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Old 12-20-2011, 06:00 PM   #1
Alex Denysenko
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Default Muscle cars the factory should have built

I'm sure that every one of you as me at one time or another imagined, bench raced about or maybe even actually created one of these muscle cars.

Anyone of us could have been a Don Yenko, Carrol Shelby, Geroge Hurst, or Mr. Norm if the factory's would have just listened.

It would have been so easy as all parts were readily available and fit without modifications to existing platforms.

In many cases some of these actually made it to the prototype stages but for whatever reason, be it fears of insurance surcharges, bean counters, emissions, or internal politics none ever became production packages.

This is my list in no particular preferance of cars that the factories should have built.

65 and 66 Buick Skylark Gran Sport with the 425-360 HP dual quad LX engine.
I'll bet they would have sold a lot more GS's.

67 Impala SS 427 with 427-400 and 435 HP tri power engine.
Some say that the car was all set to go and was killed off by Zora at the last second. The triple louvered medalions on the hood would substantiate that story.

67 SS 350 Nova Why not????
Didn't want to steal any Camaro thunder I suspect.

70 1/2-71 Camaro Z/28 350 LT-1 with Holley tri power. It was on the drawing board all ready to go and got nixed.

70 SS 454 Camaro and Nova Another why not?

66 Olds 442 with a 425 and L-69 tri power package.

65-66 Pontiac GTO with 421 376 HP tri power engine
What moron at GM decided that over 400 cubes in a intermediate was taboo?

69 Pontiac GTO and Firebird wth RA-IV equipped 428 Talk about embarrasing your SS 396 chebbies.

70 Pontiac GTO with a 455 RA-IV. Another why not? 400 cube ban was lifted, RA-IV parts were on the shelves so why not?

71 AMC Hornet SC 401 instead of the 360
That would have been a serious no brainer

68-69 Plymouth Valiant 100 2 door sedan beer can with a 340
Along the same theme as the succesful Road Runner
Talk about a cheap screamer

69 up 440 6 pack A body
I know that there were still born plans for a 440+ 6 Demon, but can you imagine a 69 Dart or Cuda on the street with a 440-6?

71 Demon-Duster 340 six pack
Another serious why not? Plenty of left over TA/AAR parts. As a matter of fact Mopar scrapped a ton of carbs.

67 Mustang-Cougar with a 427 instead of the 390. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Ford had the car, the motors, and the transmissions. Prototypes were built, and tested. The engineers were all for it, but the bean counters studies showed that the public only needed the 390.
Yeah right.
How'd that work out for FoMoCo fans on the street and at the local tracks?

68 Mustang 302 Tunnel Port.
Wow, what could have been.
Killer heads, shaft rockers, dual quads and a (lol) 245 HP rating. Yeah, Ford was on to something with those HP ratings.
Engines were allocated and built, cars were bucked, yet never happened.
Why not? Semon "bunkie" Knudson that's why.

69 Boss 429 with the better cam and Holley tri power carburetion.
Intakes were cast, carbs were engineered and tested, and....would not pass emissions.
NPD owns one of the prototypes.

70 Mustang-Cougar 429 375 HP SCJ
Engine was already planned for Torino and Cyclone so why not the Mustangs?
FE was dead, 428 CJ had a great run but was already dead in everything but the Mustang and Cougar so why not?
Aftermarket would have had a year sooner to start developing speed equipment and who knows where it could have gone?

71 Mustang Boss 351C Holley tri power.
Another one that was actually ready to go but killed off at the last second. Quite a few of the intakes made it out before scrapping and a floating around.

All the above were either ready to go or could have easily been built by the factory with off the shelf parts.

I left out the more outrageous combos such as 427 Tunnel Port Mustang, or L-88 Camaro, or Hemi Dart (oh yeah, they actually built those) for obvious reasons.
Mostly practicality and cost.

Feel free to add to this thread espcially if you can think of any more that I may have missed.
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Alex Denysenko NHRA 3038 SS, 3305 STK - IHRA 6 SS, 330A STK
Moneymaker Racing LaPorte Indiana 219-861-1214
www.moneymakerracing.net
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