American Muscle Car History

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Few things in the history of the automotive industry stand out as a true American icon, American Muscle Cars. No other car is as beloved as the American Muscle Car. With roots dating back to 1949 these cars are known around the world. Not many places on this earth could you mention muscle car and the person you’re speaking to nods their head “oh yeah”…

Who would have thought that during the 60’s & 70’s that names like Barracuda, Chevelle, Camaro, would be as American as apple pie. From the first Rocket 88 engine in the 1940’s to a Hudson Hornet, that dawned the age of NASCAR. Ask anyone if they know the word Hemi or SS, unless you have been living at the South Pole all your life, chances are you know these names and even their associated brands.

So what is an American Muscle Car? As the name suggests it’s a car with a lot of muscle, horsepower that is! Beefy engines, loud exhausts, fast shifting, tire burning, light your hair on fire muscle. These cars are not for the faint of heart. Guys wanted as big of an engine as they could put in the lightest car of the day they could get. That in its simplest of terms is what Muscle cars were built for, the American hotrod enthusiast. Another distinct feature from other fast cars is muscle cars are designed for straight line power. This is not a car you will see on an F1 track.

It’s mind blowing when you think about how these cars have impacted so many people’s lives. Fathers and sons who spent countless hours under the hood, creating lifelong memories. Conventions that host these dream cars and draw thousands of people over a weekend.

The Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is cited by some as the first real muscle car. In 1949 Oldsmobile introduced this car and the Rocket 88 engine would be the benchmark for V8 engines to follow. This V8 of the day produced 135 hp with a two barrel carburetor. In the 1950 NASCAR season, this beast was the “bee’s knees” as they would say back then. Taking the checkered flag 8 out of 10 times that season, the Rocket 88 was hands down blazing a trail for others to follow.

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1957 CHRYSLER 300C

Follow they did, enter the Chrysler 300 with a 375 hp 392 Hemi engine. Touted as America’s most powerful car, and for the time she was a beast! Shortly thereafter, Studebaker hit the market with the Golden Hawk, with a 352 CI Packard V8 with 275 hp.

It was the 1960’s where the popularity of the muscle car really found its second wind. All the major Detroit automakers began a river of beefy muscle cars. Every young man in America was touting their quarter mile time. Drag racing became as American as baseball and hotdogs.

In 1961 Chevrolet introduced the SS package on the Impala for just a few bucks. $53.80 was a week’s pay in the early ‘60s, but well worth the price. The SS option included a 409 cu in V8 with 425 hp. Enough power to make your brother in the back seat scream like a little girl.

As you can see we have only touched the surface of what is now one of the hottest segments of the car industry. When you think of the thousands of muscle car shows, from Sonic Drive In’s® to Metro Convention centers, it’s staggering the dollars invested in these classic beauties and the shows that showcase them.

Over the course of the 1960’s, American muscle cars flew off showroom floors. The infamous John DeLorean, President of the Pontiac division of General Motors, went against GM policy of limiting anything but the full-size cars to less than 330 cu in, while the mid-size Pontiac GTO  ran a 389 cu 6.4L V8.

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Hurst Performance Promo Car

Let’s take a little time to showcase some big names in Muscle Car history, like Hurst Performance.

Founded in 1958, Hurst performance is best known for manual transmission shifters, both replacement and OEM products. You will see these legendary shifters in such cars as the Pontiac GTO, Boss 429, Dodge Charger and Oldsmobile 442, just to name a few.

George Hurst in 1958 along with inventor Lawrence Greenwald who financially backed the Hurst-Campbell venture, and off they went making bumpers for the VW bus. As time went on they ventured out into piston driven gear shifts, engine mounts, and the ever iconic Hurst Shift Knob!

A funny side note to the Hurst story, Lawrence Greenwald is credited for inventing stretch nylon hosiery. How do you get from women’s panty hose to Hurst performance? Obviously a pioneering entrepreneur.

