12 Muscle Cars Collectors Chase and Why the Market Pays

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Muscle car values do not move on nostalgia alone. They move on rarity, documentation, and condition. Today we count down twelve muscle cars the collector market watches closely, from number twelve to number one, and I will tell you what drives the price of each one. Most prices swing with the market, so I will focus on the reasons. Stay to number one, because that car has sold for millions.

#12: 1969 Ford Torino Cobra

Number twelve is the 1969 Ford Torino Cobra, and it is where many collectors start the barn find hunt. Ford built the Torino Cobra around the 428 Cobra Jet engine, rated at 335 horsepower, a number many experts consider conservative. The Cobra Jet was designed to be a strong, reliable street engine, and it gave Ford a serious answer to the Chevelle and the GTO.

#11: 1969 AMC SC/Rambler

Number eleven is the Hurst SC/Rambler, an oddball that investors love because it is different. American Motors teamed with Hurst Performance to build a compact Rambler with a 390 cubic inch V8, rated at 315 horsepower, a four speed manual gearbox, and a bold red, white, and blue paint scheme. It was a quick little car, with quarter mile times in the fourteen second range, and AMC marketed it as a bargain factory hot rod.

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#10: 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV

Number ten is the GTO Judge with the Ram Air IV engine. Pontiac named the Judge after a catchphrase from the television show Laugh In, and it gave the car bold stripes, a rear wing, and a lively orange paint option. The Ram Air IV was the top Pontiac engine, a 400 cubic inch V8 rated at 370 horsepower, with special cylinder heads and an aggressive camshaft.

#9: 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Number nine is the first Pontiac Trans Am, from 1969. Pontiac took the Firebird, added a rear spoiler, a hood scoop, and a handling package, and painted it white with blue stripes. The name came from the Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am series, and Pontiac paid a fee to use it.

#8: 1968 Shelby GT500KR

Number eight is the 1968 Shelby GT500KR, and the letters stood for King of the Road. Ford stuffed the 428 Cobra Jet engine into the Shelby Mustang and rated it at 335 horsepower, though many testers believed the engine made a lot more than that. The KR was built in the second half of the 1968 model year, and Carroll Shelby’s team added a fiberglass hood, a fiberglass nose, and special trim that set it apart from the regular GT500.

#7: 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi

Number seven is the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T with the 426 Hemi. Dodge launched the Challenger in 1970, and the Hemi was the top engine, rated at 425 horsepower and 490 pound feet of torque. It was a costly option, and that meant fewer buyers picked it.

#6: 1970 Plymouth Superbird

Number six is the Plymouth Superbird, and it teaches a lesson about market swings. These cars were hard to sell when they were new, and dealers had trouble moving them. Now the Superbird is one of the most recognizable muscle cars of all, and Hemi cars can reach seven figures.

#5: 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart

Number five is the 1968 Hemi Dart, a car built for the drag strip and not the street. Dodge and Plymouth worked with Hurst to fit the 426 Hemi into lightweight compact bodies, and they were sold in a very limited run for racing. The cars used lightweight parts like fiberglass front fenders, and many were raced hard, which means surviving examples are scarce.

#4: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro COPO 9561

Number four is the COPO Camaro with the 427 cubic inch L72 engine. COPO stands for Central Office Production Order, a system that let fleet buyers order special equipment. Chevrolet dealers such as Don Yenko figured out they could use that system to get 427 cubic inch engines into the Camaro, which Chevrolet officially limited to a smaller engine.

#3: 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429

Number three is the Boss 429 Mustang, and the strange thing is that Ford never really wanted to sell it. Ford built the Boss 429 so it could use its new 429 cubic inch engine in NASCAR. Racing rules required that the engine be offered in a production car.

#2: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Number two is the Camaro ZL1, the car many collectors call the holy grail of Chevrolet. The ZL1 used an all aluminum 427 cubic inch V8 that was designed for racing, and it was rated at 430 horsepower. It was ordered through the COPO system by Fred Gibb and other dealers, and only a few dozen were built.

#1: 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible

And number one is the 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible. This is the car that made the world pay attention to muscle car values. Plymouth built very few Hemi Cuda convertibles in 1971, and the 426 Hemi was in its final year.

That is the list: twelve muscle cars and the reasons the market pays what it pays. Before you spend serious money, check recent auction results and get the paperwork inspected by an expert. Which one would you chase? Tell me in the comments, and subscribe to Muscle Car Fan for more muscle car stories.