‘Tis true – you can have the Hot Rod digital library at your fingertips, from the first issue from January 1948 to today’s nutso street-legal Drag Week vehicles achieving 8-second ETs. That’s more than 75 years of the American evolution of automobiles on record! What’s your favorite cover? Who’s your favorite editor? Do you enjoy 1980s hot pink? It’s all here in the splendor only possible by the grace of the Internet!
The Firebird Trans Am has been a GM icon since its introduction. Over the years the Trans Am has been raced, starred in movies, been a main character in a TV show, and has always had a huge following. Sadly the Firebird Trans Am was cancelled in 2002. With the 2010 closing of the Pontiac division of GM, we are not likely to see a Pontiac-built Trans Am ever again.
The Trans Am featured here is from the final 4th generation. While the rear axle and floorpan aft of the front seats was basically the same as the 3rd generation model, GM stated that ninety percent of the new Firebird’s parts were new. Like the Camaro, upgrades to the Firebird Trans Am include standard dual airbags, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, 16-inch wheels, rack-and-pinion power steering, new front suspension, and many composite body panels.
The seller states that this 1994 Pontiac Trans Am is was California-owned long-term and is powered by an LT1 5.7-liter V8 backed by the desirable BorgWarner six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. Finished in Dark Aqua Metallic over a Graphite cloth interior, this fourth-generation Firebird is now offered by the selling dealer with removed original parts, a clean CARFAX report, and a clear title.
Features on this car include air conditioning, a Pioneer touchscreen sound system, upgraded PaceSetter headers, an upgraded clutch, and a Borla exhaust system. The addition of the headers and Borla exhaust should make the LT1 under the hood of this Trans Am more powerful than any stock C4 Corvette LT1. The Borla exhaust will also make it sound amazing.
This car is painted in its factory Dark Aqua Metallic paint with integrated fog lights, cool pop-up headlights, factory hood scoops, and integrated rear spoiler. The overall condition of the paint looks to be excellent which is easily explained by the cars low 66k mileage from new. The seller adds that the front bumper cover has been repainted and that the headlight control module has been recently replaced.
The interior of this Trans Am features its factory Graphite cloth upholstery and the car has power windows, power steering, and cruise control. Like the exterior, the interior looks great and is stock except for an aftermarket dash cover, a modern Pioneer touchscreen audio system, and aftermarket shift knob. The car includes its original Delco stock radio and shift knob.
Once thought of as just used cars, the values of these final generation Trans Am cars have started to move up in the collector car market, with the first and second generation cars often selling for more than $100,000. What that means is that these final versions of the Trans Am are still a good value, but I would personally buy one like this example now before the prices get higher.
ClassicCars TV presents a 1955 Hudson Metropolitan, produced in limited numbers from 1954 to 1956. Hindered by the absence of a V8 engine, coupled with the commercial failure of the Hudson Jet and intense pricing competition between Ford and GM, Hudson faced challenges that ultimately led to its demise by late 1956.
George Mason, the architect behind the proposed merger with AMC, passed away, resulting in the collapse of the deal. Despite its troubled history, the Hudson Metropolitan stands out with its 1500cc 4-cylinder engine, 3-speed manual transmission, and original Turquoise exterior with a white hardtop. The interior features a black-and-white two-tone design, maintaining original floors and body panels, while the entire driveline has been meticulously rebuilt to factory specifications. It sold at the Barrett-Jackson 2024 Scottsdale Auction for $16,500.
The Pontiac GTO is one of the most important cars in post war U.S. auto history. This is because many think of it as the first true muscle car ever. The GTO was conceived to be a muscle car at the start after GM execs saw how kids were modifying their mid size street cars, making them faster and more flashy. GM decided to start doing this in house despite the GM ban on racing and the result was the launch of the GTO as its own model in 1964.
An interesting fact about the GTO is that GM got its name from the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO. GTO is an Italian acronym for “Gran Turismo Omologato” (grand tourer homologate in English), which signified in the case of the Ferrari 250 GTO that the car in question was certified by the FIA for racing in the grand tourer class as a production car with at least a hundred units made. Unlike Ferrari who did not make 100 250 GTO cars, a very cool Pontiac employee had the car homologated by the FIA in 1964, so that it was possible for the GTO to compete in European sports car racing.