Hurst would make its way to the drag strips of America. These legendary shift kits allowed drivers of performance vehicles a stronger shift and control. Factory shifters tended to be flimsy and generic. More than just about anything else, if you had a performance car that did not have a Hurst shifter, well the word pansy does leap to mind.

Gearheads of the day insisted on Hurst shifters. Car manufacturers were not without smarts. Big automakers jumped on the Hurst band wagon during the 60’s and began installing Hurst shifters into production cars. Just the name Hurst was a huge marketing win.

Hurst went on to acquire Schiefer Manufacturing who made clutches, a natural fit for the shifter company. They would continue during the 1960’s to acquire businesses that complimented their own. In 1968 Hurst would become a public company.

Something that has drifted into legend, Sunbeam bought Hurst Performance in 1970. The story goes Hurst and Greenwald were promised executive positions that Sunbeam reneged and actually fired the two men from the company. Both Mr. Hurst and Mr. Greenwald passed away in 1986.

Many products were spawned from muscle car fever. From performance auto parts, lubricants and of course Hurst shifters, an industry within the industry was born.

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Dodge Challenger 426 Hemi Engine

HEMI is a prefix for Hemispherical Combustion Chamber.  A domed cylinder head for an internal combustion engine first engineered in 1901 in Belgium and used by such car companies as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Daimler in the early years in Grand Prix cars.

It would be in the 1960’s era that the name HEMI would become synonymous with American Muscle. Chrysler became identified by trademarking the word HEMI and using it in the ad campaigns.

The legendary 426 HEMI was developed by Chrysler for NASCAR in 1964 and ran this engine through the 1970’s. HEMI heads can be found on some of the world’s most legendary performance cars such as Aston Martin, Porsche, Ford Performance, and Lotus. From its muscle car heritage, this hemispherical system would light the fires of many a high performance engine. HEMI is a staple on the American Muscle Car landscape.

One outstanding representative of the HEMI-engined icons of the muscle car heyday was the Plymouth Barracuda. In the early years, the car came in a fastback coupe as a variant of the Plymouth Valiant. Wraparound back glass, some distinct lines and this lasted up until the early 70’s.

1970 is when the Barracuda found a whole new life. New distinctive design and moves out of the economy car segment and into the fire. The sport model “Cuda” with a HEMI under the hood. You could also get some pretty cool colors and decal packages. With colors like, Moulin Rouge, Sassy Grass, Vitamin C, Lemon Twist, you have to miss the days when cars had really distinct looks.

At this time was an ever increasing pressure from the government aimed at Detroit to build smaller engines that achieved better fuel economy. With oil embargoes, shortages, and increasing emissions standards, this cycle took a toll on the proliferation of beefy big block engines.

Before we leave the Barracuda, a cool side note to this car. A matching numbers 1970 Hemi Cuda Convertible thought to be the only one in existence brought $3.5 million dollars at auction.

So the Barracuda faded into history in April of 1974.

You can’t write an automotive Muscle Car article and not pay homage to the Pontiac GTO. In our opinion this is the Granddaddy of American Muscle. When one thinks of American muscle, you need look no further than the 1969 Pontiac GTO “Judge”.

For those of you that have not been living under a salvage yard for years, will remember the name John DeLorean. Certainly any car enthusiast will have heard of his car, the DeLorean and the misfortune he suffered while trying to fund his company with a failed cocaine deal that sent him to prison.

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1966 Pontiac GTO Hardtop – Muscle Car

On a much brighter note however, John DeLorean was arguably one of GM’s greatest engineers ever. He alongside Russell Gee and Bill Collins, came up with one of the coolest cars ever built. They had some big obstacles to overcome at GM, as GM had pulled all racing sponsorship and factory support. So how do you get customers to love a car that is built around racing and performance when you aren’t in racing? You get guys hooked on street performance.

John DeLorean came up with the GTO name which was inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari’s successful race car. Grand Turismo Omologato, means Grand Tourer Homologated, certified for racing in the grand tourer class. DeLorean called it the Grand Tempest Option. The GTO option was a distinction for the Pontiac Tempest.

