American Muscle Cars Of The Economy-Minded Early 70′s [TV]

Molli Fire — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:10:11 +0000

Not all muscle cars are big as a boat. American automakers began production of smaller “economy” cars in the early 1970′s as a response to sudden changes in the market, including the oil embargo and long lines at the gas station. While some customers were drawn to the lower sticker prices, others were more excited about the new, lighter-weight body intended for improving gas-mileage. It didn’t take much to rod them out, some even came straight-from the factory with race packages built in. These little speed demons combined full-size power with a lighter, no-frills frame & interior which made them champs at the 1/4 mile race track. There’s still a handful of purists out there who don’t consider smaller cars to be worthy of the term “muscle car” and the technical definition doesn’t actually include ponies or grocery-getters. But watch these 2 videos and decide for yourself – can 100% genuine muscle come in small-block packages?

Click the play button to stream the video right here:

From: American Muscle Car: The Economy Movers on Hulu.com

This next video drops a cool little bit of wisdom about the Ford small-block V8 engines – apparently the 289 c.i. is the only V8 ever to win the FIA World Championship race. They weren’t big winners at the strip, so I’m stoked to hear they made a name in the global arena… (I’ve been unable to find more info on this point, so if ya have the details or know links with more info, please drop ‘em in the comments!)

From: Small-Block Screamers on Hulu.com

1973 Mercury Comet – A Girl’s Best Friend

Molli Fire — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:19:11 +0000

My latest obsession: muscle cars circa 1930-79

I’ve always been a tomboy, always will be. In high school, while most gals my age were obsessing over Seventeen Mag and picking out prom dresses, I was drooling over my neighbor’s GTO Judge and pulling parts out of my boyfriend’s Trans Am for rebuilding. My environmental awareness took root in college and I switched to diesels that I could modify to run on veggie oil and became a DIY tour bus mechanic. A decade later, I’m finally living out my teen fantasies of owning and restoring my very own muscle car – a 1973 Mercury Comet with Ford’s 5.0L 302 c.i. V8 engine. Everyone has different opinions on what makes one muscle car better than the other and everyone has their 1st loves as well as their daily drivers. I don’t think many people would place the Comet in their top 3 fave muscle cars, but I’m not most people. All I know is I LOVE this car!!! For me, personally, it’s perfect. Small enough for just me, big enough for double dating. Fast enough to get me in trouble, fast enough to get me out of trouble. And it may not look like a pageant queen right now, but someday it will be CANDY! With that in mind, I intend to enjoy/punish the body and engine until it dies. Then rebuild it from the frame up.

My friend Twelver came over on the 1st day I had the car at home and snapped some sweet “Before” pix:

Mutate Now » V8

American Muscle Cars Of The Economy-Minded Early 70′s [TV]

1973 Mercury Comet – A Girl’s Best Friend