Kiril

Ford Mustang 1967 Fastback 408 cui Stroker

Plenty of 1967 Mustang fastbacks look completely factory at a cruise night and are hiding an engine Ford never built. The 408 stroker starts with a 351 Windsor block, opens the bores slightly, and swaps in a longer-throw crankshaft to reach 408 cubic inches — all while fitting in the same space a 289 once occupied. The result is one of the most effective sleeper combinations in the Ford world. Read on to find out how the recipe works and where two identical-looking builds end up in completely different places.

Red classic Ford Mustang on display at an indoor car show.

This is the Only Factory Convertible 1967 Shelby GT 500 Mustang

by Kiril

In late 1966, three brand-new Mustangs sat finished in Shelby American’s Los Angeles shop, all painted Candyapple Red: a coupe, a fastback, and a convertible. Two became the template for a production run. The third never did, because Ford shelved the convertible GT500 for a year, leaving exactly one 1967 example in existence — and Carroll Shelby kept it for himself. Read on to find out what happened to serial number 0139.

Ford Mustang – Twin Turbo “Eleanor” GT500

by Kiril

Hollywood built eleven Mustangs to play Eleanor in the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, and only three of them could actually be driven. None was a real Shelby GT500. A quarter century later the replica business built around that car is still going, now offering twin-turbocharged and Coyote-powered versions the film cars never had, and a federal appeals court has finally settled the long-running fight over who is allowed to build them. Read on to find out how a movie prop became one of the most copied Mustangs ever made.

A classic purple vintage car displayed indoors at a car show.

Plymouth ‘Cuda 1971 Custom

by Kiril

Plymouth gave the 1971 ‘Cuda a face it wore for exactly one model year: four headlights and a set of non-functional gills stamped into the front fenders. Behind that one-year-only sheet metal sat an engine list running from a 340 small-block to the 426 HEMI in its final season, and production numbers so small that some combinations can be counted on two hands. It was also the last year Plymouth offered any of it. Read on to find out why 1971 became the most collectible year in the car’s history.

Dodge Charger 1970 R/T SE 440 7.2L

by Kiril

The 1970 Charger R/T SE is the version that confuses people. R/T meant 440 Magnum, heavy-duty everything, and 375 horsepower. SE meant leather, wood grain, and deep-dish wheel covers. Combining them produced a car that Dodge itself struggled to explain, and only a small fraction of 1970 R/T buyers ordered it. Here is what that combination was actually for.

Classic green muscle car showcased indoors at a car event.

Plymouth Road Runner 1973

by Kiril

By 1973 the Road Runner had a five-mile-per-hour bumper, a catalytic-converter-ready exhaust on the horizon, and horsepower ratings that had switched from gross to net. It also had a 440 four-barrel and the last 340 small block Chrysler ever built. This is the year everyone skips, and it is the year that quietly offers the best value in the entire Road Runner run.

Two Dodge Challenger cars parked on snowy ground.

Why the All-Wheel Drive Dodge Challenger GT doesn’t Pack Hemi Power

by Kiril

When Dodge introduced the all-wheel-drive Challenger GT for 2017, it left the Hemi off the order sheet entirely and got hammered for it. The real reason had less to do with engineering ambition than with certification costs, packaging, and an experiment Dodge had already run on the four-door Charger. Here is what the car actually offered, how its front-axle disconnect worked, and why the V6 suits the chassis better than most people assumed.

Classic purple muscle car displayed indoors under bright lights.

1970 Dodge Super Bee in Plum Crazy Purple & 440 Engine

by Kiril

A Plum Crazy Purple 1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee, loaded with a 440 Six Pack, four-speed pistol-grip shifter, and white bucket seats, stopped traffic at the World of Wheels show in Rosemont, Illinois. One viewer owned nearly the same car at seventeen. Another notes cars like it have become darlings of the Mecum auction circuit. Watch the full walk-around to see why.

Classic orange muscle car with black wheels and raised hood scoops.

Cars We Remember: In memory of Vic Edelbrock Jr.

by Kiril

When Vic Edelbrock Jr. lost his father in 1962, he inherited a ten-employee garage business and no roadmap for keeping it alive. Instead, the 26-year-old spent the next five decades turning Edelbrock into a -million-a-year name synonymous with American hot-rodding, while helping organize the entire performance parts industry through his years leading SEMA. His story is a reminder that some of the biggest names in muscle car culture started as reluctant successors, not industry veterans.

Classic vintage car with hood open at a car show.

AMC Hurst SC/Rambler 1969 – 390 4 Speed

by Kiril

American Motors had no performance reputation, no factory racing program, and no money. So in 1969 it handed a compact Rambler to George Hurst, dropped in a 390, and sold the result for under three thousand dollars. Only 1,512 were built, every single one with a four-speed, and the thing ran quarter miles that embarrassed cars costing twice as much. The SC/Rambler remains the strangest bargain Detroit ever produced.

Classic red vintage car parked outdoors at sunset.

1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt: Only 100 Built, Built to Win

by Kiril

Ford built exactly one hundred Fairlane Thunderbolts for 1964, sold every one at a loss, and never built another. Fiberglass panels, plexiglass glass, a 427 High Riser wedged into a mid-size engine bay, and final assembly farmed out to an outside contractor made it one of the most extreme cars ever sold through a dealership. Here is what went into them, what they ran, and why a single season was all they got.

A young boy fixing wires inside a vintage car.

How to Rewire a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda the Painless Way

by Kiril

Seven years into a Barracuda build, this owner realized the most dangerous component in the car was not the supercharged 360 under the hood — it was the fifty-year-old wiring harness feeding it. Original insulation cracks, connectors corrode, and grounds fail in ways that stay invisible until something starts smoking. Rewiring is the least glamorous upgrade on any build sheet and the one that matters most. Read on to find out how it’s actually done.

A vintage purple car driving on a road with greenery in the background.

Dodge Brothers 1937 Coupe Steel Hot Rod

by Kiril

A 1937 Dodge Brothers coupe that covers thousand-mile cruises in air-conditioned comfort, wearing Mopar’s Plum Crazy purple three decades before the color existed, stopping on power discs and running a 350-horsepower Chevrolet small-block through a TH350 into a Ford 9-inch. On paper it is three brands arguing under one all-steel body. In practice it is one of the most sensible ways to build a prewar car you actually intend to drive. Read on to find out why every part of that combination was chosen on purpose.

Damaged dark-colored car with a heavily smashed front end.

Wrecked Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger Hellcat Organ Donor Has Just 9,000 Miles

by Kiril

A Plum Crazy Challenger Hellcat with a folded front end and barely 9,000 miles on the odometer looks like pure waste. It is not. Wrecked Hellcats are routinely parted rather than crushed, because the supercharged engine, transmission, and driveline are worth more separated than the shell is worth whole. The paint code, oddly, is the part that will be hardest to replace. Here is what happens to a car like this next.

Two luxury sports cars parked, one black and one yellow, showcasing sleek designs.

Camaro ZL1 vs. Mustang Boss 302: The Quarter-Mile Gap That Wasn’t As Big As It Looked

by Kiril

The 2012 Camaro ZL1 brings 580 supercharged horsepower to the line. The Boss 302 counters with 444 naturally aspirated ones. On paper it should be over before it starts, and yet quarter-mile results from the era put these two within a couple of tenths of each other. Weight, gearing, and two completely different engineering briefs explain why, and why the argument still comes up two decades on.

Posts By: Kiril