History | Muscle Car Fan

Classic blue Shelby Cobra sports car in a garage setting.

Meet the world’s scariest car

CNN doesn’t usually cover classic cars, but this 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake earned a rare mainstream feature built around its extreme rarity and a documented, unusual ownership history. Built in famously small numbers by Carroll Shelby’s shop, the Super Snake pushed the already fearsome 427 Cobra platform to its absolute limit with almost no concession to comfort. One commenter’s father sold Cobras from a 1960s Ford dealership and had stories to match. Watch to see why this one earned its nickname honestly.

Classic 1967 Pontiac 241 Convertible in royal blue with white top.

1967 Pontiac 2+2 Convertible in Tyrol Blue with 428 Engine Start

by Wes

At the 25th Annual Indian Uprising, an all-Pontiac-only show in St. Charles, Illinois, owner Richard Larabee’s Tyrol Blue 1967 Catalina 2+2 stood out enough to take home an award. Lou Costabile records the factory 428 cold-starting on camera, while the comments fill with viewers recalling their own history with the model going back to 1967 showroom brochures. Watch to hear the big block come alive and see why this specific combination of options makes the car so desirable.

Two classic muscle cars race down a drag strip at night.

Challenger SRT8 vs 340 Six Pack Challenger T/A – Old vs New – 1/4 Mile – Road Test TV

by Wes

A factory 6.1 liter Challenger SRT8 ran six quarter-mile passes against a numbers-matching 1970 Challenger T/A powered by its original 340 Six Pack engine, then the drivers swapped cars for the final two runs. One viewer said the old T/A ran a 12-second pass despite missing a gear, while another swore they’d never seen the modern SRT8 run that slow. A commenter who owns both cars revealed his girlfriend was driving the new Challenger in her first-ever stick shift track session. So which car actually won?

Two classic muscle cars racing side by side on a drag strip.

1970 Chevelle SS396 vs Henry J “Green M&M” – 1/4 mile Nostalgic Drag Race – Road Test TV

by Wes

A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 running a factory Turbo Hydramatic 400 automatic squares off against a modified 1951 Henry J nicknamed the Green M&M in this quarter mile nostalgia drag race. Kaiser-Frazer built the Henry J as a stripped-down economy car decades before drag racers discovered its featherweight unibody made it a natural straight-line weapon. Viewers praised the channel’s consistent camera work and asked for more up-close burnout footage. Does decades of muscle car engineering really beat a proper weight-to-power ratio down the strip?

Burnt-out vintage car wreck in a forest clearing.

Camaro Graveyard Rip 1967-1969

by Wes

A salvage yard in Vancouver, Washington holds rows of first-generation 1967-1969 Camaros, stacked and slowly being parted out rather than restored. Some commenters call it Camaro heaven; others insist it’s the opposite. Between debates over the best of the three body styles and stories of cars sold too cheap decades ago, this yard says a lot about what gets saved in the classic car world, and what doesn’t. Watch to see what’s actually still sitting there.

A shiny red 1968 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible in an indoor showroom.

1967 Chevrolet Impala SS Convertible in Red Paint & 427 Engine Sound

by Wes

Owner Craig Golz brought his red 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible, complete with a 427 big block and a white top, to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals in Rosemont, Illinois. Lou Costabile lets the engine do most of the talking, and viewers respond with their own memories of owning full-size Impalas decades ago. It’s proof that a full-size convertible can hold its own at a show packed with Corvettes. Watch to hear the 427 come to life on camera.

A classic 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 HEMI in black.

Breakdown/History: 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 HEMI

by Wes

This triple black 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T carries the paperwork of Mr. Norm’s Grand-Spaulding Dodge, the Chicago dealership famous for building factory Hemi muscle cars regular buyers could special-order off the showroom floor. Under the hood sits a 425-horsepower 426 Hemi, built in the final model year before compression ratios and horsepower ratings changed for good. Mopar fans in the comments call it a dream car outright. Watch to see why documentation matters as much as horsepower on a car like this.

A 1969 Camaro and a modern car racing at Michigan International Speedway.

