what is the best muscle chevy?

[zx2guy]

i know this is asking for a fight... everyone has thier favorite... but my dad is a bow tie chevy man and i would like to hear some suggestions... i work as a mechanic and a senior in high school, i plan to go to a college called wyotech if you know what that is you know im seriously into cars. my want is to find a chevy, of which is what im taking suggestions for. restore it, and give it to my dad for a birthday gift, or fathers day gift. he had a vega (the year that looked like a small camaro) and a... 68 ( <- maybe but not sure on year) nova with a built 350. i dont know what i should look for. so convince me chevelle, el camino, nova, you tell me. and i hope ill be able to find one before they are crushed... or found by some other lucky person. and if you have read any of my other threads you know i own 2 fords.... i know, im sorry. but im not a ford guy, im a car guy... all of the big 3 made some cool cars... we all have to admit it... from the charger to the buick GS you cant knock the muscle cars... because in the end we all roast the doors off of the imports at the lights .

[nova68]

IMHO i would go with a nova. SS if you can

[NOVA71]

I'd agree with nova68 on this one. Nova all the way!!!

Actually, almost anything GM made in the late 60's early 70's was pretty cool. Personally I think the Chevelle is the classic musclecar (big car, big engine), the Camaro and Trans Am are almost more of a cross between a musclecar and a sports car, the GTO is the original musclecar (lotsa show and go), Buick GSX (high class muscle), and then there is the Nova (musclecar in a plain wrapper). I know I didn't mention them all.

I am a little biased though because I do own a Nova, but I'll tell you why I like'em. They are light (lighter then a Camaro actually) and fast. They have probably the best power to weight ratio. Have good weight transfer. They are not overly flashey. They are not overly pricey and they aren't as common as the Chevelle and Camaro. And besides, if your father owned one before, I'd say he'd probably love to have one again. Especially if you could make it a replica of the one he had.

Good luck in your search. I hope you find something really nice.

[79Bandit]

i would of corse go with a 69 - 72 chevelle ss not clone or malibu its got to be true ss good luck though finding one for a decent price ebay is a great place to find a cheap project car.

[zx2guy]

what about engines and tranny's? im all for the manual. but i hear that some of the auto's with shift kits are pretty quick too. plus it might be a little cheaper to find a nova with a 6 banger ... then the one with the 350 or 396. (then drop a 350 w/ tranny into it... if i can find a motor for it). and if anyone knows a good place to look for engines and or transmissions im all ears too.

[NOVA71]

I run a mild 350 with a TH350 auto tranny, and I find the package works really well in the light weight Nova. Big blocks are really nice and make the most power and torque hands down, but big block parts are pricey and are getting hard to come by. The good ol small block makes decent power, parts are relatively cheap and plentiful. I agree too that you'd probably have better luck finding a 6 cyl car than an over priced 8 cyl car. Try to find one with a good body. It's easier to drop in an engine and tranny than having to find and replace rotten body panels.

[nova68]

i run a built up 327 with a th 350 and a shift kit. It works great. Especially when i run my 4.56 gears

[MrPbody]

Something maybe a little more practical and easy to find, would be a later Malibu ior Monte Carlo (G-body). These cars have excellent chassis design for performance, they're lighter than the earlier Chevelles, and are fairly aerodynamic, as well. ALL the small block goodies fit. There are "kits" out there to install the big block, as well. We've seen the popularity of these cars sky-rocket over the last 10 years.

Just an idea...

Jim

[zx2guy]

the g body might be a good idea too im pretty sure i cant be too hell bent on trying to find a particular year or make ( while that would be cool to find one exactly how i want). i did like the monte carlo look too. or what about the prior muscle years like before the gto package was introduced for the tempest ( i think it was the tempest) < i have houndreds of reference books on this and my muscle history is still rusty. the main thing is i want something i can in the end wow my dad with. seeing as this is going to be for him.

[ghostrdr]

A vega with small block chevy is a pretty sweet ride. The Nova's are still somewhat plentiful and cheap. I always like the big old caprice's of the late 60's, they are still affordable and some even came with a 427 or 396. I am somewhat biased but I also like the 60's camaro's, and a major fixxer upper can stil be had for less than 5 K

[zx2guy]

what year was it that vegas looked like a smaller version of camaro? my dad used to say he got in more races with that vega then he had with his nova (ohh gee i wonder why, could it be some people might think it could be beaten?) but what kind of motor did the vegas have? i heard they were little 4 bangers, but i really dont know the particulars.

[sub006]

'66 and '67 Novas are the hot ones, but coupes are getting expensive. The coming thing here in California seems to be Nova WAGONS. Anything from '64 through '67 makes a great street machine with better weight distribution for dragging than any other bodystyle. Plus if you don't go too crazy with paint and exhaust noise the cops figure you're just a family guy!

[TEXSRT4]

personally i would go with 70 chevelle, or 70/71 camaro

either car would have a motor similar to this one, except for the purple. this is a motor we just built a couple months ago

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/robbie...D1wQEBP6aV4CVG

[MrPbody]

Well, there IS no "history" of muscle cars before GTO. It established the "class". There were many factory hot cars, no doubt. When GTO was introduced, it became the standard by which "muscle cars" are measured. That is, intermediate body, "big" car engine, performance suspension and appearance.

Before the peanut gallery gets rolling over this, let me have a second. The 348 Impalas were "aimed" at the big Dodges and Pontiacs, but couldn't "hang". By '62, 421 was the target everyone was taking shots at. 409 won a couple of important races in '62 and '63, but not enough to edstablish it as a serious contender. Same was true of 406 (Ford) and 413 (Dodge). ALL those "big" cars were quicker/faster than any true muscle car. By '64, when GTO was introduced, GM had gotten "out of racing" and the 427 Ford and 426 Dodge were the kings of the strip (in "factory" classes).

'65 Chevelles made it clear, Chevy WOULD be a player in the muscle car arena. Unfortunately, there were very few of the L-78 Chevelles built. But in '66, when 427 was introduced (in production cars), and it became easy to swap in a 427 where a 396 "lived", Chevelles became one of the front runners.

FWIW

Jim

[sub006]

The 2006 Corvette Z06 blows every other American production car of any era away on the strip and at the stoplight, stops, corners and gets 27 mpg highway too!

No other contenders 'til they drop the 427 in a retro rear-drive Camaro or Chevelle, or maybe Daimler gets busy with a 500+hp improved Hemi in the new Challenger...