. . . . . . . good 'ole muscle cars. As much about marketing as they were about machinery, these cars were fast in a straight line and brought tons of pleasure to a lot of folks back in the day. Over the years, they've acquired a kind of charm (for lack of a better word), bringing back memories to those of us who passed from childhood to adulthood during their reign on the roads.

Jer

SS 396 Camaro:

[






Fairlane GTA:




GTO Judge:






A Couple of Red - Really Red - Chargers:






Olds 442:




Firebird:

[daacon]

ahhhh 10 MPG, quarter mile in under 20 secs , Thrush exhaust , Whitewalls, Hurst Shifters, Chrome, Metal and mostly memories - nice series buddy!

[Bob Harris]

viewing these really brings back a lot of memories Jer, I bought a '69 Camero SS for Terri in the '80's, yellow with black stripes. No AC so she really didn't enjoy it that much but I liked to take it out for a cruise a times. I really liked those 442's but never got one but I sure enjoyed seeing a view of one again. thanks for posting these buddy.

[TonyTurley]

Nice pics, Jer. I've always been partial to smaller cars myself, but I certainly remember seeing all of those on the roads in my youth. The only time I can ever remember riding in a "muscle car" was my aunt's future ex-husband's Plymouth Roadrunner, with a clunky 3-speed shift on the floor. It was pretty cool to a young teenager.

[lesmore49]

Beautiful pix of beautiful cars.

My closest friend and I were older teenagers/young men during the late '60's/ very early '70's when the muscle car era was at it's peak.

We've always regarded ourselves as being extremely fortunate to have been young during this car enthusiast's golden age of the healthy, unfettered V8.

He had a '70 Nova SS, 350-300, 4 speed....I had a '67 Camaro RS coupe with a 327 and a 4 speed.These were nice' entry' performance cars and were our ticket into the high performance muscle car 'club'...as it were.

Before that it was performance motorcycles. for both of us.

We had buddies and acquaintances who had '70 Z-28's, Super Bee 383's, Beaumont 327, 4 speed (you need to be a Canadian to know what this is ), GTO 400's, GTX 440's, '63 and '62 Corvette 327's, Chevelle SS 396, 327's....a '70 SS Chevelle convert with an ultra hot factory LS-6....the 454...450 hp....also some Mini Coopers. One Cooper... a hopped up ice racer that although battered from a season of ice racing was driven with 'brio'...as the Italians would say....on the street during the summer, sans the spiked racing winter tires.

There used to be some hot street bikes that would also show up. Triumph Bonneville's, Royal Enfield 750 Interceptors, the Norton's with their long stroke hemi twin, very early Honda 750 fours, BSA Spitfires. There was also a mid-60's Harley Sportster...XLCH....that had a ragged idle. The Sportsters back in the early to mid '60's were different from the modern Sportster. Back then they were hard core, performance bikes.

There was more. There were a couple of guys with 426 Hemis...one a stripper Belvedere two door post sedan....delete everything but the 426 and a torqueflite transmission. Also had another guy who had a '67 Dodge R/T with a 426 hemi....beautiful car. Show and go.

We used to meet at the local grocery store lot at night...back then stores closed at 6 PM. Lot of bench racing at the lot, checking other's cars, modifications...it was a lot of camaraderie, lot of fun.

Then it is said... some drove out...en masse... to lonely highways. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Not me though. I would run at the track. Not a lot of times....but still safer and you got times/mph.

Good memories being part of this sub culture way back when.

[eaglem]

Nothing like the old muscle cars!!!!!!

[Lowell Goudge]

I would have to say I am somewhat partial to the second one, (Fairlane GTA) but then check my avitar for what I used to own.

Maybe I am a little biased

[Sailor]

ahhhh 10 MPG, quarter mile in under 20 secs , Thrush exhaust , Whitewalls, Hurst Shifters, Chrome, Metal and mostly memories - nice series buddy!

Hey, Dave - thanks much. Glad you liked 'em.

Jer

---------- Post added 06-19-2014 at 09:24 PM ----------

viewing these really brings back a lot of memories Jer, I bought a '69 Camero SS for Terri in the '80's, yellow with black stripes. No AC so she really didn't enjoy it that much but I liked to take it out for a cruise a times. I really liked those 442's but never got one but I sure enjoyed seeing a view of one again. thanks for posting these buddy.

