Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

ON LOCATION THERE ARE CAR SHOWS, the local community gatherings that celebrate the general cult of automotive interest, and there are automotive events—yearly milestones to anchor your calendar, deplete your time-off balance, and embark on a sacred pilgrimage to. If you’re a fan of the American muscle car — and since your eyes are glued firmly on these pages, it’s a good bet you are—the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, held annually at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, is an event you don’t want to miss. Taking place just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the show is a carefully curated who’s who of the muscle car world, featuring top restorers, iconic cars, and barn finds freshly pulled into the sunlight, still crustily cloaked in their dusty coats…

AUCTION ACTION L AS VEGAS IN EARLY November is quietly shaping up to be a car lover’s dream. The annual automotive aftermarket extravaganza of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show butts up against Mecum’s auction at the Las Vegas Convention Center, making for a one-two punch of not only finding your dream ride, but sorting through three million square feet of products that will give you plenty of ideas regarding what to do with that dream ride once your name is on the title. As always, an eclectic mix of cars greeted us and potential buyers. This year’s $22.8 million over three days at the auction felt big, but consider that in ’22, Mecum’s extravaganza in the LVCC North Hall took in a record $27.5 million over just…

HEMMINGS AUCTIONS IS OUR LIVE, ONLINE AUCTION site staffed by customer service professionals ready to help bidders and sellers with any questions. A wide variety of classic and specialty vehicles from all eras are up for bid. Auctions run for two weeks, and qualified bidders place their bids electronically. Once a vehicle is accepted into the auction, the seller pays only a $99.95 listing fee. The winning bidder is responsible for a 5-percent fee on all completed auctions. The following are examples of auctions that transpired during the month leading up to press time. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, email the Hemmings Auctions team directly: auctions@hemmings.com. 1966 DODGE CHARGER RESERVE: $114,000SELLING PRICE: $152,250RECENT MARKET RANGE: $106,000-$134,000 This one-owner, Hemi-powered 1966 Dodge Charger hit strong numbers by every metric…

PRODUCTION LINE In the beginning, there was only the Ford Mustang. Sure, Plymouth’s Barracuda was first to market by 16 days, but it was Mustang that led the pony car segment. It took Detroit years to build competitors; even Ford itself couldn’t spit out an upscale version for Mercury until the fall of ’66. Competitors flared up—Firebird, Javelin, Cougar—and were snuffed out one by one. In the more recent past, Camaro, Challenger, and Mustang did battle for a dozen years or more, but as you read this, the fight is over. At the end of the 2024 run, Camaro will die quietly in its sleep after years of neglect, while Challenger is about to go out with the glory of a thousand horsepower before things get quiet at Dodge. What’s…

STOCK TAKE A LONGhard look at this ’70 340 Challenger and it’s hard not to be impressed. It’s also hard not to have a smile break out when you see it, because the car is almost everything we love in a vintage muscle car. It’s the stance that comes from the “Day 2” rolling stock, the “out there” Plum Crazy paint that is the car’s original hue, and a “born with” drivetrain that has to be one of Mother Mopar’s best. No, it’s not a big-block with a four-speed, but the 340 was a potent little stormer and has an interesting story when teamed with the ’70 Dodge E-body. Of course, the story of this specific E-body is interesting as well. It wasn’t a surprise that the 340 was available…

CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE TRIFECTA STEVEN MACY STUDIOS • 847-640-6315 • STEVENMACYSTUDIOS.COM $475 (FRAMED PRINT); $5,900 (FRAMED ORIGINAL PAINTING) At the peak of the original muscle era, you needed a blend of bravado and firepower to take on the big dogs from GM’s Bowtie division. Those cars combined industry-leading style and performance with affordability, ensuring their legendary popularity to this day. Automotive fine artist Steven Macy (hmn.com/macyart) recently completed a piece that speaks to their enduring appeal. “My painting, titled Chevrolet Performance Trifecta, is a tribute to Chevrolet high performance,” he explains. “1970 was the apex of the horsepower race, and Chevrolet was right in the thick of it with the 450-hp, 454-cu.in. Chevelle SS LS6, the 390-hp, 454-cu.in. Corvette LS5, and the 360-hp, 350-cu.in. Camaro Z/28.” Steven used his background in…

BRANSON MUSCLE The Branson Auction concluded with more than $2.4 million in total sales realized. Among those to cross the block was a 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible. It underwent a thorough restoration and had a 389 V-8 with an automatic transmission. The Ivory exterior was complemented by a black top and red vinyl interior with bucket seats, center console, power steering, factory tach, push-button AM radio, and wood-rimmed steering wheel. It had only logged 500 miles after restoration, and it rolled away with a winning bid of $67,100. Also selling was this 1970 AMC AMX. Fitted with the popular 390 V-8 and an automatic transmission, it had racked up just 48,835 documented miles. The AMX had undergone a restoration and had many factory original options, including: power steering, disc brakes,…

Letter of the Month: Surviving the Street Machine Era My father, Paul Sonday Sr., purchased his 1974 Plymouth ’Cuda in November of 1973 at the age of 19 for $4,500 cash. He would spend the next 8-10 years customizing it to the ’70s “Street Machine” era. The exterior paint work was completed in September of 1981 by legendary metalflake master Hank Z. The interior, which consists of Naugahyde seats with diamond tufts and black piping, blue velour headliner, blue fuzz on the rear deck, and diamond-dust white pearl doors panels (also painted by Hank Z) were all completed very shortly after the extraordinary exterior paintwork. The drivetrain consists of a 340 Six Barrel setup using the block and heads out of a parted-out ’70 AAR ’Cuda; my father paid $50…

TECH IN THE MARCH ISSUE, we revealed a new project vehicle that we’d acquired last summer to serve as the subject of our next Hemmings Garage video series. We’d done a prior series on an ’87 Camaro IROC in 2022, and it just seemed right that we’d do something with the IROC’s period archrival, the Fox-era 5.0 Mustang. We also discussed how it seems to be getting increasingly difficult to find a Fox 5.0 for short money these days — thanks to their resurgence in popularity. But our persistence paid off and we landed a very clean and mostly original ’91 LX hatchback. As we explained last month, our intention for the Mustang was to roll with some of those nostalgic feelings and build the new project car in the…

SPIN THE DIAL! Q: I read your statement about how many people will spend thousands of dollars on speed parts but not hundreds on a dyno session. You raise an excellent point about checking for leaks and issues. This is why engine builders should have a test stand while the rest of us could just bolt our engine to our vehicle’s subframe or perimeter frame, hook up an $18 Harbor Freight three-gauge package and then a tachometer, and accomplish our own break-in. You also bring up salient points about tuning. I suspect some builders are afraid of the dyno’s nickname, “the heart breaker,” and they may find out just how poorly their cool-looking race parts work together. Or they believe their “plug-and-play EFI” will really get things perfect for them…

MOPAR WIRING UPDATE KIT AMERICAN AUTOWIRE • 800-482-9473 • AMERICANAUTOWIRE.COM • $1,299 If you are looking to redo the wiring in your 1968-’70 Mopar B-body, you could take the opportunity to upgrade your electrical system with one of American Autowire’s update kits, which provide everything you’ll need from front to back. The harness kits accommodate popular add-ons and modifications such as electronic fuel injection and the associated electric fuel pumps. Each kit includes an updated ATC fuse panel and fuses, plus modern GXL wiring throughout. Also included are a pre-built dash harness and gauge cluster system for use with stock or aftermarket gauges and instruments, plus a steering-column adapter kit to mate with stock and aftermarket columns. Extra-long leads are used for the engine and front light harness for customized…