’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...

’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 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN!

Posted on February 1, 2025 by MartynL

The new year ushered in bigger, more powerful engines, and a slicker, more sophisticated 1970 PONTIAC GTO – MUSCLECAR MAGIC FROM MOTOWN! 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 were reassigned to prepare for restrictive emissions and safety legislation. Ponycar sales had been p...

’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION

Posted on October 22, 2024October 22, 2024 by MartynL

An option turns a midsize Tempest into the ’64 PONTIAC GTO & THE SUPERCAR REVOLUTION, and a decade of GTO-badged high-performance Pontiacs. Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And, from coast to coast, enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac - not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth - essentially created the option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an ...

THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO.

Posted on November 5, 2023November 5, 2023 by MartynL

Hagerty’s Greg Ingold guides us through the second generation of the Supercar that started it all in THE GREAT ONE: 1968-1972 PONTIAC GTO. Pontiac called it “A Device For Shrinking Time & Distance.” Magazine editors called it a “Supercar”. And in 1964 enthusiasts flocked to Pontiac dealers from coast to coast to see the new GTO, an option that breathed life into a Tempest. Pontiac, not Ford, Chevy or Plymouth, essentially created an option that ignited the Supercar Revolution and an...

R-CODE 427 FORD 1963 ½-GALAXIE

Posted on June 13, 2023June 13, 2023 by MartynL

David LaChance blogs about the full-size R-CODE 427 FORD 1963 ½-GALAXIE that kicked off Dearborn’s 'Total Performance' program.Ford had a number of regional and national press and dealer introductions for its new fastback 427/425 Galaxie, including a very limited drive program for pre-production and Pilot models in January 1963 in Monte Carlo. That’s right, that Monte Carlo, tied into its participation in the 1963 Monte Carlo Rally. The Holman & Moody Falcons were there, and the editor of th...

’70 BUICK STAGE I GS-455 – FIRST ADULT SUPERCAR

Posted on April 28, 2023 by MartynL

Certainly not in keeping with Buick’s traditional image, the ’70 BUICK STAGE I GS-455 – FIRST ADULT SUPERCAR catapulted the Flint automaker into the heat of the battle for Supercar supremacy. The Skylark GS-455, in 360 horsepower Stage I trim, was the industry’s first “adult” Supercar. It was a powerful, high-quality, well-balanced midsize coupe (or convertible) with superb ride and handling qualities. Yet it was almost invisible compared with competitive offerings like the SS Chevelle,...

COPO CAMARO: HERITAGE & HORSEPOWER!

Posted on July 28, 2019 by MartynL

Before there was a COPO ZL1 Camaro and later an RPO ZL1 Corvette in 1969, Duntov’s aluminum Mark IV program had already generated engines for Can-Am racing. The third ZL1 Camaro built was yellow and ordered by Berger Chevrolet. COPO CAMARO: HERITAGE & HORSEPOWER! Although Duntov championed aluminum heads and lightweight engines for the Corvette, the first “production” use of the ZL1 was in the 1969 COPO (9560) Camaro, not the Corvette. Credit for the ZL1 Camaro goes to Vince Piggins, worki...

PONTIAC FLASHBACK: TEMPEST MONTE CARLO!

Posted on September 18, 2018 by MartynL

Built on a shortened ’62 Pontiac Tempest convertible, the Monte Carlo was a hit at auto shows and major road racing events. It shared the spotlight with GM design chief, William Mitchell’s Corvair Sebring Spyder show car. One thing was a given at GM in the 1960s: Chevy’s Corvette was a sacred cow and no other division could bring a two-seat sports car to market. The only way Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Cadillac could reveal branded two-seat, high-performance sporty vehicles was to have Mitche...

427 CAMARO: THE THOMAS /NICKEY AFFAIR!

Posted on July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 by MartynL

Within months after Chevrolet’s September 1966 introduction of its all-new ’67 Camaro, Nickey and Nickey/Thomas SS427 Camaros were on the road. Bill Thomas Race Cars, Anaheim, CA built 427 Camaros for California customers, while Nickey Chevrolet, Chicago, IL covered the rest of the country. Built on a Bolero Red SS350 donor, I drove Bill Thomas’ first SS427 Camaro around Orange County in early 1967. It retained its original 350 emblems and 1966 Illinois dealer tags. My reason for visiting Bi...