The GTO we have here as our Pick of the Day is a first generation 1966 GTO convertible located in Vero Beach, Florida. This car is for sale on ClassicCars.com by Motor City Classic Cars. They state that this GTO is one that has recently received a no-expense-spared restoration. All around this car you can see that a significant amount of time and money went into bringing it to its fantastic condition.
The trim tag correct Montero Red exterior paint looks to be excellent as does all the chrome and other trim on the cars exterior. The white power convertible top goes up and down at the push of a lever and is said to fit perfectly.
This GTO is powered by a 389ci/335 hp V8 with Tri-Power carburetors tied to a 4-speed manual transmission. The seller adds that this GTO represents the perfect build and is a great vehicle to drive.
Options on this GTO include a correct matching red interior with bucket seats and center console, a custom sports steering wheel, rally gauge cluster with tachometer, and push button AM/FM radio. It is equipped with power steering, a SafT-Track rear, ride and handling springs, shocks, stabilizer and Hurst Rally II wheels that are riding on newer Redline radial tires. They close stating that this GTO checks all the boxes and that Pontiac Historical Society documents are included with the vehicle.
I have said this before and I’ll say it again. It is always cheaper to buy a restored car than to have one restored. If I were in the market for an exceptionally restored GTO convertible, I would seriously consider this one with an asking price of $98,000. I guarantee that the restoration of this car, if it is as good as it looks, cost more than the asking price.
Do you miss your car from high school? Matt Koops doesn’t because he still owns it. He bought this Chevrolet in 1986 and continues to enjoy it in the same condition that it was back in the day. It even sports most of the Day 2 mods he installed as a wee lad. Few are so lucky!
This Ash Gold 1968 Chevelle SS 396 sports the base 325-horsepower L35 big-block and the optional TH400 automatic with console, but the original owner liberally specified other options including air conditioning, Positraction rear with 3.31 gears, stripes, AM/FM Stereo with 8-track, power steering and front disc brakes, and bumper guards. Under the hood you’ll find a 780 Holley, Holley Street Dominator intake, Crane Fireball camshaft, and Blackjack headers – painted white, no less!
Interestingly, Matt is a renowned restorer of Dodge Chargers and related Mopars. In fact, if you’ve ever seen the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona that was beltline-deep in Florida hurricane water several years ago, his shop (Muscle Or Performance Auto Restoration) is handling the rebuild.
Join Muscle Car Campy as he tells us the tale of this 1980s-era Day 2 1968 Chevelle SS 396 and takes us for a drive. And, if you enjoy this, you can find more Muscle Car Campy videos from Tampa & vicinity here.
Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this 1969 Camaro Z/28. Like all of them, it is powered by a numbers-matching Turbo-Fire 302 V8 backed by a four-speed manual, also numbers-matching. Features include Cowl Induction hood, Z21 Exterior Style Trim Group, rear spoiler, center console, instrumentation, Positraction, power brakes, custom X-pipe exhaust, and more. Painted Burgundy with white stripes and black and white vinyl and houndstooth cloth interior, this Z/28 comes with pre-restoration photos and receipts, documentation, Jerry MacNeish Certificate of Authenticity and appraisal, and a clear title.
This Camaro Z/28 was originally built with code 57 Fathom Green with white stripes, but the previous owner’s uncle had one in Burgundy back in the day, so this vehicle was repainted in that hue as a homage. Features include front and rear spoilers, fender-mounted antenna, left-hand side-view mirror, and rocker moldings and wheel-opening trim.
Chevrolet Rally wheels are wrapped in Goodyear Speedway Wide GT bias-ply tires.
The interior was originally code 721 Medium Green vinyl but has been changed to black vinyl and white houndstooth cloth, again as a homage to a previous owner’s uncle’s car. Other features include center console with Hurst shifter, manual steering, and AM radio.
The instrument panel consists of a 120-mph speedometer, 8,000-rpm tachometer, clock, and console-mounted gauges for the fuel level, water temperature, oil pressure, and battery. Odometer shows 99,655 miles.
The numbers-matching 302 small-block features the original distributor and radiator. There are several subtle modifications and additions to the engine, which include Cowl Induction, voltage regulator, water pump, coil, bell housing, plus several other items that are listed in the auction listing. The transmission is the original wide-ratio M20 four-speed manual.
