OK - in my immediate neighborbood (maybe 20 blocks or so) were the following musclecars that I rode in or drove when they were new or slightly used :
64 GTO, 65 GTO covert tri-power, 68 Olds 442, 69 Coronet R/T , 70 Superbee, 69 Roadrunner, 70 Chevelle SS 454, '69 Camaro Z-28, 70 AAR Cuda, 72 Demon GSS (Mr Norm's), Firebird 400 (2), '64 Dodge 440 (383/4spd/3.91 SG - MINE) There was also a 66 or 67 Ford 500 with 7? litre badge that I never rode in.Also, a guy in a black Hemi Coronet visited his relatives in the neighborhood quite often , but was a "family man" and drove very conservatively.
Both GTOs were POSes ! I remember the shifter on the '64 detaching while the kid drove it ! The Tri-power was an absolute dog (another 4 speed).I had the misfortune of driving it home for my buddy who couldn't drive stick at the time. Are you reading this, Bear ?
The Firebirds were very quick and hairy rides (both 4-speeds), and the quality was so-so
The Olds 442 was quick and beautiful , but was a convertible, so automatically qualified the guy who drove it as a "poser". The verts were heavier and more expensive, of course. A very expensive musclecar for the day. More of a show piece in the day.
That 442 guy "babied" his ride , as did the Chevelle (454) owner. I was in the car the first day he got it, and I was dazzled by the interior and quiet. I guess I was surprised by how un-muscular it sounded.On the other hand, the Z28 looked and sounded like a "race car". The kid's grandmother had bought it for him, and he drove the tires off of it ! It just wasn't that quick, and the quality was average for the day. The Camaros were among the worst "rusters" a little later on, BTW.
That leads me to the Mopars. The thing I remember the most about the Superbees and Roadrunners when they were new was the hairy induction roar they had when stomped. A very deep and awesome rush of air - that I haven't seen duplicated on these restos of today(yet) I believe they had special aircleaners for this effect, and you didn't hear any other mechanical noises from the engines.
The now overrated (IMHO) E-bodies weren't very popular when they came out. Everybody hated the chintzy plastic interiors and high prices. The AAR in the 'hood was "snot green", and not all that fast (sorry, AAR owners ) At this time the fit and finish were really going downhill, though the engines/trans still had good reliability .
Finally, that '69 Coronet R/T was the BEST. It had the 440 4spped (turquoise), and the build quality was great It was practically unbeatable -what a car. The GTXs were just as fine - but I never rode/drove one - just got beat by 1 or 2.
As someone else noted, NOBODY expected these cars to last more than 60K or so. Very many were abandoned (literally) during the gas crisis. And, for the purists, the majority were rather quickly "modded" with new wheels/radios/tachs/mufflers, whatever was cheap and easy and looked good. In a few years, the era was over, but I remember its demise as being more insurance-related than anything else. Whew !
