is a galaxie a muscle car

what does everone consieder a galaxie as a muscle car or a street cruiser or something else. i was just wondering what everone thought

Are you kidding , A 427 with dual quads and a 4 speed damn right its a muscle car
[addsig]

While I also would consider a Galaxie a muscle car, I think that techincally a muscle car is a mid-sized car with a large engine. Therefore a Galaxie would not be a muscle car in the true sense of the term, since it's a full sized car. Just like a Mustang would not be a muscle car since it's too small (it's a "pony car&quot[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img].

No...not in a strict sense, obviously you could check the correct boxes and outfit a full-size Galaxie with a very potent combination. That combination could and would run with the pack, but it still wasn't a capital "M" "Muscle car".

The generally accepted definition of a muscle car is one which was sold as a more or less separate model, with high performance options already optioned, as part of the package. That package was big block, of 380 - 400 ci, body was mid-size (or smaller) body, 2dr hardtop or sedan, with few non-performance options. The idea was to sell cheap perfomance.

After the fact, many cars are being re-defined as muscle cars, based on performance. But that wasn't the criteria of the original genre.

Many of us who have an optioned out Galaxie, factory , clone or modified, have shown the way home to many a traditional "Muscle car", but I doubt if a full-size car...even with a large motor fits the definition of a "Muscle car", they were too expensive, had to be special ordered and were not sold off the dealer floor or from dealer stock.

If you want to call your Galaxie a muscle car, that's up to you, but expect to be called on it ... often. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Prior to the start of muscle cars...usually defined by sale of the 64 GTO, there were quite a few performance sedans the Chrysler "Letter" sedans, supercharged 312 Fords/FI Chevy's from the 50's, but speed was mostly a rich mans game. The Duesenburgs from the 30's and of course the factory big blocks, lightweight and "FX"s of the 60's were very capable, fast cars...but were not usually unavailable to the average guy on the street.

Even if he could get one, the price was high and availablity was limited. We all owe some debt to grass-roots hot rodding and tinkering, NASCAR and drag racing as the catalyst for bringing about affordable performance cars in this country. Even the Europeans own some debt...all they had were sports cars, mostly with dinky engines, at the lower end or high maintenace Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes at the upper end. It took Americans to show the way to fast afforable cars.

Where Europe was messing with finicky engines equipped with multi-valves, mechanical fuel injection, overhead cams, multiple speed gear boxes...US car makers took a page fromt he "big book of everything"... page one "There Ain't No substitute for Cubic inches"! The simple fact is that no matter what you can do to make a powerful small engine...you can do to a big engine. Kind of like that concept of x + n = mo' better!
_________________
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety ... deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-- Benjamin Franklin


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Beoweolf on 7/3/05 11:35am ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: beoweolf on 7/3/05 12:34pm ]</font>

Finicky Multi Valves you know Duesenberg an amercian car company was the first with DOHC 4 Valves per cyl right? and it was not finicky they just didnt opt for the big engines like we did most likley cause back then gas was more expensive too like it is now for them europeans

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On 2005-07-02 23:15, Beoweolf wrote:

Prior to the start of muscle cars...usually defined by sale of the 64 GTO,

The generally accepted definition of a muscle car is one which was sold as a more or less separate model, with high performance options already optioned, as part of the package. That package was big block, of 380 - 400 ci, body was mid-size (or smaller) body, 2dr hardtop or sedan, with few non-performance options. The idea was to sell cheap perfomance.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I think you also will find the definition of Muscle Car as that being started by PONTIAC in 1964. 4-4-2, 396 CHEVELLE/NOVA, Super Bee, Hemi Cuda. And Pony Cars belonged right in there with the heavier hitters.

FORD didn't join the chorus until 1966 with the 390 FAIRLANE and 1967 with the 390 MUSTANG, both under performers. It was during the Muscle Car era that FORD received the reputation is has until this day. Oh, FORD would burn the race tracks of the world up, but if you wanted a turn key street racer, it had to be GM, MOPAR or even AMC for gosh sakes.

FORD did not have a runner until the CJ MUSTANG/FAIRLANE came through. Not even the 1968 COUGAR GTE 427 could do the deed.

If you wanted a hot street FORD in those days, you had to build it and FORD offered all the best pieces to do it.






[addsig]

JMO, but having been around the street and strip thing in the late 60's/early 70's most of the full size cars with Big Blocks be they Galaxies or Customs, Impalla or Biscaynes actually fell into the sleeper catagory.

