6 Muscle Car Showdowns: Which Rival Should You Actually Buy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDC6azTT0qk

Twelve muscle cars, six head to head showdowns, and one question every buyer asks before the money changes hands: which one belongs in my garage? We put rival against rival, from the Trans-Am racetrack to the NASCAR superspeedway. I will tell you who wins each fight, and what to check before you buy.

#12: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

Showdown number one started on a racetrack. The Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am series limited engines to 305 cubic inches, so Chevrolet built the Camaro Z/28 with a 302 cubic inch small block, a solid lifter camshaft, and a high compression top end. Chevrolet rated it at 290 horsepower, a figure many enthusiasts believe was kept modest on purpose, because these engines loved to spin past 7,000 rpm.

#11: 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302

Ford answered the same rule book with the Boss 302. Ford wanted an engine that could win in Trans-Am, so the 1969 Mustang got special cylinder heads with enormous ports and valves, closely related to the Cleveland design Ford was developing at the time. Ford rated it at 290 horsepower, exactly the same number as the Camaro.

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#10: 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda

Showdown number two is the heavyweight fight, Hemi against LS6. The 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda carried the 426 cubic inch Hemi, rated at 425 horsepower and 490 pound feet of torque, with two four barrel carburetors sitting on a tall manifold. Buyers could pair it with a four speed manual or a TorqueFlite automatic, and both came with a heavy duty rear axle.

#9: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6

Chevrolet’s answer was the Chevelle SS with the LS6 454. It was rated at 450 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque, the highest horsepower rating of the entire muscle car era. GM had lifted its ban on engines larger than 400 cubic inches in midsize cars for 1970, and Chevrolet used the freedom well, with a solid lifter cam, a big Holley four barrel carburetor, and very high compression.

#8: 1969 Plymouth Road Runner

Showdown number three is the budget brawl. In 1968, Plymouth launched the Road Runner as a stripped down, no frills street racer, with a base price under 3,000 dollars. The company paid Warner Brothers a licensing fee for the cartoon character, and it even fitted a horn that went beep beep.

#7: 1969 Dodge Super Bee

Dodge wanted a piece of that Road Runner action, so it built the Super Bee on the Coronet body. It followed the same recipe: a 383 cubic inch engine rated at 335 horsepower, a bench seat inside, and strong brakes, all for a modest price. The bee logo and bold stripes gave it a cartoon style of its own, and for 1969 the Super Bee could be ordered with the Hemi or the three carburetor 440 Six Pack.

#6: 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A

Showdown number four is a pair of homologation specials, built so Chrysler could race in Trans-Am. The 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A used a 340 cubic inch V8 fed by three two barrel carburetors, called the Six Pack, rated at 290 horsepower. Dodge added a fiberglass hood with a scoop, a rear spoiler, and side exit exhaust pipes that ran out in front of the rear wheels.

#5: 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda

Plymouth’s version was the AAR Cuda, named for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers team, which ran Plymouth’s Trans-Am program in 1970. It used the same 340 Six Pack engine as the Dodge, rated at 290 horsepower, with a fiberglass hood, a rear spoiler, and side exit exhausts. The AAR Cuda had a matte black hood and a sporty stripe along the side.

#4: 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1

Showdown number five belongs to General Motors. The 1970 Buick GSX came with the 455 cubic inch engine, and the Stage 1 version was rated at 360 horsepower and an enormous 510 pound feet of torque, more than the Hemi’s 490 and more than the 500 pound feet of the Chevelle LS6. That is the number I promised you.

#3: 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30

Oldsmobile’s challenger is the 442 W-30. For 1970 it carried a 455 cubic inch V8 rated at 370 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque. The W-30 package added a more aggressive camshaft and cold air induction, which pulled outside air through scoops in the front bumper.

#2: 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

Showdown number six is the one that changed NASCAR. In 1969 Dodge fitted the Charger with a pointed nose cone and a tall rear wing, shaped with wind tunnel testing, because the regular Charger could not keep up on the superspeedways. The result was the Charger Daytona, powered by the 426 Hemi in race trim.

#1: 1970 Plymouth Superbird

Plymouth answered with the Road Runner Superbird for 1970. It used the same aerodynamic idea, with a long nose cone and a giant rear wing, and it was built to race with the Hemi. Richard Petty, who had driven a Ford in 1969, returned to Plymouth for 1970, and the Superbird was his weapon.

That is all six showdowns, twelve cars, and a lot of arguments for your next car show. Which rivalry did I get wrong? Tell me in the comments, and subscribe to Muscle Car Fan for more muscle car stories.