5). 1970 Chevelle SS 454 454 cubic LS 6 450 HP
The highest pick in the production of muscle cars happened at the beginning of the 70’s and 1970 Chevelle SS 454 454 cubic LS6 450 HP is one of the clearest examples of this era. In this period, General Motor came out on the market with the powerful models Olds, Buicks and Pontiacs with mighty engines pumping up from 370 HP to 455 HP. Chevrolet responded with a 454 cid V8 engine that had a starting point at 360 bhp and finished with frightening 450 bhp. The whole production competition resembled some sort of muscle car fair or summit.
The redesigned Chevelle is standing as a symbol of the Super Sport era with an option for the customers with both hardtop models and convertibles (even though there were sedans and station wagons). But the real accent was put on the model with the LS 6 engine that became a rock star amongst the fans of the muscle cars. It came out on the market in two options: The SS 396 and the SS 454 LS 6. first one had an additional cost of $ 446 and it was coming down with 350 HP, 402 cid V8, F 41 suspension, arched hood and Polyglass F 70 x 14.
The most powerful and most popular SS 454 package with the LS 6 that produced 450 HP had a price tag of $ 503. It is coming with 800 cfm Holley 4 barrel on an aluminum manifold, with 4 bolt mains, forged steel crank and connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons. It was a production engine with the highest factory horsepower rating that made the LS 6 one of the most popular muscle cars ever.
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The list is a bit one-sided. 6 GM products, 3 Chrysler’s, and 1 Ford. The 6 GM are 3 Corvettes; 2 Chevy’s; and 1 Buick. The 3 Chrysler’s are all Plymouths. And the lonely Ford wasn’t a viable option to the public at the time unless you had the cash for it. Same thing for the Corvettes; those were not easy to obtain for the everyman. The Plymouths were a readily accessible as was the Camaro, Chevelle, and Buick.
My list:
10. 1966 Pontiac GTO 389 Tri-Power
Production: Sports Coupe: 10,363 Hardtop Coupe: 73,785 Convertible: 12,798
Engines: 389 V8 335 bhp @ 5000 rpm, 431 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm. 389 V8 360 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 424 lb-ft @ 3600rpm. 389 V8 Ram Air 360 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 424 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
Performance: 389/360: 0-60 in 6.5 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.65 sec @ 98mph.
09. 1967 Mustang Fastback
Production:
2D Hardtop: 356,271
Fastback: 71,042
Convertible: 44,808
Engines:
390 V8 320 bhp.
(Shelby GT500) 428 V8 355bhp@5400rpm, 420lb-ft@3200rpm.
Performance
(Shelby GT500) 428/355: 0-60 in 6.2 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.6 sec @ 99mph.
08. 1969 AMC Hurst
Production: 1,512
Engines: 390 V8 315 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 425 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm.
Performance: 390/315: 0-60 in 6.3 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.3 seconds @ 99 mph.
07. 1968 Dodge Charger
Production: 17,665
Engines: 318 V8 230bhp. 383 V8 335bhp. 426 V8 Hemi 425bhp@5000rpm, 490lb-ft@4000rpm. 440 V8 375bhp@4600rpm, 480lb-ft@3200rpm.
Performance: 426 Hemi V8 425: 0-60 in 5.3 sec, 1/4 mile in 13.8 sec @ 105mph.
06. 1970 Olds 442
Performance:
(W-30) 455/370: 0-60 in 5.7 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.2 sec @ 100mph.
05. 1969 Firebird
400 V8 (Ram Air IV) 345 bhp @ 5400 rpm, 430 lb-ft @ 3700 rpm.
Performance:
400/335 (RA IV): 0-60 in 6.3 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.1 sec @ 101 mph.
04. 69 Mercury Cougar
428 V8 335 bhp @ 5200 rpm, 440 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm.
Performance:
428/335: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.1 seconds @ 103 mph.
03. 1970 Cuda
440+6 V8 390 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 480 lb-ft @ 2300 rpm.
Performance:
Hemi – 426/425: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, 1/4 mile in 13.41 sec. @ 104.6 mph.
02. 70 Challenger
Performance:
T/A: 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.5 seconds @ 99.6 mph.
R/T 440-6: 0-60 in 6.2 seconds, 1/4 mile in 13.7 seconds @ 105 mph.
01. 1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2
Production: 11,519
Engines: 421 V8 338 bhp @ 4600 rpm, 459 ft-lb @ 2800 rpm. 421 V8 356 bhp @ 4800 rpm, 459 ft-lb @ 3200 rpm. 421 V8 376 bhp @ 5000 rpm, 461 ft-lb @ 3600 rpm.
Performance: 421/376: 0-60 in 3.9 sec 1/4 mile in 13.8 @ 106 mph
There we are.
GM: 4
Ford: 2
Chrysler: 3
AMC: 1
Not a bad list.