First Muscle Cars
On Olds
Listers,
My first car was a 1954 Olds Super 88 convertible with a 324 cube V8,
4-throat Carter WCFB and dual pipes/scavengers, 4-speed, dual range
Hydramatic - would blow away '55 -'57 Chevies with sticks and 283 Powerpaks
- could run mid-15s at the Half Mon Bay Dragstrip. My buddy Al Bernal had a
'56 Buick Century with a 356 (?) nailhead/three speed stick that could nail
me if we raced a long enough distance. A co-worker had a 1956 Pontiac
Safari wagon with a 1957 Bonneville fuel-injected V8 and a B & M
hydro-stick that would run with the best of them. My cousin Sandy had a
1957 Stude Silver Hawk with a stick that could outrun a brand new 289
cube/4-speed Mustang.
The Super 88, Century and Bonneville were sold on the promise of power and
raced with factory support to prove their abilities, as did Chrysler with
the 300 series. This should be used as a turning point - when performance
became a virtue that superceded prudent, steady and economical driving
(spoken like a true Morris Minor owner!).
The true first muscle car should be the 1932 Ford V8 - power to the people!
When the Merc came out in 1939, it was even faster than the Ford. Then
there were the Twin-H 308 cube Hudson flathead straight eights that could
beat most early Olds Rocket 88s.
Rick Feibusch
Venice Beach, CA
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