Muscle Cars 1966

"You could go camping or well... Go camping." Hysterical. Great stuff Greg.

Big, loud and rugged American cars that were pretty fast zippy for the times. Just remember guys, avoid a turning fight with the 1966 Datsuns, Mitsubishi's and Toyota's.

I just accidentally deleted someone's comment. To address the point, yes, all of those things I mentioned are in this video, cage dancer included.

Just came across this video. Finally, somebody has good things to say about the 66 Charger! I loved that car. My wife and I actually had two of them-- the first one got run over by a cement truck(luckily it was parked out by the curb at the time). We must have gotten a really good one, because we kept it until the youngest son could no longer sit behind the space behind the bucket seats in the back. It finally had about 65,000 miles on it when we sold it to get A STATION WAGON of all things. We never had a bit of problem with it. I have missed that car ever since, and that was 55 years ago(I'm 80 now).

Love this series of videos. I got a brand new '66 GTO 55 years ago this month, and still have it. Three deuces , 4 speed, and 3.55 posi rear. I added a Bobcat kit. Back then, I remember being disappointed in ALL the test times in the magazines. I ran a best of 13.12 at 107 MPH. My buddy's 375 HP SS ran slightly quicker - I forget exactly - and forever convinced me that I NEVER want solid lifters. Another bud's '65 GTO was just a little slower than me and he had a 3.90 rear. Another friend's '65 Hemi ran in the 12s consistently right off the trailer, IF one could judiciously apply the accelerator and not fry the tires. Those were heady times.

Proud to say I graduated from high school in 1966. Lot's of great cars to drool over back then. I'll send in my "hurtfulness report" later. Nicely covered here, thanks Greg!

parasite drag racing or induced drag racing?

Muscle cars and ww2 fighters....my 2 greatest passions...just perfect👌🏼

This video is by far the best American Car video I have ever seen. I'm watching for the fifth time and I cry every time. Take me back, Mister Peabody, take me back. What a wild ride was 1966. Beatles - Revolver, as well.

Sweet! 66! My uncle has a 1966 Corvette Stingray with a L-72 427, 4 speed, and side panel exhaust, I love that car.

By 1966 there were just ab bunch of hot cars around, but I never knew anybody who owned a Hemi. Not only were they an expensive option, they were very hard to keep in tune & burnt up spark plugs rapidly. The hottest car I came across was a 1966 Corvette 427 Tri Power car. The guy was the cousin of my good friend. He had just recently gotten out of the army, this is how he spent his separation pay. He came out from the city to visit & knew I had my 1965 GTO. I had done quite a bit of street racing with that car. He challenged me. Well, he just did not know how to drive the Vette. He did nothing but spin his tires. I think the missing piece when talking about muscle cars is the driver. It takes experience to be able to "come off the line" cleanly. Regardless of the power it is critical to get that power on the ground. Thanks for these videos! Great work!!

Enjoyed this video immensely. I am now 70 years old. In my time, and within my family, we had a 1964 GTO, a 1967 and a 1968. All rag tops. My brother had a 1969 442 W30. Last but not least a non muscle 1968 Cougar with a 289. Nice little car. If only we had kept them all.

Great video Greg, brings back memories of my thunder road days! I had a subscription to C&D in those days and poured over those comparisons as I was about to buy my first car. I always remember the quote about the all the excess smoking;"yeah, we set er up a little loose". Numbers in magazines are one thing but what happened out on a two lane country blacktop road at night was usually different because of a lot of variables. Thanks for bringing back a lot of memories. (GTO guy by the way).

Greg, thanks for another rational, balanced treatment of subject matter that is so often distorted by the sundry brand loyalties of those of us who lived though these times, even as kids. I was 11 years old in '66 and watched the era unfolding, envious of the older brothers (and occasional sisters) in our Southern California neighborhood who would occasionally manage to afford one of these memorable machines - in retrospect, they all had their virtues and gave a great deal of bang for the buck in the context of the times - though this was a time when it was still possible to find some truly awful cars. I wound up a Mopar guy, probably because my father drove Dodges and Plymouths as a rule and as an ex-pilot was enamored of the stated Chrysler "Extra care in engineering" slogan, the refinement of those Torqueflites, and probably the enduring afterglow of the early hemi-era Chrysler letter cars, though as a family man working at a government job as an Air Traffic Controller he couldn't afford those cars. He dragged the bunch of us around in a 63 Belvedere wagon with a 318 polyspherical and a pushbutton Torqueflite, and I can vividly recall the way that thing sounded on kickdown pulling a grade loaded down with kids, dogs, and camping gear on the way up to the Sierras... Later on, he co-signed, sight unseen, on my first car purchase at age 19, a 1970 AAR 'Cuda. By this time, 1974, Dad wasn't really keeping up with cars - Talk about a snow job! I sold it as a simple "It's a stick, Dad - economy!" (Not mentioning the pistol grip on the 4 speed, or the fact that it had 3.91 gears), practical "It's a small block, the same engine family as Mom's 318 Dart" (Well, 340s WERE!), and then he asked the dangerous question: "What kind of carburetion?" (Ohh, he phrased it perfectly, so I can answer sort of truthfully by saying...) "Two barrel". Of course I did fail to point out that there were three of them on a factory Edelbrock manifold, rated at 990 CFM... When I brought the AAR home, he got only as far as the turn of our front sidewalk, took one look at the car, with all the guys in the neighborhood already gathering, realized he'd been had, and for the first time ever, uttered the words "Oh, Sh*t!" within my earshot, and turned around and walked back into the house... I spent 100,000 miles having all kinds of fun with that car, went through every major mechanical system, and it turned me into a pretty good mechanic and intuitive engineering head, and stood me in good stead in later years working on liquid fuel rocket engines. So thanks, Dad, for having a little faith that the machinery and performance lust served a purpose!

