Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Speaking of "fantasy combos," Dodge and Plymouth should've offered the (four barrel) 440 cu. in. Magnum and Super Commando in the plain jane Super Bee and Road Runner models, respectively, rather than in just the more expensive and heavier R/T and GTX models.

Dumb move on Chrysler's part as far as I'm concerned. But then again, that only effected the drag strip classes. Many a factory 383-powered B-body sooner or later received a 440 wedge in its li'l brother's former place on the street back during the supercar and street racing heyday of the 1960s and 1970s and beyond.

1964-1965 Dodge and Plymouth B-bodies with 426 HEMI 4-barrel (Nascar version).

1970 & 1971 T/A Challenger and AAR 'Cuda available with optional 440 Six Pack/Six Barrel and 426 HEMI options. Oh yeah....

1972-74 Challengers and 'Cudas w/big-block powerplants (a la 1970 & 71) and Challenger with R/T option continued instead of being replaced with "Rallye" (Challenger) name which just did not have the right "ring" to it.

1970-72 Plymouth Duster and Dodge Demon with 340, 383 & 440 Six Barrel (Six Pack) option.

And the ultimate 1970-72 A-body option: 426 HEMI engine w/aluminum heads + 1969 B-body-style lift-off fiberglass hood + Super Track Pak. Optional, for "off road use only": 426 HEMI w/magnesium cross ram manifold + 1968-style S/S lift-off hood w/scoop and Super Stock rear spring suspension + Dana 60 rear end. :D

M68

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

As far as Fords are concerned, it would've been great if Ford offered as an hi-po option the Boss 302 and Boss 429 engines in the Maverick and Comet body styles with similar body striping and hood scoop treatment as found on Mach I's. Ditto the 428 cu.in. and 429 SCJ engines too.

M68

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

One more Ford and Mercury option circa 1965-67: a 427 cu.in. Single Over Head Cammer in its Fairlane, Comet, Galaxie 500 and Marauder models.

M68

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

As far as Chevy is concerned:

1969 Camaro w/L-88 and 430 cu. Can Am engine with optional 494 cu.in version for a "few dollars more." Ditto for the 1969 Corvette with the last two.

1970-72 Camaro SS with 454 LS-6 and LS-7 option; with the latter available in the Corvette and Chevelle SS too.

1970-72 Nova SS with LT-1 and LS-6 option.

M68

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

M68,
I like your choices.
The 70 A-Body cars should have been ready for a 440.
My personal favorite/wish. My 69' 440 Cuda.
But, with 11.5 pistons, Stage III Max-Wedge heads, an aluminum
dual-plane high-rise with 850 Holley. And add in the .500 lift, 300 duartion solid-lifter Max-Wedge cam.
Some lightening equipment, like aluminum water-pump housing, oil-pump, and trunk-mounted battery. Maybe if Chrysler could convince Alcoa to re-start casting aluminum heads, a nice set of aluminum
Max-wedge heads. That should have gotten the car down to around 3225lbs. with 400HP (8.00 - 8.49 wt/hp)
Paul

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

X-Tech or M68,
A-Body question.
1967 Plymouth Barracuda
Weight w/273 #2940
Weight w/383 #3182

1968 Plymouth barracuda
Weight w/340 #3005

1969 Plymouth Barracuda
weight w/440 #3405

Do these weights sound correct. my 69' 440 Cuda had a weight registration of #3310.

Going by the weights, than a 67' 383/280HP would have been classed in D/S for 1967, and G/S for 1968.
Is that correct.,,,Paul

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

A 70-72 Duster with a

400, two 800 cfm 4barrels, 2.25X1.81 valves, a 700 lift cam, and a special T bolted block.

second option that had special castings of the hemi head that would fit the wedge block.

It would also be fitted with a scoop for clearance and design such that it weighed 2900 lbs with the driver.

This engine would be kicking over 8500rpm easy and reeking havoc in a SS/B-D classes.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Just give me a 63 tempest stuffed with a indian adventures block with a long arm and some ram air v tunnel ports------you pick the trans and rear !!!!

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Ed, i read you there. Spoken like a true s/ss racer.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Boss 351 Maverick
455 Stage 1 Omega
RamAirV '73 GTO
SOHC Mustang, Maverick or
Boss 429 '70 Falcon
ZL-1 '69 Chevelle
RamAir IV or V Pontiac Astre
'70 Hemi Duster
440 Duster/Demon with Max-wedge top-end
These are all easily buildable with pretty much factory parts.
Randall AMC in Mesa,Az. built 401 Gremlins & even a few 401 Pacers!:eek: Baldwin/Motion built a few big-block Vegas & would build/sell most anything you could imagine. Mr. Norm's pretty much did the same thing in Chicago. Unfortunately the other dealers didn't see fit to do this with their marques, but I'll bet Tasca Ford had a few oddball cars running around.....

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

HemiCop,
Great A-Body choices,
70' Hemi Duster
70/71 Duster/Demon 40 (Max-Wedge Top-End)
Also, a S/S wish. Maybe a 1968 bare-bones Belvedere with a
440/375HP With some S/S package bolt-ons. Would have made it a
better SS/E runner in 68'.
PC

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Would have loved to see Ford put a bigger engine in to the early (61-63) falcons.

