Final Gear's Greatest Cars of the 60s - 59th place - 4pts

Overheat

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A bit quicker this time :) - here are the 4 pointers - mostly american cars, but all very sexy as I think you'll agree :)



Chevrolet Camaro COPO 9560

http://img251.imageshack.**/img251/2475/60schevroletcamarocopo95604ps.jpg

The 1969 Camaro carried over the previous year's drivetrain and major mechanical components, but all new sheet metal, except the hood and trunk lid, gave a car a substantially sportier look. The grille was redesigned with a heavy "V" cant and deeply inset headlights. New door skins, rear quarter panels, and rear valence panel also gave the car a much lower, wider, more aggressive look. This styling would serve for the 1969 model year only. Collectors often debate the merits of smooth, rounded lines of 1967 and 1968 model versus the heavily creased and sportier looks of the 1969.

The real treat for the 1969 model year, however, was the vast array of new performance options. A GM corporate edict forbid Chevrolet from installing engines larger than 400 in? (6.6 L) in the Camaro. Chevy also knew that there was a market for ultra-powerful Camaros armed with the Corvette's L-72 427 in? (7.0 L) engine, as evidenced by the success of dealerships like Yenko Chevrolet, Nickey Chevrolet, and Dana Chevrolet, who installed their own. So, Chevrolet quietly offered two Central Office Production Orders (COPO) options, numbers 9560 and 9561, for the 1969 model year. The COPO 9561 option brought the fire-breathing L-72 big-block engine, making an underrated 425 hp (317 kW) gross. Don Yenko ordered several hundred of these cars, along with a variety of other high performance options, to create the now-legendary Yenko Camaro. Overall, Chevrolet produced just 1,015 L-72 equipped Camaros.

Even rarer was COPO 9560. This option installed an all-aluminum 427 in? (7.0 L) big-block called the ZL-1. Just 69 ZL-1 Camaros were produced, probably because the engine alone cost over 4,000 USD?nearly twice that of a base V-8 coupe. Though rated at 430 hp (321 kW) gross, the ZL-1 made closer to 550 hp (410 kW), making it both the fastest and rarest of all Camaros.



Ford Mustang Mach 1

http://img434.imageshack.**/img434/4605/60sfordmustangmach19cn.jpg

The Ford Mustang was introduced in 1964 as a sporty "pony car" to attract younger buyers into Ford products. After only a few short years of development, Ford saw the need to create performance Mustangs to compete with GM's Camaro and Firebird. Up until late 1968, the Mustang was not much of a race car. In late 1968, Ford offered Mustang GT's specially fit with 428 Cobra Jet engines. The 428CJ added much needed power to the Mustang name, and with that, the ability to defeat GM's line-up at the dragstrip. With the success of the 428CJ Mustang GT, the Ford team quickly came to assemble a special racing Mustang. The new Mustang came with a redesigned interior complete with wood grain details, and high-back sport bucket seats. The exterior was similiarly race-inspired. The hood came painted flat black, as well as a spoiler on 1970 models. Though not available as a RPO, the spoiler was available through dealers on 1969 model cars and many cars can be seen with it today. The dual racing mirrors, the slotted chrome wheels, the pop open gas cap - everything, was straight from Trans-Am racing. Racing inspired hood pins came standard with the Mach 1 package.

The new Mustang Mach 1 also came with your choice of engines. The lowest end was the 351 two-valve, up to the raw power of the 428SCJ complete with the favorite of Mach 1 owners everywhere - the Shaker Hood Scoop. The Shaker option was a small airbox mounted on the engine that stuck through the hood to collect fresh air quickly in a Ram-Air design. When the engine revved up, the engine shook and so did the Shaker. Also, rear window "Sports Slats" covering the rear window gaver the car a muscular and agressive look. The new Mustang needed a name that would cause fear in GM owners and awe in Mustang fans. The new name had to convey the idea that speed was everything. They settled on "Mach 1" and its supersonic implication. In fact, it broke the world speed record for Fastest Production Car in 1969.

Ford kept the Mach 1 alive into 1970. In 1969, the Mach 1 grossly outsold the base GT model. To make up for this loss, Ford canceled the GT altogether to make the Mach 1 the primary performance Mustang. At that point, Ford Performance could be summed up with the words "Mach One." Unfortunately, with increasing pressure from the government regarding the Clean Air Act and the 1973 oil crisis, the performance aspect of Mustangs quickly declined, and finally in 1979, Ford canceled the Mach 1, seemingly for good.



