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The Real King Of Muscle Cars: The Road Runner

With the sudden emergence of the muscle cars in the market between the 1960s and the 1970s, car manufacturers produced muscle cars to help attract the market. The Plymouth Road Runner targeted the younger audience in putting a big engine in a cheap car to attract the demographic who could not afford the features presented in most muscle cars during that day.

The Road Runner was developed by the Plymouth division of Chrysler. The name originated from the cartoon character, Road Runner, which the company paid Warner Brothers $50,000 to use the name and likeness of that character for their own muscle car. Chrysler also paid $10,000 to develop the “beep beep” horn. Plymouth then began to develop a back to basics muscle car. Everything that was only related to the performance and handling was improved. The interior only had a basic bench seat. Only a few options were available such as power steering, front disc brakes, AM radio air conditioning and automatic transmission. This certainly was a muscle car packed with maximum excitement at a minimum price!

The very first engine put in the road runner was a 383 cid v8. A $714 option was also available for a 426 Hemi engine. The Road Runner could blaze thru ¼ mile of a track at 13.5 seconds. Which was quite a fast time for a low priced car. The Plymouth Road Runner was one of the best platforms to utilize one of the best engines at that time. The model was expected to only sell 2,000 units but by 1968, sales grew to 45,000. The only muscle cars outselling this model at that time were the Pontiac GTO and Chevy’s SS-396 Chevelle.

Due to the success of the Plymouth Road Runner in 1968, Plymouth widened the consumer’s choices. A convertible was added and also bucket seats were added as additional options. The decals were also now in color. 440 cid V8s engine was also available that provide Hemi-like acceleration for almost half the price. More than 82,000 copies were snatched by the consumers during this time. The Plymouth Road Runner was further improved and continued to be available in the market until its discontinuation in 1980.

Today these cars can command up to $35,000 if not more, whenever they are up for auction, and most owners have no trouble fetching those prices, assuming the car is in mint or near mint condition with its original numbers.

William has just posted about the 69 chevelle ss, so hurry to MuscleCarMonster.com to read all about it!

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Posted on March 5, 2011 by , Reply

The AMX Carved Its Own Niche

The AMX is famous for being a touring sports car that was made by the American Motors Corporation or AMC around the years 1968 to 1970. There was a continued increase in the making of muscle cars around this time. There was also a demand for more high-performance luxury cars or GT in style and approach than the real sports car. Thus the AMX muscle car was launched to the market in order to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette, which was the only two-seater muscle car in the US during that particular period. However, the AMX really had its work cut out if it wanted to steal the spotlight from such a famous and beloved car. While it didn’t succeed, the AMX did carve out a nice niche for itself.

The name AMX came from the code of ‘American Motors eXperimental’ that was used on a concept vehicle as well as on 2 trial products that were shown on the ‘Project IV’ car which was used back in 1966

The AMX engine was a high-compression medium block 390 cubic inches, with a V8 that was optional. The car offered a great performance in spite of its affordable price. Although it had proved its outstanding performance and received an overwhelming reception from the media and car enthusiasts, the sales of AMX never increased. However, the automaker had better and larger objectives – to refocus the image of AMX on quality performance as well as to attract younger customers to visit their dealer showrooms. Fortunately, these broader goals were achieved successfully.

The manufacturing of the AMX’s muscle car was halted after three model years. And this resulted in the transfer of the present AMX signature design to a higher performance version of its four-seat sibling through 1974, which was known as the Javelin..

In 1965 when the original AMX models were modified by the American Motors Corporation, it was done with the use of the sophisticated styling studios under Charles Mashigan, the creative director. Robert Evans was the one who requested the AMX car to be put into the assembly immediately and this started the development programs for the production of the muscle car. Those special programs consisted of an enhanced Javelin and an entirely new car that was bodied with fiberglass. The enhanced Javelin was chosen in order to allow AMC to utilize its unibody assembly expertise and available technology to create quite an inexpensive adjustments to the Javelin.

Read more article just like this one, including the latest post about the 1965 mustang on the MuscleCarMonster.com.

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Posted on January 19, 2011 by , Reply

3 Reasons To have Your Muscle Car Restored

Are you the proud owner of a muscle car? Well, have you ever thought of getting it restored? Muscle car restoration has plenty of benefits for your consideration. Some of the benefits that one could get would be bringing your vehicle back to its former glory and potentially increasing its value at the same time. Does that sound appealing? If it does then perhaps you might want to give getting a restoration some serious thought. Now, one of the things that often worry classic car owners when it comes to the topic of restoration would be what it entails.

So, what exactly does it entail? The answer would be, it varies. Basically, it depends upon the make and model of your vehicle, your specifications, what it needs as well as what the restoration company expert thinks. There are quite a number of different variations. To help you understand better, here are some examples of the more common muscle car restoration projects.

1. Rust Problems – This is one of the more common problems that a muscle car can have. After all, it is made of metal and as such, it is quite prone to rusting. For people who live in places where it is pretty damp, this can be really troublesome. Luckily, rust problems can be easily taken care of.

