Tag Archives: muscle cars

427 Biscayne

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1968 Chevrolet Biscayne L72 2-Door Sedan

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 18, 2013

1968 Chevrolet Biscayne L72

The Chevrolet Biscayne was the entry-level full-size model for the Chevrolet line. It was positioned below the Bel Air and Impala throughout its life, which lasted four generations from 1958 through 1975. This is a generation three car – the last generation you could get a two-door hardtop (which was only offered through 1969).

It’s a sleeper, really. Biscaynes were intended for the fleet market – just like the Ford Crown Vic was for the last 15+ years. They were mundane and didn’t really stand out. But you could get them with the L72 option – a Turbo-Jet 427 – a 6.7-liter V8 making 425 horsepower. It also had a Muncie 4-speed with a Hurst shifter. No one would see this car coming at a stoplight in 1968.

Apparently, this car was sold new to a Georgia bootlegger. I’m sure the original purpose was to blend in and to be able to get away when need be. It’s the perfect car for that, offering both anonymity and tire-screeching performance. But the owner ended up in jail before he could use it and the car was hidden before it could be seized. It’s all original in preservation condition. It has just 720 miles on it from new! And it is the only black L72 Biscayne know to exist in the world. What an awesome car. This car could bring anywhere from $30,000-$80,000 – there really isn’t a precedent for an original L72 car like this. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Indy.

Update: Sold $165,000.

GT500 Super Snake

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1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 17, 2013

1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake

For 1967, Shelby added a bigger, more powerful Mustang to its current Mustang lineup, which consisted solely of the GT350. The new GT500 used the police interceptor engine – the 428 V8 (7.0-liters) rated at 355 horsepower. It was an immediate success and outsold the GT350 by almost 2 to 1.

This car is special. We’ll start with something I didn’t know: Carroll Shelby was the West Coast distributor for Goodyear in the late 1960s. Goodyear asked him to help showcase their new economy tire. It was to be an extended high-speed demonstration and Shelby decided to build a super GT500 for this task. They pulled a GT500 off the line and equipped it with a racing 427 – essentially the same engine that the GT40 ran at Le Mans. It put out about 600 horsepower.

Then it was equipped with the el cheapo-looking tires you see on it now and run for 500 miles at an impressive average of 142 mph (it topped out around 170!). The car was shipped to a Ford dealership in California afterward and the dealer wanted Shelby to build a run of these cars, but the price would have been exorbitant – being more expensive than the Cobra – and Shelby declined.

The car passed through various owners until the current owner acquired it and performed a “light restoration” – putting back into test mode (and finding a nearly impossible-to-find set of original skinny Goodyears – the same model used in the tire test). This is the only GT500 Super Snake built and it will bring considerably more than the $5,000 that drove it off the Ford lot in 1967. Click here for more and here for more from Mecum in Indy.

Update: Sold $1,300,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kissimmee 2018, $2,200,000.

A Pair of Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs

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1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Yarborough Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Yarborough Special

Ford – make that, Mercury – was involved in NASCAR racing in the late 1960s. For 1969, their NASCAR model was the Cyclone. And NASCAR demanded that any car a manufacturer raced needed to be produced for the street – or homologated. So Mercury took their Cyclone and made it more aerodynamic to make it more competitive on the circuit.

So they built a few road models – “few” being the operative word. NASCAR mandated that about 500 be built. Mercury was feeling generous in 1969 and built 503. They built them all in the first few weeks of 1969 only. It was essentially the same car as the Ford Torino Talladega.

The body was a Cyclone fastback (or “Sportsroof”) with a nose extension. The engine was  a 5.8-liter Ford V-8 (the race car got a 7.0-liter). Horsepower was about 290. Two models were offered, this one being a “Yarborough Special” named for NASCAR superstar and legend Cale Yarborough. Only 285 of this version was built and the red trim sets it apart from its sister car (you can read more here).

Update: Sold $26,000.

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1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 4-6, 2013

1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Gurney Special

This is the other version of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (if you’re linking here from somewhere on the site, you can read more about these cars above). It’s interesting that Ford would name a car after Dan Gurney – he wasn’t a NASCAR regular (even though he has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history at 31.25% – the highest among drivers who started more than 3 races). He ran races between 1962 and 1968 – just 16 races. And he won 5 of them (and he did drive Mercurys for owner Bud Moore). Pretty incredible.

Dan Gurney is, hands down, one of the best race car drivers that America has ever produced. Mercury built 218 Gurney Specials for 1969 in honor of him. The blue trim on this one sets it apart from the Yarborough Special. Both of these cars look incredible and are likely coming from the same home. You can read more about this one here and see what else Mecum has to offer here.

Update: Sold $22,000

Baldwin Motion Phase III Corvette

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1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Offered by Auctions America | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | March 22-24, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Corvette Baldwin Motion Phase III Coupe

Baldwin, Long Island-located Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance joined forces in 1967 to build serious street machines. Baldwin Chevrolet sold the cars that they, and their partners, modified. All kind of Chevrolets could be had: Novas, Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes.

They called their Phase III cars “supercars” and the term is apt. They guaranteed both an 11.5 second quarter mile time and a cruising speed of 120 mph. That’s some gearing! But then again, such gearing is made easy when the engine makes 600 horsepower. This car has a 7.9-liter (482-cid) V-8 “Elephant” motor making just such a number. It is the only engine like it known to exist.

