Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best Muscle Cars of 1969

I had a 69 corvette ... 350/350 with a Doug Nash 5 speed and 13:1 ratio pistons. Was plenty quick off the line but where it shined was top end.

I'll find some pictures.

Growing up, a neighbor of mine had an early 60s Ford Galaxy with a 406 in it that would really run. It was a real beauty, used mostly to take the family to church.

I don't think the 406 was around in 69.. it was around like 62 or 63 thru like 66 r 67....replace with the 427 and 428 Fords... 429 was available in 66 in the T Birds...

For me: 68 to 70 SS 396 Chevelle... or 67 to 69 Z/28.

Those 406's were available as late as 76 though not in stock trim. My parents kiboshed my purchase of a 68 Mustang with a 406 as it was a convertible..I settled with a '66 with the 4V 289 and the T-10. Didn't save me though, as that car didn't last more than 6 months. Too late smart....

I was pretty partial to the 69 Camaro RS Z/28 I had with the DZ aluminum 302 and a 4 speed. Sold it just before my son started to drive, he wasn't happy! Lol! Now I'm running a 2015 Camaro SS with a worked on LS3 6.2L HO aluminum, 6 speed with the 1LE suspension package. The 15 is probably the fastest car of all I've had over the years... 72 Vette 350 LT1, 70 Olds Cutlass 442 455, 70 Chevelle SS 396 375HP, 69 Camaro RS Z/28. Fun stuff!

In the late '60's, the only street tire that would hook my car up was the Atlas (Enco/Exxon) Bucron. They were a soft tire and were pi$$ poor on durability. Goodyear Polyglas were a joke.

I had Goodyear Polyglas on my 442 for a very short period of time. Car would get stuck on wet grass with those tires! Lol! I remember when the B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A's came out, what a difference!

Had a 69 Camaro SS for over 25 years, and it had so many different engines I can't remeber them all from a 302 that use to rev 8500 RPM, all the way to a 540 ci and everything in between "Iworked in a machine shop remember those" When me and my wife were a young married couple and paying rent we just could never save up for that down payment, so that is when I sold it. It was for the greater good but was still one of the most painful experiences in my life to see her go.

I had a Buick GS stage 1 with the 350. That's as close to a hot rod as I got. My neighbor has a 1968 Camero with the 302 in his garage. The metallic lime green color. He is the only owner. He got off of an aircraft carrier in September 68 and bought it sight unseen at a local Chevy dealership and drove it home the next day. Drove it home back to Iowa. It only comes out on dry sunny days now.

kwg

Not a 69 or a muscle car, my 1st car was a 65 Buick Electra 225 4 door, what a boat! But it had Buick's 445 Wildcat motor in it. Always wanted to put that motor in something smaller/lighter, but never did.

A buddy in high school had a 66 Cougar that he and his Dad had been restoring for a number of years. His old man was known to run the best body shop in town, so we were pretty anxious to see how it would turn out. We finally got him to tell us the color it would be painted, which he said would be gray. We we were appalled and felt it was a waste of his Dad’s talent. Well, he pulled into the school parking lot one morning with the job complete. Damn if that isn’t one of the most beautiful restoration jobs that I have ever seen. No one picked on him about having a gray car anymore!!!!!!

I have a 1970 Rivera with a 455 in it. It moves that big car very well and has a ton of torque. I have considered building the engine to GS specs at some point. Currently I’m replacing the brake system on it.

My favorite from that era was a M151A1 with a 106mm recoiless rifle. Olive drab, not polished. Takes “muscle “ to a high level.

The 1969 AMX SS (Super Stock)
The Super Stock “SS” AMX
The best known special editions were AMXs modified for AMC by Hurst to meet NHRA Super Stock class drag racing regulations. This was AMC’s offering to the muscle car horsepower wars of the era. The infamous “69 AMX SS” — perhaps the best (race setup) — Detroit ever offered in a production vehicle. Fifty-two AMXs with 390s and 4-speed transmissions with virtually no change to the suspension, received special equipment including Edelbrock cross-ram intakes, dual-quad Holleys, and 12.3:1 Crane modified heads. They were drastically under-rated at 340 “official” horsepower. The first out-of-the-box AMX’s were running 11 second et’s at over 120 mph. These AMXs were “turn-key” race cars. Later that year with a little tweaking and backing by AMC, these cars dipped into the 10 second range. Its best recorded quarter-mile was 10.73 seconds at 128 mph. Shirley Shahan’s “Drag-On-Lady” was most famous of these cars.

I only recall owning one 1969 car. SS396 chev Elle. But I also had a 1970 SS454-1970 challenger another 1970 challenger-1966 for fairlane gt 390 punched to 406 with factory racing cam and three deuces. 1975 TransAm-1967 Nova ss-1963 impala SS 409 400 hp-1962 impala s with same engine.
The 409 chevys loved the taste of 383 cudas and roadrunners.lol. Edk

Just curious what your 67 Nova SS had in it. My 70 model had a 350 in it. I’m guessing a 283 or a 327?

Wow! Very nice! To my regret, I never got the pleasure of riding in an AMC hot rod.

My first ride in a car, home from the hospital was in my Dad's 69 Gran Torino 390GT. Sure wish he had held onto that car.

Sorry, but the 1969 Camaro Z/28, 302 cubic inch engine only came with a "cast iron" block & heads. There was NEVER an aluminum block or heads offered for the 1969 Camaro Z/28.