A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-01-03....Muscle Car Mania!

dansangel

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

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~ Billie, dansangel, dutchess, Mama_Bear, Aquamarine ~

Muscle cars have been a huge part of the American heritage. Songs have been written about them, movies made and legends born. Americans are fans of different incarnations of racing; NASCAR, Indy Car, drag racing and Formula One, to name a few. Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, Michael Schumacher and Don Garlits are all household names.

Today at the Finest, we celebrate the American Muscle Car. Presented here are just a very few of the wealth of American muscle cars from which to choose.



From the Corvette History Site:

The first Corvette was built on June 30th, 1953 in Flint, Michigan. The antennas in the '53 Corvettes were mesh screen fiberglassed into the inside of the trunk. The '53 vettes had two interior hood releases, one for each hood latch. There were only 300 Corvettes produced in 1953, all were roadsters. All 300 were polo white on the outside and red on the inside. The only engine available was a 150hp six cylinder engine with a powerglide automatic transmission. The base price of the '53 Corvette was $3,498.00.



From the Automotive Intelligence Site:

The original Ford Thunderbird, introduced in 1954 as a '55 model, was a sporty two-seater. It's long cowl was set off by elegant round headlamps, an "egg-crate" radiator grille and a wraparound, aircraft-style windscreen. A scoop in the bonnet and a row of chrome-like vents in the bumpers hinted at the car's V-8 power. In 1956, the famous porthole window was added to Ford Thunderbird's optional removable hard top.



From the Mustang Maniacs Site:

The Mustang was the brain child of Lee Iococca .The Mustang debuted at the World's Fair in Chicago on April 14, 1964. The car was available with a wide choice of options in coupe and convertible only. Reaction to the Mustang's arrival was tremendous and dealers could not get enough. The first day the car went up for sale, April 17, 1964, saw 22,000 cars sold at or above retail.



Chevrolet's answer to the Mustang was the Camaro SS. Shown here is a 1969 model:

The 1969 Camaro SS featured a 5.7 liter 350 cubic inch V8 engine. With 295 bhp and a 4-speed manual transmission, it reached top speeds of 121 mph. For the serious muscle car collector, the 1969 Camaro SS is a must-own.



A personal favorite of mine is the 1970 Chevelle SS:

The 70 Chevelle SS boasted a big-block 454 in either an LS-5 with 360 bhp or the more rare LS-6 with 460 bhp. An LS-6 car was tested by Hot Rod magazine and ran 108 mph in the quarter mile in 13.44 seconds. Be still my heart!



For all of you Mopar fans, here is a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda:

This Mopar Muscle Machine boasted a 383 cubic inch, 4-barrel engine. It has been known to run 12.13 seconds at 107 mph in the quarter mile. It's sleek good looks made it a favorite that resurfaced in the TV show "Nash Bridges" with Don Johnson's character at the wheel. Nostalgia at its best!

I must admit I have a long-standing affection for a later model muscle car. From 1986 until 2000, I was the proud owner of this beautiful 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS:

Yes, that's .45MAN - notice *his* long-lost love right beside the SS, a beautiful 1988 Merkur XR4TI.

When I purchased the Monte Carlo SS brand new in 1986 it was "love at first drive." The Chevy always gave a great ride, had excellent acceleration (small-block V-8 with a 4-barrel carburetor) and ended up being low-maintenace over the course of our long relationship. In May 2000, someone decided they wanted my car more than I did and tried to steal it. The theft was foiled by a combination of .45MAN discovering it in process and the fact that the rank amateurs damaged the steering column so badly the floor-mounted shift would not move out of "neutral."

After the car was in the shop for a long 8 weeks while parts were located around the country, it was found that the transmission was slipping and the a/c was shot. After much soul-searching and a few tears, it was decided that the car that had served me so well over 14 years, needed to go on to "greener pastures."

Please feel free to share a fond "Muscle Car" story with us, or just kick back, relax and enjoy the show as others cruise up and down Memory Lane.



And, while you're at it, check out our own St.Louie1's pride and joy, a pristine 1974 Corvette:

Martin_Fierro doesn't call me Dans"Gearhead"Angel for nothin'! ;-)

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 09-29-03 Military Monday 09-30-03 Hall of Fame #5

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

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[dansangel]

That car ***ROCKS****

Hey (((((Lady))))) look at what Gail found (post 19) just for you!

:-)

[dansangel]

Thank you (((((((((Mayor)))))))))

Just had my once-a-month cuppa a few moments ago, but I may just indulge in another.

[uglybiker]

POssibly my best car story isn't about a muscle car. It happened recently when I was pumping gas into my '51 Stoodybaker.