I was hoping you'd like these, brother Bob. They do bring back memories. My best friend (RIP) owned '67 442, and I always think of him when I see one.

Jer

Nice pics, Jer. I've always been partial to smaller cars myself, but I certainly remember seeing all of those on the roads in my youth. The only time I can ever remember riding in a "muscle car" was my aunt's future ex-husband's Plymouth Roadrunner, with a clunky 3-speed shift on the floor. It was pretty cool to a young teenager.

Thanks, Tony - I drove a Roadrunner back when they were new - fast but . . . . . . . as you say, a bit clunky.

Jer

Beautiful pix of beautiful cars.

My closest friend and I were older teenagers/young men during the late '60's/ very early '70's when the muscle car era was at it's peak.

We've always regarded ourselves as being extremely fortunate to have been young during this car enthusiast's golden age of the healthy, unfettered V8.

He had a '70 Nova SS, 350-300, 4 speed....I had a '67 Camaro RS coupe with a 327 and a 4 speed.These were nice' entry' performance cars and were our ticket into the high performance muscle car 'club'...as it were.

Before that it was performance motorcycles. for both of us.

We had buddies and acquaintances who had '70 Z-28's, Super Bee 383's, Beaumont 327, 4 speed (you need to be a Canadian to know what this is ), GTO 400's, GTX 440's, '63 and '62 Corvette 327's, Chevelle SS 396, 327's....a '70 SS Chevelle convert with an ultra hot factory LS-6....the 454...450 hp....also some Mini Coopers. One Cooper... a hopped up ice racer that although battered from a season of ice racing was driven with 'brio'...as the Italians would say....on the street during the summer, sans the spiked racing winter tires.

There used to be some hot street bikes that would also show up. Triumph Bonneville's, Royal Enfield 750 Interceptors, the Norton's with their long stroke hemi twin, very early Honda 750 fours, BSA Spitfires. There was also a mid-60's Harley Sportster...XLCH....that had a ragged idle. The Sportsters back in the early to mid '60's were different from the modern Sportster. Back then they were hard core, performance bikes.

There was more. There were a couple of guys with 426 Hemis...one a stripper Belvedere two door post sedan....delete everything but the 426 and a torqueflite transmission. Also had another guy who had a '67 Dodge R/T with a 426 hemi....beautiful car. Show and go.

We used to meet at the local grocery store lot at night...back then stores closed at 6 PM. Lot of bench racing at the lot, checking other's cars, modifications...it was a lot of camaraderie, lot of fun.

Then it is said... some drove out...en masse... to lonely highways. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Not me though. I would run at the track. Not a lot of times....but still safer and you got times/mph.

Good memories being part of this sub culture way back when.

Thanks, Les - and thanks for the story, which is a great one. For me - in '65 and '66 - it was the Richview Road that ran west out of Mt. Vernon, IL. There was an arrow-straight, quarter-mile stretch located near a rural church, which provided a parking lot as a convenient "staging" area. Like you, I didn't have a "real" muscle car, but my 289, 4-speed Mustang got me "in the club." However, I also greatly admired some of the European offerings with their tactile controls and agile driving dynamics. It was something of a case of choosing God or mammon in terms of cars I could (at least conceivably) afford: strong acceleration and turgid handling or nimble footedness and a weak drive train.

Incidentally, my first Mustang - which I got new in June of '64 - was titled as a '65. It had a D-Code 4-bbl 289 (210 HP) and built only for a few months in late '64 (also used in the '64 Comet Cyclone). Remarkably, during this period Ford had only one 4-speed tranny available for a V-8 - the big, rock crushing top loader, which was in my car (something I learned when I needed a new throw-out bearing at 55K miles). In the fall of '64, when the fastback '65 Mustang was introduced, Ford replaced the D-Code engine with the A-Code 289 which had higher compression and a bit more (225) horse power; a lighter (and cheaper) 4-speed tranny also replaced the biggie in A-Code applications (like my '67 Cougar). So . . . . . . . I never had a muscle car, but - for two and a half years - I owned a muscle car tranny.

Jer

Nothing like the old muscle cars!!!!!!

They are something, EM - but I'm betting your new Ford would leave 'em for dead . . . . . . . . and your car can turn corners!

Jer

I would have to say I am somewhat partial to the second one, (Fairlane GTA) but then check my avitar for what I used to own.

