50 Fastest Muscle Cars...

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

So just for conversation, which Muscle Cars would you pick for the "top 3" in your opinion...and yes I would like everyone to give theirs.

This ought to be interesting.

One thing a lot of people have lost track of is how badly cast exhaust manifolds hurt these cars. We can remember a buddy running times back in the day but I bet most of those cars had headers installed. It was a no brainer upgrade.

If we're talking about PURE showroom stock, to me that means stock tires, exhaust, intake and weight. Change the jets if you want and jack with the timing and air pressure. OK, take off the air cleaner and remove the jack and spare. A 14 second car was pretty fast and there weren't that many 13 second cars.

As for ringers, I remember one comparison test where the Fomoco cars arrived at the testing site on the back of a Holman-Moody transporter.

I'll list my top three in no particular order:

69 440 Six Pack Roadrunner or Super Bee
70 LS6 Chevelle
70 Stage 1 Buick

427 Cobras were in a league of their own; besides, I don't consider them a musclecar. Same for Corvettes.

[art leong]

I can name 3 cars in category 2 that should be on there but weren't.
1990 Dodge Daytona R/T
1990 Dodge Spirit R/T
2005 Dodge Neon SRT4 acr
Any of the 3 can run low 13's right off the showroom floor.

[bill dedman]

Well, the definition of "muscle car" varies from time-to-time and is really hard to pin down.

They used to say, "a big block, hi-po motor in an intermediate car, such as the 1966 GTO." But, the times have changed, and so have the cars. Is the car's performance a part of the equation? I'd say so. That 1966 389 GTO is nothing special by today's standards, when you can go buy a soccer-mom V6 Camry FWD grocery-getter that will easily outrun a bone-stock Tri-Power '66 GTO in the quarter-mile (14.2@100 mph for the Camry, according to Motor Trend Dec. 2011.) I don't recall pure stock GTO's on street tires with factory gearing running over 100, nor quicker than 14.2 (not even DeLoreaan's bogus 421 "road test" cars...

But, the GTO was fast, in 1966. The 375hp Big Block Camaros were even faster, the following year... but, is a Camaro a "muscle car?"

The daddies of them all were the 1968 Darts and Barracudas, fitted with the competition version of the 426 Hemi... but, they were not an assembly-line car.

I think it would take a TEAM of Philadelphia lawyers to devise a list of qualifications that would make a meaningful group of "the 50 fastest muscle cars" possible. There are just too many variables.... cars like the '66-67 medium-riser 427 Fairlanes and '64 T-Bolts... and the '64 Stage III Max-Wedge cars (to say nothing of the '64 Hemis,) and a whole host of other cars that were really fast, but arguably, not necessarily "muscle cars," depending on the contest rules. How about C.O.P.O. 427-powered Camaros???

Then, there's the 350HP Chevy 327 small-block cars that were quick enough on the street, to dust a LOT of big block "muscle cars," in 1966. Are they "muscle cars"??? No big block... Hmmmmmmmmm......

It goes on and on... I guess, a pass time for people with a lot of time on their hands... LOL!

Fun to talk about, though...

[Jeff Lee]

Originally Posted by BlueOval Ralph

Not only the Mags but also the Pure Oil Performance Trails at Speed Weeks in in Daytona the reason I can say this is I was working at Hurst Performance Reseach in Detroit and we did a lot of the swaps.

I know a guy that just wrote a book on Hurst Performance. Comes out in the Fall? It should be interesting. And I hear he pulled back on a few punches...
Must have been an interesting place if you can write a book about it and still feel the need not to throw it al out there!

[bigshow2966]

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Ringers such as, could you be more precise...but as long as the factory built them and the dealerships sold them or were available to the pubic or racers is all that matters.

.

It is a known fact that Pontiac issued ringers. The '73 SD 455 T/A had been "tuned up" with 11-1/2 to 1 pistons and a camshaft.

I'm pretty sure other makes did the same, none of them admitted it though.

The games still go on today.

[l88427]

I think that the current stock and superstock classifications for these older muscle cars give us a good idea how these cars stack up against each other,eg. a 1967 396/375 camaro runs a/s same as a 428 mustang ford thunderbolt runs ss/b with a 427 2 4bbl. a68 corvette with a 427 1 4 bbl. runs ss/a etc etc.

[Hemi Moose]

Originally Posted by l88427

I think that the current stock and superstock classifications for these older muscle cars give us a good idea how these cars stack up against each other,eg. a 1967 396/375 camaro runs a/s same as a 428 mustang ford thunderbolt runs ss/b with a 427 2 4bbl. a68 corvette with a 427 1 4 bbl. runs ss/a etc etc.

All good points but most of those cars don't retain all of their original parts today such as the suspension, transmissions & torque converters, rear ends, gears, etc...I'm talking about how they rolled out of the factory or the dealerships.

[Hemi Moose]

Originally Posted by Dan Bennett

This ought to be interesting.

One thing a lot of people have lost track of is how badly cast exhaust manifolds hurt these cars. We can remember a buddy running times back in the day but I bet most of those cars had headers installed. It was a no brainer upgrade.

If we're talking about PURE showroom stock, to me that means stock tires, exhaust, intake and weight. Change the jets if you want and jack with the timing and air pressure. OK, take off the air cleaner and remove the jack and spare. A 14 second car was pretty fast and there weren't that many 13 second cars.

As for ringers, I remember one comparison test where the Fomoco cars arrived at the testing site on the back of a Holman-Moody transporter.

I'll list my top three in no particular order:

69 440 Six Pack Roadrunner or Super Bee
70 LS6 Chevelle
70 Stage 1 Buick

427 Cobras were in a league of their own; besides, I don't consider them a musclecar. Same for Corvettes.

Yes that's what I'm talking about "showroom stock" or "day two" modifications, such as a minor tune-up, or cam up grade, headers mag wheels, etc...the regular stuff done back then when you bought one of these brand new.

[Bob Bender]

What about a 1969 Kingswood ???

[mike withers]

I saw no mention of any AMC cars. I can tell you that none of the cars listed ever beat my 1969 SC/rambler on the street. I would note that I never raced a 427 cobra and do not doubt that that combo would be hard to beat on the street or strip.
I did more than a little street racing in that era and while many cars had obvioiusly more HP and torque they couldn't put to the ground unless they had slicks. I raced every thing from Z28 camaros, to 440 6packs and none prevailed over the light weight rambler on the street. One of the most surprised was the owner of a 1970 450 hp 454 Chevelle he could not understand how I could possibly beat him on the street. It took three passes to convince him it was not a fluke. He was earlier bragging about owning the most powerfull production car available. While i agreed with that description I questioned if it was the fastest car on the street.I would note the AMC car's stock suspention included an upper torque link and I did add set of slapper bars. I could leave at 5000rpm's(peak torque with stock cam) and almost never smoked the tires.

The only car to beat me on the street with street tires was another Rambler a 1970 AMX my friend Jimmy Straight owned and it just depended on who left first as to who won. One evening we burned a quarter of a tank of 260 sunoco proving this point.