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Posts Tagged: Hardtop

Chevrolet Chevy II Origins to 1965 – the First Generation

by Ross Mills

This 1965 Chevy Nova SS wears a body Chevrolet never paired with a 406 cubic-inch V8, a Ford 9-inch rear end, or rack-and-pinion steering — all changes bolted on by a builder chasing quarter-mile performance over factory correctness. Sub-frame connectors, a trunk-mounted battery, and Mickey Thompson drag radials all point toward a car built to launch hard, not just look sharp at a cruise-in. RamblinAround walked through the full build with photos and receipts in hand at Fast Lane Classic Cars. Watch to see how far off the factory blueprint a serious Nova build can go.

Classic white and maroon vintage car showcased indoors.

Buick Super Riviera 1957 Hardtop

by Kiril

Long before the Riviera became Buick’s swoopy personal coupe, the name graced this formal, chrome-heavy four-door hardtop. This well-preserved 1957 Super Riviera still runs its original 364 cubic-inch Nailhead V8 and wears the trim details, four VentiPorts, a trio of chevrons, that once separated a Super from a base Special. It is a rare, honest survivor from Buick’s pre-muscle-car glory days.

Classic turquoise Ford Mustang convertible parked with a reflection on shiny surface.

Ford Mustang 1966 Hardtop in Tahoe Turquoise

by Kiril

Mike O’Toole nearly sent this Tahoe Turquoise 1966 Mustang hardtop to the junkyard before deciding to restore it instead. It’s a survivor from a model year when Ford built over 607,000 Mustangs and hardtops made up more than 80 percent of them – a production pace that helped the Mustang claim over 7 percent of the entire U.S. car market. Here’s what made 1966 such a pivotal year for Ford’s pony car.

Two classic Pontiac GTOs: a convertible and a hardtop, displayed side by side.

Pontiac GTO Convertible vs. Hardtop

by Kiril

In the GTO’s best sales year, Pontiac built roughly six hardtop coupes for every convertible that rolled off the line — a gap that explains why drop-top GTOs command such a premium today. One body style was built for Saturday night drag strips, the other for Sunday cruising with the top down. Both are wearing the same legendary V8, just wrapped in very different intentions.

Classic blue 1960s muscle car on display indoors.

Pontiac GTO 1966 Hardtop

by Kiril

1966 was the year Pontiac stopped treating the GTO as an option package and started selling it as its own model, and buyers responded by making it the best-selling muscle car in America that year. This hardtop coupe represents the most popular body style of that record-breaking run. Here’s what made the ’66 GTO such a turning point.

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