Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someone cl

[Peter B.]

When I was growing up, I had a passion for Corvettes. The ultimate muscle car in my mind. Well, I am 40 now and have had my 1971 Vette for about 8 years. I love it.

What I hate is that every time I go to a book store and pick up a book on Muscle cars, 99% of the time, the Corvette is not even there.

OK - Someone let me in on what is going on. Why are Corvettes not considered Muscle Cars???????????????????

[Stephen L.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

There was a thread on this a few months back... Basically I interpreted the responses to mean that a CORVETTE is considered a "sports car".
Maybe "Muscle cars" had to have a rear seat.....I don't know....
How about "pony cars"????

[Duke W.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Correct, the Corvette is a sports car, not a muscle car. How can you compare a four thousand pound two door coupe with a solid axle to a Corvette.

Also, the Camaro/Mustang, etc. cars of the era were often referred to as "pony cars" to distinguish them from the 4000 pound sleds based on mid-size body architectures of the era, but that name seems to have fallen by the wayside.

They're all just "pop culture" names with definitions based on whatever fits at the moment.

Duke

[lyndon sharpton]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

any big block corvette is a muscle car first, then a sports car.

[Jay G.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

My first car was a 58 Vette bought it at 17yrs old. The car was a blast, but a SLED. Later in life got into mid-years mostly L-79's great little cars with power. A good solid lifter 327 will take on 390HP and 400HP 427 everyday. Now my passion is Big Blocks. Can't afford 65-67 Vette big blocks. So we got into 67 Chevelles. 69 Camaros and Novas. For sheer fun the little L-78 69 Nova Black/Black (Berger Car) will kick the shi- outta most everything out there. Grandmas grocery getter, IS a true Muscle Car. Tweaked with 230X188 heads gets 500HP torque at 4200RPM it says Muscle whether a Corvette or 2 ton land yacht. New Z-06 is a muscle car too. My 2 cents.

[Joe C.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Pete,

Most of us couldn't afford a Corvette to bring to the local street races. That extra thousand dollars made a tremendous difference for most working class kids back in the sixties and early seventies. Also, the later Corvettes with independent rears had four too many u-joints to worry about, and too much torque would cause lots of broken half shafts. The Corvette was a well balanced sports car with the hi-horse smallblock. It was an ill handling, plowing, slow braking rocket ship with the ratmotor.

Back then, a thousand dollars translated into roughly 25% of the price of a brand new car. Hell, I remember that a stripped 1969 Duster with a slant six was advertised at $1999.00.........same price as a new VW Beetle. The 1970 DeTomaso Pantera cost just about $10,000.00..........only for the very rich. The hot setup was to buy a light weight body, like a Nova, Dart, or Fairlane 500 and stuff in the biggest motor that would fit under the hood. The majority of street racers drove out-of-the-box 396 Camaros and Chevelles, Mustangs with Cleveland 351's, Boss 302's, and Cobra Jet 428's, Fury's with 426 wedges and Hemis, Darts and Belvederes with 383's and 440's. The guys with the big bucks would pony up for the Baldwin-Motion and Yenko treatments. The gearheads would make their own rides. A buddy of mine built a beautiful red 1964 Fury coupe with a stage III 426 wedge. For kicks,he also built a ratty looking 4 door '63 Dart with a dual quad, cross-rammed hemi under the 'glass hood. Another friend made a neat little '63 ChevyII with hi revving smallblock. The most impressive of them all, in my mind, was a guy a couple blocks away from me. He had a beautiful, all black '63 Corvette coupe with a 427, dual quads and tunnel ram poking through the hood. Me. I had a 1963 1/2 red/black Ford Galaxie 500 XL fastback with 390. Later had a 1970 Challenger R/T with 440 six pack. God, how I wish I had those cars back again.

Joe

PS: There was a pretty blonde gal who drove a white 1968 Corvette coupe to a lot of our friday and saturday night street "events". Below her rear license plate hung a small sign which read "If you can beat me, you can eat me". I never really found out how that story ended, though.

[Tony Merendino]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Joe 32899. Was that pretty little blonde seen at thw White Castle on Allerton Ave in the Bronx? I heard stories about a gal like that in the Bronx but I never did see her.

[Verne Frantz]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

She also cruised the "Ave." on Fri. nights in New Brunswick, NJ. She sure got around.......

[Joe C.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Tony,

She would sometimes come around Mitchell's Drive-In, on 86th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn, where many of us would meet before heading over to race on First, and Third Avenues near Bush Terminal. She got beat plenty, but never stopped to ask questions. She probably "hit" all the drag spots in the City of New York, including the Connecting Highway, Cross Bay Boulevard, Avenue D, etc, etc.

Joe

[Ed D.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

I heard about her in Chicago. I had a 440 GSS Dart and thought it might be worth a shot but couldn't find her ! Now I know why ...she was in Brooklyn.

[Steve Antonucci]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Joe,

The popular resolution to the "If you can beat me, you can eat me" story goes
something like this: I remember that someone was racing her and was clearly pulling away. She bugged out and took off instead of waiting around for the payback. That story was talked about many, many times.....

Steve

[Steve Antonucci]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

Verne!

New Brunswick? I used to live in Sayreville.

Steve

[lyndon sharpton]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

sounds to me like the winner of the race is not geting the best deal!

[Verne Frantz]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

My '63 coupe was briefly stored just outside Sayreville in '79 before it was sold. And Sayreville was on my route when I drove a Pepsi delivery truck between college semesters, Summer of '69.
The story I heard was that she drove a '62 Vette and had the slogan painted on the back of the car.

[Michael M.]

Re: Muscle Cars - I can't take it anymore - someon

I had heard a similar story about a girl in Mamaraoneck, NY in in the mid 1980s timeframe with an early 70's pink Corvette with a 454. Allegedly, she had the same slogan written on her drivers side power window. I cannot vouch for this one personally and this may have been more legend than truth. But....you never know.