History History- Some Know it, Some Think They Know It!

I can gladly answer that. A Muscle Car ,by the strictest definition,is an intermediate size automobile with a high performance V8 engine exceeding 300 cubic inches and minimum horsepower of 350. The cars you mentioned are/were considered full sized automobiles. Chevelles,Buick GS,Oldsmobile 442,GTO,etc were considered intermediate sized automobiles,and coupled with high horsepower engines, and 4 speed transmissions, were the truest form of Muscle Cars.

 

All due respect,
Like Einstein, from my point of view:

The terms "Muscle Car" and "Hot Rod"
are mutually exclusive.
Muscle cars are bought, Hot Rode are built.
Done.

 

LOL there are always 3 sides to the truth, my side your side and the truth.

I think that most people when they look at a big block Chevy are just looking at a big block chevy. More often than not anyone looking at an old car doesn't know what year the block is, all they know is the basic differences between a big block and a small block.

I personally would like to own a W motor based 427, but it would just be for bragging rights. Not likely I will ever own one and even if I did I am not sure what I would do with it. LOL

I am no doubt going to get this wrong and it has probably been answered but I think the first Chevy V-8 was built in the teens.

 

If you buy a built Hot Rod does it then become a Muscle Car?

 

The real question is if you modify a "Muscle Car" does it then become a hot rod. LOL

 

I knew I should have stayed on the sidelines!!!

 

ONE MORE TRY!!!!!!!!!!
By HAMB rules.
First recognized Muscle car, '64 GTO
As built by factory not back yard.
Doesn't fit here.
My peace is held!

 

There are many car related terms that will never be settled. Ones that come to mind are antique cars, cl***ic cars, hot rods, muscle cars etc.
How old does a car have to be to be considered an antique car? Ones built in the twenties, thirties, fourties, fifties, or maybe even up to the sixties? Well, the oldest ANTIQUE car club, the AACA says it's 1993 this year and most owners of 1993 cars wishing to show them would agree. When the AACA was founded in 1935 it took a 1910 year model or older and has moved up one year every year since. You may not agree but they are the largest and most respected group.
What about cl***ic cars? This is even harder to define. Almost every car can be defined a cl***ic car by somebody. But the Cl***ic Car Club had their ideas and defines what is allowed. They are also a well respected organization.

What is a hot rod? Does it have to be a modified twenties, thirties or fourties car? John Force constantly calls his Funny Car a hot rod. And so do a lot of other professional racers referring to their current year model race cars. Technically they are right.

And finally what is a muscle car? The press gave it to the '64 GTO and it has stuck. But I was around when cars preceding it were referred as muscle cars so I don't accept it being the first muscle car. It was only the first car the name stuck to.

And while we are at it what about the first Funny Car? I'm not going there! Everyone has their own opinion about that and is the reason these other terms will never be settled.

 

i think terms can be used across the range of definition. using the word TRUE helps define which end of the range a car fits. some of the parts may not fit the category........just like using the word Blonde to describe a woman.

 

LOL I actually know where there is a pretty solid '64 LeMans. If I had it I probably wouldn't turn it into a GTO clone, but if I put a flathead in it then it would be a traditional hot rod.

As I recall when I was a young man something had to be 35 years old to be considered to be an antique. So I would guess if that is your barometer a 35 year old car would be an antique.

To me they are just old cars, some of them I like and some I don't. I usually try to own the ones that I like.

 

There's lots of decisions made decades or centuries ago that haven't been updated to reflect modern times. This one year newer every year rule is one of them.
Sure, the AACA says 1993 is an antique, but my sister was born in 94, and still lives in my parents ba*****t. She ain't no antique, and neither is the 1992 Ford Taurus that my mom had either.

 

It's all a matter of opinion as to any of these points. I remember the horror felt by some back in 1980 when the AACA accepted '55 year models. To them a '55 Chevy was not an antique car.

 

I have not read every post on this thread so this may have been covered, although I have read the wiki link, which does cover the basics. If we accept that the BBC as we know it production from was first available for the '65 model year, I wonder how long its gestation was and when the design was finalised. It would have to have been most of a year before going into production for the castings to be sorted and machining worked out, and contracts let for supply etc - or maybe it was all in-house? The whole business of green blocks etc I know nothing about. I do know my 1965 Pontiac engine was cast in late July and ***embled into the car in the first week of September '64 - so only a few weeks old.