MuscleCar Debate

Today on muscle car, big bodies with big blocks, light bodies with small blocks, turbocharged V Sixes and modern day performance. We're taking a look at what makes the ideal muscle car plus how to lay down flat black graphics.

Hey, welcome to muscle car. We spend a lot of time working in B sing in the shop when the cameras aren't rolling. And one thing that always seemed to come up is what is the actual definition of a muscle car?

And we get a lot of input from a lot of different people and depending on who you ask, you're likely to get several different answers. Now, Wikipedia states that a muscle car is a late sixties to early seventies, American mid size car with an affordable price and a big engine.

We've even had. People say our 61 Impala project isn't in a muscle car, but we say it is with a big block and a four speed. What else could it be in? 61? Chevy wasn't the only putting big engines in the sedans. Pontiac was all over

it. In the early sixties, Pontiac dominated the strip and the track with its sleek and mighty Catalina

Mickey Thompson and Ray Nichols were racing super duty equipped cats breaking speed endurance and quarter mile records. Now, this 61 model may have never made it to the track, but it's got plenty of raw power to spend.

The power plant was the versatile 389 which came in a variety of configurations.

The baddest street engine was this 4 25 8 which pumped out 348 horses. He got his name from the amount of torque it produced,

but it was still a 389.

They also had a super duty 389 pumping out 400 horses but only about 25 of those were built by 64 GM had killed off the super duty cats following the decision to ban all racing activities in 63.

But you could still get an angry big block in the form of a 421 dropping to a two plus two. Catalina

in 1961 the 389 had been bored out to 421 cubic inches by the one and only Mickey Thompson. Pontiac caught wind of these race winning engines and started producing their own versions. Pontiac may be just a part of automotive history now, but man, what a legacy.

Yeah, Pontiac was all about big cars and big engines

manufacturers realize that it's power to weight that wins races so much. Now, come on. Look at the Comet. Side clone of the Falcon sprint or even the Mustang that was based on the same chassis,

come on by 66. They pretty well had it dialed in with the hypo 289 backed up by a four speed. Man. I don't know,

I do.

Mustangs came with three different breeds of engines to choose from in 66. All of them 289 V8 small blocks, there was the G code which only made about 200 horse and then you had the A code which made another 25.

But if you really wanted to break away from the,

you can get the K code. High performance. 289

it was nicknamed the Hypo and was the most powerful engine available in a factory Mustang.

This little pony could gallop up to 271 horsepower at 6000 RPM and boast a 10.5 to 1 compression.

The Hypo debuted in the 63 fairlane and it was first dropped in a Mustang in 65.

Many people feel it was Ford's greatest small block engine.

All right, true. The 66 hypo by no means was a slap in

67 they widened the body to put in a big block. 68 they crammed in the 428 cover Jet man. That thing ruled the streets

and the track. You're missing the point. They had to put a big block in it to make up for all the additional weight for making a bigger,

yeah. But it was fast, man. It was crazy fast.

Yeah. And they didn't understeer at all.

We just going straight because it straight

now it's true that Shelby Cover

Jet mustang weren't exactly plentiful. Less than 1200 were produced in 68. But that's because it took a certain kind of crazy to order something that was basically a race car for the street up front. A classic Shelby front end with four big lamps

and a massive scoop to keep that big block cool. Let everybody know this wasn't a six banger stain

underneath. All that aerodynamic flash lay the heart of a beast. A

428 Co

jet

with a 735 CFM Holly perched on top Ford claimed a horsepower output of 335. Yeah. Right.

That number was pulled out of somewhere because Big Brother was looking over their shoulders and they were trying to keep the insurance costs down. These cars were meant to be raced and inside safety was a key component. Inertia. Real shoulder harness and seat belts, hold the driver and passenger securely in place while a roll bar runs overhead,

man. It's crazy to think that 4500 bucks would part one of those in your garage in 68. Nowadays, they're worth more than the garage and probably the house attached to it

coming up a little car that gave the big three a run for their money.

Hey, we're back. You know, Tommy over here thinks he's ruling the streets with a big block and a 68 CJ. Mustang. Well, I think you'd be surprised if a little car called the AM X pulled up next to him at a stoplight. Well, technically A MC didn't offer a big block or a small block. All their VH were based on the

engine.

In fact, 1970 they offered a service replacement block with a little bit of machining that they could be matched to any displacement. On 69 they took a 390

dropped it into a sawed off little Javelin named it the AM X. They went out looking for a fight with the big three.

They chopped a full 12 inches out of the javelin short in the wheel base and deleting the rear seat. This made it a lot easier to maneuver around the twisties, which meant it was a big hit in Trans Am racing.

They were running fender to fender with cars like Z 28 Camaros and Boss Three or two mustangs. Both running small blocks. By the way.

