The second-generation Dodge Charger, especially 1968 and 1969, emphasis on 1969. I've owned a '69 since 1994, though it only has a 318, and a tired one at that (it made it from central Maine to Hudson, New Hampshire and back on the interstate a couple weeks ago with zero problems though). I have a low-mileage 360 LA that I plan to put in it.
The engine doesn't matter all that much to me, as long as it runs good. If I were rich and building one exactly how I wanted it I'd have an aluminum-block 426 Hemi or a 360 LA bored and stroked to e.g., 426 cid (either one would be significantly lighter than a factory cast-iron big block, which helps with handling), but I'd be more excited about having a manual transmission (one of those wicked expensive and usually out-of-stock 5-speed conversions of an original A-833 4-speed especially) than a massively powerful engine. Upgrading the suspension for better handling would be more interesting to me than the engine too, as would making modifications to make the chassis more rigid (such as beefy, fully-welded-in subframe connectors and/or a roll cage).
"My pick? Fugidaboutit: the 427 Cobra:"
That's not a muscle car, it's a sports car. It's also not even an American car, except for, e.g., the Ford engine. Some of them were produced in the US but it's fundamentally an AC Cars model, which is a British car company.
A muscle car is an intermediate size car (which inherently means that it not only has a back seat, but one that can accommodate typical adults), 2-door (usually a hardtop, but there were some 2-door post cars that qualify), with a big block V8 engine.
Muscle cars are big cars because what was considered "intermediate" size during the muscle car era (mid
'60s to early '70s) was as big as what was considered "full size" starting in the late '70s. For example, a Chrysler B-body (e.g., Dodge Charger, Plymouth Road Runner, etc.) is almost exactly the same size as a Ford Crown Victoria, which was marketed as a full size car.
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nyctc7 (43720)
a year ago
I think that's right...and my De Tomaso Pantera doesn't really count as a muscle car, either, for the reasons you state.
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MaximRecoil (4647)
a year ago
Yeah, the Pantera is a sports car, a mid-engine one no less. It has a great body style (the Italians were on fire with sports car body styles in the '60s and '70s), especially the early ones before they put the big fender flares and other body effects on it (same reason I like the looks of the early Lamborghini Countach better than the typical 1980s ones).
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