1969 Chevrolet Chevelle COPO 427

One of America’s most recognized Muscle Car Icons, the 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle was produced with only minor styling changes, including new taillamps. With another record climbing sales year the Chevelle was on the rise and the SS 396 became an option package on all Chevelles. Now making it possible to order the SS 396 package on everything from the popular sales leading Malibu to the Chevelle 300-series and the Chevrolet El Camino pick up. The 396 engine option was offered again with 325, 350, and 375hp and in late model year, the 396 was bored out to 402 cubic engines, reportedly to meet new emission standards.

Interior of Chevelle COPO 427

Chevrolet produced a limited number of COPO Chevelles, specially ordered from the factory by specific dealers and a few select customers. Stocked standard with the L72 427 V8 rated at 425hp. An estimated 323 Chevelle COPO 427s were built.

Engine of Chevelle COPO 427

Chevrolet likewise eschewed flamboyant stripes and badges for their 1969 Chevelle COPO 427 and kept its appearance low-key. The car could run a 13.3 sec. quarter-mile at 108 mph (174 km/h). Chevrolet rated the engine at 425 hp (317 kW), but the NHRA claimed a truer 450 hp (340 kW). It has been said that the 1969 COPO Chevelles were "among the most feared muscle cars of any day. And they didn't need any badges.

(Source : Wikipedia; Oldsmobile)
(Pic sources : Iconocast ; how stuff works ;how stuff works2

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1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

The 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, created in response to public interest in speed and power, is often cited as the first of the breed. It featured an innovative and powerful new engine—America's first high- compression overhead valve V-8—in the lighter Oldsmobile body.

Musclecars magazine wrote: "[t]he idea of putting a full-size V8 under the hood of an intermediate body and making it run like Jesse Owens in Berlin belongs to none other than Oldsmobile... [The] all-new ohv V8...Rocket engine quickly found its way into the lighter 76 series body, and in February 1949, the new 88 series was born."

The article continued: "Walt Woron of Motor Trend enjoyed the 'quick-flowing power...that pins you to your seat and keeps you there until you release your foot from the throttle. Olds dominated the performance landscape in 1950, including wins in the NASCAR Grand National division, Daytona Speed Weeks, and the 2100-plus-mile Carrera Panamericana. In France, an 88 won a production car race at Spa-Francorchamps... A husky V8 in a cleanly styled, lightweight coupe body, the original musclecar truly was the '49 Olds 88."

Jack Nerad wrote in Driving Today: "the Rocket V-8 set the standard for every American V-8 engine that would follow it for at least three decades. With a displacement of 303 cubic inches and topped by a two-barrel carburetor, the first Rocket V-8 churned out 135 horsepower (101 kW) at 3,600 rpm and 263 pound-feet of torque at a lazy 1800 rpm [and] no mid-range car in the world, save the Hudson Hornet, came close to the Rocket Olds performance potential..."

Engine of 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

Nerad added that the Rocket 88 was "the hit of NASCAR’s 1950 season, winning eight of the 10 races. Given its lightning-like success, one could clearly make the case that the Olds 88 with its 135 horsepower (101 kW) V-8 was the first 'musclecar'..."

Steve Dulcich, writing in Popular Hot Rodding, also cites Oldsmobile, concurrently with Cadillac, as having "launched the modern era of the high-performance V-8 with the introduction of the "Rocket 88" overhead-valve V-8 in 1949."

(Sources : Wikipedia)
(Pic sources : Wikipedia, Media Canada)

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1964 Ford Thunderbolt

As the muscle car market took shape, Ford introduced a Fairlane for drag strip racing for 1964, heavily modified to incorporate a 427 CID (7.0 L) V8 with two four-barrel carburetors on a high-riser manifold, ram-air through the openings left by deleting the inboard headlights, equal-length headers, trunk-mounted battery, fiberglass hood, doors, fenders and front bumper, acrylic glass windows, and other lightweight options including deleted rear door window winders, carpeting, radio, sealant, sun visors, armrests, jack, lug wrench, heater, soundproofing, and passenger side windshield wiper. This special model, of which 111 to 127 total were made depending on who you ask, delivered 500 hp (373 kW) at 7,000 rpm and was known as the Thunderbolt.

Interior of 1964 Ford Thunderbolt

A stock Thunderbolt could run a quarter-mile (402 m) at a drag strip in 11.76 seconds at 122.7 mph (197.5 km/h), and Gas Ronda dominated the NHRA World Championship with a best time of 11.6 seconds at 124 mph (200 km/h).[7] The Thunderbolt included competition-specification 427 cu in (7 L) engine and special exhausts (though technically legal for street use, the car was too raucous for the public roads—"not suitable", according to a Hot Rod magazine quote, "for driving to and from the strip, let alone on the street in everyday use"; also massive traction bars, asymmetrical rear springs, and a trunk-mounted 95-pound (43 kg) bus battery to maximize traction from what was realistically 500 bhp (373 kW). Sun visors, exterior mirror, sound-deadener, armrests, jack, and lug wrench were omitted to save weight. The car was given lightweight Plexiglass windows, and early versions had fiberglass front body panels and bumpers, later changed to aluminum to meet NHRA regulations.

