CC-Chevy Camaro

Due to the Ford Mustang, Chevy decided release its own muscle car. In 1967, the Chevy Camaro’s first generation was released until 1969. It had eight engine options. Two of which were 6 cylinders. There are four engines in the lineup that are worth mentioning. They include the Z-28, the 350 and the 396. The Z-28 was a special option that came with the Camaro. It made a racing model pretty much. It’s one of Chevy’s most famous Camaro option. The Z-28 engine was a modified 302 v8 that produced 290 horsepower. The next engine is the 350 v8. There were actually two produced, a base model and the SS (Super Sport) model. The base model produced 250 horsepower. The SS model produced 295 horsepower. The final engine is the 396 v8. There were two different options. Both were SS models. One produced 325 horsepower and the other produced 375 horsepower. In 1968 a third 396 v8 was added. It produced 350 horsepower. In 1969 two new engines were added to the lineup. Both of them were 427 v8’s. One produced 425 horsepower and the other produced 430 horsepower. The second generation Camaro lasted from 1970 to 1981. One of the biggest changes happened in the beginning of the second generation. The Z-28 size was bumped up to a 350 v8 that made 350 horsepower. Also the first Z-28 that had an automatic transmission was offered in the beginning of the second generation. From 1971 to 1973, the amount of horsepower was decreased on all of the Camaro’s engine options. In 1973, the Z28 was the only engine that was built for performance that the Camaro had. In 1975 the Z28 was dropped from the lineup and all the Camaro had was underpowered engines. The engines included a 250 6 cylinder that made 105 horsepower, and two 350 v8’s that ranged in power from 145 horsepower to 155 horsepower. The Z28 came back in 1977. It only made 185 horsepower. The Camaros remained underpowered until the third generation. The horsepower started to pick up in 1988/1989. Eventually the Camaro would be dropped from production in 2002. Then it would comeback in 2010 with more power and better equipped than the original cars. The Camaro is one of Chevy’s most recognizable sports cars alongside the Corvette.

AA- Ford Thunderbird

I’m more of a truck guy. When I look at Fords, I look mainly at their trucks. When I look at the history of Ford, I look at the history of their truck lineups. But there is one Ford vehicle that is not a truck, but sticks out in my mind. It is the Ford Thunderbird or “T-Bird”. It sticks out in my mind because it was one of my uncle’s favorite cars. The T-Bird began in production in 1955. Ford wanted to compete with Chevy and its Corvette. The 1955 and 1956 T-Birds were only available in a two seat option convertible option. The 1955 T-Birds came with two engine options. Both were 292 cubic inch v8’s. One produced 193 horsepower. The other produced 212 horsepower. The 1956 year model received a third option to go with the 292 v8’s. It was 312 cubic inch v8 that produced 215 horsepower. The 1957 T-Bird was the last to be offered as a two seat vehicle. Ford added three new engines to its lineup. All three of them were new variations of the 312 cubic inch v8. One produced 270 horsepower, one produced 300 horsepower and one produced 340 horsepower. The 1958 T-Birds marked the beginning of the second generation of T-Birds and the beginning of T-Birds with four seats. Ford offered one engine. This was the new 352 cubic inch v8 which produced 300 horsepower. In 1959 Ford offered a new engine option to the lineup. It was the Lincoln 430 cubic inch v8 that produced 350 horsepower. Nothing much was added in 1960. Just a version called the “Golden Edition”. It was a golden colored hard top. Also, the U.S.’s first powered sliding sunroof was offered with these vehicles.1961 marked the beginning of the third generation of T-Birds. There was only one engine option in the 1961 model. It was a 390 cubic inch v8 that made 300 horsepower. In 1962, there was a “Roadster” model. This was a reintroduction of the two seat T-Birds. There was a second engine option. It was a high performance version of the 390. It produced 340 horsepower. The T-Bird was 1963 had no new options or upgrades to it. The T-Birds from 1967 to 1976 were built to be large. It would stay in production for another 29 years. The T-Bird is one of the few Ford cars that sticks out in my mind. It is also my favorite Ford car.

AA- Pontiac GTO

One of America’s original muscle cars is the Pontiac GTO. Pontiac is owned by GM. The Pontiac GTO emerged when they decided to take a car named the Tempest and drop a powerful engine in it, put on a dual exhaust and gave it sportier tires. The GTO first game out in 1964. The engine options included a 389 v8 which produced 325 horsepower and a 389 v8 with three two barrel carburetors that made 348 horsepower. In 1965 Pontiac came out with a Ram Air 389 v8 that made 360 horsepower. What this did was bring more air in to engine to create more horsepower. The headlight design was changed to. The design was changed from the two lights on each side being side by side to being on top of each other. In 1966 Pontiac reached a record high in sales when they sold close to 97,000 GTO’s. This is the highest for a muscle car. Due to emission standards, GM banned the three two barrel carburetor 389. In 1967, Pontiac got rid of the 389 engines and came out with 3 versions of the v8 400 engine. Each produced a different amount of horsepower. These amounts included 255 horsepower, 335 horsepower, and 360 horsepower. These engine options stayed the same until 1971.The 1968 GTO’s had a few new designs on them. The front bumpers were pretty much rubber and indestructible. The headlights design was changed again. This time they were given a hidden look, which were the same as all of the other muscle cars. In 1969 Pontiac came out with a second version of the GTO known as “The Judge”. The Judge had a v8 400 Ram air engine that made 366 horsepower. In 1970 the headlight design changed again. There were four lights that were wrapped in the front bumper. A new engine was introduced and it replaced the lowest power 400 engine. This new engine was the 455 v8 that made 360 horsepower. Due to government regulations, the 455 v8 was in its last year in 1971. This is also when the power of the GTO and its sales were starting to decline. In 1972 the Judge model was discontinued. 1973 and 1974 marked the end of one of the original muscle cars. The GTO’s last engine was an underpowered 350 v8 that made 200 horsepower. This is one of America’s original muscle cars. The GTO was also one of Pontiac’s most famous alongside the Firebird and the Trans Am.