We shoehorned a 289 into it, and had to cut both shock towers and the firewall, and respring the front to get it done, we used factory exhaust headers or wouldn't have had to cut quite as much from the towers. And we put an econoline truck rear into it for good gearing. But it came out so good it looked factory stock and we were often thought to be a 260. But it was only thought of as a 260 until we went by them.

Those pesky 273 hipo barracudas still got the best of us though... So now I am a Mopar guy.

But with a bigger motor, and a lot bigger springs to hold it up, it would have been all different...

Mostly I was too early for the muscle car phenomenon, but caught the end of it with a loaded 76 GP 455 that weighed about 10,000 pounds, but still could scrabble your eggs.

David
The New Hemi Guy

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

62-64 novas with the dual 4's 425 horse 409 4 speed.

65 nova with the 425 horse 396
i feel the nova in 62-64 could have been marketed so well as a dual purpose car. for grandma and the old lady youve got the 4 and 6 popper. and for dad youve got the 283, 327fuelie and for serious grunt the 409 and later on the 396/427.

67 nova with the l88 427.

70 nova with an ls6 454, never heard of or seen one? would of been sweet!

67 gto with the 428 SD 2x4

67-69 firebird with the 428 SD 2x4

71 vega with a 454 4 speed. and even a 350.

440+6 duster's and demon's

boss 429 maverick

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

283NOVA,

At least a 396/375HP engine should have been put in the 67' Nova..
with the aluminum heads. An absolute 'street monster'.

Wonder, could a 390 engine fit into the 1965 Mercury Comet engine compartment, and be streetable..
If not, a 306HP 289 would be 'kind-a-cute'.

The 68/69/70 Shelby GT-350's should have been eliminated.
The GT-500s should have come through with a dual-quad 428 only.
PC

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Here is a couple,

Early 70's chevy Vega with a v8
1970 and 71 Ford Maverick with a Boss 302 4spd
1970 Pontiac GTO and Trans AM/ Firebird with a Ram Air V
Any early 70's A body Mopar with a 383 or 440
2009 CJ mustang with a 428 Windsor :)

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

There are some killer combos here, all buildable with factory parts. What's needed now is a group of guys to build 'em and run 'em to show just how good the musclecar era could've been if Detroit let it all hang out!

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

My nominations:

Boss 429-powered C6-equipped 1990 Ford Fiesta

NASCAR single 4-bbl 426 Race Hemi-powered ClutchFlite-equipped '64 Barracuda

L-88-powered 4-speed '66 AmphiCar.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

2005 Sun Fire with a 455 SD Pontiac motor;) is my favorite

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

If we've moved up to newer cars, how about a (new) LS-7 GTO? or a bare-bones Mustang with the 5.3 (6?) ltr. engine. or just make the new CobraJet drag cars street-legal!

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I'd be happy with fiberglass parts to supercede the aluminum front end parts on the early '63-'64 B-bodies. And SS package cars to fill in around the '62-'65 and '67-'68 models. 1970-71 Duster and Demon SS packages with Race Hemi's and 440-6 combos with functional air scoops, Aspen and Volare SS package cars with 440-4 and DANA 60.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I'll add a few for the mix....

I remember the Baldwin/Motion Vega's of the 70's, and think one of them with that 350 4bolt main small block would've been a screamer!!! I bought (and raced) an I4 '76 Vega...great memories I made with that combo, however it would've been great to have a V8!

Or how about a Ford Pinto with a 351 Cleveland motor in it? It worked for Bob Glidden didn't it?

Or how about this crazy one, a 340-360 V8 in a Plymouth Arrow?

How about this wacky one, a '69 Corvair with a 327 & either the Muncie 4spd or a powerglide??? That would've been very cool too....

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

1968 Hemi Camaro for Super Stock. Big block , Arias heads , crossram with Holleys. Minimum build for Super Stock. Would have been fun to watch with the Mopars even today.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I just wish Chevrolet would've put a cowl induction hood on the 68-72 Novas,,,ever wonder why you don't see any Big Block Novas in SS? That flat hood could be why,,,would've loved to see an L-88 or ZL-1 Nova from that era. It might 've given SS/AH Darts and Cudas a run for their money.
I've got a guy out here thats going to try it anyway, with a 396 combo. Hes trying to find an intake that will clear with a Holley on it. Might have to lower the engine a little,,,I'll keep my fingers crossed for him.
Danny Durham

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

My wish. 1969 GTO 428, Ram Air IV top end, m22, 4.56 12 bolt rear. Come get some,lol.

Had a customer w a 69 Judge auto w a dealer installed 428 bottom end documented from dealer car. He drove it every day in the late 80's.

