Consider a "Disco Era" F-body!

 A lot of people think anything built after 1971 is not a real musclecar because of lower compression ratios, decreased horsepower ratings and ever-tightening emission controls. However there are two cars that kept the breed alive in the darkest days. If not for these vehichles, and their great sales success, there never would have been 5.0 Mustangs, Buick Grand Nationals, LT1 Impala SS's and there certainly wouldn't be 400 hp Camaros, Challengers and Mustangs available off the showroom floor today! I'm talking about late 1970's Pontiac Firebird Trans-Ams and Z/28 Camaros. By 1975 the Challenger and Cuda were history as was the Javelin. The "Charger" was a rebadged ( Yuk!) Chrysler Cordoba. The Mustang II was a rebodied Pinto. Chevy even killed the Z/28 for 2 years ( 1975 and 76 ).  Here's where Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler and AMC goofed big-time. Performance car buyers didn't all magically disappear after 1973, the automakers stopped making cars that they wanted to buy!!  Think about it- if you wanted a sporty rear-wheel drive car with a big V8, you had one choice- A Pontiac Trans-Am. Sure, the low-compression, catylitic converter choked 400s and 455s barely made 200 hp-a far cry from the 366 hp and 370 hp ratings of the RAIII and RAIV engines of 1970, and even paled when compared to the 300 hp 455 HO's and SD models of 1972-73. But, and it's a big "but" they were the coolest-looking and fastest new cars available AT THE TIME!  Sales doubled every year from 4800 units in 1973 to 10,000 in 1974, to 23,000 in 1975, to 46,000 in 1976!  "Smokey and the Bandit" wasn't released until 1977. That helped as T/A sales hit an all time high for the rest of the decade. Chevy realized their mistake and brought back the Z/28 in 1977. No, they didn't have fire-breathing LT-1s  anymore either. But you could a 350 4bbl with a 4-speed and a 3.73 geared posi rearend.  That was a helluva lot better than the 125 hp the 302 2V in the Mustang II offered, and way better than the 318s offered in the Dodge Aspens and Plymouth Volares that made Mopar fans wish they still made Dusters! And now, their still good buys, priced way less than the older models. And there a great base for a street machine. If you have a Camaro- GM Performance sells small-block "Turn-Key" crate engines with horsepower ratings from 290 to 425 hp that will literally bolt in. Edelbrock, Kauffman and Butler performance sell Aluminum heads, cams, intakes, stroker cranks and other parts for Pontiac engines. Building a 500 hp 455 Pontiac is easier than it's ever been in history. So stop searching the galaxy for a 1967-72 Camaro or Firebird, and "steal" one of the later ones while you still can! Mastermind