This funky lookin' kid comes out of the store (baggy pants, weird hair, earrings stuck in his eyebrows....) and hollars out: "Duuuuuude! Is that one of those new Mini Coopers?"

I guess he figured the answer was 'No' because by the time I quit laughing and was able to se straight, he'd gotten into his spoiler/sticker festooned ricemobile and driven off.

Now if I could just get the time to finish the Roadrunner.....Grrrr!

[The Mayor]

I had a 65 Mustang, 302, 4spd, 350 horse would get low 11's in the qtr mile. I was clocked on Rte 10 between Phoenix and Tucson at 160 mph.

Over the years I have had over 80 cars, from VW Bugs, Chevelles, Impalas, Cuda, Caddillac's etc....

I want a new toy..

[The Mayor]

Nice!

[Tony in Hawaii]

Stuuuuude! I see a couple of them in Southern California, mainly the last one from the early 60s.

[dansangel]

would get low 11's in the qtr mile

Excuse me while I wipe off the drool - lol!!

I always wanted to take the Monte to the quarter mile, but never did get the chance. There was a drag strip open to the public in Xenia, OH where I lived back in the early 90's and a gas station that sold "Turbo-blue!"

Over the years I have had over 80 cars, from VW Bugs, Chevelles, Impalas, Cuda, Caddillac's etc....

Oh my goodness! I can see why you'd be ready for a "new toy." I'm still waiting for GM to go rear-wheel drive and come back with an SS that I can "lust" after! :-)

[Tony in Hawaii]

Check out the new GTO and the new V-8 Cadillac CTS with the Corvette powertrain.

[dansangel]

"Duuuuuude! Is that one of those new Mini Coopers?"

ROFL!! I about fell out of my chair!

The Roadrunner looks like an *excellent* project car. You are going to be "stylin'" when that one is done!

((((((uglybiker)))))) - thank you for sharing! :-)

[dansangel]

I like the CTS - of course, it's way out of my budget. I've seen it in black with blacked-out windows - definitely *not* "your father's Cadillac" - LOL!

I'll have to do a little more homework on the GTO. Saw a prototype of it a while back, but haven't kept up with it. Thanks for the suggestions ((((TIH)))).

[The Mayor]

I'm still waiting for GM to go rear-wheel drive and come back with an SS that I can "lust" after! :-)

OH do I agree with you. I can't work on to many new fwd's
I would like to get ahold of a car from the 60's or 70's. I even thought of going to a junk yard and picking up something I could rebuild.

Does anyone remember the Opel GT ? They looked like a mini vette. That would be fun to have. Now the have the new Mini, geez we use to race those things back in the 70's. I never had a Porche, another dream car.

[The Mayor]

Opel GT

[dansangel]

Does anyone remember the Opel GT ?

.45MAN, didn't you have one at one time? I remember, and yes, they were really cool.

I definitely liked the Corvette-esque styling.

And the minis? I used to own a copy of the *original* "Italian Job" with Michael Caine. Every time I see one of the new ones I'm curious as to their handling. With a low, wide profile I'm sure they are really fun to drive - most of the write-ups give them high marks for that.

[The Mayor]

I'd love to test drive a new mini..

[E Rocc]

In my (quite biased) opinion, the most underrated muscle car was the 1967 Firebird 400:

Some Enemy Of The Planet decided to drop a GTO engine into a Hydramatic-Positrac equipped Firebird. The hood tach is particularly cool, its considered the first automotive application of "heads up display".

Dad brought one of these home at the very start of my senior year in HS. This was the era of the heavily smog-bogged 6.6L Trans-Ams. I used to call what I did to them at stoplights "Giving them the Bird". >:)

-Eric

[dansangel]

You and me, both - but then I might not want to give it back! :-)

[dansangel]

The hood tach is particularly cool, its considered the first automotive application of "heads up display".

I remember that, now! Thanks for the reminder. It was *very* cool, along with the car.

My best friend in HS had a Firebird 400 which she only drove for a year and then sold to her (then) boyfriend. I forget why she didn't like it, but I thought she was a nut case for giving it up! LOL!

Thank you ((((E Rocc)))))

[ST.LOUIE1]

WOW!!!

What a thread! What graphics!

My first and only muscle car is my 77 Corvette. Mom and dad gave it to me for my high school graduation present. She looks as good today as the first day I laid eyes on her.

Thank you, (((((((((dansy)))))))) And good morning. : )

[ST.LOUIE1]

BTW, amongst all these beautiful cars is a most beautiful lady, Mama_bear. It's her birthday. Happy birthday, fuzzie. : )

[ST.LOUIE1]

Morning, ((((((((Pip)))))))).

Wish you could be with us more often. : )