This is what the coolest muscle cars of the 70s look like with wide body kits
For decades, the United States has pumped high-powered straight-line machines to pretty much win drag races and NASCAR. Many dream of harnessing horses under the long hoods of classic Mustangs and Firebirds, but the technology has never been there … until recently.
Perhaps the best time to pick up a muscle car is 1970. They were shifting their power and ignoring the looming oil crisis, and many are still available as barn finds for under $ 500. The designs were loosening and spinning … starting to come to mind … a little.
Well, with the manufacture of auto body parts and the ordering of LS engines from your house now commonplace, a car can look anything you want. Autocross and tighter performance are available to everyone for eBay parts, and the result … these: cars that are splayed out, have tighter suspension, and are lowered on bags for visibility and control. maximum maneuverability. Finally, the wild American horses are herded and for the first time in history there are muscle cars that can take a turn!
9
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
While GM released Pontiacs every year, the 1970s models put out 200 horsepower with its V8, and the body styling was always wilder than the previous one. This one has a wide body handcrafted by Staircase Reily to make it competitive and actually increase downforce.
It contains a replaced 6.5-liter LSX V8 that uses the same T101A 4-speed gearbox that is used in NASCAR. That said, the clean and minimal appearance sometimes sports a hood that covers the engine that produces over 700 horsepower.
8
Dodge Charger Daytona
The original or the original Dodge Dayton; Plymouth Superbird was designed uniquely to win the NASCAR Championships. The iconic, massively tall wing was engineered to reach over turbulent air currents for a clean, consistent downforce when drafting. Now with modern manufacturing technology, they can make beauties like this.
In this case there is a Dodge Viper V10 in the hood, and while this is only a render, for now it is actually a concept created by Karan adivi that inspired an anonymous builder early in production in Montana, although we couldn’t get more information than that at the time.
7
LT1 Corvette Stingray
Known to be the original lunar astronaut car, this (somewhat dated) one went in the direction of a military commander look named “Rambo” by creator, Garrett Randall. The average dark green machine makes 450 horsepower with its new LS6. Although originally a 4-speed, this now has a 6-speed. Instead of dealing with the fenders first, they actually bought the wheels and then mounted the wider fender on the tires!
You can watch the thing in action here on youtube, but basically Garrett got into his dad’s cars, started automatically going through old cars, heard the Corvette grips better, and then switched to that 1970 Stingray! He contacted a store to help fix the old C3 and ended up swapping the half-built C3 the store owner had on hand.
6
Dodge Charger R / T
This Dodge Charger B-Body came out circa 1968 but lived in production unchanged until ’72 so we are counting it! This one in particular is a rare bird because in order to slam it like that you literally have to replace the subframe with that of a Crown Vic.
It’s not over yet, but so far it’s based on bags and the engine plan is a Hemi V8 that could put out between 300 and 600 horsepower. Just imagine! A ’70s General-Lee-Esque muscle car with all the raw power harnessed in a Charger that can … actually spin?
5
4
Ford F-150
While not necessarily a muscle car, when a truck gets 914 horsepower, muscleheads tend to welcome it into the fold. In addition, the heart of it is a muscle car. You might recognize the livery of the Ken Block from Long Beach. Hoonigans are legends for their inane builds that manage to keep themselves clean despite the overcrowded decals, both inside and out.
This F-150 started life as a 1977 truck body with, not a V8, but a Ford GT V6 that started with 647 horsepower. It was originally rear-wheel drive, but when you rebuild a truck to this level, you might as well give it all-wheel drive. The wide body is not just for looks, but to cover the elongated wheels. In fact, the interior is lined with panels that direct the smoke outwards for maximum cinematic effect!
3
Ford Mustang GT
Why is army green such a common widebody color? Partly because it evokes American heritage, but also because it’s so inexpensive. The builder of this particular Mustang, Chris Ashton, spared no expense to get the car as clean as possible … so we think green is to complete the aggressive look!
And he’s really aggressive, with 350 horsepower to his name! He has an LS3 inserted and surprisingly the owner Chris doesn’t even work in the auto industry. True to form, this one has a roll cage and a stripped down interior for actual racing.
2
Chevrolet Camaro RS
What happens when you get the green light to build any car you want as a “Marketing product” slash “deletion”? Well the Roadster Shop in Illinois completely rebuilt and modernized this 1970s Camaro from scratch, and WOW!
A sexy interior wasn’t enough for these guys. New paint? Widebody? Cool, suitable even, but they also had to scramble the bigger LSX they could fit to be REALLY fast! The custom Texas Speed LSX 454 V8 gives it 750 horsepower. If you didn’t know better, you’d be wondering if Chevrolet was releasing a special edition Camaro!
1
Ford Escort
While not necessarily a muscle car, this little machine puts out 225 horsepower in its tiny body, and it looks super clean! Sky blue is hard to miss, and this body is completely personalized! To do this, they had to completely replace the fenders with parts made to fit the small tires.
When he revs up, he sounds great, and he doesn’t just look cute. The little thing is equipped for racing and has even taken the drag strip AND the track, complete with a roll cage and a minimally equipped interior.
Read more
About the Author