Engine of 1964 Ford Thunderbolt

Specifications

Engines: ohv V-8, 427 cid (4.23 × 3.78), 425+ bhp
Transmissions: 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic
Suspension, front: shortened upper A-arms, coil springs
Suspension, rear: live axle, leaf springs, traction bars
Brakes: front/rear drums
Wheelbase (in.): 115.5
Weight (lbs.): 3,225
Top speed (mph): 120-126 (at end of quarter-mile); 0-60 mph (sec): 4.5 (est)

(Source : Wikipedia; How Stuff Works)
(Pic sources : Photo Bucket, Mustang and Fords)

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1970 Dodge Challenger

A 1970-only model was the Dodge Challenger T/A (Trans Am) racing homologation car. In order to race in the Sports Car Club of America's Trans American Sedan Championship, it built a street version of its race car (just like Plymouth with its Plymouth 'Cuda AAR) which it called the Dodge Challenger T/A (Trans Am). Although the race cars ran a destroked version of the 340, street versions took the 340 and added a trio of two-barrel carburetors atop an Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold, creating the 340 Six Pack. Dodge rated the 340 Six Pack at 290 bhp (216.3 kW), only 15 bhp (11 kW) more than the original 340 engine (and mysteriously the same rating as the Camaro Z/28 and Ford Boss 302 Mustang), it actually made about 320 bhp (238.6 kW).

Engine of 1970 Dodge Challenger

It breathed air through a suitcase sized air scoop molded into the pinned down, hinged matte-black fiberglass hood. Low-restriction dual exhausts ran to the stock muffler location under the trunk, then reversed direction to exit in chrome tipped "megaphone" outlets in front of the rear wheels. Options included a TorqueFlite automatic or pistol-grip Hurst-shifted four-speed transmission, 3.55:1 or 3.90:1 gears, as well as manual or power steering. Front disc brakes were standard. The special Rallye suspension used heavy duty parts and increased the camber of the rear springs. The T/A was among the first production vehicles to use different size tires front and rear: E60x15 fronts, and G60x15 in back.

The modified camber elevated the tail enough to clear the rear rubber and its side exhaust outlets, thick side stripes, bold ID graphics, a fiberglass ducktail rear spoiler, as well as a fiberglass front spoiler added to the image. The interior was strictly stock Challenger. Unfortunately, the race Challenger T/A was not competitive, due to the fact that they had to be large enough to accommodate engines as large as the 426 Hemi, and 440, the street version suffered from severe understeer in fast corners. It could turn mid 14s in the quarter mile, which would do any small block muscle car proud. The T/A would only be available for 1970 as Dodge pulled out of Trans Am racing. Only 2,142 T/As were made.

(Source : Wikipedia)
(Pics sources : Wikipedia)

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1974 Pontiac Firebird Formula

The Pontiac Firebird was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as its platform-sharing cousin, the Chevrolet Camaro. This coincided with the release of the 1967 Mercury Cougar, which shared its platform with another pony car, the Ford Mustang.

The vehicles were, for the most part, powered by various V8 engines of different GM divisions. While primarily Pontiac-powered until 1977, Firebirds were built with several different engines from nearly every GM division until 1982 when all Pontiac engines were dropped in favor of corporate units.



In 1974, Pontiac offered an inline-6, a 185 hp 350 CID V8, and 175 to 225 hp 400 CID V8 engines. The 455 produced 215 and 250 hp (190 kW) while the SD-455 produced 290 hp (220 kW). The 400, 455, and SD-455 engines were offered in the Trans Am and Formula models during 1974, but the 400 and 455 engines were the only other options in the 1975 and 1976 models. In 1976, Pontiac celebrated their 50th Anniversary, and a special edition of the Trans Am was released. Painted in black with gold accents, this was the first anniversary Trans Am package and the first production Black and Gold special edition. In 1977, Pontiac offered the T/A 6.6 Litre 400 (RPO W72) rated at 200 hp (150 kW), as opposed to the regular 6.6 Litre 400 (RPO L78) rated at 180 hp (130 kW). In addition, California and high altitude cars received the Olds 403 engine, which offered a slightly higher compression ratio and a more usable torque band than the Pontiac engines of 1977.

(Source : Wikipedia)
(Pics Source : Tom Laferriere)

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