Your new musclecar

[bill dedman]

I never had the money fpr a new car during the era of musclecars, but, I have a true story about someone who did. His name is Steve Clukey, and he lives in Maine. Every month when he got paid, he sent money home (from Viet Nam) to his Dad. When he'd accumulated enough, his Dad drove to the local Mopar emporium and bought Steve a shiny new "70 Duster 340 4-speed car.

When Steve got home from the "war," he took the new car to the strip, with disappointing results (low 15''s)

He saw it as a challenge. In the 38 years that followed, Steve never quit making "improvements" to the output of that 340. He has added aftermarket heads, cam, headers, a stroker crank, high-compression pistons, aluminum rods, and a Holley Dominator carb. The car is still all steel (MIGHT have a 'glass hood; dunno), but is totally stock appearing,but for a hood scoop. Runs a Dana 60 and a Hemi 4-speed.

I don't think it's ever been driven on the street.

Thirty-eight years of "improvements" to this small block (now, 383 cid) now yields consistent mid-9-second e.t.s (best of 9.43, @ 143 mph) and I think that's fast, considering he's done nothing to lighten the car and uses NO power adder.

He has run the car in IHRA Super Stock,(at Epping) but usually races it at Winterport jn the brackets.

Some folks don"t consider the 340 Duster a true musclecar, but I think this one qualifies, at least, now.

[Myron Piatek]

Bill, Did he have the car in a magazine article many years ago? That all sounds very familiar.

[Rich Biebel]

I Ioved Pontiacs and drooled over GTO's when they came out. I never had the money in those days but recall going to a dealer that I wound up working at years later as a "flatrater" and negotiated for a new '66 GTO that sat on the showroom floor. It was red with a vinyl top and was a Tri-Power 4-speed....price was $2950. I begged my father to co-sign a loan for that car but he said no and that was the right decision since I was just a dumb kid at the time. I priced many new cars and worked on and drove some that would be worth a fortune today from Z-28's to a 396/375 Camaro, a 289/271 Mustang GT and many GTO's and included a Yenko Deuce and Boss 302 Mustang........I did buy a real nice used '67 GTO that I wish I owned today as it had many options and was a great driver for my then wife.......I sold it to a NY Yankee's picther......Damn I wish I had that car today!

[Stewart Way]

Got a call from a racer named Larry Abbott in 1971 from Kelly Chry-Ply in Marietta, GA. Said a 70 Hemi Cuda Convert was just traded in. My soon to be racing partner and I went up and $2400 later we had an original Hemi Cuda Convert. It was on the street about 5 months including in my college homecoming parade. Then it was off to Barnett Race Cars in Norcross, GA for a build. 13.60 atb 100+ mph on skinny polyglas tires before the build. Fast as 10.87 after setting the National record at 11.17. That was back when a college student and a guy working in a tire store could field a record holder.
It was all black, leather, power windows and a rim blow horn. 1 of 9 automatics. 14 total.

[joey wilkes]

back in my younger day 7 yrs old i remember going to the plymouth dealer with my dad when he bought his 68 ply. barracuda oh ye 426 hemi it was the car at the us nat. this year that had arlen valke on it they had the paper work on the car stating my dad bought it brand new .

[Sean Ward]

Ok i was not around then but the first car i ever dumped the clutch on was my dads 62 max wedge i was 7 years old and that is all it took it has been fast cars and faster women ever since

[Jim Cassels]

I guess it was not considered a musle car at the time but I ordered a 69 Nova SS 300 HP 350 with turbo 350. the car was butternut yellow, bench seat column shift no carpet and dog dish hub caps. I ordered a 4:10 12 bolt posi but it came with a 3:55. It took 3 mo. to arive and I know the salesman hated to see me coming to check on it. One mo. after it came in it had a 4:10 gear, a set of Jardine headers and a Crane cam that Travis would have frowned on.
I drove the car to the track and could win class & do pretty good in jr. stock unless some of the bad boys towed in. I won one sunday and the guy I beat informed me that if I came back I would take it back in peices.. Well I didnt have a trailer and I belived him so I bought a pair of large combustion heads and a Lunati plus area cam and ran it as a 255 horse. The car ran 4 tenths of a 13.09 national record legally.
Well the first child came along and the trans went away so I lemped in to the dealer and traded it for a 71 chevelle 307. It is amazing what they are doing with the 255 HP combo today.
Jim

[Frank Castros]

My father bought a new '69 Road Runner 383-335 4 speed new and I got my license shortly thereafter..........
what an adventure that became! We are still talking about it!
Then I bought a '69 Camaro SS 350-300 4 speed (I was banned from the Road Runner) and promptly replaced the 350 with a 427, more stories! That was followed by a 428 CJ Mustang (I didn't discriminate). Then a '63 Max Wedge Savoy and finally a '64 Max Wedge Belvedere (A/SA). I then got married, had 2 kids and sold everything to devote my life to my family and career. I still dream about resuming my addiction to speed. I envy you guys every day.

[michael mercer]

My first new car. I bought it late 63 for my daily driver and weekend G/SA. At the time I was living in Chicago, so I took the car over to Rudys Custom Exhaust in Berwyn and they made a set of hedders for it.
Skip's was the favorite Cruise through for the Chicagoland Hot Rod set.
At the 65 Indy nats, I got beat second round of class by my hero "Big Daddy Mathews" and that bad *** Buick.
The Comet was a keeper, but when I saw the 66 Fairlane GTA, it was time to trade.
I still have the 63 Falcon Sprint that my Dad bought new the summer of 63, but when I die, Dave will probably put it on Ebay.

[Geerhead55]

In Sept. 1972 I picked up a gorgeous 69 Z/28 from the original owner who took very good care of it. It was Burnished Brown with the White stripes, front and rear spoilers, Endura Bumper, standard grille,full console interior and of course the 302/4speed/ 12bolt-3.73 rearend combo. The first thing I bought for it was a set of Cragar S/S mags and Goodyear Polyglass GTs to dress it up a little. I'd had 4 speed cars before,but this thing shifted very nicely. Theres nothing like taking your buddys for a ride and getting sideways in all four gears. I took it to Puyallup Raceway Park (R.I.P.) in ' 73 and went 14.80s which was'nt bad for then but I wanted to go quicker. I got really good at changing clutches in that car. In ' 74 I had a friend with a 5 Litre hydroplane that needed a new block, so I sold him my DZ 302 block(I did'nt say I was smart!), and put together an 11to1 355 with the Z heads(492s) and a Crower cam and a Torker/ 600 Holley system which went 13.98 still on the Polyglass tires.For 1975 I planned to get some slicks, traction bars and a cowl hood, but I deffinately needed some headers, so I got a set of Hookers for it, put them on at my parents house and on the way to the muffler shop to get my 2 1/2 in. Turbos, with open headres I got T-boned at an unmarked intersection by an oriental woman in a Datsun who spoke no English, but thats another story. Anyway the body shop did a great job of fixing it, I got it back just before Christmas and they told me to bring it back after New Years to get the stripes on after the paint had "cured". I did so and on Fri.Jan 5th got it back and life was good,,,until Wed.Jan 10th when the car was stolen from my work and was found 7 months later and there was'nt enough left to bring home it was so trashed. I'd already settled with the insurance company, getting the usual screw job.
Its the one car I wish I could have back,but I never bought another one. I still had those origianl date coded Rally Wheels in the Cragar boxes until a couple years ago when my son bought a 72 Chevelle and we put them on his car.
Danny Durham