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45Doll

The Last Forgotten Muscle Car

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So I'll take a break from the election ruckus to speak to the car guys on the forum. Yes, I know you're out there.

My first car was a 1970 Olds 442. 455 CUI, Hurst 4-speed with the velvet T-handle on the shifter, and Cragar mags. Black with red pin striping and a white vinyl interior. When I ordered it I wanted the W30 forced air option, but it was too late in the production cycle and I couldn't get it. Oh well. I still loved that car. When I drove it down St. Catherine St. in Montreal it stopped foot traffic at the red lights. Might as well have been a Ferrari.

When I saw Eastwood in Gran Torino I identified. Of course my story was totally different, but the car was a classic.

So here you go. The last forgotten muscle car: the Buick Century GS Stage 1 455

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You guys should have been at the Daytona Speedway Turkey Run car show!  Muscle car heaven:D. Was heavy on the Chevys and not much love for the Mustang fastbacks which is my thing but did get to drool on a few. One of the most enjoyable days I've had in a long time. 

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The article is right - I never knew that car existed.  I loved the big block 4-speed Impalas, the Buick would have been perfect for me at the time..  My first car was a '71 Chevelle that I basically beat on until the automatic trans locked up on my going around the Netcong circle one evening.

Since then I've had more cars than I can count.  Fast forward and I've had my '69 Mustang Sportsroof for 25 years and inherited my wife's parents college car last year - a '56 Pontiac Star Chief Convertible that I'm restoring.  I'm at a point in my life I can enjoy them.

The pic is them in my workshop.

IMG_2575.JPG

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4 minutes ago, mustang69 said:

The article is right - I never knew that car existed.  I loved the big block 4-speed Impalas, the Buick would have been perfect for me at the time..  My first car was a '71 Chevelle that I basically beat on until the automatic trans locked up on my going around the Netcong circle one evening.

Since then I've had more cars than I can count.  Fast forward and I've had my '69 Mustang Sportsroof for 25 years and inherited my wife's parents college car last year - a '56 Pontiac Star Chief Convertible that I'm restoring.  I'm at a point in my life I can enjoy them.

The pic is them in my workshop.

IMG_2575.JPG

OOOOHHHHHH....... 2 beautiful cars..... I bet that Star Chief is stunning....

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8 minutes ago, mustang69 said:

My first car was a '71 Chevelle that I basically beat on until the automatic trans locked up on my going around the Netcong circle one evening.

Ahh the Netcong circle. Back when on route 80 all points west led to "Netcong"!

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7 minutes ago, 67gtonut said:

OOOOHHHHHH....... 2 beautiful cars..... I bet that Star Chief is stunning....

Needs to be restored, but it's been in the family since 1958.  It hadn't been out of the garage for 40 years when I was able to tow it up to NH.  Until then I'd never seen the right side of the car.  Second pic is what it looked like in my mother-in-laws garage - yes, it's in there somewhere...

IMG_1953.JPG

IMG_2333.JPG

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3 minutes ago, RUTGERS95 said:

lots of cool older heavyweights that don't get too much love.  One such car is the old Cougars.  They had some nice lines, nice power, great look to them

Now your talkin! I had a 68 from my dad. Factory 302- 3 spd. Wasn't long till it was rocking  a 351C 4 spd dual exhaust etc.....so much work and fun for a 19 yr old! 

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14 minutes ago, RUTGERS95 said:

lots of cool older heavyweights that don't get too much love.  One such car is the old Cougars.  They had some nice lines, nice power, great look to them

That's one I had that got away.  I had a 68 XR7 with factory 4 speed.  I sold it when I couldn't afford to rebuild the front end back in 1981.  I've missed that car every day since...

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I hate to disappoint you guys, but the "last forgotten muscle car" is a lot newer than you think. Manufactured from 2014 to 2017 approximately 10K made, or about 2500 per year, I give you the Chevrolet SS...

Chevy-SS.jpg

Most people have no idea what it even is, and those that notice the SS emblems invariably ask, "An SS what?" - Just an SS. Back in the muscle car hay day the SS was a Chevy trim line that could be added to various models. For the 2014 - 2017 car, it becomes a model name. Equipped with an LS3 engine, producing 415 HP and 415 Lb-Ft it came with a 6 spd automatic and later a 6 spd manual trans. Aside from the trans, the only options available were a sunroof and a full-size spare.

This is truly the last muscle car.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

PS: Yes I know that it is a re-badged Australian Holden Commodore, but Holden is no more also - so truly the last.

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22 minutes ago, Pizza Bob said:

I hate to disappoint you guys, but the "last forgotten muscle car" is a lot newer than you think. Manufactured from 2014 to 2017 approximately 10K made, or about 2500 per year, I give you the Chevrolet SS...

Chevy-SS.jpg

Most people have no idea what it even is, and those that notice the SS emblems invariably ask, "An SS what?" - Just an SS. Back in the muscle car hay day the SS was a Chevy trim line that could be added to various models. For the 2014 - 2017 car, it becomes a model name. Equipped with an LS3 engine, producing 415 HP and 415 Lb-Ft it came with a 6 spd automatic and later a 6 spd manual trans. Aside from the trans, the only options available were a sunroof and a full-size spare.

This is truly the last muscle car.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

PS: Yes I know that it is a re-badged Australian Holden Commodore, but Holden is no more also - so truly the last.

a pox upon ye!

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My first cruiser was a 1968 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback like this one below. 302 with a Edelbrock high rise manifold, Holley 4 barrel, Hooker headers and Cherry bombs. Man, that sucker was loud...

On 11/30/2020 at 11:51 PM, JohnnyB said:

I was amazed how when I floored it, I could see the gas gauge move!

