American Muscle

American Muscle

What exactly is an American muscle? To some people it might mean strong, American cars. To others, it means pure or raw power. American muscle era started in the mid 1960's. You had the Ford Mustang, Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Camaro, and one of the most desired cars, the Chevrolet Corvette.

The Ford Mustang is one of the first American muscle automobiles, originally based on the Ford Falcon compact. The first Mustang produced was a white convertible with red interior, rolled off the assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964. It was first promoted at the New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964, and through all three American television networks on April 19, it was the most successful product launch in automotive history, setting off near-mayhem at Ford dealers across the nation. The Mustang sold over one million units in its first 18 months on the market. The Mustang remains in production today after 43 years.

Much of the appeal in such a low-priced car came from the options list. The Mustang's long list of extra equipment has allowed buyers to fully make their cars their own. The option list included several power train combinations; the buyer could choose a three-speed or four-speed manual transmission or the three-speed Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. The standard six-cylinder engine could be replaced with a 164 hp 260 cubic inch or a 210 hp 289 cubic inch V8. Boasting the V8 and four-speed manual, the Mustang put up good numbers on the track. It had a 0-60 mph time of 8.9 seconds, with the standing quarter mile in 17 seconds at 85 mph. Starting in June 1964, the new 271 hp "K-code" High Performance engine became available. It was the most expensive Mustang option, and only 7,273 of the 680,992 Mustangs sold in 1965 were equipped. With a skilled driver, K-code/4-speed equipped Mustangs could do 0-60 in around 6 seconds, and put down mid 14-second Ð'ј mile like it was nothing.

Other options included: limited-slip differential, styled wheels and wheel covers, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, center console, a vinyl top, various radios, a bench seat, and other accessories. Disc brakes for the front wheels became optional in 1965. The list would grow as so did the Mustang, in which added trim packages like the Interior Decor Group and GT package (which included disc brakes, a handling package with stiffer springs, shock absorbers, stiffer front anti-roll bar, fast-ratio steering, and dual exhaust). The Mustang had a wide variety of engine choices and optional items.

Some small changes made toward the Mustang occurred at the start of 1965 model year production, five months after its introduction. These cars are known as "late 65's," as opposed to the "early 65's" built from April through September. First, was a complete change to the engine lineup. The 170 cubic inch I6 engine made way for a new 200 cubic inch version which had 120 hp at 4400 rpm and 190 ftÐ'*lbf at 2400 rpm. Production of the 260 cubic inch engine ended with the end of the 1964 model year, and a new, two-barrel carbureted 200 hp 289 cubic inch engine took its place as the base model V8. A 225 hp four-barrel 289 cubic inch was next in line, followed by the untouched "Hi-Po" (high