History | Muscle Car Fan

A blue 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda AAR with distinctive stripes.

Breakdown/ History: 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda AAR in EB5 Blue

This 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda AAR in EB5 Blue wears the signature strobe stripe and free-breathing 340 Six Pack that Plymouth built specifically to homologate the car for SCCA Trans-Am racing. Genuine AAR ‘Cudas carry a distinct VIN sequence that separates them from tribute cars wearing the same graphics, and this one checks out. Restored and offered through V8 Speed & Resto Shop, it’s a reminder that some of the era’s best-looking muscle cars started life as racing paperwork. Watch to see what a homologation special looks like done right.

Classic black muscle car with racing stripes parked outdoors.

1970 Pontiac GTO $33,900.00

by Wes

This 1970 Pontiac GTO isn’t a real Judge, and the Texas dealership selling it isn’t trying to say otherwise — it’s a genuine 242-code GTO wearing a body-up restoration and Judge-tribute styling, priced at $33,900. Under the hood is a correctly dressed 400 with HO heads, backed by Baer disc brakes and Hotchkis suspension for a car that can actually stop and turn. At 57,000 original miles, it’s asking buyers to decide what authenticity is really worth.

1973 Buick Century GS Sport Coupe in gold with 455 engine.

1973 Buick Century Gran Sport GS Stage 1 in Gold & 455 Engine Sound

by Wes

Phil Roitman’s 1973 Buick Century Gran Sport Stage 1 just earned a perfect 1,000-out-of-1,000 score at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, and commenters say its 455-cubic-inch idle might be the best-sounding exhaust note from any 1973 car, period. Roitman has owned the Harvest Gold Gran Sport since 2005 — and he holds another distinction too, having been the very first guest ever filmed for this YouTube series four years before this appearance. Watch to hear the engine note that has viewers arguing Buick built the real sleeper of 1973.

A red 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS convertible with white interior.

History/Breakdown: 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS 396 Z16

by Wes

Chevrolet built only 201 examples of the 1965 Chevelle Malibu SS Z16, and this Rally Red survivor may be one of an estimated 65 still around today. Under the hood sits the 375-horsepower L37 396, a detuned cousin of the Corvette’s L78, backed by a Muncie four-speed and an options list — tilt wheel, four-speaker stereo, 160-mph speedometer — that reads more like a luxury package than a muscle car spec sheet. One commenter even claims to own car number 40 of the original 201. Watch to see what made the Z16 Chevrolet’s quiet halo car.

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by Jack Harmon

A 1969 Camaro parked in rural Indiana since the 1970s turns out to be one of only 201 genuine Super Yenko conversions, and one of an even smaller handful built with an automatic transmission. See what made Don Yenko’s COPO loophole so effective, and why this Fathom Green survivor might be one of the rarest SYC Camaros left.

Original 1971 AMC Gremlin at a car event.

Only 674 original miles !! Superbird !!! Original Paint / Unrestored – Road Test TV

by Wes

A 1970 Plymouth Superbird spent nineteen years sitting before anyone put real miles on it, and it still shows just 674 on the odometer today. The factory B5 blue paint has never been touched by a repaint gun, and the numbers-matching 440 Super Commando under the hood still traces back to the original build sheet. Only 1,920 Superbirds were built for NASCAR homologation, and this one may be among the best-preserved survivors left. Is a car this original meant to be driven, or protected?

Classic 1955 Plymouth car in vibrant red on display with informational placards.

1965 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S Unrestored with 5804

by Wes

This 1965 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S has just 5,804 original miles — and after two careful owners spanning nearly six decades, this was its first car show ever. Owner Ron George’s dad got him and his brother into Mopars as kids, and this unrestored survivor even has commenters debating a muffler note that later model years reportedly lost. Watch to see what nearly six decades of restraint actually looks like.

Classic red convertible car parked near a wooded area on a sunny day.

Buick Skylark 1970 GSX tribute car-MCF George has bragging rights!

by Ross Mills

George was not hunting for a classic when he spotted a Buick Skylark with a for-sale sign in Lisbon, Ohio, in the summer of 2014; he just stopped for a closer look. What he found was a GS455-powered GSX tribute car with its original numbers-matching 350 engine stored safely away, parked in a garage alongside a small private muscle car collection. Read on to find out about the one-of-a-kind GM production mistake that makes a factory GS455 Stage I Skylark one of the rarest muscle cars of 1970.

1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback in green with black stripes.

1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback in Lime Gold Green & Engine Sound

by Wes

Cliff Batson calls himself a Chevy guy — but he’s owned this 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback in an unusual shade of Lime Gold since 1990, and it’s never left his garage. Under the hood is a drivetrain combo collectors still chase decades later, and the body shares its shape with the most famous car chase in movie history. Watch to find out why a self-described Chevy guy never let this Ford go.

Oldsmobile 88 1954 to 1958

by Ross Mills

The Oldsmobile 88’s “Rocket” reputation did not happen by accident. Oldsmobile kept adding real horsepower behind it every model year from 1954 through 1958, from a new Hydra-Matic transmission to the triple-carburetor J2 option that pushed the Golden Rocket 88 to 310 hp. Each year brought a new nickname, a new grille, and a genuinely faster car underneath. Read on to find out how a mid-priced Oldsmobile ended up as one of the defining names of the horsepower race.

A vintage Mustang speeding on a dusty road, capturing classic muscle car power.

’71 Mustang in Gone in 60 Seconds

by Wes

This 1971 Ford Mustang Sportsroof became Eleanor, the only car in movie history to receive on-screen star billing, thanks to director H.B. Halicki’s dangerously ambitious 1974 chase picture Gone in 60 Seconds. Dozens of cars were destroyed, Halicki broke his own back finishing the shoot, and the result is still studied by stunt coordinators fifty years later. See why this scrappy, low-budget original still outshines its famous modern remake.

Chevrolet Chevelle Second Generation part one 1968-1970

by Ross Mills

This 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS packs the era’s biggest factory option, a 454 cubic-inch big block, from the single year Chevrolet finally lifted its self-imposed size cap on mid-size muscle. samspace81 captures it cold-starting and running the way an owner would show it off, not the way a dealership would sell it. Viewers in the comments are still trading childhood memories of riding in one decades later. Watch to hear what 450 horsepower sounded like before emissions rules changed everything.

A classic blue and yellow Mopar car with text asking which Mopar is best.

Which Mopar is Best Mopar?

by Wes

Regular Car Reviews heads to Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle Events looking for the single best Mopar on the show field — and finds it in the last place anyone would expect. Watch the host talk himself into (and nearly through) buying a car most Mopar fans wouldn’t look at twice.

Bugatti Veyron

by Ross Mills

The Bugatti Veyron spent years chasing a very specific title: fastest street-legal car in the world, a claim it fought to defend against a determined rival in 2013. Getting there took Volkswagen more than a decade of failed prototypes, three false starts on engine layout, and a production process so complex that customers waited years between the car’s unveiling and its actual delivery. Read on to find out what it actually costs to keep a W16 hypercar running once you’ve bought one.

Ford Ranchero 1968 to 1969

by Ross Mills

Part pickup truck, part passenger car, the 1968-1969 Ford Ranchero offered genuine hauling utility without sacrificing Torino-level comfort and trim. A redesigned grille, plush upholstery options, and three distinct trim levels gave Ford a single body style that could compete against both work trucks and upscale personal cars. Read on for the details behind this early car-truck hybrid.

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