I turned 17 in 1966 and tricked my dad into buying a new '66 GTO convertible, 3x2s, M21 close ratio with 3.90 Saf-T-Trac, no power steering, power brakes, or AC, it would fry the redwall 7.75-14 Firestone Deluxe Champions if you stood on it at 80mph! If you street raced we changed to a tire called the Atlas Bucron on the rears, I think the size we 9.50-14. They used a very soft buttle rubber compound used on soft riding cars like Caddy and Lincoln or big Imperials - the grip was a little better with this tire but you still had to really know how to pedal the gas to get traction. The 390 Fairlane and Comets were slow, engine good basically for turning AC and power steering pulleys on Thunderbirds and LTD's, and when pushed hard they liked to eject internal parts, hence the 428 Cobra Jet was Ford's replacement. Street racing on Friday and Saturday night, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!!! would be at the track, Atco or Englishtown Raceway Park for me and shoe polish on the window and remember to keep your window rolled up when you came to the tree! The 1960's was the best time to have a fast car. Thanks for taking me back there again.

My dad bought me a new Palomino Copper 1970 GTO hardtop, 4 spd, 400/350 hp., 355 rear end. Great car. I had a choice of that or a 454/450 hp Chevelle ss. The Chevelle was automatic so i chose the 4 spd GTO. It would take any of the "run of the mill" supercars (yes, Supercar! Intermediates.). The 390 or 429 Ford were no problem, and the 428 Fords a bit tougher but still no problem. SS 396's were tough but not quite up to the GTO, of course not counting the 396/375. Chrysler automatics were a problem, 383 or 440. Never ran a GS or 442. The limited slip differential was a big plus, and when I struggled in a drag race it was usually traction related. Came off the line at 2200 RPM, run to ~5700 (hood tach), speed shift. The Goat was not the best out of the hole but strong in 1st 2nd and 3rd. If I was not ahead when I hit 4th then it was bad news for me. Part of what made those cars great was the street racing. I don't mean organized street racing but spur the moment, or "lets head to" this place or that close by where the road was long & straight. I had power disk brakes and power steering which might have cost a bit of power but was worth it. Car would oversteer, which was fun. Did I mention all the beer drinking and driving? Never worried about the cops bothering you. Those were great days. We had the best cars, the best music, the best culture, and the best women! There will never be another time like that.

One significant change between the 1965 and 1966 Oldsmoblie 442 was the replacement of the Rochester 4GV carburetor with the Rochester Quadrajet for 1966. I don't recall the difference in airflow, but the Quadrajet secondary venturis seemed much larger. A significant Oldsmobile, despite modest sales, was the 1968-1971 W-31 Ram-Rod 350. After being repeatedly bested by one at the local dragway, I sold my 1965 442 and bought a 1969 W-31 Ram-Rod. For the W-31, Oldsmobile took their standard 350 cu in engine, fitted it with larger valves from the 455, and a more aggressive camshaft with 308 deg duration. They added two intake scoops under the front bumper, ducted to the air cleaner which, on one chilly fall evening, led my first experience with carburetor icing.

Very interesting, I watched the first 30 minutes or so nonstop haha. I'm loving this series so far, there are a lot of details and back-in-the-day comparisons you bring up that most muscle car fans don't know about (me included).

i owned a dark green 1966 dodge coronet with the 318 engine. it was the best car that i have ever owned. one reason is torsion bar rear suspension. the bars are constantly showing the tires where they belong,and with authority. hard into a corner there is no creepy pushy leaning and sagging. for a couple of years in north east Ohio when we had snow storms i would go get my best friend and we would drive around on un-plowed streets with almost worn out tires. no problem and i never got stuck. torsion bar suspension and that the car sat comfortably high. especially when we were in it.

John Fitch gets his props for setting up the 4-4-2. He also had a line of performance products for the Chevy Corvair and those parts are much sought after by Corvair enthusiasts today. My Father bought a '67 4-4-2, w/ the 400 engine and 4-speed transmission and said he liked the car's balance and loved its low-end power. Sadly, he never got to take it to the strip, because a drunk rear-ended him and completely destroyed it. I also recall helping my Father remove the gold colored engine and transmission and thought to myself how cool it was to have a gold engine, like a piece of precious metal. Fast-forward to 2020 and POOF!, those engines are just that - precious metal. lol