2. Car Paint – Repainting muscle cars is also a common project when it comes to restoration. There are cases wherein the owner wants a different color for his or her vehicle whilst sometimes, the paint simply chips away and needs a bit of a touch up.

3. Parts Replacement – This is a common project but one that can be quite tricky. The thing with replacing muscle car parts is that there are cases where the parts themselves are quite rare and hard to find. This often happens in the older vehicles.

Remember that different restoration experts would have varying opinions and methods when it comes to what’s best for your vehicle. Always choose the one you’re comfortable with as well as the one who fits your budget the most. It is always a good idea to contact them beforehand, go in for an assessment and get a quote before you commit to anything. If not, you may find yourself spending way more money than you should be, which is why you always want to do your homework first.

Wiliam Jason is a muscle car fanatic and has been collecting and restoring them for the last 15 years.

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Posted on January 13, 2011 by , Reply

The Ever Popular 1961 Chevelle

What makes muscle cars so great that they can transcend trends and generations in order to remain at the top when it comes to being the most coveted cars out there? Is it the way they look and their powerful engines? Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

These days, when people think of muscle cars, they immediately associate the term with vehicles that were made for speed and great performance. Classic car enthusiasts, the ones considered to be purists, believe that only mid sized vehicles from the 60’s are the only ones truly deserving to be referred to as muscle cars. In this article, we’ll discuss one of the most popular muscle car models ever to come out. It was so popular that one of the biggest bands in the 60’s even wrote a song about it. Can you guess which one it is?

Considered by many to be the first real muscle car, the 1961 Chevy Impala SS is also the vehicle wherein Chevrolet introduced its 409 cubic inch V8 engine. This is the engine that launched the Big Three car manufacturers into a horsepower race that would last up until the 70’s. Of course, muscle cars wouldn’t be referred to as such if they had weak engines. This 409 engine became so iconic after the Beach Boys created a song about the car itself. “She’s so fine, my 409”, a simple line in a song, turned the car into an icon for baby boomers.

Seeing as the 1960’s was a time to be young, wild and free, Chevrolet marketed the 1961 Chevy Impala SS as a vehicle “for young men on the move, who wont settle for less than REAL driving excitement”. But did it live up to that promise? Well, it certainly did. The vehicle’s performance was excellent for the era in which it was created. It could go from 0 to 60 in 7 seconds and could complete the quarter mile in around 14 seconds at 98 miles per hour, thus making the 1961 Chevy Impala SS one of the fastest models available. Needless to say, the car had earned its place and certainly deserved being referred to as a legend among the many other muscle cars of it’s time. This is why it is such a highly collectable car among many muscle car enthusiats almost forty years later and will remain so for many years to come.

William loves to share his muscle car passion with others and has created his own classic car blog.

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Posted on January 9, 2011 by , Reply

The Incredible Ford Fairlane

Muscle cars are a true American classic that are revered by thousands of people, including old and young alike because of both their power and their ultimate beauty. They have an undeniable appeal that goes beyond whatever trends there might be when it comes to vehicle design. These cars are as wicked as they look and are fully capable of racing through open roads at speeds like no other. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the 1964 Ford Fairlane and the changes it went through since its initial release.

The Fairlane underwent a makeover in 1964 and had its tail fins removed. The interiors were given full carpeting; turn signals were synced with the steering wheel so that it automatically turned itself off after you made the turn. But of course, a makeover isn’t just a matter of making the exteriors look sleek. Other improvements were done in order to make the vehicle ready for the road. The suspension was upgraded in order to provide better ride-quality. However, all of that became minor details when the Thunderbolt entered the picture. It became one of the fastest ever manufactured by a car company.

Ford had this brilliant idea of installing a heavily modified 427 cubic inch engine that had two four-barrel carburetors, which were then mounted onto a high-riser manifold into the lightweight 1964 Ford Fairlane. Just when you thought things couldn’t get better than that, Ford decided to push forward with even more modifications to the Fairlane. Think fiberglass hoods, fenders and front bumpers amongst others that only served to make the vehicle reach a level of coolness that made it a real stand out.

But how well did it perform? After all, muscle cars aren’t all about image. It’s got to be a truly hard-core drive as well. Fortunately, the Fairlane didn’t disappoint. In fact, Gas Ronda was able to dominate the competition during the NHRA’s 1964 World Championship by riding his Thunderbolt and completing the quarter mine in a record time of 11.6 seconds at 124 miles per hour. Keep in mind that these drag races were extremely popular back then.

The 1964 Ford Fairlane faded from view and being on Ford’s performance spotlight just as the Mustang took over. It did not completely fade into the background, however, as it did experience a revival in 1996 and 67. Today, it is one of the most popular muscle cars amongst enthusiasts.

To find more articles, such as my latest one on the 69 Dodge Charger please visit my site today

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Posted on January 9, 2011 by , Reply
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