12 Big Block Muscle Cars That Pushed the Horsepower Wars to the Edge

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In 1970, Chevrolet rated one midsize coupe at 450 horsepower, the highest number of the entire muscle car era, and it cost buyers only a few hundred dollars extra. Here are twelve big block muscle cars that pushed the horsepower wars to the edge, counted down from number twelve to number one. Two of them will surprise you.

#12: 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30

Oldsmobile gave the 1970 442 a 455 cubic inch V8, and the W-30 package turned it into a street weapon. Rated at 370 horsepower and an enormous 500 pound feet of torque, the W-30 added a cold air induction system that pulled outside air through scoops under the front bumper. Fiberglass inner fenders helped route that air, and a W-30 car wore red inner fender liners that gave away what was underneath.

#11: 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum

Dodge launched the redesigned 1968 Charger with a coke bottle body and a full width hidden headlight grille, and the R/T badge stood for Road and Track. The standard engine in the R/T was the 440 Magnum, rated at 375 horsepower and 480 pound feet of torque, with a single four barrel carburetor. The 426 Hemi was available as an option at 425 horsepower.

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#10: 1969 Yenko Super Camaro 427

Chevrolet officially limited the 1969 Camaro to a 396 cubic inch engine, but Don Yenko, a dealer in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, had other plans. He used a factory ordering loophole called the Central Office Production Order, or COPO, to have Camaros built with the 427 cubic inch L72 V8 rated at 425 horsepower. Yenko ordered about 200 of them for 1969 and sold them as the Yenko Super Camaro, with stripes, badges, and a look that proved this was no ordinary Camaro.

#9: 1969 Dodge Super Bee 440 Six Pack

Dodge built the Super Bee to take on the Plymouth Road Runner, and for 1969 it handed buyers a monster option called the 440 Six Pack. Instead of one four barrel carburetor, the engine used three two barrel Holley carburetors on an aluminum intake. Dodge rated it at 390 horsepower and 490 pound feet of torque.

#8: 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429

Ford built the Boss 429 Mustang for one reason: to qualify its new 429 cubic inch engine for NASCAR racing. Rules required a certain number of production cars to carry the engine, so Ford contracted Kar Kraft in Brighton, Michigan to squeeze the huge semi hemispherical headed V8 into the Mustang engine bay. The shock towers had to be modified, the front suspension was changed, and the battery moved to the trunk to balance the load.

#7: 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1

In 1970 Buick took a Gran Sport coupe, painted it Saturn Yellow or Apollo White, bolted on front and rear spoilers and a hood mounted tachometer, and called it the GSX. The Stage 1 engine package gave the 455 cubic inch V8 a bigger carburetor, a hotter camshaft, and a stronger distributor. Buick rated it at just 360 horsepower, but the torque rating of 510 pound feet topped every other muscle car of the era.

#6: 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS 454

Chevrolet introduced the Monte Carlo for 1970 as a personal luxury coupe, built on a long 116 inch wheelbase with the longest hood Chevrolet had ever fitted to a car. Few buyers expected it to be a muscle car. Then Chevrolet offered the SS 454 package, which put the 454 cubic inch V8 under that long hood, rated at 360 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque.

#5: 1968 Shelby GT500KR

Ford launched the 1968 Shelby GT500KR, where KR stood for King of the Road. Under the hood sat the new 428 Cobra Jet V8, which Ford officially rated at 335 horsepower, a number few drivers believed. Real output was widely thought to be well over 400 horsepower, because Ford wanted to keep the engine in a lower class at the drag strip and avoid insurance penalties.

#4: 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda

The 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda was the last year for the legendary 426 Hemi in a street car. Plymouth rated the engine at 425 horsepower and 490 pound feet of torque, with two four barrel carburetors sitting under a Shaker hood scoop that vibrated with the engine. The Cuda got a new body with a split grille and gill like slits behind the front wheels, a design that has since become an icon.

#3: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

If any car deserves the title of big block king, it is the 1969 Camaro ZL1. Chevrolet’s COPO 9560 order gave buyers a 427 cubic inch V8 with an aluminum block and aluminum heads, which saved roughly 100 pounds over the iron version. Chevrolet rated it at 430 horsepower, though many experts believe it made far more.

#2: 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona looked like a fighter jet on wheels. Dodge added a long pointed nose cone and a towering rear wing, mounted high on struts so it would sit in clean air, to cut drag at NASCAR superspeed tracks. Under the hood sat the 426 Hemi or the 440 Magnum, and Dodge sold only 503 of them to qualify the car for racing.

#1: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6

The 1970 Chevelle SS 454 with the LS6 engine is the car that sits on top of this list. General Motors had lifted its long standing ban on engines larger than 400 cubic inches in midsize cars, and Chevrolet responded with a 454 cubic inch big block rated at 450 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque. That 450 horsepower figure was the highest factory rating of any muscle car of the era.

That is our list of twelve big block muscle cars that pushed the horsepower wars to the limit. Which one would you take home? Tell me in the comments, and subscribe to Muscle Car Fan for more muscle car stories.