The GTO option cost $295 and included a 389 cu V8 rated at 325 hp, single Carter four barrel carburetor, dual exhaust, chromed valve covers, air cleaner, floor shifted three speed, with Hurst shifter. You also got stiffer suspension, wider wheels, front sway bar, hood scoop and of course GTO badging.

If you really wanted to step it up, how about the four speed manual shift with three two-barrel Rochester 2G Carburetors (6 Pack) limited slip rear differential and power convenience accessories. All together you could expect to pay $4,500 at the dealership. Today, a mint condition Pontiac GTO will fetch an average of $50K to upwards of $250K depending on condition and model. Where was my crystal ball in 1964?

To add more mystique to the GTO was Ace Wilson’s Royal Pontiac, who offered the Bobcat option, a tune up performance package for the 389 engines. Kits varied a little by customer but the modifications included:

  • Spark advance of the distributor.
  • Thinner Copper head gasket for higher compression.
  • Special intake manifold gaskets to block heat.
  • Larger carburetor jets.

A properly installed kit could add 30 to 50 more horsepower. You could even check the option box for engine blueprinting, to make sure the car met GM factory blueprint specifications.

In 1966, the GTO would finally become not just an option but it became model 242, the Pontiac GTO. The convertible of the year was one of the coolest cars built. The lines with the top down gave this car a distinct look.

By the late 60’s and early 70’s the GTO was redesigned with a sleeker body. The automatic transmission option was at this point making its way into car fleets of all kinds.

Mid-year of the 1967 model saw the introduction of the Ram Air induction system. This system would later find its wings with the Pontiac Firebird Ram Air.

Now we’ll take a look at some names that ruled the roost when it came to muscle cars. Names like Carroll Shelby, Lee Iacocca, and John DeLorean whom we wrote about earlier, and Andy Granatelli, the CEO of STP and founder of Granatelli Motorsports.

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1968 Oldsmobile 442 – Muscle Car

This is a short list of men who made immeasurable impact in the world of muscle cars. Certainly you could fill a book with everyone, but these few do have some distinct milestones.

Lee Iacocca, for those of you old enough to remember, borrowed money from the US government to bail out the Chrysler Corporation, made a massive profit building K-cars and minivans, and returned the money before it was due. One of the greatest CEO’s in American history.

What you may not know about Mr. Iacocca is he helped design the Ford Mustang. As much as any muscle car built, the Ford Mustang is certainly in the upper echelon of this segment. You could even go as far to say the Ford Mustang is American Muscle Car Royalty!

Andy Granatelli convinced gear heads of the day that STP oil and fuel treatments were a staple product for all high performance engines. STP would sponsor race cars all over the world. It may seem insignificant to some, but having an STP sticker displayed on your muscle car added a badge of honor to your car. It was very cool to adorn your ride with STP stickers. If you lived during this era you will understand what I’m talking about.

Mr. Granatelli, with legendary Indy driver AJ Foyt, won the 1969 Indy 500. It’s important to note that his regular driver was Mario Andretti. As you can see Andy Granatelli was pioneer in power and speed.

Throughout his career, Granatelli would win several more Indy 500 races, 2 with race legend Gordon Johncock.

You can’t think about muscle cars and not think about STP being a major part of that landscape.

muscle-car-pioneersIf there were a King crowned for the muscle car world, it would be Carroll Shelby! For decades, Shelby not only drove race cars successfully, but he designed some of the hottest cars ever built and gave them a beastly engine that set the car world on fire.

In the 1950’s, Carroll Shelby was a team driver for such legendary teams as MG, Cad-Allard, Aston Martin and Maserati. In 1959, Carroll Shelby won the 24 hours at Le Mans in an Aston Martin. He would also set a record at the famous Mount Washington Hill climb Auto Race driving a Ferrari 375 GP roadster 10:21.8 seconds in 1956.

The car that put Mr. Shelby on the map would be the AC Cobra (Shelby Cobra), which was licensed to Shelby to be sold in the United States by British sportscar builder AC. This car at Shelby’s request would have a Ford V8 engine. Shelby would go on to develop with Ford the Shelby GT350 and the Shelby GT500 production cars. Ford and Shelby would part ways for a time but never fear they did return to make Shelby Mustangs once again.

