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Muscle Cars Evolution

Good Essays

Collins 1 Do you like fast, loud, and sharp looking cars? Then muscle cars are the car for you with their big engines, loud exhaust, and crazy paint jobs. In the 1930s and 1940s shade tree mechanics began turning model T and model A fords into super crazy hotrods (“Beginning”1). Muscle cars have changed the world since the 1930s because of their good looks, sounds and pure American performance. In the 1940s regular mechanics began to be infatuated with speed and drag-racing. However, that infatuation turned deadly when they began to street race and get in terrible crashes. Around this time a small group of people saw the need to create a national sanctioning body for drag racing on a closed course, and this became known as the National …show more content…

The chevy 350 came out in 1955 it had overhead valves and it became an instant hit for many hotroders and muscle car enthusiasts because it had large amounts of torque and horse power in such a small engine package (“Birth” 1). The Chevy 350 in 1955 stole the overhead valve configuration with its older cousin the 1949 Oldsmobile rocket 303ci (Tom Shaw 1). The Olds rocket was the first american high compression engine. (“innovation 1). The Olds Rocket 88 was als one of the first “hot” engines frome the factories in Detroit (“Beginning” 1). In 1960 chevy one upped its small block with the giant big block the big block came in a 396 409 and 454 cubic inch models. The Chevy 409 Big Block was so popular it even was mentioned in a Beach Boys song ( “Early” 3). The 1960 chevy big block was a big hit on and off the track and it offered lots of low end torque with tons of horse power (“Early”1). In 1964 Chrysler reintroduced the hemi and that same year it dominated the drag racing scene. With well over 550 HP it was a super strong contender (“Goldenage” 4). Just as Chrysler was dominating the drag strip, Cadillac was dominating the NASCAR and stock car circuit with its newly introduced v8 …show more content…

NASCAR engines like the Twin-h power and the 7x were production designed engines for the NASCAR and stock car circuit (“Birth” 1). People have been racing cars for just over 100 years, but in 1947 NASCAR was formed (“Birth” 1). Stock car racing was super hot with muscle cars the full size performance cars. The Olds 88 dominated the stock car circuit (“Birth” 1). Ford Galaxies, also hot on the track, they were considered the 1964 all around champion (“Goldenage” 4). NASCAR was the roots of hotrods and muscle cars because it provided the means to race cars legally ands safely (“Muscle Cars” 1). Another sanctioning body for racing is NHRA. The NHRA sanctioned drag racing NHRAs roots are in California but it sanctions races all over the united states. The NHRA formed in 1951 wich is no surprise because drag racing also gained tremendous interest from the public in that same year (“Beginning” 1) (“Birth” 1). The Ford thunder bolt was specially built for drag racing. It was a stock Fairlane that was striped down and built back up with fiber glass fenders and a giant 427 super cobra jet power plant. Although the Ford T-bolt was a beast on the track ford only built 127 of these amazing factory racers (“Goldenage”

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