By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the year end wrap-up of the Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot. If you recall, this series was all about uncovering obscure makes, and redefining what a Muscle Car could be. We have discovered that Muscle originated during the 1950s, blossomed during the 1960s, and continued on through the 70s and 80s in a somewhat de-tuned state only to find a re-birth we are enjoying today. My focus was not to highlight the already established Muscle Cars like the Chevelle SS, the Pontiac GTO, or the Hemi Chryslers, but to find hidden gems that you may not have known about.

So it is now up to you, the Car Domain reader, to vote on your favorites. There will be specific categories, like today’s example, the 1950s Cruisers. In the end, sometime after the New Years Holiday, there will be one car crowned as your favorite Obscure Muscle Car, and park it in the Parking Lot, with a few CarDomain Members rides highlighted.

So what was your favorite 50′s cruiser from the Series?
- The 1957 Rambler Rebel, defined as the one car that started the Muscle Car Period.
- The 1958 Packard Hawk, with it’s Supercharged V8, and were very rare.
- The 1957 Pontiac Bonneville, the car that ushered in Performance at Pontiac.
- The Studebaker Golden Hawk, with either a Packard Big Block, or a Supercharged Small Block.
- The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a car that virtually dominated NASCAR during the first half of the 50s.
- The 1957 Supercharged Fords (Called the F-Series), which included the Thunderbird, and at least one Wagon!
- The Dual-Ghia, with Chrysler Power, and Movie Star Panache.
- The Dodge D-500, with rip snorting power, and huge tail fins!

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

See this El Camino. It’s a 1968 SS model. While not exactly a Round Door Rolls it is somewhat of a coveted treasure among aficionados of muscle. The SS belongs to Tim Divers of Divers Street Rods and friends tell him it would be worth more if left unmolested. However because the Camino holds a special place in Tim’s heart (it served as a “tour vehicle” for his band and a college car for his daughter) he says he’d rather hack it up into a rod thus reducing its collectable value and removing the temptation to sell it.

I like the way Tim’s mind works. And what a mind it is. Tim Divers is part Tim Burton and part Sid Phillips yet his creations are not scissor-handed mutant toys but rather kinetic sculptures comprised of jewel-like fabrication and an attention to detail that would rival anything on the lawn at Pebble Beach. Hit the jump to see a StreetFire original production/Will Roegge Joint on Tim and his most infamous project – Ferrambo.

Continue reading "Video: Tim Divers and his Fresh Take on Hot Rods" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to re-discover true performance machinery while doing so. 1969 was close to the pinnacle of the Muscle Car Era. Almost every car company in America had at least one “muscle” car. And they were offered in all sizes, from compact to full-sized, to everything in between. With Chevy alone offering the Chevy II SS, Chevelle SS, Impala SS, and even an SS version of the El Camino car based pickup, it was no wonder that the number four car maker, AMC, felt they needed to get into this lucrative market. After tasting success with the AMX and Javelin performance cars, they decided to expand into the budget-muscle arena, with the help of a famous performance parts supplier. Introducing the AMC Hurst SC/Rambler.

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car parking Lot – The 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler" »

By Chris Allen

Motorfanatics

Today we set out for Detroit from South Bend. I was looking forward to being somewhere familiar, but I soon remembered why I moved to Cali. Crappy roads, horrible drivers (alright, SoCal’s no better there), and humidity. I do miss all of the American iron, and boy was the meet at Metro Beach chock full of classic iron. Easily the biggest yet, it was nice to have the sun out over acres and acres of cars.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Power Tour Day 4: Homecoming" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

This past Sunday, the Wally Parks NHRA Museum at Pomona was host to the 3rd annual Socal AMC gathering, a show so big that we haven’t seen its like since there were still AMC dealerships (speak for yourself – DS). The bulk of the interest was around the AMX and Javelin models, but there were still Ramblers, Gremlins, a Concord, a Pacer, and the most gorgeous restored Hudson pickup we’ve ever seen. As a bonus, if you were part of the show and entered a car there, you got to go poke around the museum for free. Sweet! Read the rest of the story and check out a bunch more pictures over at Hemmings.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

One of the great things about CarDomain is the number of unusual cars that get profiled here. I guess that’s due in part to the more than 600,000 ride pages, and it seems that I’m not the only one who has a thing for unusual AMC’s. There have been two Hornets in the blog just in the last week!

As part of a series we’ve just started over on Automotive Traveler on California “black plate” cars, we’ve posted a profile on this very rare 4-speed 1966 Rambler Rebel 2-door hardtop. This was a one-year-only body style, and with just 7,512 produced, you’re not likely to see one even at an all-AMC show. It’s a highly-optioned car–all that’s missing is power windows–and it’s powered by AMC’s (not Chevy’s) 327-vubic-inch V8. While it lacks true muscle-car cred, it was a very quick car for its time, able to sprint from 0 to 60 in less than 8 seconds with a top speed of nearly 120 mph–certainly competitive with other small-block intermediates from the mid-sixties. Got to love those optional Turbo Cast wheel covers!

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and have some fun in the process. AMC was created in 1954 after merging two independent car companies, Nash and Hudson. The company was struggling right after the merger, until they did away will all traces of the old companies, and created the Rambler compact line of cars. They were dependable, but not really exciting cars. That was about to change with the introduction of the 1965 Marlin.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: the 1965 – 67 AMC Rambler Marlin" »

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to have some fun in the process. In 1956, AMC was only two years old, the result of a merger between Nash and Hudson. They were known as a company that produced dependable, if somewhat lackluster cars. However, in the fall of ’56, they stunned the public and the automotive press by introducing a veritable rocket. Say hello to the 1957 Rambler Rebel.

Continue reading after the jump!

Photo courtesy of Automotive Traveller, Richard Truesdell

Continue reading "CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot: The 1957 Rambler Rebel" »

Last October, when I heard about the Ferrari-powered Nash Rambler that Divers Street Rods was building, I couldn’t wait to see what the finished product looked like. Now, I somehow missed all the press this wicked project got when it was done—I know, paying more attention to things probably wouldn’t kill me—and even though I think the fitted luggage is a little silly, the rest of the car is every bit as cool as I thought it’d be. As you’d imagine, the interior has been significantly redone—to give the American iron’s environs more of a Prancing Horse vibe—and while it’s questionably beautiful, the really gorgeous work has been done in the the former family wagon’s cargo area. Seriously, how pretty does that 3.6 liter Ferrari V8 look sitting in the back? If you’re rich, the good news is that this baby is up for sale, if you’re not, it’s that I’ve posted a few more pics of it after the jump. Wow. via CarScoop

Continue reading "The Ferambo is for Sale" »

The car scene is like any other in that certain trends come and go. I remember some trends with fondness, like when Vans were cool back in the 70s and 80s. However, there are some that I wish would just go away. One of them is this whole "rat rod" thing. As I understand it, the term refers to a hot rod or custom that appears to be in an unfinished state, evoking the run-what-you-brung days of hot rodding, when owners would use whatever was on hand to get and keep their cars on the road. I don’t have a problem with that, but what really annoys me is that quite a few people are stating that they have a "rat rod" when what they do in fact have is just an incomplete piece of crap. Then there are those who I just don’t understand, like this gentleman selling his so-called rat-rod Rambler on eBay. There’s nothing "rat" about this ride—it’s just a matte-black Rambler with red wheels, so what? I don’t know if it’s really just come down to throwing around a trendy term, but as far as I’m concerned you either have a hot rod or a custom whether it’s finished or not. I think it’s time we buried this entire "rat rod" thing. What do you think?