Hot Rods Hard to believe..America’s first “Muscle Car” turns 70!

When I read the title of this thread I knew what was coming , but I must say every car mentioned here is cool as hell!

 

wingspread7,

Awesome photos.....the last one is so cool! A fastback too!!
Thanks for sharing any info?

High Noon

 

Nope. Just wish it were me!----Now

 

Had a 49 Fastback, 54- 324 engine. Sold it for $175.00 in 1966.

 

I need help here. Back in the 1960's The magazines and manufactures penned the "intermediate" with a big engine and a racy name was coined "Muscle Car". That's a '64 GTO, 442, GTA, Torino Cobra, Road Runner, GTX, SS396 Chevelle. Magazines did "muscle car shootouts" ect. Today the wannabe car guys call any 60's car a muscle car. A Mustang and its competition were "Pony cars". SOO, are you talking about a performance car? the first performance car? that 88 olds just might be the first performance car (every body loves my rocket 88). I was there saw the muscle cars overtake hotrods.

 

Hope this helps:

History
The American muscle car, introduced in 1949, is an essential component of the car industry. In response to the sudden demand for faster cars at this time, Oldsmobile débuted its Rocket 88. The Rocket 88 had a high-compression overhead valve V8 in a lightweight Oldsmobile body. The body was the same platform as the Oldsmobile 76, which was designed for a six cylinder engine. This combination created the definition of a muscle car: a car with a light body and a powerful engine. The Rocket 88 dominated the NASCAR circuit in 1950, escalating the craze for speed.

Gentleman’s Gazette

 

Nice....my mom's first car.....it's what dad bought with an automatic.....

 

A 49 303 Olds had a135 hp a 41 Twin carbed Buick had 165 hp. As for the GTO at 348 hp in 64 when 2 years earlier a 62 Plymouth which was lighter had 410 hp

 

Always going to be disagreement when one tries to cite the "first" of anything, but using the definition above, the 1930 Packard 734 is almost a decade older than the 1939 Buick.

Not only did Packard install the Super 8 (385 CID) engine instead of the Standard 8 (320 CID) into the smaller body, Packard also modified the engine to have significantly more power than normal; even to the extent of a different intake manifold and a special carburetor. The 385 CID normal 106 HP was increased to 145.

Jon.

 

I have seen this argument for years.....but the only groups who dispute the fact that the first "muscle car" is the GTO are those in fringe groups like this. Before the GTO, there were no muscle cars....it wasn't even a thing. Sure, you can backdate the philosophy to suit whatever you fancy.....but before Pontiac did what they did in 64, there were just cars that were faster than others.

 

Happy 70th Birthday '50 Oldsmobile:

Gene Adams 1950 Olds​

That stated, I must say that this is the first time I've ever heard them referred to as America's first "Muscle Car".

I agree with others that the term was coined for the '64 GTO.

On a related note, many have argued that America’s first "Muscle Car" was the legendary '55 Chrysler C-300 Coupe:

​

... as it was the first 300-horsepower automobile mass-produced for the general public.

Before then, only the limited-production, custom-body '30s Duesenberg, built for the very wealthy, had provided such power.

 

Well, The Stutz Bearcat is all American, and a bloody quick machine in its day....
And it has real style.

 

"A rose by any other name is still a rose".

 

Here is another great article on the 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/1950-oldsmobile-88/

High Noon

 

If its on the internet it must be true.

 

Bootleggers
The need for fast cars started with prohibition in the 1920s. Moonshiners and bootleggers wanted to be able to outrun police vehicles, so they started modifying their cars. As the years passed and prohibition ended, the Southern moonshiners became infamous for their modified cars. The moonshiners transformed their cars due to the demand for speed, handling, and cargo capacity. By the 1940s, these cars progressed to be more efficient. The moonshining business was not nearly as profitable as it was during prohibition; the moonshiners started to use their cars for racing. These remodeled cars dominated the street racing circuits and thus inspired the Oldsmobile Rocket 88.

Gentleman’s Gazette

 

Neat little piece....that has absolutely nothing to do with Musclecars

 

Hello,
So, my brother at age 15 was the first teen in our area of So Cal that had a muscle car?

1951 Olds two door sedan

Yes, it was fast, but not that fast. It was more of a cruiser. But to call it a muscle car is labeled incorrectly. But, at the time, there were only a few sedans that were somewhat fast as listed in the 1958-60 drag news for E.T. and speed at the drags all over So Cal and elsewhere.


The term “muscle car” came later, as there was nothing a high performance car, straight from the factories, could do that wasn’t labeled fast. If the 1964 GTO was a muscle car, that was labeled by the writers of the era connecting it with a famous Italian car maker. Earlier, in 1961, Chevrolet came out with the 409 that put the taillights in front of everyone and every make coming out of Detroit.

But the topper was in 1963 when Chevrolet came out with the 427 z-11 as an option. That was the start of the high performance stock car wars, locally and all over the USA. How could anyone argue with at least 430 hp from the factory. That is/was a lot of "muscle."


Jnaki

So for those that still think the early Oldsmobile Sedans were the first muscle car, thank you and my brother thanks you for the nice label. No one thought of it as such, back then, as the term “muscle car” was not readily used… Muscle Beach, yes, but no muscle car… Each era had their own version of a high performance car that could qualify for a label, but muscle car was not one of them.

 

Uhhhh,,,,,you were saying,,,,,!

Tommy

 

How about the OHV V8 as most muscle cars are powered.
Actually Olds was 1949 as was Cadillac.

 

In mid-size bodies, correct, however what should we do with the 389 Tempest in 63? or the 283 Chevy IIs also introduced in 64?, even the 62 Olds Jetfire with the 215hp, 215 cu in Turbo'd V-8 with a 4-speed in a 2500lb car?
The possibilities are endless.

 

Was not a v8 but was overhead valve straight 8.

 

Jnaki,

Really ......it was fast enough and the car to beat in the 1950 NASCAR season! Not to mention winning the inaugural 2000 plus mile Carrera Panamericana road race in Mexico!

“The first generation Oldsmobile 88 was a hugely important car. When it came out in 1949, it introduced one of the first postwar overhead valve V-8 designs, the famous “Rocket” V-8. That large and powerful V-8, combined with relatively light body, was a formula that later blossomed into the muscle car.

The Olds 88 was also one of the fastest automobiles in America at the dawn of the 1950s, and it was the car to beat in NASCAR racing, winning 10 out of 19 races in the 1950 season. The same year, an Olds 88 won the grueling 2000-mile-plus Carrera Panamericana road race in Mexico.” Hagerty


High Noon

 

First muscle car? I could care less which is labeled "the first"! I would take this over any of the others mentioned ...