 |
This heavily customized 1970 Nova trades its factory drivetrain for a modern LS engine, carbon fiber accents, and molded bodywork throughout. The stock Nova SS it started life as could already be ordered with a 396-badged big block making up to 375 horsepower for just 475 dollars over list price. Only about 19,000 of the 274,344 Novas built in 1970 left the factory with that SS package, making 1970 the last year a Nova buyer could check the big-block box.
Not every 454-cubic-inch Chevelle in 1970 was created equal, the LS6 option was a different animal entirely, built with solid lifters, forged internals, and just 4,475 units produced for the whole model year. Some went into coupes, a handful into convertibles, and a rare few even ended up under the hood of an El Camino. Here is what made this engine code the one collectors chase hardest today.
One is a glass-roofed American wagon with a 455-cubic-inch big-block under the hood, the other is a V12 shooting-brake from Ferrari that sends 651 horsepower to all four wheels. Decades and continents apart, both cars solved the same problem, serious performance in a body built to carry more than just a driver. Which one would you actually park in your garage?
A yellow, small-block Mustang with a massive turbo squares off against a near-identical build nicknamed Black Jesus on the streets of Houston. Both cars are known quantities in the street racing world, and both drivers came to prove a point. The result was closer than almost anyone expected, and it did not take long for talk of a rematch to start.
In a hobby obsessed with big-block Chevys and Hemi Mopars, a 1964 Rambler American 440 convertible is the ultimate underdog — a compact from scrappy American Motors, the independent that spent its life fighting the Big Three. samspace81 gives it a proper road test and walking tour, top down and up for sale. Don’t let the “440” badge fool you about what’s under the hood. Watch to meet an overlooked survivor.
This 1960 Buick LeSabre convertible carries a nameplate borrowed from a GM Motorama show car so popular the company kept displaying it years after its debut. Under the hood sits Buick’s 364-cubic-inch V8, offered in 250- and 300-horsepower forms, plus a new regular-gas-friendly 235-horsepower option for budget-minded buyers. Inside, a tilting Mirromatic speedometer and a new two-spoke steering wheel updated the cabin, while chrome VentiPort portholes kept the styling signature front and center.
This Grabber Lime 1971 Mustang carries the 351 Cleveland engine Ford built for a Trans-Am racing program that ended before the car ever reached a track. With four-bolt mains, forged pistons, and a mandatory 4-speed backed by 3.91 gears, it was engineered to match Chevrolet’s own hot-rod small block horsepower for horsepower. Only 1,806 were built before Ford retired the entire Boss lineup for good. It remains one of the most complete, best-handling Mustangs the factory ever sent out the door.
Burnouts might look like pure chaos, but the maneuver started as a practical fix for a real drag racing problem: getting slick tires hot enough to grip at launch. The technique traces back to a Georgia drag strip in the mid-1960s and was later popularized by legends like Big Daddy Don Garlits. Decades later, it has evolved from a functional pre-race ritual into a judged spectacle of its own.
Only 71 Dodge Challengers left the factory with the fearsome 426 Hemi in 1971, the engine’s final year of production. Rated at 425 horsepower, the 7.0-liter V8 turned an already muscular coupe into one of the rarest performance cars Detroit ever built. Seeing one still doing burnouts and donuts instead of sitting in a climate-controlled garage is a genuine treat for muscle car fans.
This 1967 Camaro wears the RS and SS badges Chevrolet offered from day one, but under the hood sits a 502-cubic-inch big block the factory never built for it. The original RS/SS combination was already rare, with big-block convertibles making up a tiny fraction of the roughly 20,000 Camaro convertibles sold that year. Swapping in a modern 502 pushes the numbers well past what Chevrolet ever offered from the factory.
The Dodge Challenger R/T, Ford Mustang GT, and Chevrolet Camaro SS have been cross-shopped against each other for years, and the 0-60 numbers vary widely depending on the test. Most comparisons give the Camaro SS a straight-line advantage thanks to its 455-horsepower LT1 V8, while the Challenger and Mustang trade places depending on trim and testing conditions. Real-world results still come down to tires, technique, and a bit of luck.
At the Klairmont Kollections museum, Lou Costabile examines a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible — the car many enthusiasts crown as wearing the greatest tail fins ever put on a production automobile. It is peak jet-age excess in chrome and steel, and the video even captures its engine note. Is this the most photographed rear end in automotive history? Watch and decide for yourself.