AMERICAN MUSCLE - Factory High Performance Vehicles
May 20 through October 8 2006

Ready . . . Set . . . . Go !

Museum visitors will have the opportunity to see many of the cars that made the muscle car era, generally considered 1964 to 1972, such a special time in America’s rich automotive history. The Museum’s exhibition of last winter, "Thunder Before the Storm: Birth of the American Muscle Car" served as an introduction to the subject by focusing on the period from 1949 to 1963, identifying this time as the formative years for the muscle car phenomenon.

Muscle cars are high-performance automobiles made primarily in Detroit from 1964 to 1974. Car manufacturers placed large V8 engines in mid-sized cars, giving them quite startling performance and setting off intense competition between manufacturers to produce the most powerful and extreme machine! During this era, cars from Detroit’s Big Three and American Motors competed weekly on drag strips and oval tracks across America.

The following cars will be featured in this exhibit:

1964 GTO
Part of the General Motors collection, this car was considered by many to be the first real muscle car.

1967 Mercury Comet 427
This is a "sleeper" car, meaning it looks like something a grandmother would drive. No flashy wheels, paint or add-ons; just lots of power under the hood and a 4 speed transmission. There were less than 50 of these cars built. This particular example is featured in the current issue of Mustangs and Fords magazine.

1967 GTO
Part of the General Motors collection.

1969 Boss Mustang 429
The Boss 429 was only made in 1969 and 1970. It was Fords’s version of the "Hemi" engine, named for the combustion chambers of the engine. Chrysler trademarked the "hemi" name, but other manufacturers built hemi engines. The 429 was Ford’s NASCAR engine of the period.

1969 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet
The 428 Cobra Jet was one of the most powerful engines ever installed in a street car. It was very quick in the ¼ mile when powering a Mustang.

1969 Camaro Z-28
Chevrolet’s Trans-Am competition car, like the Boss 302 Mustang

1969 GTO
Prototypical muscle car with big engine, heavy graphics package. The vehicle is part of the General Motors collection and is Carousel Red with "JUDGE" graphics.

1969 Camaro SS
This is a fully restored award winning car very popular today with enthusiasts and restorers.

1969 Daytona
This is Chrysler’s NASCAR entry. The Daytona and sister car, the Super Bird, had distinctive fiberglass noses and large wings in the back. If you ever see one on the street you won’t forget it.

1969 AMX
American Motors Company is not known as one of the leaders in the performance wars of the 1960s and early 1970s, but they produced a handful of very powerful cars with names like the Javelin, Rebel Machine and this rare AMX powered by a 390 cubic inch V8 engine.

1970 Boss Mustang 302
The Boss 302 was also a special race designed engine/car combination. It served as Ford’s Trans-Am series entry. Each manufacturer had to build specific numbers of these types of cars for public sale in order to compete in Trans Am, NASCAR, etc.

1970 Cougar Eliminator
High performance in a Mercury Cougar. This is a sister car to the Mustang.

1970 Torino
Another non-Mustang muscle car. Torino bodies were used by Ford for their NASCAR program.

1970 El Camino SS
High performance in a car/pickup cross over vehicle.

1970 Yenko Nova
Don Yenko was a Chevrolet dealer who specialized in high performance. He "converted" many Chevrolets including Novas and Camaros for improved performance, similar to what Carrol Shelby did for Ford.

1970 Chevelle 454
This car features General Motors largest displacement engine in a very fast, popular car.

1970 Olds 442
Oldsmobile’s best selling muscle car and part of the General Motors collection. The 442 means: four barrel carburetor (4), four speed transmission (4) and dual exhausts (2). Very clever.

1970 Buick GSX
Buick’s version of the 442 and part of the General Motors collection.

1970 Hemi 'Cuda
This is the hemi that everyone wants these days. These cars are bringing the outrageous prices at the Barrett Jackson and other auctions.

1970 Roadrunner Convertible
Cars like the Roadrunner were entry level performance machines that provided horsepower for the masses. There were thousands of cars like the roadrunner and entry level Mustangs, Camaros and Chargers produced for every Boss and Hemi car.

1972 Olds 442 W30