Ha... I remember the same thing..,  I think gas was a round 0.40 cents a gallon back then. Couldn't pass a station without stopping.. :xD:

Also remember smoking off a set of 60 Series tires every 5000 miles..  Those were the days...  :victory:

full-size-performance-1968-ford-galaxie-

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definitley not muscle car era material, but i still have my 1986 Olds 442 that i bought at 21 years old in the spring of 93'...  Fully loaded car, T-Tops and all...  Thought it was fast and i was cool shit.. Quickly learned it was a dog in the performace department, but sure got a lot of compliments on it anyways... Ran atco tune and test nights a few times with it.. Never faster than a 16.3.. lol    By todays standards, thats slower than most new economy cruisers..

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18 minutes ago, eyeinstine said:

definitley not muscle car era material, but i still have my 1986 Olds 442 that i bought at 21 years old in the spring of 93'...  Fully loaded car, T-Tops and all...  Thought it was fast and i was cool shit.. Quickly learned it was a dog in the performace department, but sure got a lot of compliments on it anyways... Ran atco tune and test nights a few times with it.. Never faster than a 16.3.. lol    By todays standards, thats slower than most new economy cruisers..

well if we're in the 80s, gotta go with the fox body mustang, the 350 iroc and of course the natty

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6 minutes ago, RUTGERS95 said:

well if we're in the 80s, gotta go with the fox body mustang, the 350 iroc and of course the natty

All those bases were covered in my circle of gear head buddies..  of course i was the slowest, but also was the most luxurious and class....    The GN and 442 G-bodies were very similar other than the motors. They were the only G-bodies to come with the 8.5 rear diffs..  3.73 posi in the 442, 3.42's in the GN..  Surprisingly the Monte SS only had the 7.5 rear diff..

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4 minutes ago, eyeinstine said:

All those bases were covered in my circle of gear head buddies..  of course i was the slowest, but also was the most luxurious and class....    The GN and 442 G-bodies were very similar other than the motors. They were the only G-bodies to come with the 8.5 rear diffs..  3.73 posi in the 442, 3.42's in the GN..  Surprisingly the Monte SS only had the 7.5 rear diff..

monte ss was the original guido car..lol

I had the gt convertible and remember thinking that those 225 ponies screamed..ha   of course had the rocker arms, bolt on chip, lower temp gauge, pullies and she was pumping 300 or so.  loved that car, went through half the cheerleaders in hs in it..lol  yeah, I was that guy

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On 12/2/2020 at 4:00 PM, Xtors said:

@45Doll any chance you have pics of the '70 442?

Out of all the similar GM models of that era the '71 442 convertible was always my favorite, probably because my father had a '72 cutlass 3 speed with the Rocket V8...

 

I might have an odd photo or two. I didn't take many in those days, but I'll look.

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I had to show this wagon because one of my friend's father had one, although not in the condition below. I remember he asked to take us for a ride on RT 287 in NJ in the mid '70s. At that time going up towards Bedminster was still pretty light in traffic, especially after working hours. Well 3 or 4 of us were trying to find a polite way of declining because what teenager wanted to tool around in a station wagon. They weren't cool. Well we learned a thing or two about engines, especially when he opened it up on the Interstate! I couldn't believe a stodgy, heavy wagon could move like that! 

1969 Chevrolet Kingswood 427

Station wagons are not usually thought of as muscle-cars, but the Kingswood deserves the label as it is a proper pavement punisher. In 1969, if you were picky with the options packages, you could order the big family truckster with the 427 cubic-inch Turbo-Jet V8, pushing 390-horsepower through a four-speed manual transmission.
 
With all the kids strapped in, and despite weighing more than all the moons of Jupiter, the Kingswood could achieve a 0-60 mph time of 7.2 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 15.6 seconds. That’s not bad for a wagon the size of Texas designed for family hauling.


NTKDYZP.jpg
 
"And some like two guns. But one's all you need if you can use it..." - Shane
 

 
 
 
 
I have to repeat something. We're talking a station wagon off the line, not one of these one-offs that were made for racing by the car companies.

"0-60 mph time of 7.2 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 15.6 seconds."

Remember in 1969 the Kawasaki Mach III 500 had these numbers. It packed 50 odd HP and 12 second quarter mile times into a $999 package!

www.cycleworld.com/sport-rider/1969-kawasaki-mach-iii-500/
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I'm a fan of all quick cars, foreign and domestic, old and new. If they're beautiful, all the better.  My boring VW Golf R can handle the twisties even on wet and snowy days, haul my fishing and biking gear, get 25+ mpg, and trap around 115 mph all day long.  Super reliable, I'm good.  If I had stupid money, I'd have a fine, 60s era Cobra replica, a Cayenne Turbo S, and my VW for keeping things under the radar. Okay, I'd kinda like an '87 GNX too.

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Maybe not really "that last forgotten muscle car", but certainly a sleeper in general appearance, is what is IMHO, one of the best all-around motor vehicles available today.  If I was in the market today for a car that was practical, yet truly fun to drive, comfortably seats 4 people, (possibly even 5), that has all-wheel drive for all-season road conditions, all current state-of-the-art safety and hi-tech features, a generous amount of storage/cargo space and a wonderfully ridiculous powerful hand-assembled turbocharged engine that puts out 600+ hp, it would be a current or recent model year Mercedes-Benz E63s AMG Wagon.  It has more usable storage space than most typical SUV's and has a supercar 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds!  Pretty darn fast for a non-descript grocery/kid hauler....with amazing engine exhaust acoustics!  While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I do think it is quite nice looking as well.  The only real downside is the current MSRP of around $125,000.

AVB-AMG

Neues Mercedes-AMG E 63 und E 63 S 4MATIC+ T-Modell.2020 Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon: Review, Trims, Specs, Price, New Interior  Features, Exterior Design, and Specifications | CarBuzz

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