A "Muscle Truck" might be a great buy for you!

Trucks were generally regarded as commercial, construction or farm vehichles by most people up until the late '60's. They weren't aerodynamic, and their antiquated suspensions made them ill-handling and definitely weren't considered hot rod material. However in 1967 Ford and Chevrolet / GMC completely redesigned their pickups. The bodies were actually good-looking and ( For a truck ) aerodynamic, and the interiors were vastly upgraded and more comfortable, and the suspensions were upgraded to make them not only better haulers, but better daily drivers. Air conditioning, automatic transmissions, power steering and power brakes were offered. Previously most trucks had antiquated engines that had both crappy fuel economy and no power-the 305 V6 in the GMC's and the old 292 "Y-block" V8 in the Fords. The modernized straight sixes-the 292 Chevy and 300 inch Ford got good mileage and were torquey enough to haul heavy loads, but definitely not high-performance. Now,for the first time modern, powerful V8 engines were offered. The 289 / 302 small-blocks had light-years better performance than the old Y-block Fords. The 283 and 327 Chevys offered great performance. And if you wanted more than that, the vaunted 396 Rat motor was optional in Chevys and the 390 was optional in Fords. The 2-wheel drive short-bed models were quick. Whether it's a C10 or a Chevelle-a 396 V8 in a 3,900 lb machine is a performer! As they got into the '70's they got more luxury options, front disc brakes became standard, and they got even bigger engines. Dodge finally modernized their pickups in 1972. GM offered the 454 in their 1/2 ton trucks, Ford offered the 460 and Dodge the 440. Further, as the '70's wound down, cars became more and more emasculated-the last Big-block 'Vette was built in 1974,and the option was dropped on A-bodies ( Chevelle, Monte Carlo ) in 1975. The Charger,Road Runner and Challenger / Cuda were gone after 1974-and the Mustang was more Pinto than Mustang. Catylitic converters and ever-tightening emissions standards further killed the performance of cars. However, trucks had different standards up until 1978 you could buy a Chevy pickup with a 454 with catylist-free dual exhaust, a Turbo 400 and a 3.73 rear end! Ditto for the others-440 cubes in a Dodge or 460 in a Ford. Trucks and SUV's became immensely popular in the '80's and '90's. GM offered the SS454 package from 1990-93, and Ford offered the "Lightning" F150 with a hotted-up 351W from 1992-95. Dodge didn't really have a sport truck until 1998, but when they stuffed a 360 Magnum V8 in the mid-size Dakota, they had a runner. Ford put a blower on the 5.4 mod motor in the new for '97 F150 and gave the Lightning a blistering 380 hp. GM no longer had the old style Rats- but the 6.0 and 6.2 liter LS motors produce between 360 and 403 hp depending on year. The Hemi Dodges make between 340 and 390 hp depending on year. A hot rod pickup might be the way to go for some of us. A "hauler" that hauls ass right?  Mastermind