’70 DODGE CHALLENGER T/A – SIX-PACK TO GO!

Posted on May 2, 2025 by MartynL

Created to battle Z/28 Camaros and Boss 302 Mustangs on the road and track, the 340-inch ’70 DODGE CHALLENGER T/A - SIX-PACK TO GO! proved that less could be more. Both Dodge and Plymouth had been involved in SCCA competitive events since the early to mid-1960s, before the Ponycar explosion and factory participation in Trans-Am racing. SCCA’s 1970 Trans-Am rules allowed carmakers to destroke production engines to meet the series’ 305-cube limit. Chrysler responded with the Challenger T/...

’72 OLDS W30 4-4-2 & W-45 HURST/OLDS

Posted on April 29, 2025April 29, 2025 by MartynL

The ’72 OLDS W30 4-4-2 & W-45 HURST/OLDS were the last of the great ones from Lansing! Like the GTO and LeMans, Oldsmobile’s venerable 4-4-2 was reduced to an option available on various Cutlass models. To get maximum 4-4-2 power and image, you had to opt for the W29 Sport/Handling 4-4-2 and the W30 Performance Packages. When you selected the W30, it included the L77 Force-Air 455 rated at 300 horsepower at 4,700 rpm and 410 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. The best part of the W2...

’65 DODGE CORONET DELIVERED MID-SIZE & MAX-PERF!

Posted on April 17, 2025April 17, 2025 by MartynL

Dodge’s entry in the Musclecar marketplace may have been short on sex appeal, but the ’65 DODGE CORONET DELIVERED MID-SIZE & MAX-PERF! Dodge covered all bases, catering to performance enthusiasts in 1965. New Dodge Coronets could be ordered with 365-horsepower 426 Street Wedge engines with four-speed or TorqueFlite. Unlike the GTO and 4-4-2, Mopar middleweights were void of eye-catching decor. But they were strong enough to get the job done. A total of 2,100 Coronets with 426 Street...

’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR

Posted on April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 by MartynL

Not to be outdone by Dodge, the ’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR continued Mopar’s assault on the Musclecar marketplace and NASCAR’s Super Speedways! Plymouth’s ’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: WINGED WARRIOR was basically a midsize Road Runner with a wing and a nose job. Also produced by Creative Industries, the Charger-Daytona-influenced Superbird proved to be a more complex build than the Charger Daytona. It required Dodge Coronet front fenders and a hood to work with the steel “nose cone”. The...

’68 BIG-BLOCK, LOW-BUCK CHEVROLET

Posted on April 5, 2025April 5, 2025 by MartynL

For less than $3,000, you could buy a Baldwin-Motion ’68 BIG-BLOCK, LOW-BUCK CHEVROLET with dyno-tuned 427/425 power, four-speed, and F41 suspension! Overshadowed by the SS-427 Impala in the late-1960s, few enthusiasts were aware that Chevrolet was building a low-end, two-door “post” Biscayne that could be optioned with a 425 horsepower 427 big-block and four-on-the-floor. In 1968, Baldwin-Motion’s entry-level SS-427 Biscayne Street Racer’s Special, with a dyno-tuned 427/425 big-block,...

’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR

Posted on March 20, 2025 by MartynL

One of the finalists for CARS Magazine’s 1966 Top Performance Car honors was the ’66 OLDS TRI-POWER 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR! In 1966, Olds Engineers in Lansing finally developed a big-engined midsize car to compete seriously with Pontiac’s GTO. After revealing the latest 4-4-2 with a four-barrel 400/350, they upped the ante with a late-arriving Tri-Carb version conservatively rated at 360 horsepower. It was Oldsmobile’s first use of three-two-barrel induction since the legendary 1957-19...

1970 CHALLENGER: MAGNUM FORCE FROM MOPAR

Posted on March 16, 2025March 16, 2025 by MartynL

Dodge’s all-new answer to Ford, Mercury, Chevy and Pontiac Ponycars was the 1970 CHALLENGER: MAGNUM FORCE FROM MOPAR. In many ways, 1970 was the storm before the calm. The war in Southeast Asia continued casting a pall over a much-divided country and thinning the ranks of young enthusiasts. Carmakers’ racing budgets were being drastically cut and engineering resources reassigned to prepare for restrictive emissions and safety legislation. And, Ponycar sales had been plummeting and would...

’67 FORD GALAXIE: 427-CUBE HEAVYWEIGHT

Posted on March 4, 2025March 4, 2025 by MartynL

In 1967, Ford ‘called out’ the GTO with its hot 390 and 427 Fairlanes, put a big-block in its Mustang, and won the Daytona 500, Indy 500, Trans-Am Championship, and Le Mans. And, the ’67 FORD GALAXIE: 427-CUBE HEAVYWEIGHT took no prisoners! Even though all factory drag and NASCAR racing programs were centered around the new 427 Fairlane, Ford still offered customers a choice of W-Code or R-Code 427 side-oiler engines with four-speed transmissions in the full-size Galaxie. Collector Charlie Lill...

DODGE & PLYMOUTH: UNSUNG MUSCLECAR HEROES

Posted on February 28, 2025 by MartynL

While Pontiac unquestionably first exploited the youth market with a targeted high-performance car—the GTO—starting in 1964, credit must also be given to DODGE & PLYMOUTH: UNSUNG MUSCLECAR HEROES for its efforts starting in 1957! Not long after Ford pulled out of the 1957 AMA “agreement”, Chrysler followed suit. But Chrysler did not have Chevrolet and Ford’s racing heritage, nor their budgets and “supported” brand-name racers. They also didn’t have the right image cars to compete wi...

1969 MERCURY CYCLONE & SPOILER

Posted on February 13, 2025February 13, 2025 by MartynL

Packed with 428 CJ power, the 1969 MERCURY CYCLONE & SPOILER delivered maximum performance and head-turning styling. It was a banner year for Ford Bosses: Boss 302, Boss 429, and Bunkie Knudsen, the new boss of bosses. His passion for racing—and racing what dealers could sell—supported the Boss 429 program, which helped impact Mustang sales. More importantly, it helped move mainstream Mercury Montego/Cyclone/Spoiler and Ford Fairlane/Torino models like those that dominated NASCAR, U...