A MC took their one size fits all rock board and stroked it to a 390

dropped it into the AM.

These cars were all about winning races and not blending in

just in case the racing stripes and side pipes didn't get you noticed

A MC came up with three crazy colors to dip their AM XS into.

They painted 284 in big bad green. 283 in big bad orange

and 100 and 95 in big bad blue. The stripe running over the top indicates the power pack cars. Now, this option was only available on the 343 or 390 AM X. The package included power disk brakes,

red line tires,

twin grip axle and 100 and 40 mile an hour speedometer. The insides of these cars are downright small two bucket seats up front and that's all she wrote. The gauges are oversized and easy to read and every AM X has a dash plaque with its unique production number,

you know, big or small block. Honestly, dude, I don't care as long as the thing looks cool and ha with beans. Now, one of my all time favorite cars is a 71 K

and that's not because we just finished building one. I just dig them. Yeah, man, that cheese grater grill and that distinctive style is hard to beat. Not to mention you throw in a 383 and a four beat. That thing is nothing but cool then.

Yeah.

Plymouth had no problem pushing the aggressive attitude of their muscle car.

The Ka

adds red go catch a coa

if you can

and a 71 Ka

is quite a catch.

Now, Ka

is not just a nickname. It's a beefed up high performance version of the standard Barracuda Kutas came with heavy duty suspension brakes,

hood scoops, a blacked out rear deck

panel and rally gauges. Plus you got a 3 83 4 barrel pumping out 300 horses with 410 pound feet of torque.

You also got the choice of upgrading to a 3 44 40 or the

hemi, but the 383 has plenty of power and torque to take on any of the other pony cars of its day.

0 to 60 times. We scan

7.8 seconds and they could do the quarter mile in the mid fourteens.

The grill is trademark 71

but the most outrageous styling cue of the year was the billboard graphics on the rear fenders. These monster stripes announced to the whole world what was lurking under the hood and were practically the size of an actual billboard. They were so big and so hard to put on the car that design

at

Plymouth were told never design any stripes that large again

and they didn't.

Unfortunately, 71 was the last year. You could order a 3 83 4 40 or a

hemi

under the hood.

In 72 the EPA had started castrating the Ponies coming out of Detroit and the only engine available was a 340 rated at only 240 horsepower.

After the break. Think muscle died in the seventies, we'll show you how Detroit's keeping it alive?

Welcome back. We're just hanging out, chewing the fat about muscle cars for most people. The last real muscle car was built in 73. Yeah. But if you dig a little deeper you can find some choice iron into the eighties and even the nineties, I mean, look at the 1984 Hearst Old,

I think, helped carry on the legacy of the Hearst name

in the car world. There are some names that just go together. Shelby and Mustang Yanko and Camaro and who could forget.

Hurst and Olds. They joined forces back in 68 to create a killer version of the 442.

And over the next decade,

the hurst Olds made its mark on the street and on the track

when performance made a comeback in the early eighties,

the name returned for just two years. The 83 and 84 were practically twins

only. The colors were flipped.

The 84 Hearst Olds started off as a cutlass just like earlier models. Then Olds woke it up with an exclusive paint job enhanced by red racing stripes and bumper sticker size decals. The body got a sportier look with the front air dam, rear spoiler and power bulge hood

underneath. It was the top shelf 307 V8 featuring a high performance c

dual exhaust gave it a sound that announced that this wasn't your father's Oldsmobile.

It made 100 and 80 horse which, for the time for the size of the car wasn't too shabby.

The only other car in its class that could top. That was the Buick Grand National which got 205.

Yeah, it was a solid little performer in it today and it held its own until Buick knocked its doors loose with the GN and then the ultimate, the GNX and it was outrunning just about anything and everything that Detroit was putting out at the time. It was

the Buick GN was able to outrun most other cars of the day,

but the 87 was the last year for that option. Buick was retiring the Grand National that year and wanted to send it off with a bank. So they partnered up with a Se mclaren to produce a more powerful version and dubbed it the GNX. Lurking under that black hood is the standard Turbo V6 engine.

Nowadays, the big three are having some trouble and some people think that true muscle is about to disappear.

Well, hey, man, don't think for a second, the modern muscle cars are dead. I mean, look what the big three is putting out.

They're all putting out some pretty serious sheet metal, you know, and don't forget that 2010 Mustang GT, we just got our hands on too. Yeah, man, that thing was no joke. That thing straight out the boss could punish the rear tires and with the help of Chip Foose and some aftermarket companies. We got to see what a true modern day muscle car could become,

but

we knew there was a lot left in this pony and Chip Foose showed up to give us a hand bringing out its inner stallion.

He started by sketching out the car, then added color until he had a solid rendering to go by it.

