General question about the term " junior muscle car". Where did this term come from and what does it actual mean? Is this a term that Oldsmobile used or something the community made up? I have seen a few older magazine articles about the Rallye 350 being referred to as a junior muscle car but guess I really don't understand the meaning. Is it because of the 350 engine?

Thanks,

 

These cars were somewhat of a poor mans version of their big block brethren. It also helped with insurance rates.

 

As I recall......it had the appearance of the "Big Boy" muscle cars with less power, so they were cheaper on insurance. W-31's bridged the gap between "family sedan" and "muscle car" the best. I think some magazine writer coined the nickname.

 

Yes its because of the engine among other things.

The Rallye 350 has almost no real performance enhancement over every other 310 HP rated Olds 350. It did have outside air induction as a standard option. But generally, if automatic its the same power-train in my Cutlass Supreme. If stick its the same or similar to the 310 HP rated stick 350.

Joe P nailed its reality. It was the precursor to the mid to late 1970s all show and very little go era. (As the 442s performance diminished throughout the 1970s the actual 442 logo became larger...) That is to say its mainly an appearance package. With basically no unique performance pedigree... It is however still a great car. And being born with the 310 HP 350 makes it quicker than every single RWD Olds made after 1973 stock to stock. Not a bad distinction for a quasi performance car in my book.

442s and H/Os from 1964 -1971 and the 1972 X code are what would be considered pure muscle.Their biggest attribute. All the engines are unique to the option or specific model.

 

I had never heard the term before... I guess it's like almost pregnant.

 

I had never heard it either until I started reading some older articles about the Rallye 350 and they kept referring to "the popularity of “junior muscle cars". I tend to agree with OLDster Ralph, in that some magazine writer coined the nickname and it stuck with others who have since wrote articles.

 

That term has been around as long as I can remember. Surprised to hear people haven't heard that before.

 

Yea, but what does is mean and do you have an example besides the Rallye?

 

Magazine articles from the late 1960s coined the term "junior supercars" for the small block musclecars aimed at lower insurance costs. The 1968 Ram Rod 350 was one of the first. This article is from March 1968 High Performance Cars. Note the reference on top right of magazine page 20.

http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...e_Year_1-5.pdf

 

Seemed pretty obvious; I thought.

 

Yenko Deuce, Pontiac T 37, Heavy Chevy, etc.

 

Yenko deuce was one bad mother f’er of a car..360 under rated horsepower in a 350 cubic inch car.

 

Well apparently not.

 

Thanks Joe.

 

I get the junior muscle car term, but on the other end of the spectrum, what are senior models? The ID tag on the TH400 core I had rebuilt identified it as coming off a "senior model".

 

A Z28 without the Z insurance premium.

 

The Pontiac T-37 and GT-37 could be optioned with Ram Air and 455 motors. Basically a GTO sans the name

Really this game was over for GM cars when in 1972 when they started including the engine code in the VIN.

 

Chrysler had the Duster and Ford's attempt was the Torino.

 

I was actually going to ask if the 340 Duster would be considered a Junior.

 

"Senior models" were full size cars. That term has nothing to do with musclecars.

 

Anyone familiar with the 340 Mopar knows those engines are definitely overachievers! I’m not sure what it is about those engines, but they always seem to put the bigger/more powerful engines to shame.

 

JR musclecar VS. SR musclecar
Rallye 350 VS. 442
GS340/350 VS. GS400/455
Duster Twister VS. Duster 340
Firebird Sprint OHC6 VS Firebird 400
cars that had their own visual image but not the performance/baggage/cost of their "bigger brother"

this marketing mindset lead to the "sticker musclecars" that showed up later in the '70s with 2bbls & "classic" names
350 2bbl 442s - 318 2bbl Road Runners - V6 Mach Is - 318 2bbl Aspen R/Ts - etc.

 

Agreed, I've been into road test articles for over 35 years. That term has been around for decades.

If you mean it in the sense of a cars impact, reputation, and legacy. That would be a "supercar". 1964-1971 442s, H/Os, LS6s, Hemis, GTOs, etc. Were called supercars originally.

Musclecar is just the moniker that stuck over time. Junior muscle implies less than muscle, there is no mystery.

(continued)

 

MCG worded it perfectly when describing junior muscle.

"A new sub-genre arose in the muscle class, offering cars with many of the same appearance features and chassis enhancements, but with a smaller, less powerful engine in the 350 cubic-inch range." https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/...-hornet-sc-360/

Excerpts from Hot Rod magazine June and August 1968, below.

"Oldsmobile explained that the 310 just wasn't intended for performance use."

And then after modifications that saw the 310 HP 350 F-85 reduce it's et from 15.5 to 14.2.

"we can now compete with the majority of street-driven super cars,"

Again the factory Rallye 350 is not a performance car, it just looks like one. Please don't take this as a knock, it's not. I would be exceedingly proud to own one. It's a great car with a powerful engine. And it even performs like a performance car...

1964 442 M4 = 15.6 @ 89 MPH (CL)
1965 442 A2 = 15.5 @ 89 MPH (CL)
1967 442 A3 = 15.8 @ 91 MPH (CD)
​​1970 Rallye M3 = 15.4 @ 89 MPH (MT)