"Understudys" that are great buys!

Their are a lot of cars that offer the same performance of their more premium brothers at a much lower price. These can be great bargains, saving the potential owner thousands of dollars. # 1. This is a no-brainer. 1970-79 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400. These cars have every bit the performance of a Trans-Am without the flashy graphics and bodywork. Back in the day, many automotive journalists preferred the Formula's understated styling. Some 1977-79 "California" and "High Altitude" models will have 403 Olds engines. # 2. 1970-79 Chevy Rally Sport Camaro. These cars have all the basics of a Z/28-most have the ubiquitous 350 under the hood, and a Turbo 350 automatic, or depending on the year, a Saginaw, Borg-Warner or Muncie 4-speed. When the Z/28 took a 21/2 year Hiatus-late 1974-early '77-the Rally Sport was the only performance Camaro available. # 3. 1971-74 LeMans Sport / GT. The 400 and 455 V8s were available all years. In fact, by '74 the GTO name was on the Ventura and the largest engine was a 350. The LeMans with a 400 or 455 and a 4-speed or Turbo 400 still available was more a "GTO" than the X-body that carried the nameplate. # 4. 1968-70 Dodge Coronet R/T. People fight with machetes for clean Road Runners and Super Bees of this vintage, but the Coronets are sometimes overlooked although they have 383 or 440 cubes under the hood.  # 5. 1971 Dodge Super Bee. For this one year only-the Super Bee was based on the Charger instead of the Coronet. The standard engine was still the 383, and around 6,000 were made; however they don't bring the money that the '68-70 models do. # 6. 1971-72 Chevelle SS / "Heavy Chevy" . For the 1st time since 1965 a Chevelle SS could be had with a small-block. ( The 396 was standard on 1966-70 models ). Although the SS package could be ordered with the 2bbl 307 or 2bbl 350, most had the 350 4bbl. The "Heavy Chevy" offered a blacked out grille and an SS style domed hood at a lower price. The 402 big block was optional on the HC, but most were 350s. # 7. 1972 Olds 442. Although the styling was pretty much the same as 1970-71, the 442 went from a separate model to an option on the Cutlass, and the standard engine was a 350 with a 2bbl.  (This was the first time since 1964 you could get a 442 with an engine under 400 cubes, as 1965-71 models had the 400 or 455 as standard equipment ). Options included a 350 4bbl, and two 455s-one rated at 250 hp and the other the last "W30" at 300. These are rarer, yet cheaper than the older models. Mastermind