than paint showing. After retiring I bought a restored ‘65 4-speed Tri-Power and had that for a dozen years. After buying the ‘19 Bullitt which was not nostalgic, but much more practical and user friendly, I sold the GTO to friend. When the grim reaper visits, I will have a smile on my face from the great memories of which cars will play a role... Bruce

I'm jealous of people who got a chance to buy 60s cars new. I remember when I was in grade school around 1980 or so some of the high schoolers had late 60s early 70s cars. When I turned 16 I went looking for a classic but everything I saw at the time was rusty and worn out. If I knew then what I know now I might have bought some really beat up vehicles just to fix or sell later.

 

[WildHorse]

Fun fact:

In 1969 The Boss Mustang had the FORD 302 CID engine, grossly underrated at @ 290HP.

In 1969 The Camaro Z/28 had the CHEVY 302 CID engine, grossly underrated @ 290HP.

 

[wingnutt]

Just for funsies…

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