Best classic American muscle car!!!

[Magnum9987]

This is no Contest.

1970 Buick GSX Stage 1.
its the Buick-bodied Chevelle, but it has a far superior motor: The Buick 455. It had 510 Ft-Lbs as low as 2800 RPM. It topped everything of its class, 454, 442, 460, and 440s. It was the best.

And, it had a killer paintjob.


Oh and sorry for the necropost

[2JZ Mikey.]

In my opinion,the Dodge Charger of 1970 vintage would have to be the overall package.They Have the looks,the style and the tough mechanicals to match.Chrysler was a very underrated company back then with people opting for the more popular Chevrolet or Ford brand but considering they had and still have the best V8s to race with(think Keith Black Hemis),it`s hard not take them seriously.

[Commodore GS/E]

I know I'm alone with my choice, but I'd vote for the AMC AMX. Totally underrated car with nice design and good engines that was killed by AMC's reputation.

[roosterjuicer]

1970 Chevelle 454 SS. It was the absolute peak of muscle cars and it was also the last great muscle car until more modern times. It had the most horsepower of any of the old muscle cars.

It was fast, it was big, it was loud, it had a massive engine, it was good looking.

Until relatively recently, it had the most power of any GM vehicle ever built. I think the c6 z06 was the first to surpass it.

[Kitdy]

It must be understood rooster that the Chevelle was rated in gross hp or "fantasy hp," where the actual number was just a vague representation of reality.

[roosterjuicer]

It must be understood rooster that the Chevelle was rated in gross hp or "fantasy hp," where the actual number was just a vague representation of reality.

Agreed, it made considerably more horsepower than it was conservatively rated at for insurance purposes

[johnnynumfiv]

Agreed, it made considerably more horsepower than it was conservatively rated at for insurance purposes

I wouldn't say it made much more power than what it was rated at. Seeing how the LS7 was rated at 500hp.

[Kitdy]

Agreed, it made considerably more horsepower than it was conservatively rated at for insurance purposes

I wouldn't say it made much more power than what it was rated at. Seeing how the LS7 was rated at 500hp.

Yeah... The underquoting was not really a problem - gross hp really inflated the numbers. A rough guess form shit I've read puts gross hp as much as 20% less than what was quoted in net hp.

I am not sure the methodology used to do this though. Testing these old cars now wouldn't be great.

Ah.

This is a rather great article. I know (hope?) you were joking rj, but this article is good reading for those that haven't learned about it - it's the best summary I've read on the net about these ratings.

So, as much as 30% overquoting, and this is a particularly good example:

While the late sixties were a golden age of horsepower compared to the late seventies or early eighties, the differences weren't quite as vast as they appear at first blush. A '67 Impala with the 396, rated 325 gross horsepower (242 kW), probably had something like 220 net horsepower (164 kW) in pure stock form -- decent, but no muscle car.

Also:

Between inflation and deliberate underrating, by 1970, the relationship between advertised gross horsepower and actual power was at best nebulous. The gross ratings served a variety of political and marketing purposes, but they were far from useful as a realistic measure of engine output.

[Magnum9987]

I know I'm alone with my choice, but I'd vote for the AMC AMX. Totally underrated car with nice design and good engines that was killed by AMC's reputation.

Nice choice. Not very common but its more unique for that.


And Yeah, alot of the muscle cars we over rated or even under rated.

They relied on unregulated Gross HP ratings, which measured HP without the attachments such as AC, Power steering, ETC. This could provide lots of added numbers that just weren't their.

And then plenty were under rated for insurance reasons. A good example is that the Boss 429 was rated at only 375, while ratings vary to as high as 500 HP.

[Commodore GS/E]

Underrating is still a common practice to avoid high insurance. If what i read is thrue, the recent Audi S4 does produce nearly 400 hp (the engine is rated 333 hp).

But this is still not as good as RR's performance quote: "enough" .

[AMGRoadster]

I would have to say the 67 Ford Mustang fastback or the 67 Shelby GT500. Both are incredible classic muscle cars.