The growl when you start her up. The distinct way the sunlight hits the long, boxy hood. The feeling you get when you hit the gas and experience your baby’s full horsepower. Yeah, this one is all about the muscle.
If you’ve been dreaming of driving a powerful car with a rich history and a community of other enthusiasts ready to adore your vehicle, you might be ready to restore a muscle car. When choosing what muscle car to restore, it’s hard to make the wrong choice because there are so many outstanding options out there for you to choose from.
But if you’re still struggling with the choice or just want some inspiration, we’ve pulled some of our favorite options.
1964 Pontiac GTO
This classic features a horsepower of 325, and some enthusiasts believe this car to be the start of the muscle car revolution with its high-power engine.
Don’t allow yourself to believe that a classic GTO is out of your price range. You can find the 1964 model at reasonable asking prices that still feature that signature A-body.
Legendary offers trim (in black, white, blue, aqua, red, and saddle) and body parts for this legend, and with all of the GTO enthusiasts out there, the value of a well-restored ‘64 GTO can go through the roof.
67-69 Chevrolet Camaro
Perhaps one of the most beloved muscle cars of the era (if not all-time), Chevrolet’s Camaro not only looks great with its classic GM F-body, but its horsepower of up to 290 and 290 pound-feet of torque earn it its spot on this list.
These babies come in either a sport coupe or convertible body style, and they can feature either bucket or bench seats.
70-74 Plymouth Barracuda
One of our personal favorites, the Plymouth Barracuda is certainly a stunner. It features a 7.2-liter engine that is capable of 390 horsepower. Over the last ten years, this baby has topped lists of hard-hitting earners for really well-restored cars, so if you’re looking for a big bang for your buck, this might be the muscle for you to restore.
70-73 Pontiac Firebird
You also can’t go wrong with a Firebird. The investment potential alone makes dropping the extra dollars to get either a Formula or Trans Am model well worth it. Plus, the abundance of reproduction parts (including classic Pontiac upholstery) makes finding the parts you need for a restoration project easy.
70-74 Dodge Challenger
When it comes to muscle cars, the Dodge Challenger is as much of legend as the rest of the cars on this list. Coming in at 490 pound-feet of torque and 350 horsepower, a 1970 Challenger could go from 0-60 miles per hour in about six seconds.
The Challenger comes as either a hardtop or convertible body style with vinyl, leather, or cloth seats and soft trim colors ranging from black to green to gold. It is one stylish piece of muscle.
And More...
We realize this list is in no way exhaustive – there are plenty of other solid choices when it comes to classic muscle cars, and your choice should always come down to your preference. We’ve said it once and we’ll say it a thousand more times: restoring a car is a labor of love, so you should truly love the vehicle you choose to restore.
Remember, you’re not alone on this journey; we at Legendary Auto Interiors are here to help. We specialize in auto interior restoration, and we’ve become the go-to provider for everything needed to return the original showroom-shine to almost any classic muscle car. Don’t just take our word for it, order one of our catalogs or contact us to discuss your project.