Many of the BB cars actually had their body engine designation emblems removed by the owner and either left off or replaced with ones for smaller size motors.

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On 2005-07-03 10:01, fecustom wrote:
JMO, but having been around the street and strip thing in the late 60's/early 70's most of the full size cars with Big Blocks be they Galaxies or Customs, Impala or Biscayne’s actually fell into the sleeper category.

Many of the BB cars actually had their body engine designation emblems removed by the owner and either left off or replaced with ones for smaller size motors.
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Now here is a man that knows (remembers?) the game!

The factory retaliated by upping the ante...SS396 evolved into the SS454, 4-4-2 got the "W" option, then the 455, Roadrunner got a 440 or HEMI option(not to mention the development of the GTX, for the "older" gentleman - Boy racer), GTO's we blessed with the "Judge" option (you could also SO a 421/428/455...in regular GTO's) to counter the escalating street war for the minds and allegiance of young adults with more money than brains. Toward the end if the 60's, even AMC got into the act, thier 390/401 packages put the hurt on a lot of over-amped, under educated "look what Papa bought me", Wanna-be street pretenders.

Yes, it was a glorious time for car nuts. All you had to do was just bring a brown paper bag filled with the money you earned by cutting lawns, flipping ‘burgers or re-enlisting in the Army; put it on the desk and you could walk out the door with more horsepower than most could handle. If you paid cash, you didn't even need to have proof of insurance!

Eventually, it was sad in many ways. Many a "Muscle car" was wrecked or totaled within days, weeks...sometimes hours... of initial purchase.

Any who...To this day, I think a good set of mufflers does wonders toward lulling the unsuspecting into a false sense of security. As mentioned often, I have no use for Flow masters or other excessively loud mufflers, loud mufflers are just for noise, kinda' like putting a "Bad Dog" sign on a house willed with Poodles, besides; there's no need to "wake up" the clinically lame! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img][img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]

_________________
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety ... deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-- Benjamin Franklin


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Beoweolf on 7/3/05 10:55pm ]</font>

interesting topic. I recently saw a display at the Antique Automobile Club of America that I posted as few pics of and they had large American cars with hot engines going back to that 1949 Olds. They were using 'Muscle Car" in a way that basically told the history of hot engines in regular passenger cars and considered the Chrysler 300-B and 300-C as well as the Olds some of the first "Muscle Cars".
The thing is, they are using a '70's term and retrofitting it for the sake of historical purposes. There were GTO's and Mustangs there as well. There was a 406 Ford Galaxie 2 door post car next to a '62 Dodge 2 door post car with a Ramcharger 413 in it to illustrate the point of the factory horsepower race heating up.
I personally don't consider a 3800 - 4000 pound car with a big block a "muscle car", but that doesn't make it a stone either.
I remember my brother driving a buddy's 1966 Pontiac Bonneville 428 4 speed convertible that moved way quicker than it should have for such a heavy car. Drop that motor into a LeMans body and you have legalized murder considering the drum brake technology that was common then!!
I still remember a fairly new hemi Barracuda convertible in 1970 that got wrapped around a tree and killed the two girls driving it.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Funny you mention the Pontiac...

I loved the Pontiac line....there was this almost ancient guy (must have been 40...[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] ). Bought a Big old Bonneville 2+2 that me a few buddies would ride our bikes over to just look at, drool over. It was a good 2 - 3 mile bike ride, each way, just to look at a car...kids!, more energy than brains. I feel sorry for kids today, I enjoyed the freedom and independence that parents gave us. My general summer time rules were..."be home for lunch and be in the house before the street lights came on".

Anyway, that car could be one of a few that influenced my appreciation for Big boats with Big Blocks and 4-speeds. If I remember right it had 4 Chrome vents installed in the hood blister, the factory PMD 8 (?) bolt finned wheels and brakes. The 421/428 Super duty and a 4-speed in the console. It was huge and fast!

I also remember a 60 Bonneville, with 4-speed, 421, tri-power, 2 dr. hardtop that was tearing up the streets in my neighborhood, belonged to a Army DI ... he eventually got spanked by a Burnt Gold, 66 Chevelle, with a 327, owned by another DI friend of his....this "little" 327 chevelle put the hurt on all the SS 396 boys too. Years later, I came to understand there was an option for a 365/375 hp, solid lifter 327 in that year. I don't think many people were aware of it....especially the SS396 (325 hp) guys...they didn't know what hit them.

(I've forever been intriqed by deceptive, sleeper-type cars)