455 Stage 1 Buick Opel,lol.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

BBC 79 GM F-body. Even the 454 truck motor would have be unreal.
We did the conversion with pickup truck parts,crate motor and 454 flat intake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIDWp_UZ_GE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TywBk...eature=channel

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Harrel & Yenko DID build a few L-88 Novas --met a guy who had one at a car show here. Beautiful car. He said he had the chance to talk to Dick Harrel before he died ---said Harrel told him he only built about 10 or 12 of 'em as they were too lethal to run on the street. The brakes & suspension weren't up to safely handling that much power but I'm sure a drag only car would've been great. But these weren't COPO cars so they wouldn't qualify for Stock or S/S even if he had built enough of 'em. They're kinda like the big-block Vegas Motion built ---not stock by any means, lots of fun but just over the edge (even back then) for streetibility

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I like the 455 Opel idea, LOL ! I own an unusual 65' Olds 98 ragtop with factory air, power everything and it just happens to have a 425c.i./375hp Super Rocket engine from the factory. Really neat car. I've been thinking of selling it and my kids keep telling me no Dad, you can't, LOL Well, I can...........at least I think I can

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

If you do sell it, you bettercheck first how many they made. I don't recall of ever hearing of a convertible with one of those engines---yours might be the only one!

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

If you were looking for something to run against the HemiDarts & 'Cudas, the closest thing would be a ZL-1 Camaro. "Jungle Jim" ran one in P/S for a very short time. To outfit a Camaro or Nova for SS/A , I'd say a '69 Camaro or Nova, seats from Chevy's Trans-Am parts list or one of the basic van seats, delete everything possible, go the 'glass & acid-dipping route Mopar did. A HD 12-bolt with 4:88gears, M-22 trans,6-cylinder coils in front & the ZL-1 engine & you'd have GMs answer to the Dart/'Cuda set-up. The set-up (for then) could probably run S/S, M/P, or even Gas classes--- not bad for a "commuter car":cool:

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Late 70's X Body with the police 9C1 package, but with the Corvette L-82 motor instead.

http://people.smu.edu/acambre/nova/police.html

Talk about getting groceries :^)

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Hemicop : You really got me thinking on my 65' so , here ya go. This is info directly out of the NADA guide for my 65' Olds 98 convertible 425ci/370hp (I thought it was 375hp.LOL) http://www.nadaguides.com/default.as...5&z=43223&da=1
So, yes it was made and yes I own one. I was off 5 hp, forgive me, LOL

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Forgot about that one.
A Buick Opel with a 455 Stage 1.
In a new class AA/MP (thats Double A/Modified Production).

Just in from the Plymouth Old-Research Group. Plymouth wanted a factory stock car. 1970 Duster, with the 340 6-Pack with a solid cam, and larger port heads, and functional dual hood scoops. Plymouth proposed 315HP, compared to standard 340/275HP. To run F/Stock
in the 3100lb. car. (Weight/bracket 9.50 - 9.99) in 1970.
Inside factory heads new the 340 Tri-carbed engine was better suited in the A-Body than the bulkier E-Body Cuda/Challenger cars.
Paul

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I was thinking about a Pontiac Fiero with a Buick GNX turbo V6 and Gertag 5 speed.

A Porsche killer, docile street car and warp speed in the second 1/8 of a 1/4 mile when the turbo kicks in.

JimR

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Here's aquestion----Chevy offerd the x-ram in the Z/28s, that's well known. Sice they weren't ASEEMBLED at the factory with the x-ram BUT were shipped with them, could they run Stock or S/S? If so what class would they run? I realize these weren't exactly drag cars or the manifolds designed for drag racing, BUT they were an option, more than 50 were produced, sooooo? Anyone ever see/hear of a x-ram 68/69 Z/28 running in either of these Eliminators and how'd they do?
As far as fantasy factory musclecars, why wasn't an LT-1 Chevelle built in '70? or a Boss302 Torino in '69? HUrst/Olds built (I heard) 3 Viste Cruiser station wagons in '70. Why didn't they carch on? You could make yourself crazy just thinking up various dream musclecars. Has anyone actually built any of the cars mentioned in the thread? Let's see 'em!

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

We actually have one here in St. Louis, Jim; brutally consistent 12.20s.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

Hemicop,
I want to say that the 68 Z-28 (Cross-ram) ran in C/S in 1968, but I'm not completely sure if it ran in the (9.00-9.49 wt/hp class).
In 1968, I think they may have competed in SS/F, along with 396/325HP
Camaros. Thats early/mid year 1968 in NHRA, when they only had S/S classes up to SS/F.
I'm going by memory only.
Another mystery, the 1968 GSS 440 Darts. Classed in SS/EA, but could not run in B/SA for 1968.
Paul

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

I've said it here more than once, a "Trans-Am" class for S/SS using the SCCA approved parts like Cross-Boss inline Autolite and Z-28 Cross Ram inductions. Parts aren't cheap but I bet they show up ready to race almost instantly in class racing. I'd put a cross-ram on my AMX project without hesitation.

Re: Musclecars That Should Have Been Made
 

The X ram was never allowed in stock or S/S on the Z-28's. In 1968 Dave Stricklers "Old Reliable" ran SS/F with the single carb and was world Champ.