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Somewhere between a stock 440 Six Pack and a full 426 Hemi sits the sweet spot that pushes a Plymouth ‘Cuda well past 550 horsepower without turning it into a garage queen. Builders get there with aluminum heads, a reworked intake, and long-tube headers that finally let the 440 breathe, backed by a driveline that can survive the result. Read on to find out which factory pieces to keep, which to throw out, and how to make that much power live on the street.
Chevrolet actually builds two distinct 1LE track packages on the Camaro, a 335-horsepower V6 version and a 455-horsepower SS version, sharing the same Magnetic Ride Control suspension and Brembo brakes but differing underneath in ways most buyers never notice. Read on to find out how the V6 1LE holds its own against far pricier machinery on a demanding circuit like Willow Springs.
Long before Chevy’s small-block V8 became muscle car royalty, the 1953 Bel Air proved a straight-six could still be something special. Under the hood sits the Blue Flame 235, a cast-iron inline six that actually gained horsepower when paired with the new Powerglide automatic. The same year gave Chevrolet its first one-piece curved windshield and turned Bel Air into its own standalone line above the 150 and 210. Here’s why this understated straight-six workhorse still deserves real respect from collectors.
A countdown of “8 of Chevrolet’s Greatest Engines” left off the small-block 350 entirely, and muscle car fans in the comments are not having it. From the 1955 original 265 that started the whole small-block family, to the 409, the high-output 327, the 450-horsepower LS6 454, and a stock numbers-matching 427 nearly lost to a Jeep swap for under , the real list of Chevy greats might look nothing like the video’s. Which engines actually deserve the crown?
A pair of veteran car show judges pulled back the curtain on what actually earns points on the show field – and it’s rarely the stuff that catches a casual walker-by’s eye. From factory-correct parts and materials to inspections of the engine bay, trunk, and undercarriage, judging a classic car is a far more forensic process than most owners realize. Here’s their advice on where to actually focus your restoration.
This 1966 Ford Fairlane 500XL wears a 428 Cobra Jet under the hood — an engine Ford hadn’t even started developing when the car rolled off the assembly line. The genuine article, a factory 427 R-code Fairlane, was limited to just 57 cars and remains one of the rarest muscle cars most enthusiasts have never heard of. Between a Holley 650 double pumper, a Posi-equipped 9-inch rear, and a full street/strip upgrade list, this tribute earns its keep even without matching numbers. Read on to find out what separates the real R-code story from this build.
Long before muscle cars ruled the streets, an electric car with no engine roar at all set the record for fastest vehicle on earth. Camille Jenatzy’s La Jamais Contente broke 100 km/h in 1899 using nothing but two electric motors and a featherweight aluminum shell. This trivia roundup also covers the Chevy Vega’s ill-fated Car of the Year win and the shifting balance of global car manufacturing power.
Dodge’s Viper RT/10 wasn’t trying to be comfortable in 1993 — it barely had doors, and the V10 under its hood came with zero electronic safety nets. Only about a thousand were built that model year, making it one of the rarest early snakes Dodge ever sold. Here’s a look at what made the second-year Viper such an uncompromising machine, and why clean survivors are becoming harder to find every year.
Murder Nova is one of no-prep racing’s most recognizable names, and Shawn’s newest version swaps in a smaller 482ci Proline small-block that revs to a claimed 9,500 rpm while keeping the old car’s 88mm turbos. The debut pass split the comment section between chassis critiques and loyal fans rooting for the car to find its footing. Watch to see how the new combination performed — and why viewers immediately started calling it “2.0.”
Spotted in the pits at Lights Out 8 in Georgia, this Ford-powered Mercury Comet wears a rear wing cut straight from an old barn’s tin roof, riding on a full tube chassis instead of anything resembling a stock Comet unibody. The 1320video crew got the story straight from the build itself — rat rod looks, real function underneath. See why a car built from scrap outshines rides costing ten times as much.
Oldsmobile’s second-generation Cutlass abandoned its underperforming compact roots for an intermediate-size platform, and by April 1964 it had spawned the 4-4-2, an option package built on the bones of a police pursuit special. From a strong first sales year to a rare 1967 Turnpike model, the G2 Cutlass quietly built the foundation for one of Oldsmobile’s most respected performance names. Read on to find out how it evolved year to year.
For years, Street Outlaws’ The Reaper raced anonymously behind a nickname alone. At the PRI trade show, he pulled the cover off a new Procharged Camaro, trading his prior combination for a centrifugal-blower setup that no-prep racers often favor for its more manageable power curve. Fans in the comments, who know him by his real name, James Goad, flooded in with support for the new build’s debut on Oklahoma City’s notorious 405 list. Watch the reveal that has longtime fans debating what it means for his next run.
At the 2017 Wide Open Spring National in Rivanazzano Terme, Italy, a grid of American muscle — Plymouth ‘Cudas, Chevy Novas, Pontiac Firebirds, and more — ran quarter-mile times as quick as nine seconds flat in front of a crowd of Italian fans. Comments poured in from viewers across Europe praising the rare sight of so many Mopars racing together, and at least one fan asked for a future USA-versus-Europe showdown. Watch to see American iron holding court a world away from Detroit.
Overhaulin’ built its entire premise on secrecy, owners were lured away from their cars under false pretenses while Chip Foose’s crew tore the vehicle down to bare metal and rebuilt it as something unrecognizable. This 1970 Fastback came back wearing a 625-horsepower stroker big-block and a Vegas casino-themed name earned at the 2004 SEMA show. Read on to find out what it actually took to turn a stock Fastback into a high-roller’s garage centerpiece.
This “1965” Shelby AC Cobra carries a genuine CSX chassis number, a 550-horsepower 427 side-oiler, and just 6.1 miles on the odometer — numbers that don’t add up until you understand the continuation series Carroll Shelby’s own company built to keep his legend alive. Read on to find out what actually separates a car like this from the thousands of Cobra replicas on the road today.