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.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ 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!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[The Mayor]

Happy Birthday to you!!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Very impressive, Mayor. : )

But you might want to supply a cake also. Ms.D'Bear has a sweet tooth, don't ya know? LOL

And being it's her birthday, wolfie will not fight with her over it. : )

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

I just have a real bad habit of going sarcastic.
I sent a note to the contact form at the mustangmaniacs w/ supporting data.

What got me is all the web pages that have it wrong. I was amazed. But I'm pretty sure Ford knows the correct place and date, also, New York. The city of Chicago might have been surprised to know they missed the fair, too. LOL
Just caught it because we fly to NYC for the fair when I was in grade school. Unfortunately my father wasn't into 'little' cars. And, no, I'm pretty sure I don't remember seeing the Mustang!
BTW - 1966 GT350 - mainly in boxes but you can see the body shell. 'Nother thing on the to-do list.

[JustAmy]

Good Morning, Dansangel.

Well, I have no car stories unless you want to hear about when I sat in a hot car in the middle of nowhere. LOL

Looks like a fun thread. Thank you.

[Pippin]

(((LOUIE)))!

Wish I could be here more often too!

[BubbaBasher]

Here are my Mustangs. 1969 Mach I (428CJ) and a 1966 Fastback with a 5.0 roller motor.

[JustAmy]

Your Birthday Is A Day Of Promise
Emily Matthews

This is a day of promise -
Of hopefulness, laughter, and cheer,
For this is a day of remembering
The good things that happened all year -
A day for reflecting on memories
Shared with friends and with family, too,
Who were so much a part
of the joys in your heart
And the love that you felt
all year through…
This is a day of promise
Of the beauty and warmth life can hold,
And of new dreams to dream
and more love to share
Through a year that's about to unfold.

[martin_fierro]

Man, I just COULD NOT RESIST this one.

[[[[[[[[[[dansangel]]]]]]]]]]

[dansangel]

BTW - 1966 GT350 - mainly in boxes but you can see the body shell. 'Nother thing on the to-do list.

Well, get to it! You'd look a lot better going down the road in the car than in the box - LOL!

I was *only* 8 in 1964 and never did go to the World's Fair, although I'm sure it would have stuck out in my mind if I had.

I *did* go to NYC in 1962 and cut a 45 RPM at the top of the Empire State Building - sang "God Bless America" in a tourist-trap thing with Dad in the background going, "Keep singing - there's more time left!" LOL

[dansangel]

My first and only muscle car is my 77 Corvette.

EEK! What made me think it was a '74???? I must be going blind. Drats. Sorry. :-(

[[[[[{{{{{(((((Louie_Wolfie_Man)))))}}}}}]]]]]

[Temple Owl]

Good morning Angel. My favorite muscle car was a '63 Rambler station wagon which would not start if it was cloudy outside and did not have as much power as Maggie's washing machine. I hated that car.

[Calpernia]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD Morning to the Finest!

I have to send this thread to my husband's email. He is a HUGE fan of cars. He has a few he restored. Thanks for this post in advance from my hubby {{{Angel}}}.

[dansangel]

Happy Birthday, LORI! Hope it's a wonderful and special day for you! Love and (((((HUGS)))))), dansy and .45MAN

[dansangel]

My favorite muscle car was a '63 Rambler station wagon which would not start if it was cloudy outside and did not have as much power as Maggie's washing machine. I hated that car.

ROFL!!! Thank you for a great laugh this morning ((((((Temple Owl))))))

:-)

[dansangel]

Ha! I could *only* wish....

((((((((M_F)))))))))))

[dansangel]

Wow! I'll put my order in for the Mach1 when it's finished. I actually wanted to save up and buy one (in purple - gag!) back when I was in High School - ended up with a '73 Nova instead.

Thank you for sharing those cars with us ((((BB))))))

[dansangel]

Well, I have no car stories unless you want to hear about when I sat in a hot car in the middle of nowhere. LOL

Of course we do! Fill us in when you have a chance (((((((Amy))))))))

:-)

[dansangel]

Hope Hubby enjoys! And hope *you* are feeling better (((((((Cal))))))))

OK, break's over - back to w-o-r-k ugh!

See y'all in a little while.

[Calpernia]

A little mouse told me it was your birthday today!

Click the balloons!

BTW, it is my 'baby's' birthday today too. Frankie is 4 today. (sniff, sniff) I don't have a baby anymore!

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

I'd have to separate it from the '39 Harley pieces. Then move the Manx clone dune buggy with the 200+hp Corvair motor out of the way, park the VW Camper with a ~200hp corvair outside. All of which are in various states of assembly.
Possibly parts I've acquired are scattered between 3 states.
Maybe just open up Hemmings and find something new?
Fully running toys are also geographically separated but my fave is a '69 L-88 'vette.