Maybe I am a little biased

Hey, I hear you Lowell - I was a Ford guy in those days, as well. I don't see many Fairlane GTs or GTAs - so I was happy to get a shot of this one.

Jer

[rbefly]

Great series, buddy, well photographed!
Yep, I could ogle sixties motor city metal all day. Gaudy? Yes, but in a good way. The stripes, buckets, duals, scoops and blacked-out grills didn't make it corner better, but there's no corners in a quarter-mile anyway. The rest of the time, you lived with it.
I'm glad we have (had) that era and the shows, cruises, retro reminders (like the Challenger, Mustang, Camaro) to keep the memory alive.
JMO,
Ron

[Bob Harris]

Great series, buddy, well photographed!
Yep, I could ogle sixties motor city metal all day. Gaudy? Yes, but in a good way. The stripes, buckets, duals, scoops and blacked-out grills didn't make it corner better, but there's no corners in a quarter-mile anyway. The rest of the time, you lived with it.
I'm glad we have (had) that era and the shows, cruises, retro reminders (like the Challenger, Mustang, Camero) to keep the memory alive.
JMO,
Ron

Ron and that's why some people bought Corvettes to do away with those pesky corners, add a big block and they were hard to beat.

[Sailor]

Ron and that's why some people bought Corvettes to do away with those pesky corners, add a big block and they were hard to beat.

And some people - whose names I won't mention - had the money to buy Corvettes!

Jer

---------- Post added 06-19-2014 at 10:35 PM ----------

Great series, buddy, well photographed!
Yep, I could ogle sixties motor city metal all day. Gaudy? Yes, but in a good way. The stripes, buckets, duals, scoops and blacked-out grills didn't make it corner better, but there's no corners in a quarter-mile anyway. The rest of the time, you lived with it.
I'm glad we have (had) that era and the shows, cruises, retro reminders (like the Challenger, Mustang, Camero) to keep the memory alive.
JMO,
Ron

Thanks so much, Ron. Yup, gaudy but - so help me - somehow sublime. I drive a Porsche and a BMW today - both of which could beat the pants off most of the '60s stuff (especially if corners are involved ) - but I still love standing among those old '60s cars, particularly with Pentax in hand. If my wife would let me (and she won't), I would buy a restored '65 or '66 fastback Mustang with an A- or K-Code 289 and a 4-speed tranny; any color will do!

Or, I'd buy a C-2 Corvette . . . . . . . . . . . . but I ain't got brother Bob's money!

Jer

[Michael Piziak]

Very nice photographs of muscle cars !

[Rupert]

Loved those Jer, and the memories. Wish I still owned my 69 Roadrunner, it was one of my most favorite cars.... ever. It put tears in the eyes of tons of Camaros and Mustangs. When gas jumped to a whopping .75 cents a gallon, I sold it to a kid that had been pressuring me for it. I'd like to think he still owns it!

Regards!

[Lowell Goudge]

Ron and that's why some people bought Corvettes to do away with those pesky corners, add a big block and they were hard to beat.

Oh? I am not so sure of that

AutoTraderClassics.com - Article The Original Super-Snake - Shelby Cobra

[Sailor]

Very nice photographs of muscle cars !

Thank you, Michael.
Jer

Loved those Jer, and the memories. Wish I still owned my 69 Roadrunner, it was one of my most favorite cars.... ever. It put tears in the eyes of tons of Camaros and Mustangs. When gas jumped to a whopping .75 cents a gallon, I sold it to a kid that had been pressuring me for it. I'd like to think he still owns it!

Regards!

Hey, Rupert - thanks much. My sister-in-law's husband had a Roadrunner - it was a strong car, indeed.

Jer

Oh? I am not so sure of that

AutoTraderClassics.com - Article The Original Super-Snake - Shelby Cobra

I lusted after a Cobra, but - like the Corvette - it was simply beyond my financial grasp. The closest I ever came to a Shelby product was during my first year of grad school in early '69 when I test drove a big, mean red Shelby GT500 KR at Busby Ford in Nashville, TN. The car was a left-over '68 model that had been used by the owner's wife and was heavily discounted. I foolishly tried to trade my '67 Cougar for it and came surprisingly close, but the $350 difference between us was just too big a gap to bridge - 350 bucks was a lot of money in those days for a grad student that had no business with a GT500 anyway.

Jer