Shelby also worked with Dodge for a time and here is a list of those legendary cars:

  • 1983 to 1984 Dodge Shelby Charger
  • 1985 to 1987 Dodge Charger Shelby
  • 1984 to 1986 Dodge Omni GLH
  • 1996 Dodge Viper RT/10 CS (only 25 produced)

The above cars were actually modified by Shelby.

The next cars were Shelby parts overseen by Carroll Shelby:

  • 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S
  • 1987 to 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z
  • 1988 to 1991 Dodge Daytona C/S
  • 1989 to 1991 Dodge Daytona Shelby
  • 1988 to 1989 Dodge Lancer Shelby
  • 1989 to 1990 Dodge Shadow Competition

Shelby would build Shelby modified cars from 1986 to 1989 on Dodge platforms, at his Whittier, California facility.

Mr. Shelby was the performance consultant on the Dodge Viper team. His expertise in creating a powerful and light car was instrumental in the cars success, which is basically a modern interpretation of the original Shelby Cobra.

He would also work with Oldsmobile. The Shelby Series 1 roadster carried the 4.0L L47 Aurora V8 by Oldsmobile. The Series 1 is the only car ever produced by Shelby from scratch. All other Shelby cars are re-engineered by Shelby.

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1965 Shelby Cobra 427 – Muscle Car

Shelby Cobra cars will fetch north of $1 million dollars today at auction!

Sadly Shelby cars have been copied by kit car companies. Shelby filed multiple lawsuits fighting these companies.

Mr. Shelby passed away at his home in Dallas, Texas on May 10, 2012 at the age of 89. His immeasurable reach into the muscle car world will never be overtaken. His influence touched millions of car customers and enthusiasts for decades. He will be missed.

Like all things, climates change, and industries move in different directions. In the 70’s, we began to see the big V8 engines, gas guzzlers as they were known fade into the backdrop. The four and six cylinder engines were on the rise.

With EPA standards changing, gas shortages becoming commonplace, the era of the big monster engines began to fade.

With stricter exhaust emission standards, the Big Three began looking more closely at efficiency over brawn. With California leading the way, adding additional smog pumps to cars, and having higher emission standards than what was federally regulated, we began to see the slow death of the American Muscle Car.

Ford, Chevrolet and Pontiac kept the Mustang, Camaro and Firebird alive. These being the most iconic cars of the day, but you could now find these cars with much smaller engines. Even a 4 cylinder model of each made it to production. Over the years you could still get beefy V8 models, but in limited production, and with less power than years before.

Manufactures all kept some models around that were intended as performance of muscle cars. We saw the quick rise of the Pontiac GTO reborn into the Pontiac line up only to be done in with the GM financial crisis and the disbanding of Pontiac.

Dodge has brought back the Charger and Challenger to showrooms. All vying to reclaim days since past, the Hemi Hellcat at 707 hp, shines as a beacon from the past guiding us to muscle car nirvana.

A couple of cars however have withstood the test of time. Not without many stumbles and falls from grace. These two machines finish out our article.

  • Chevrolet Corvette
  • Ford Mustang
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1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 KR – Muscle Car

Each of these cars beckoned young men to showroom floors for decades. It’s a young boys “Mom, Dad can I have a Mustang or Corvette?” as the first car they will own. Don’t worry ladies, I am sure lots of women asked for one of these cool cars as their first car.

The Ford Mustang came on the scene in 1964 and is built to this day. More so than the Corvette, the Mustang has seen many changes to body style and engines.

Ford really botched it with the Mustang II. Sorry guys this was a really cool car before and after the Mustang II. Perhaps enough said about that!

