Back in the early 1960s, Oldsmobile wanted to build a full size sports-luxury coupe to compete with the Ford Thunderbird. They came up with the Starfire, which borrowed its name from the Lockheed F-94 airplane of the same name. Known for its tremendous speed, the F-94 was the first US production jet to come with an afterburner.
Oldsmobile’s Starfire was based on the Eighty-Eight and when it went into production in 1961, it was the most powerful and most expensive car they offered. What made this car special was its 425 cubic inch (7.0L) Rocket V8 engine, which was only used in the Starfire and the Jetstar. With a Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, the engine put out an easy 370 horsepower.
As a seasoned attendee of SEMA, Barrett-Jackson and other car shows, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at resto-modded muscle cars. I can tell you that Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, Chevelles, Novas, GTOs, Chargers, and similar cars are by far the most popular models that people restore. At these events, a car like a first-generation Mercury Cougar would be a real stand-out for the sheer novelty of being something different that you haven’t seen a hundred times before.
This 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible scores points for originality and hits a home run for being an extremely well done build. Nicknamed the “Cool Cat,” it was built by Hot Rod Express out of Blue Springs, Missouri.
While walking around at Barrett-Jackson 2014, I spotted this ’65 Mustang Fastback nicknamed “Bad Apple.” Honestly, it looked so good I thought it was a Ringbrothers car at first glance. The shaved door handles and no side mirrors give it a really sleek, streamlined look. As it turns out, this car was actually built by Jim Green’s Performance Center in Monroe, WA.
On the one hand, this is a really nice build. The work that has gone into this car is first rate and I truly believe that it was a $200,000 build, as mentioned in the auction notes. On the other hand, this car exemplifies just how ridiculous the muscle car world has become.
While we were in Las Vegas for the SEMA Show, we made time to stop by the Imperial Palace. Though they are not the newest or the fanciest hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard, they do have a stunning collection of rare and vintage automobiles.
One of the cars that caught my eye was this 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 Fastback, also known as “Eleanor” from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage.
During the time of A-body GM cars such as the Pontiac GTO “Judge”, the Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 W-30, and the Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport 454, Buick decided that it wanted to carve a niche for a doctor’s car that hauled ass with the blue-collars. The 1970 Buick GSX stands alone among the others with it’s absolutely absurd gross torque rating that is rated over 500 ft lbs below 3000 rpm. With it’s 455 cubic inch Buick engine (Pontiac and Oldsmobile offered their own brand of similarly displaced 455 cubic inch engines, Chevrolet offered the now well-known 454) it certainly measured up to the rest, and with the good looks that A-body platform provided, it was nice edition to General Motors high performance stable.
I absolutely love this time in the automotive industry. Not because it rings nostalgically with me like all the baby boomers I see spending astronomical sums of money to own one again before they’re worm food, but because they’re from a time before the evils of badge engineering. The above cars may have shared a general platform, but they all got different body work and sheet metal, had engines designed completely different for one another and were all gunning to be the top dog under GM’s banner. It wasn’t about making a car that was better than a Charger, ‘Cuda, or Gran Torino, it was about having a car that was better than the one being done by an “in-house” brand. I think that the friendly rivalry kept the imagination and output high, even if all the different parts and pieces being made by each brand was a nightmare for the bean counters. Continue reading →
I spotted this unique 1967 Ford Mustang at the DuPont Registry booth at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2013. DuPont Registry is a magazine where people advertise high-end and exotic cars for sale – sort of like an AutoTrader for millionaires.
This black stallion comes all the way from Beautiful British Columbia in Canada, where it was built by 360 Fabrication. This car has a lot going on with it – it’s half show car and half pro-touring car. The grille, wheels, and air ride are all show, but the rest of the car is all “go!”
Back in the early 1960s, Oldsmobile wanted to build a full size sports-luxury coupe to compete with the Ford Thunderbird. They came up with the Starfire, which borrowed its name from the Lockheed F-94 airplane of the same name. Known for its tremendous speed, the F-94 was the first US production jet to come with an afterburner.
