More Muscle, Less Money

Serious muscle cars are priced at $75,000 to $100,000-plus these days. Limited-production models like Shelby Mustang KR's (King of the Road) approach $300,000. Even rarer COPO (Corporate Office Production Order) Camaros trend at high six-figure levels, and a few hemi-powered Plymouths and Dodges go for $1-$2 million. It's time to look for bargains amid all these high-horsepower record-setters. They're available -- if you know where to look, and what cars to look for.

Most purists insist that the muscle car era jump-started with the Pontiac GTO in 1964, when Pontiac General Manager John Z. DeLorean (yes, that DeLorean) and publicist Jim Wangers managed to stuff a 389-cid (cubic inch displacement) V-8 in a Pontiac Tempest, breaking a GM edict on big engines in mid-sized cars. In fact, there were plenty of big-bodied cars with 400+cid V-8s several years before. Remember the line from the song, "She's real fine, my 409," or the hit "Shut Down," with the fuel-injected Sting Ray dragging it out with a 413 Dodge? Pontiac was selling a massive, 421-cid V-8 in its full-sized Bonneville. You could order an AMC Javelin with a 401-cid V-8, and Chrysler offered its huge, 440-cid V-8 in several models. These 40-plus-year-old cars are still stylish, surprisingly fast (in a straight line!) and, as collector cars go, they're still relatively cheap. They're sure to appreciate, so buy the best example you can find to minimize restoration expenses. These cars have upside potential -- possibly 15 percent or more for the next two or three years, conservatively. And as far as the next 25 years, the sky’s the limit.