Once that was done, it was only a matter of making the car match.

It started with a tear down and repaint complete with graphics and the installation of a Rouse body kit, a

magna flow exhaust went underneath and new wheels and tires filled out the wheel. Well,

with the car looking good, we turned our attention to the performance

and Edelbrock Super Charger was bolted in place so our pony could back up its new image and bear brakes were bolted on to scrub off all that newfound speed,

bigger sway bars coupled with lowered springs and new struts, keep those tires planted on the pavement

with everything finished up. It was time to cruise and one thing's for sure, muscle cars have had their ups and downs. But the latest crop out of Detroit is just as true to the core of American muscle as any big black pony car from yesteryear.

Well, man, we may not agree on what the ideal muscle car really is, but hey,

and there's a lot of cool cars out there

if you enjoy riding in them driving them or even working on them. It's all good. That's true. But you know what,

that

my hypo mustang is still knock a fight right out of your big black Catalina. No,

I don't think so. I know. So,

talk's cheap cuss,

cheap check.

What that

up next? Paint tech? That'll transform your ride in. No time flat.

Hey, welcome back. You know, we've lifted a lot of muscle cars today and one thing you may have noticed graphics play a big part in the style of all these cars.

Rally and super sport stripes were popular in the late sixties and the early seventies flat black was in

hood stripes.

Bumblebee stripes, fully painted hoods, these all scream seventies muscle in the eighties. Graphics usually involved intricate decals, adding these kind of graphics can really doll up your ride. Not to mention it's a lot cheaper than buying a set of wheels or throwing a bunch of chrome at it.

Build on a budget muscle car projects that save you time and money

flat black stripes can make a dramatic difference whether you're working on a seventies Mopar, a new Camaro or even a late model pickup.

Now, the first thing you need to do is choose your paint because flat black comes in a lot of different finishes depending on if you're going for an original look or completely custom. Now, this panel is 100% flat and mimics the look of an original Mopar, but that may be a little too flat for what you're looking for. So we went ahead and spread a couple more panels to see what we liked.

Now, this one has

percent gloss clear and this one has 25% gloss clear. You can adjust the ratio of flat clear to gloss clear until you get what you like. Just remember, mark the back side of the panel so you can recreate it. Once you decide

before you can spray on any paint, you gotta lay out your design. If you're trying to recreate that factory graphic, there's kits available to give you the exact measurements for the layout. If you're doing a little more custom style, like we are, all you need is a little bit of imagination and some tape

this three M 2323 tape rocks. It doesn't pull on the corners. It's easy to maneuver and it totally stops, bleed through it.

And when you're laying out a design, it's easily pulled up and repositioned.

Oh, yeah.

What I was looking for

now, all I gotta do is scuff it.

I'm starting with 600 grid to knock off the shine and smooth out the surface. Next, go over it with a red scotch bright to knock down any of the remaining shiny spots.

Now, right now, what we're doing is adding a flat black graphic to a hood, but if you wanna save color, match your dash to the outside of your car, but you don't want a gloss dash. It's kind of the same concept. You lay down the same base color and then add your flat clear. I'll show you how to mix up that flat clear here in just a bit.

I'm laying down two coats, a straight toner, black base coat with a little bit of reducer.

Now, don't go overboard with the paint, you'll end up with a big old tape edge.

The actual application of a flat clear versus a shiny clear is pretty much the same.

But what you do have to remember is that in a flat clear, there's no going back and sending out little imperfections. What you got is what you got.

So what I like to do is grab some fine grit, sandpaper and a little 330

go over and nib it just to make sure we're clean before the clear goes on

right now. Keep in mind that flat clears a lot like metallics and that there's heavier solids in there that have a tendency to set a lot to the bottom. So make sure you put it in the shaker, get all that stuff mixed up before you start spraying.

We've also had quite a few emails asking about how did we get that finish on all the lenses and the headlights on the Foose

Mustang.

Well, this is how to pay attention.

Well, consider that 100% of flat clear will come in with 12.5% of the gloss

and don't forget your hardener. And remember the flat clear takes a little bit less hardener than the gloss does

and that's about it. You can also throw in a splash reducer to help control your dry time and help it flow out a little bit better.

I'm laying down two thin wet coats are clear. Now again, to avoid a big tape edge, you don't want a lot of build up. Now,

after the first coat looks dull, you can come back with a second.

Now, don't worry if it starts looking a little splotchy, it'll even out as it dries

once it's totally dry, you can carefully unmask it and check out your new masterpiece

because that flat black sure does dress up that plain white hood.

Yeah, it does. Not a bad investment of a couple of hours. Huh? Not bad at all. You know anybody that can pull some stripes on this thing. Yeah, I think I know someone I can hook you up with. I do for this week. Right of time. So, until next time we're out of here.