The World of Speed is a motorsports museum located in Wilsonville, Oregon. The museum features about 100 vehicles as well as educational exhibits on motorsports. The Museum’s exhibits change regularly, and they recently had an exhibit featuring muscle cars.
While the 1950s had been the era of the rocket-styled automobiles, the 1960s introduced the concept of muscle cars in which big engines in smaller cars appealed to younger, speed-oriented buyers.
During the 1960s, General Motors limited the engine size for mid-size cars. By 1970, however, Buick, Pontiac, and Chevrolet were offering some muscle cars with engines over 450 cubic inches.
1969 Hurst/Olds 442 Convertible
Hurst Performance makes both aftermarket and original components for muscle cars built by all three of the major manufacturers. In collaboration with GM’s Oldsmobile division, Hurst built three 1969 Cutlass convertibles to show off its performance shifters. The cars have a massive replica shifter on a trunk-mounted platform.
1964 Pontiac GTO
At Pontiac, John DeLorean’s team took a Pontiac Tempest Le Mans and put in a V-8 from the full-size Catalina and Bonneville. They named it the GTO. While Pontiac’s upper management doubted that there would be a market for this car, DeLorean knew what younger buyers wanted and in the first year 32,450 GTOs were sold.
1969 Douglass-Yenko Super Camero
Don Yenko started manually installing the 427 cubic-inch Corvette engine in his Camaros. Working with the Illinois-based Chevy dealer Jack Douglass, he was able to order specially built cars through GM’s Central Office Production Order. According to the Museum display:
“The Douglass-Yenko Camaros were truly some of the finest muscle cars ever driven on the street or on the drag strip.”
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6
Chevy designers took the biggest motor they had and put it in the newest Chevelle.
1970 ½ Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Ram Air IV
According to the Museum display:
“Ironically, Pontiac’s Firebird Trans Am cars couldn’t compete in the race of the same name; their 400 cubic-inch engines exceeded the SCAA’s size limits. Pontiac licensed the name anyway.”
More Muscle Cars
Museums 101: Chrysler Muscle Cars (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Ford Muscle Cars (Photo Diary)