Is the Chevelle 454 LS6 the fastest Muscle Car?

[MrPbody]

'70 Judge, Ram Air III (366 HP 400), 4-speed, 3.55s, then 3.90s. Went 13.63 @ 108 at Orange County, May of '73, when it was truly stock (including the 3.55s and G70-14s) . Made some changes and went 12.40s at Firebird in Boise, in July of '80. Sold the car (like a dummy) in '87.
Drag strip racing wasn't "the thing" when I did most of my racing. In a street race, especially from a roll, that GTO was deadly. Took money from a lot of guys that said: "But Pontiacs don't run..." if I only had a dollar for every time I heard that. Or the 12 second Mustangs that really wouldn't go 14s...

[Musclecar Freak!]

The 427 Cobra was 2200 lbs wet with about 485 horses and you could run it up to 7500 rpm. I love this car but thats not fair because dang. Now the LS6 being a two ton car runnin low 13's thats impressive. The muscle car era officially ended in '74, but except for a 73 stang, I won't take a musclecar later than 72. So a new Vette is an awesome car, but today's technology well isn't as lasting as it used to be, its more advanced but not that tough. Plus today's transmissions take barely any power to turn. Now a 727 Torqueflight, M-22 Rockcrusher, A833 4-spd, Toploader, etc. where hard to turn. Back then, those trans missions were a prime example of parasitic drag, you lost many horses, and thats just the trans, you count the rearend, A/C (if available), powersteering, you're losing at least 40 horses. But keep in mind that musclecars were underrated as well, the LS6 and the HEMI were both above the 500 horse mark. Also if you count Yenko's and ZL1's, then what about Joel Rosen's Baldwin Motion cars. The Motion Phase III 454 had 650 horses, and Darts weighd just 500 lbs more thatn a 427 Cobra so it all should be fare in saying that for factory, walkin and buy musclecars, the LS6 is the peak. Even though it was 500 bucks more than the Charger Daytona, Chevrolet still sold 4,475 LS6's as compared to 4,298 LS5's, thats impressive. Now Dodge Darts were sold with 340's and that i know of i don't remember them being equipped with Hemis, except for a hand ful that were given to drag racers, but then they sold them because they wanted to switch to the Cuda like Sox and Martin. Now if you want to be picky and very specific, then lets talk the Ford Thunderbolt, a very light car, 427 medium rise, and also 11.6 at 120+.

[tuske427]

The problem with subjecxts like this is it's left too wide open to make a "black and white" answer like everyone wants. On top of that half the people here are listing figures from magazines and third party sources. As we all know, magazines would "tune" cars and otherwise "cheat" to get better ratings to sell magazines. Several have even admitted to once performing this type of practice.

In order to do this you need to clearly define your list of approved cars to select from. If it were me I'd include cars the average person could purchase from a dealer. this would include cars like the yenko and boss 429, etc, but not hemi darts and thunderbolts. these cars were one off's specially prepared for drag racers for brand image. they weren't readily available at a dealer. (not trying to sound like a chevy only person here)

then you need an unbiased source of info. Is that attainable today with everyone modifying their cars, or those that have stock ones not willing to thrash them for the best et because their value has soared higher than the average price of a home? I don't know.

But until you weed some of these variables out, nobody will be content with the answer you choose.

Just my 2 cents...

[Scale-Master]

And then we have to define Fastest and Quickest... There is a big difference.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Originally Posted by Musclecar Freak!

So a new Vette is an awesome car, but today's technology well isn't as lasting as it used to be, its more advanced but not that tough.

More than any Corvette in recent years, the new Corvette Z06 is built for performance. Motor Trend tested it recently and it went through the 1/4 mile in 11.5 at 127 mph and 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 second. Plus, it has awesome brakes and handling.

The new Z06 has used racing technology unlike any Corvette ever built.

Corvette Z06

[MrPbody]

That's all well and good, but we've strayed drastically from the original thread. Corvettes, Cobras, Mustangs, 'Cudas, etc., are NOT "muscle cars". Oh, they're plenty "muscular", but they are not intermediate bodies. Chevelle, GTO, SuperBee, Charger (383-plus), Road Runner ('70 and older, and a few of the later ones), Torino or Fairlane GT, Cyclone GT, these are ALL muscle cars. 442, GS, even the Rebel "Machine". But not Firebirds or Grand Prixs, Rivieras or Monte Carlos.
This has been debated before, but the truth remains. A sports car is a sports car, not a muscle car (Corvette, Cobra). A "pony car" is a pony car (Mustang, the car which the class is named for), 'Cuda, Camaro, Firebird, Challenger, Javelin, etc.
The term has lost it's identity over the last few years, mostly due to a fundemental misunderstanding of what the term means. Too many folks want to apply the term to THEIR choice in cars, rather than applying the appropriate name for the class. Just because a car is a bad-ass car with muscle, it is not necessarily a "muscle car".
Since MY choice in cars is none of the above, and I've been doing this for a living for over 30 years, I think my opinion should count for something. As I stated in the previous debate, it's not MY definition. It was defined when I was in the third grade... (1963, Jim Wangers and John Z. DeLorean...)

Jim

[sub006]

Hey, Fleet 472!

Thanks for your input. Note that the '62 Chevy II with dealer-installed 327 was running 3:08s and 6:00 x 14 tires on 4 1/2 inch rims!

By the late 60's you could get Tiger Paws, T/A's, Wide Ovals, etc. like the Mopars you mention were shod with. Plus from '65-up the 327 Novas were factory engineered with heavy-duty brakes, suspension, cooling, etc. to make a total package. Low 13s, no problem!

Caddy engines are my favorite, a 500 is going in my '64 'Vette roadster!

[Indycarlover]

yep, that LS6 is the stuff!
I have a buddy who has a 68 Vette Convertible with that 454 Chevelle LS6 block in it with orig. 1968 L89 Allum Intake & heads, headers, Electronic ignition and his is right around 500 Horse power!

Someone will love that car, he is selling her for $38,500!

[ikeyballz]

damn. all this muscle car talk is making my '88 formy 'bird feel like a lil kid i guess its time to ressurect the 440 hi-po 4bbl charger my dad has..

[CivicSlayr]

yenko 427 nova. 12's with slicks (from what i read)

[SHALAKO]

The shelby cobra 427 and the 1966 427 vette are the fastest muscle cars according to a lot of websites. If you dont consider that a muscle car because it is too small then the other fastest are;

1969 Road Runner 440 6 pack

1970 Hemi Cuda 426 hemi

1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6

1969 Camaro 427 LZ1

[ghostrdr]

I think the all aluminum ZL1 camaro would take an LS6 provided of course either could catch any traction,

[etrillion@comcast.]

all of those cars should be considered musclecars including hemi darts, zl1s, boss 429s, shelby cobras, corvettes, super duty pontiacs,thunderbolt fords,max wedge mopars,and 409 chevys because the performance from all of these cars should be compared with all of the high powered cars from the 60s and early 70s street and special order

[maxwedge]

You may notice this thread is 2 yeras old now and no longer active.