Hemmings 1969 Camaro ZL1 vs 1968 Firebird Ram Air II

by Wes

First published in Hemmings Muscle Machines back in December 2011, this quarter-mile pass pits one of the roughly seventy all-aluminum ZL1 Camaros Chevrolet ever built against a Pontiac Firebird running the airflow-focused Ram Air II. Commenters dig into cam specs, gearing, and a surprising trap speed result that still sparks debate. Watch to see which factory rarity actually crosses the stripe first.

Chevrolet Small-blocks Number 5

by Ross Mills

Chevrolet’s small-block V8 family produced far more than showroom horsepower numbers. One race-built variant powered Trans-Am championships and outran a factory V8 on the other side of the world, while a separate production variant quietly set a naturally aspirated output record that stood for nearly forty years. From mechanical fuel injection to Checker Motors options, the small-block’s reach went places most engine families never get close to. Here’s how two very different small-block Chevrolets earned their reputations.

Rusty vintage Studebaker cars stored indoors in North Carolina.

The Hoard of Rusting Muscle Cars in North Carolina

by Wes

On the back roads of North Carolina, a small fleet of genuinely significant muscle cars, a red Plymouth Cuda, a first-generation Mach 1 Mustang, and an early-70s Road Runner among them, sits quietly dissolving into the landscape, watched over by their owner and his dogs while he works toward saving them one day at a time. The Auto Archaeologist tracked down this particular hoard, and it was significant enough to earn its own writeup in Hot Rod Magazine. Watch to see exactly what’s sitting in that grass.

1972 Mercury Cougar Eliminator CJ 428 in vibrant orange at a car show.

1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator CJ 428 in Competition Orange

by Wes

Gord Nelson had a Cougar Eliminator on his bucket list for years before his wife Kelly spotted the right ad and told him to go get it. The car that resulted is a 1970 Cougar Eliminator CJ 428 in Competition Orange — one of Mercury’s rarest pony car packages, shown at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. Watch to see what made the Nelsons’ hunt worth it.

Ford Fairlane Ranchero from 1970 to 1979½—on the Torino, Thunderbird, LTD platform

by Ross Mills

This 1979 Ford Ranchero GT was the final Ranchero Ford ever built, closing out a twenty-year run competing head-to-head with Chevrolet’s El Camino. Gateway Classic Cars brought this GT-trim example into its Tampa showroom, built on the Fairlane-derived platform Ford chose specifically to match the El Camino’s V8 displacement options. One viewer even laid out the platform history in detail in the comments. Watch to see how the American car-truck idea went out — and why some buyers still think it went too soon.

Three people enjoying a sunny day at an outdoor event with a humorous sign.

Chevy LS Engine Debate: Which Reigns Supreme?

by Jack Harmon

A short clip arguing for one LS engine over the rest reopened a debate that car builders have been having for two decades, and the replies did most of the actual work — dyno tuners, swap veterans, and at least one owner running 400 horsepower off a five-thousand-dollar budget all weighed in. The disagreement gets specific fast, down to head combinations and secondary-market pricing strategy. Watch to see which engine started the argument in the first place.

Classic 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 in black and red with stylish wheels.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro Test Drive Classic Muscle Car for Sale in MI Vanguard Motor Sales

by Wes

A restored 1968 Chevrolet Camaro sitting on a Michigan dealer’s lot shows just 500 miles since a full 2007-2008 restoration – and one of the comments comes from a man who actually drove it across the country on the Hot Rod Power Tour. Between the documented VIN, a folder of receipts, and a real road test from an owner who bought it, this listing addresses nearly every risk buyers usually worry about. Watch to see what made him say yes.

Carroll Shelby: Father of the Shelby Muscle Cars

by Ross Mills

Carroll Shelby, the mastermind behind the iconic Shelby muscle cars, transformed the automotive world with his genius. From the sleek AC Cobra to the roaring Shelby Mustangs, he left tire tracks that are still followed today. Despite health challenges, Shelby’s passion never idled. His creations with Ford and Dodge, like the Viper and GT500, proved that horsepower and humor go hand in hand. Shelby’s legacy lives on, revving engines and hearts alike.

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