Is the Hurst Olds 442 the fastest Muscle Car?

[Michael Kent]

Hey Guys,

I saw the thread started about the fastest muscle car. Good topic, but I think the answer isn't too far away.


Looks like the guys at Dream Car Garage created a Muscle Car Shootout that is airing on SPEED and they included a Hurst Olds 442 in fully restored condition.

Check it out at www.dreamcargarage.com.


Click on the hotspot on the homepage for more info!
Do you guys think anything was left out?


http://dreamcargarage.com/musclecarshootout.htm

[blonzz]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Is the Hurst Olds 442 the fastest Muscle Car?<hr></blockquote>

No

[Oldsguy]

This kind of question has been asked before on other threads. Fastest or Quickest? Fast usually means top speed, quick usually means 1/4 mile times. Most people mean quickest when refering to the "fastest" car. Frankly, I have no idea which car it would be, I still like my Olds.....

[PetChemMan]

I saw the Muscle Car Shootout mentioned above . I was pleased to see that the Hurst Olds was second in the quarter mile times, beaten only by the 429 Mustang . The test also included a GTO, an AMX, a Buick GS, a Chevelle ( 454 I think) , and a Hemi Cuda. The cars all used factory replica street tires, and the acceleration runs numbers were the best of three trys. The AMX , running a 390 motor, was slowest by a considerable margin. The Hemi Cuda was hampered by a slipping clutch. The cars were run in stock showroom tune , with no modifications.

While this was an interesting test, no single test qualifies as the last word in performance comparisons. Put some better tires on the cars, do a little tuning, ( and a new clutch for the Cuda) , and the results could change significantly. As an example, in 1968 a friend bought a new Hemi Roadrunner. The car ran 14.50s in stock trim . I rejetted the carburetors, put a 3.90 rear axle in it, and installed 10 inch Goodyear slicks. With only those modifications, the quarter mile times dropped to 12.90s , and the car was still a street daily driver.
Still, the Shootout was probably a better comparison than the magazine tests of the 1960's, where the cars were often provided by dealers or the factory and were already blueprinted and tuned !

[ September 30, 2004: Message edited by: PetChemMan ]

[ September 30, 2004: Message edited by: PetChemMan ]</p>