Mustangs have been offered in some exciting models, including Shelby, GT, 5.0, Mach 1 and Boss to name a few. To give you some idea of the popularity of the Ford Mustang, let’s look at what these beauties bring at auction:

  • 1965 Supercharged Shelby GT350 $528,000
  • 1969 Boss 429 $550,000
  • 2009 GT500KR $550,000
  • 2007 Shelby GT $600,000
  • 1965 Shelby GT350R $990,000
  • 1967 “Eleanor” Hero Car $1,000,000
  • 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake $1,300,000
  • 1968 Shelby EXP 500 Green Hornet $1,800,000 (did not sell, top bid)

In its sixth generation, the Ford Mustang has withstood the test of time and loyal owners can expect to love this car for years to come.

For those that love the Chevrolet Corvette, this car above all has withstood the test of time. Since 1953 to today, you can see Chevrolet Corvettes on American roads. Corvette has been and always shall be a true American Muscle Car. She has never had anything less than Chevrolets very best V8 power plant.

In 1953 if you wanted a Corvette, I hope you wanted a Polo White Convertible with 150 hp, and you were one of 300 people who made it to the showrooms across America.

In 1963, Corvette introduced the Sting Ray to the lineup. Sting Rays would introduce the iconic hidden headlamps. All through the late ‘60s Corvette would come in the Sting Ray Coupe or Convertible model. The convertible model was as cool a car that was yet built. Side pipes and the ever iconic spoke wheels.

It was the third generation Corvette that changed Corvette forever. Patterned after the Mako Shark II concept car, this car would be the definition of American Muscle Cars. Sleek, sexy, and fast!  This model would also be the first Corvette to serve as an Indy Pace Car.

Since the beginning, Corvettes have lead the way and been the top dog for American High Performance cars. Today’s Corvette models can not only compete with some of the most technologically advanced, high performance cars in the world, but beat many of them costing exponentially more.

All through the years, Corvette has been the dream car of many a fellow.

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1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 – Muscle Car

Today, Corvettes bring top dollar at auctions across the country. A 1968 Corvette L88 Coupe brought a staggering $3,800,000 at auction. To say the very least Corvettes of old are still in the hearts and minds of car enthusiasts around the world.

Hopefully by now you have some idea about the American Muscle Car. This segment of the automotive business is truly an American staple in our history. The 1960s and 1970s saw some of the coolest cars ever built. Showing off American ingenuity and prowess for automotive car building that was second to none.

We truly only scratched the surface of an industry that had so many milestones. Through the years small garages popped up all over this great country to build, modify or work on muscle cars. Who would be top of the heap? In days gone by, guys raced pink slip for pink slip. Imagine having enough faith in a car to race it, only to possibly lose it, or take your buddy’s car home with you.

Movies like American Graffiti showed us how cruising in cool muscle cars was what we lived for as young men and women. Racing the guy from the next town, who would be the big daddy on the block? For guys that owned these cars, all the pretty girls wanted to ride with you.

American Muscle cars defined a generation. If you grew up in the 60’s or early 70’s you remember that cruising was what we did.

How many sons remember working on Dad’s muscle car, to finally hear him crank it over and pipes blaring a deafening vroom filling the garage? The countless hours spent in Dad’s garage, if doing nothing more than handing him tools (or beers). These are memories that sons will share with their own children.

Sadly those are days gone by. Working on cars is not as it once was. Technology has moved literally into the space age. Do you realize that cars of today have 25% more on board computing power than the Apollo Moon Rocket? Technology is a wonderful thing, but it does have a price.

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2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat – 707 HP

For a generation, guys were able to get out and build cool hot rods right in the garage. Engines of the day were tuned by a mechanics ear, not a computer. Guys could listen to the engine and tell you what you needed to fix it. They could also tell you by sound what you could do to get more power.

When you watch what cars of this era bring at auction, it’s fun to see that the art form that was the American Muscle Car is not lost to legend. That means you can own one of the many iconic cars that make up the muscle car world. The thousands of people that show up at classic car events leave a nice feeling for those of us that thirst for the days of old.

You can still share with your son or daughter the stories of “cruising the drag”. Watching your buddy race his ‘57 Chevy down some lonesome stretch of road, engines roaring, tires smoking, and your friends all experiencing life at its best, at its American Best!

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