Nissan 240Z

http://img434.imageshack.**/img434/165/60snissan240z0ox.jpg

The S30 Nissan/Datsun 240Z (known in Japan as the Fairlady Z and later in other markets as the 260Z and 280Z) are sports cars produced by Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan in the 1970s. HLS30 was the designation of the left-hand drive model and HS30 for the right-hand drive model. The 240Z was introduced in 1969 with a 2.4 liter straight-6 engine, rear wheel drive, and a stylish coupe body. The engine, based on the Datsun 510's 4-cylinder produced 150 hp (112 kW) and came with a 5-speed manual transmission (USA model received a 4 speed manual). A 4 wheel independent suspension consisted of MacPherson struts in front (borrowed from the Nissan 1800) and Chapman struts in back. Front disc brakes & rear drums were standard.

Production began in 1969, the 1970 240Z was introduced to the American market by Yutaka Katayama, president of Nissan Motors USA operations, widely known as 'Mr. K'. The early 1970 model 240Z had a chrome "240" badge on the B-pillar quarter panel. Two vents were included in the rear hatch below the glass molding. In late 1970 the B-pillar side badges were restyled with the letter Z in white, and the vents were eliminated from the hatch. Design changes for the US model occurred throughout production and are discribed Design and Manufacturing Changes to the U.S. Spec

The 240Z and 260Z used twin one-barrel carburetors. Fuel injection (L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, designed by Bosch) was added for the 280Z in 1975. This was primarily in order to cope with the difficulty faced in getting enough power using carburetors while still meeting US emissions regulations.

Due to its relatively low price compared to other foreign sports cars of the time (Jaguar and Porsche), it became hugely popular in the U.S. and was the first major success for the Nissan Motor Corporation, which at the time sold cars in North America under the name Datsun. The 240Z also broadened the image of Japanese car-makers beyond their econobox success. The Z was very successful in racing in the 1970's and is credited as a catalyst for the current import performance parts industry.

In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number two on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s.



Shelby Daytona

http://img209.imageshack.**/img209/6312/60sshelbydaytona8ye.jpg

The Shelby Daytona was a coupe based loosely on the Shelby Cobra roadster. It was built for auto racing, specifically to take on Ferrari in the GT class. Just six Daytona coupes were built in 1964 and 1965, with Shelby reassigned to the Ford GT40 project after that.

Five Shelby Daytona cars were constructed in Italy, one car, known to collectors as CSX2287, was manufactured in the United States. Ownership of the cars was recorded for five cars, however records for the sixth car was lost in the mid-1970's. For a long time car historians and collectors feared the sixth car was lost. In 2001 the car was discovered in a rental storage unit in California. The owner Donna O'Hara had committed suicide by burning herself alive. The car had remained undiscovered for about three decades. Due to it's estimated worth of $4,000,000 the car was part of an extensive legal battle between her mother who sold the car to a collector in Pennsylvania, and a friend of Ms. O'Hara who was the recipient in her will of the contents of the storage unit. The discovery of this car has been dubbed as the greatest find in the history of car collecting.



a few incredibly rare cars here then, but ones that really deserve a mention. The Nissan is really a 70s car, but by my own rules, it gets to place on the 60s list, albiet quite low. Hope you enjoyed reading about these exotics - 5pointers to follow soon!
 
I though the 240Z would be higher. :?
 
My lord that COPO Camaro is a strong car...close to 550hp? Whew..I voted for a Camaro...but not that one!

And that 240Z sure is a nice one! Some nice cars there, keep 'em coming Overheat :thumbsup:
 
jayjaya29 said:
I though the 240Z would be higher. :?
x2, that's another one of my votes.

COPO Camaro and Mustang Mach 1? Will we be seeing other variants later?
 
Most people probably thought of the 240Z as a car of the 70s rather than the 60s, much like the Citroen DS and Fiat 500 were more rooted in the 50s than the 60s. It's good to see the Daytona here, which has always (in my memory) languished in the shadow of the Cobra. When is my #10 going to show up? :woot:
 
A big "Thank You!" to whoever voted for the Shelby Daytona! Such amazing cars, and somehow it slipped my mind to vote for it. :bangin: None of mine have showed up so far...
 
Still none of mine appeared - but that's probably because I placed the rather well known and popular cars on the bottom places to get a few cars that probably weren't in everybody's mind but that are worth to be considered as well a bit higher.
 
BlaRo said:
jayjaya29 said:
I though the 240Z would be higher. :?
x2, that's another one of my votes.

COPO Camaro and Mustang Mach 1? Will we be seeing other variants later?

I would've voted for it too, but I was thinking that it would fall under the bill of 1970, as that was the first model year that was released (even if it was sold in 1969). If we did a 70's cars, I'm sure the Z would get a higher place, as there would be no ambiguity as to whether or not we can use the Z.
 
jayjaya29 said:
I though the 240Z would be higher. :?

especially since i gave it 3 points :?
only 1 other person put it on the last place

well, 2 down, 8 to go from my list
 
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