This car is a 15,000 mile car from new and is well optioned. It is all original and is the only one like it. Rare, period one-off muscle cars like this used to bring ridiculous money about 10 years ago. The market has softened but this is still a very valuable car. Click here to read more and here for more from Auctions America in Ft. Lauderdale.

Update: Sold $136,400.

’69 Yenko Camaro

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1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko

Offered by Russo & Steele | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 16-20, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko Coupe

First of all, Merry Christmas. Secondly, I picked a green car today on purpose, of course. Russo & Steele are the muscle car experts in Scottsdale – they really dig up some rare pieces of American brawn-on-wheels every year. And this Yenko Camaro is no exception.

Yenko Chevrolet in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania began selling hotted-up Corvairs in 1965 under the supervision of Don Yenko, the son of the dealership’s founder. When the Camaro came out in 1967, it was a natural fit for what Yenko was doing. Chevrolet’s policy with the Camaro limited engine size to 6.6-liters. Yenko would order Camaros and swap their engine for those out of a 7.0-liter (427) Corvette. This car does not have the original engine, but a period correct 435 horsepower, 7.0-liter V8 out of a Corvette.

By 1969, Chevrolet was more open to engagement in the Pony Car Wars. Using a special order (COPO), the big engines were installed on the assembly line. Yenko added other bits, like putting his name on the fenders. This is an actual 1969 Yenko Camaro – only 201 were built and only 30 with the automatic transmission featured in this car. Painted in Fathom Green, it was subject to a no-expense spared restoration and should probably sell for between $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info and here to check out more from Russo & Steele.

Update: Did not sell.

Shelby “Green Hornet”

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1968 Shelby EXP 500

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2013

Here’s one Shelby Mustang that even the most seasoned Shelby collectors don’t have. That’s because it’s the only one. Ford built two Mustangs as test beds/prototypes in 1968. This car was originally the factory Ford prototype for the California Special Mustang. When they were done with it, Shelby acquired it and ran it through the gauntlet.

Shelby tried all sorts of new parts and experimental systems out with this car. At one point it had independent rear suspension and an experimental electronic fuel injection system. Both parts left the car before it was finished, although, when it was restored, the independent suspension was recreated and put back on the car. Shelby also used it to test the new Cobra Jet engine. Because of the raw power, they had to use a transmission from an F350 truck. Power is somewhere around 400, although it was never officially published – although they took it to the Ford Proving Grounds and managed a 0-60 sprint of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 157 mph – both far better than the Shelby GT500KR that this car gave way to.

EXP 500 was given special green paint and dubbed “The Green Hornet.” When it’s life as a test car was over, a Ford executive slipped the car into the Ford Employee Auction and the car, which has a real VIN but was also marked as a Shelby prototype, was sold to the public. It went about it’s life as any old GT500, but was tracked down in 1988 and restored in 1993 back to it’s “Green Hornet” specs. Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson acquired the car later on and it is being sold from his collection (as is the Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible we featured). At Barrett-Jackson this is a million dollar car. For more information, click here. And for more form Barrett-Jackson, click here.

Update: Failed to sell.

A Real Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible

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1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2013

There are muscle cars that are desirable and then there are desirable cars that happen to be muscle cars. This is as close to the latter half of that sentence as you can get. This is the most desirable muscle car there is. It’s also just about the rarest – with only 11 built.

When people make “re-creation” or “clone” or “tribute” cars, they usually start with a run-of-the-mill car – a V6 or a base V8 engine and base or mid-level trim. Then they go to the Mopar catalog and order a Hemi crate engine and stuff it under the hood. It’s not desirable. It might be fun to drive or show your friends, but it just cheapens the real thing.

But this is the real thing and boy is it pretty. It’s the only Plum Crazy Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible (it is the original factory color and, in my opinion, the best). This is one of two  that were built for Canadian export. And it’s got that magical 7.0-liter 427 Hemi under the shaker hood.

These don’t come up for sale very often – obviously, there’s only 11 of them. One sold for $2 million a few years ago and, while a little extreme, that was the going rate – a few years ago. This is not a $2 million car today – even though any Barrett-Jackson employee near a microphone during the car’s sale will surely be telling you otherwise. This will undoubtedly be one of the top sellers of the auction. Read more here and check out more from Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, here.

Update: Sold $1,320,000.

Hemi Superbird

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1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Las Vegas, Nevada | September 20-22, 2012

The Plymouth Superbird is the most outlandish of all muscle cars. Nothing competes with that wing. It’s original purpose was a homologation model for the road so Chrysler could go beat up Ford and General Motors in NASCAR.

Basically, they took a Plymouth Road Runner (the sister car, the Dodge Charger Daytona was based on, well, a Dodge Charger). From there, a streamlined nosecone was added to the front and there were cutouts above the front wheels, covered by rear-facing scoops. Then there was that wing. Why is it so tall? Well, so they could still open the trunk. There were also some cool decals here and there.

Engine choices were limited to the base 440 Super Commando V8 making 375 horsepower. A step up from there was to the six barrel carb setup for 390 horsepower. Or you could go all out and get the 426 Hemi making 425 horsepower.

The car was pretty successful in NASCAR, enough so to get itself banned for 1971. Chrysler only needed to produce 500 road cars to satisfy NASCAR, but, in total, 1,290 Superbirds were built – but only 135 had that oh-so-wonderful and sought-after Hemi engine. This is a matching-numbers Hemi car in Lemon Twist Yellow with 20,000 original miles. It has been restored and looks great. My best guess for price would be around $275,000. For more info, click here. And from more from Barrett-Jackson in Vegas, click here.

Update: Sold $297,000.