Oddball Muscle Cars

[nhramnl]

Growing up, we had neighbors who were absolute car nuts. For example, the younger brother of our neighbor ordered (and took delivery of) a 1967 Caprice station wagon with a 427/385 engine, Muncie 4-speed and 3:73 Positraction 12-bolt rear axle. I will never forget the car, turquoise with fake wood on the sides, looking like a family car, but with the shifter sticking up out of the floor.

Anybody else see any weird combinations like that?

[Jim Hughes]

1964 Ford Fairlane, 4 door. Factory installed performance 289 w/ 4 barrel and factory 4 speed. Came with a Ford tach. Bench seat. Friend bought this back around 1972 came with window sticker / build sheet. All orginal the way it was ordered. Different.

[Tom keedle]

67 chevelle wagon, 283 2 bbl/11"clutch/10 bolt posi and....muncie 4 speed,right down to the crap shifter
there wasn't a straight piece of metal on it

[hemidup]

Early 60's Chrysler 300 4 door. Gen I Hemi with a factory 4 speed. I seen it at a local car show a couple years ago. Claimed on the show board that it was 1 of 2 built and graced the cover of Mopar Muscle magazine.

[Lee Valentine]

In 1966 my dad bought a bel air station wagon with 427-425,4 speed,posi rear,dash tach,no other options. Can be seen on dover drag strip . com search word Tom Valentine.

[Frank Castros]

Lee,
Do you have to be a member to view photos on doverdragstrip.com?

[Jack Matyas]

In September of 1961 my dad came home with a new '62 Impala 4 door Sport hardtop but with a 327 / 300 hp and 3 on the tree -- can't even imagine what he was thinking that day as this car was for my mother ......................

[Greg Reimer 7376]

A friend of mine about 35 years ago told me of one of his buds that ordered a brand new 65 Impala station wagon, power windows,seat,air conditioning, steering,brakes,etc,340 horse 409 with a 4 speed. A few months later,when the 396 came out, he wished he would have waited. History later proved the '09 was more rare. Also how about 66 Nova wagon,327 350 with a 4 speed. Also, when I was about 15 and walking to and from school,I used to see a 65 Chevelle 300 two door wagon with 327 tags on the fenders, a bench seat and a 4 speed shifter curling up from under the seat. Hope they all found good permanent homes.

[bill dedman]

The accepted, general definition of a "muscle car" says "A small (compact) or, intermediate car that came from the factory with a performance-version of a big block engine."

That really narrows it down, and excludes some really fast full size cars with big block engines (427ho, 425 cid Bel air, for instance) and some intermediate and compact cars with healthy small blocks (350/327 Novas and Chevellles) that would run the pants off a lot of popular "Muscle Cars" that fit the "Small or Intermediate cars with Big Block engines, (OEM.)

Additi9nally, there were a LOT of really fast cars available from the factoiry (Max Wedges???) before the GTO (supposedly, the "original" muscle car) came out in '64....

So, if you invlude Thunderbolts and Z-11 '63 Chevy-type killer cars, the list gets a lot longer...

Neat topic; thanks for starting it!!!

My personal entry would be the 1963 Pontiac Tempest 421 AFX car and the 1963 Olds F85 turbocharged Jetfire... Both, off-the-scale "weird", in their own way!

[W J]

I remember some well set-up little '60s Corvair Spyder turbocharged coupes that embarassed many larger "muscle" cars at the track back then.....WJ