1968-1972 Sweet spot of Muscle Car history

[08snake]

Does anyone else agree that this period bore the best of muscles cars throughout time? I can think of 10-15 cars easy throughout that period that i'd give pretty much anything to own, Whats your thoughts on this.....?

Post your short list of your desired cars in that 4 year period. Thanks in advance....

 

[pho_phizzat]

2006-2010 i can think of about 8 or nine that i would love to have

 

[chrisheltra]

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_II]Ford Mustang (second generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[Sniperdog]

03-04 was pretty awesome too :rockon:

 

[bluebosss197]

Make it 64-72 and you're good. Remember the '64 Goat?

 

[chrisheltra]

The modern era muscle race is phenomenal. Not only do you have potent pony cars but also have stout four door sedans. Not to mention the Corvette line up.

 

[prs97]

I used to think that the 64-72 era was the cat's ass in terms or horsepower wars. These last few years haven't been too bad as a 2nd round in my opinion.

Pony cars with 300/400+ horsepower in the mid-price range. Factory mustangs & vettes with 500 HP, albeit they are the high dollar cars. Modded cars 500+.

I remember when 500+ meant a car that was about as streetable as a cruise missile. Now you can put 500+ to the tire with pretty nice manners.

 

[jbrown1238]

68 - 72 GM A bodies.

Chevelle, 442, GTO, GS.

Also the Mopar products were nice. Hemi Dart.

Let's not forget the BOSS 9!

 

[ssssnake]

Well, that time was awesome, but I am proud of the modern muscle cars too.

Although I did have a few musclecars, I would have liked a Barracuda hemi or a Dodge Charger. These were the ones I had.

1968 Corvette
1971 Dodge Demon 340
1969 Shelby GT-500
1972 Mustang Mach 1 429 Cobra Jet Ram Air

I had the Corvette and Demon in the early 70s and got the other two in the 80s, so I didn't enjoy them until after the musclecar era.

 

[MassCobra]

Make it 64-72 and you're good. Remember the '64 Goat?

Yea, '64 was pretty much the birth of the muscle car era. :thumbsup:

 

[Robert Francis]

That was a good time. I recall the American Motors "Rebel" and Javelin and AMX models too.

 

[99cobrablack]

Ford Mustang (second generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thats a 74-78 there boss...

 

[CobraBob]

IMO the peak of American muscle was 1964-1970. Car design back then was better, too, with fewer restrictions. American muscle back then was more widespread and accepted than it is today. It was part of our culture back then. After 1970 things started to go downhill with emissions restrictions and fuel shortages. In contrast, modern American muscle just keeps peaking, though. Modern muscle like the GT500, Terminator, Camaro SS, Challenger SRT8, 2011 Mustang GT far exceeds the average muscle from back in the '60s to early '70s in terms of power, performance, technology, engineering, safety, features, etc.

So some will say modern muscle is is the zenith, and I wouldn't dispute it. Others will point to the mid '60s to early '70s. I wouldn't dispute them, either.

One thing is for sure. American muscle hasn't died. It's been resurrected and carries on, better than ever. Now if only they would put our modern American muscle on a needed diet.

 

[prs97]

IMO the peak of American muscle was 1964-1970. Car design back then was better, too, with fewer restrictions. American muscle back then was more widespread and accepted than it is today. It was part of our culture back then. After 1970 things started to go downhill with emissions restrictions and fuel shortages. In contrast, modern American muscle just keeps peaking, though. Modern muscle like the GT500, Terminator, Camaro SS, Challenger SRT8, 2011 Mustang GT far exceeds the average muscle from back in the '60s to early '70s in terms of power, performance, technology, engineering, safety, features, etc.

So some will say modern muscle is is the zenith, and I wouldn't dispute it. Others will point to the mid '60s to early '70s. I wouldn't dispute them, either.

One thing is for sure. American muscle hasn't died. It's been resurrected and carries on, better than ever. Now if only they would put our modern American muscle on a needed diet.

^^
Really sums up why the whole resto-mod/g-machine trend is where it is today. Old school styling with modern technology improvements. What's not to like (outside the cost to build one)

 

[Nvr_Spds]

1968 Super Stock Dodge Dart (B2 Hemi Muscle Cars | Hemi Cuda | Dodge Dart)

1968-69 Plymouth Roadrunner

 

[RustyRodder]

64-72, man.

65 SS396. 64 GT tri-power. 66 442. 65 GT350, 67 GTX, 64 impala SS427

 

[Dan SS2471]

I'd cut it back a year to '71 since that was pretty much the last year of little to no emissions equipment. In '72 you had smog pumps, cats, considerably lower compression, HP and TQ. And 'muscle cars' started to become a little bloated with a lot less of that muscle under the hood. It was pretty much over from then until the 5.0 came out, then the LT1 followed by the LS1 in '98. That's when things started to get interesting again and they've gotten increasingly so ever since. Of course there were the turbo Buicks and Pontiacs in the 80s but they were only exciting because of what was going on in the performance car world at that time. Nothing.

All that said, here's my list...not so much of dream cars...but what I owned:

'74 Pontiac Lemans Sport Coupe
'72 Pontiac Lemans
'72 'R' code Mach I - my first muscle car...wasn't stock. Ran low 13s on Eagle STs.
'96 Impala SS
'99 Camaro SS
'01 Lightning
'02 Harley - built block / Kenne Bell
'06 300C SRT-8 - ahem...the Challenger aint any quicker!! stock, that is.
'86 Grand National - running quicker than it was back in '86 with some help. ;o)

My Mach I was a GREAT car. To this day the best sounding engine I've owned. Lopey cam and it screamed up to 6,200 RPM. With the 3.93s and 4-spd trans, it was really really fun to drive. And I bought it in '93 when there wasn't much going on but 5.0s and then LT1s so it was quicker than most anything in stock form on the street at that time. But from the era you're talking, back when I had the Mach..my dream car was the '71 Boss 351.

 

[black4vcobra]

Not a Dodge guy, but the 1970 Challenger in Vanishing Point really made me want a muscle car as a child.

My pops had a orange 1970 Mach 1 with a little work done to it in his late teen years and seeing pictures and hearing stories of that car helped shape me into the Ford nut that I am.

 

[meaty mac]

Let's not forget the BOSS 9!

I could win a 50 million dollar lottery and that would still be my dream car. :bowdown:

Someday..

 

[Camaro_94]

64-72, man.

65 SS396. 64 GT tri-power. 66 442. 65 GT350, 67 GTX, 64 impala SS427

Exactly! Lets not forget about the 67 427 vette either! :rockon: