Kiril

Classic red Dodge Charger parked on a road with greenery.

First 1969 Dodge Charger 500 Remains in Amazing Unrestored Condition

This 1969 Dodge Charger 500, reportedly the very first one built and originally used by the Dodge News Bureau for promotion, is one of only 15 built with the 426 Hemi and four-speed manual — and the only one combining that drivetrain with Bright Red paint, a black cloth interior, and power windows. Documented by Chrysler records and Mopar authenticator Galen Govier, it sat in a private Ontario collection for decades in unrestored condition. Read on to find out why collectors value it over a fully restored example.

Classic vintage car parked under a cloudy sky.

The Big-Block Barracuda Most People Forget: 1967 Formula S

by Kiril

Plymouth had a problem in 1967: everybody suddenly wanted a pony car, and the original Barracuda still looked like what it was, a Valiant wearing a fastback window. So Plymouth started over on the sheetmetal, and buried in the options list was a big-block that turned a reworked economy car into something that could hang with the muscle crowd. Most people who spot one today assume it is the small-block version. Read on for the Barracuda most people forget existed.

A Ford Fleet Facts book and various Ford vehicle brochures spread on a table.

How Well Do You Know Your Muscle Car?

by Kiril

From where the Oldsmobile 442 name actually came from to which comedian ended up with one of Carroll Shelby’s rarest supercharged Cobras, muscle car history is full of details that have nothing to do with horsepower. Some of the strangest trivia predates the term ‘muscle car’ entirely. Here’s what separates casual fans from people who really know the era.

Classic white Ford Mustang parked outdoors during sunset.

The Badge That Meant Business: 1966 Mustang K-Code 289

by Kiril

By its second model year the Mustang was the fastest-selling new nameplate in American automotive history, and tucked into the order form was a small fender badge most buyers walked right past. Ford hand-selected the blocks for this engine and rejected any with the slightest flaw, a level of quality control almost nobody bothered with on a volume car. Only 5,469 were built for 1966. Read on for the badge that still means something six decades later.

Classic 1960s muscle car with red racing stripes parked outside a wooden building.

1970 Mustang: The Quiet Last Act Before the Muscle Car Cooldown

by Kiril

This 1970 Ford Mustang wears a bold white-and-red color combination from the final year of the pony car’s smaller, tighter-bodied generation — the last stand before Ford scaled the whole lineup up for 1971. Behind the stripes sits the returning Mach 1 package and a 351-cubic-inch V8 available in two distinct states of tune. Read on to find out why this particular model year marked the quiet end of an era.

Classic green vintage pickup truck parked on grass.

1957 Chevrolet Pickup Hudsons Rod and Customs Shop Truck

by Kiril

Hudsons Rod and Customs is refreshing a 1957 Chevrolet pickup that already wears the shop’s own logo, a client’s truck serving double duty as a rolling advertisement. An LS swap is planned for reliability, while a temporary Cadillac-sourced leather interior holds things over until a fully custom cabin gets built. Watch to see what a custom shop chooses to change on its own showcase vehicle.

Red Dodge Challenger with aftermarket wheels parked outdoors.

Dodge Challenger 2016 Hellcat Burnout & 0-60 MPH & MPG Review

by Kiril

Dodge’s 2016 Challenger SRT Hellcat paired a 707-horsepower supercharged V8 with an 11.2-second quarter mile and a factory fuel economy rating nobody expected it to hold onto. This is the story of what that power actually cost owners day to day, from tire wear to insurance premiums, and why the Hellcat era changed how every manufacturer building a pony car thought about horsepower. Read on to see how the numbers held up once the burnout ended.

Classic purple muscle car parked at a car show.

Plymouth ‘Cuda 1971 440 Six Pack

by Kiril

A Plum Crazy 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda with a Shaker hood, billboard stripes, and three two-barrel carburetors feeding a 440 is about as loud as Mopar ever got. Plymouth quoted 385 horsepower, a figure even people close to the factory considered conservative. What is genuinely surprising is how few buyers ordered it that year: just 254 cars. Read on to find out what happened to make one of Plymouth’s best engines disappear almost overnight.

A classic red muscle car parked on a street.

Plymouth ‘Cuda 1971

by Kiril

This 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda carries the model’s only four-headlight styling and arrived in the final season Plymouth offered the 426 Hemi — a combination that made fewer than 120 Hemi ‘Cudas among the rarest muscle cars Plymouth ever built. Read on to find out what was happening in the market that made Plymouth’s most powerful car also its rarest.

Shiny blue classic muscle car parked outdoors with white racing stripes.

Chevrolet Chevelle 1970 – Hot SS Chevelle

by Kiril

For years General Motors capped how much engine its mid-size cars were allowed to carry, and that corporate rule quietly strangled the Chevelle’s potential. The cap disappeared for 1970, and Chevrolet moved immediately, jumping from a 396-badged big block straight to a genuine 454 with up to 450 horsepower. Read on to find out what changed inside GM to make that leap possible and why this single model year is still considered the high point of Chevelle performance.

Dodge Challenger 1970 V8 440

by Kiril

This 1970 Dodge Challenger wears Panther Pink, a genuine factory paint option that took real nerve to order on a muscle car. Underneath it sits a 440, and Dodge offered that engine two very different ways that year. One had a single four-barrel and 375 horsepower; the other stacked three two-barrels on the same block and turned it into something close to a factory drag car. Read on to find out which 440 was actually the one to have.

Classic red Pontiac Firebird parked on a driveway with greenery in the background.

Pontiac GTO 1969 400 Ram Air IV

by Kiril

Pontiac rated the 1969 GTO’s Ram Air IV at 370 horsepower, and almost nobody who worked on the engine believed that figure. Round-port heads, a long-duration camshaft, and an aluminum intake made it far closer to a factory race engine than a street option, and Pontiac reportedly lost money on every one it built. Read on to find out why a company would sell a car at a loss just to put a number on a spec sheet.

Red sports car performing a burnout on the street.

FIREBALL Camaro vs STREET OUTLAWS for $50,000

by Kiril

Ryan Martin’s Fireball Camaro, tuned to roughly 3,000 horsepower on its small turbos, lines up for a $50,000 no prep grudge match at the Armageddon event. The pass did not go the way the horsepower numbers suggested it should, and 1320video even had to correct an earlier version of the footage afterward. Watch to see how a half million dollar build stacked up against a reputation four seasons of Street Outlaws built.

Classic bronze Datsun 240Z parked on a driveway with greenery in the background.

Not Driving A Rare Car Shouldn’t Add To Its Value

by Kiril

A handful of original miles can be worth more than a six-figure restoration, collector cars with under 100 miles routinely fetch 88% above guide value. This piece digs into why untouched originality commands such a steep premium, and what really separates a genuine “survivor” from a car that just looks old.

Classic red muscle car with dual roof speakers.

How to Turbocharge Your Car

by Kiril

Turbocharging looks like a simple bolt-on upgrade until you actually try it, then the fuel system, the tuning, and sometimes the internals all show up on the to-do list too. Here’s what forced induction actually does to a naturally aspirated engine, and why one new part tends to drag a dozen others along with it.

Posts By: Kiril