HiPo a Muscle car?

Bramick_old · January 9, 2009 at 12:33 PM

ok, so I'm an admin for a flickr.com group that only focuses on Muscle Cars as defined by: http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/gen…efinition.shtml

According to this page a HiPo isn't a Muscle Car unless it's a GT, Mach 1 or Boss. Do you agree?

jwc66k · January 9, 2009 at 12:46 PM

I believe this list was made by the bow-tie crowd - and it shows.

Jim

C6ZZKGT · January 9, 2009 at 2:26 PM Official Post

Not to put down our Hipo cars in any way but I never heard of a Hipo 289 Mustang or Fairlane being referred to as a muscle car back when they were new. The muscle car term was mostly applied to intermediate body size or pony cars with big block engines. A Mustang with a big block engine did not need to be a GT to qualify for the muscle car moniker. The first car that I remember being referred to as a muscle car was a 64 GTO. I am sure that this will stir some controversy here.

-Fred-

Kman_old · January 9, 2009 at 3:11 PM

Reviving my ancient (and occasionally faulty) memory the 64 GTO was the first car to which the term muscle car was universally applied to followed by the various big block cars from GM Chrysler and Ford. Muscle cars certainly existed before this (Chrysler letter cars, 426 Max Wedge Dodge's and Plymouths, 427 Galaxie's etc) but I believe that the general "recognized" muscle car era started with the 64 Goat

Jack

jwc66k · January 9, 2009 at 3:21 PM

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Reviving my ancient (and occasionally faulty) memory the 64 GTO was the first car to which the term muscle car was universally applied to followed by the various big block cars from GM Chrysler and Ford. Muscle cars certainly existed before this (Chrysler letter cars, 426 Max Wedge Dodge's and Plymouths, 427 Galaxie's etc) but I believe that the general "recognized" muscle car era started with the 64 Goat

Jack

And I refered to my 64 Fairlane Sports Coupe 'K' car as a 'goat killer', and I did.

Jim

marv · January 9, 2009 at 3:21 PM

I agree that the '64 Goat seem to get the term first...

round2K_old · January 9, 2009 at 11:43 PM

I would have to agree with Fred. Perhaps not muscle by definition, but I think it was the first use of the moniker HiPo; we ought to be able to get some consensus.

C6ZZKGT · January 10, 2009 at 12:55 AM Official Post

In regards to the Hipo moniker, I believe that it was applied to full size Fords as early as 1960 on the 352 with 360 horsepower. I believe the Hipo moniker also carried over to the 1961 full size Fords with a 390 with 401 horsepower. Logic to me is that the Hipo moniker applied on the 352 and 390 engines, which also had solid lifters, because of the higher output of the same cubic inch engine just like on the Hipo 289.

-Fred-

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