There is an elite group of well-known muscle cars. These include big names like Camaros, Corvettes, Mustangs, Barracudas, and Roadrunners. However, beyond this list there are some rare muscle cars that many, even muscle car enthusiasts, are unfamiliar with.
One such vehicle is the 1968 Chevrolet El Camino SS. The style of the car is somewhere between a pickup truck and a Chevelle. They began producing these cars in 1959, ceased production for a few years and returned to making them from 1964-1987. The El Camino featured an L78 big-block 6.5-liter engine with a manual gearbox. It features handsome length and rear traction, making it an impressive muscle car.
The 1960s Pontiac Bobcat is another great muscle car that not many know. It was sold and installed by a dealership in Michigan known as Ace Wilson’s Royal Oak Pontiac. Here they tuned the engines of the Pontiac Catalina, Bonneville, Tempest, and GTO models and made them into top notch engines with a few of their own modifications to cylinder heads and manifolds. They also installed exhaust headers and great mufflers. Depending on how many modifications the dealer made to the engine the horsepower in these Bobcat’s ranges from 30-50 hp.
The 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt was built just for drag racing competitions. It won the NHRA Super-Stock class in 1964 with 7-inch wide street tires that broke many previously held records. The reason for the success of the vehicle has to do with the two four-barrel carburetors, high-rise intake, ram-air cold air induction, and exhaust headers of equal length. The car featured 657-hp at 7,500 RPMs making it an amazingly impressive car.
The 1965 Rambler Marlin and Plymouth Belvedere II are two impressive, relatively unknown muscle cars. The Marlin was named the “personal luxury car” and could be purchased with a 3.8-liter V6 or two different 5.4-liter variations. The Marlin’s claim to fame was ultimate luxury. The Belvedere II had a famous 7.0-liter engine and became the official car of the L.A. Police Department in “Adam Twelve,” a television show.
The last of the great, but unknown muscle cars is the 1974 AMC Javelin AMX. It is a sporty vehicle without too much weight and lots of power. It features 335-hp, and a 6.6-litre V8 engine.