The 1969 Camaro Z/28 featured an independent front suspension with four-leaf rear springs and solid rear-drive axle. Gearing is 3.73 with Positraction. Braking consists of power-assisted rear drums and front discs. There are several modifications that include a fuel line spliced on the right-side frame rail, larger front sway bar, and custom X-pipe with Borla mufflers, among others.
Something about the lead image on this truck’s classified ad lured me in. The lighting, the paint color, and a general curiosity about the details of this old Chevy truck were irresistible. I’m glad I dug a little deeper. Turns out, that brilliant finish which caught my eye requires “five coats of paint over epoxy sealer, finished in endless coats of clear,” according to the listing. No wonder it looks like liquid metal.
The listing is comprised in bullet-point form and gives details about the ins and outs of the build, which, based on the description, was all-encompassing. In fact, it might be easier to talk about what wasn’t upgraded from the truck’s original equipment. First and foremost, the truck rides on a TCI boxed frame. In place of the original architecture, we find a set of Ridetech adjustable coilovers all the way around, and a four-link suspension in the rear.
For model year 1955, Chevrolet pickup trucks moved into what became known as the “Task Force” generation. Light-duty trucks were classified as model 3100 for shortbeds and 3200 for the longbed variants. One of the characteristic design elements that rolled out was an eggcrate grille to replace the slatted arrangement of the previous Advance Design trucks.
Momentum for this eye-catching ride comes from a GM Performance 383cid stroker V8 with an Edelbrock 750cfm carburetor, and momentum is transferred rearward through a TCI 700R4 four-speed automatic transmission and a nine-inch Currie rear end with a 3.93:1 gear ratio. Performance upgrades include a March polished pulley system and a Magnaflow stainless-steel exhaust system.
A lot of restomods have robust drivetrains, but many builders forget to give proper attention to braking systems which are equally important – if not more so. This truck comes with a set of Wilwood 12-inch drilled and slotted rotors with four-piston calipers and stainless-steel brake lines.
The capstone of this entire build (at least in my opinion) is that striking exterior appearance. “Flawless paint and body work, finished in a medium metallic gray,” the seller says. Even the bed’s tiger maple wood has been coated with four coats of clear. Shiny doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The asking price is lofty, but as the saying goes, “try building one for less.” The seller seeks $125,000.
An example of one of the most unusual Formula 1 cars in history is up for grabs.
This 1977 Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler will be one of the featured lots at RM Sotheby’s upcoming auction in Monaco. Scheduled to be offered for sale May 11, it’s an artifact of a bygone era where small, modestly funded F1 teams could pull off big technical innovations.
Tyrrell won multiple championships with Jackie Stewart in the early 1970s, but as the decade drew to a close the team was looking for something new to help it remain competitive. Designer Derek Gardner’s answer was a six-wheeled car with four small front wheels that dramatically reduced aerodynamic drag compared to taller, conventionally sized wheels. The effect was thought to be equivalent to extracting an additional 40 hp from the P34’s Cosworth DFV engine.
1977 Tyrrell P34 chassis number 8 (photo via RM Sotheby’s)
With Goodyear developing custom tires for the 10-inch front wheels, the P34 made its competition debut at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix. Patrick Depailler qualified third—well ahead of teammate Jody Scheckter, who only managed 14th in the four-wheeled Tyrrell 007.
After switching to the P34, Scheckter put the six-wheeler on pole at that year’s Swedish Grand Prix, then led a Tyrrell 1-2 victory, with Depailler finishing second. That was as good as it got for the P34, however. It was raced less successfully in 1977 before Tyrrell switched back to a four-wheeled design for 1978. Scheckter would go on to win the 1979 F1 Drivers’ Championship with Ferrari, while Tyrrell would begin a long decline. The team entered its last race in 1998, although its assets were used to create what is now the Mercedes-AMG team.
The P34 remains the only six-wheeled car to race in F1. March and Williams tested six-wheeled cars, but never raced them. And unlike the P34, those designs used conventionally sized wheels all around, with two powered rear axles and a single unpowered front axle. So the P34 is truly a one-off unicorn design.
1977 Tyrrell P34 chassis number 8 (photo via RM Sotheby’s)
The car up for auction—chassis number 8—comes from Scheckter’s own collection. It isn’t one of the cars he raced, however. It was constructed as a spare tub, assembled into a complete car in the 1990s by Paul Lanzante, and passed through several owners before being purchased by Scheckter.
RM Sotheby’s expects chassis number 8 to sell for between 450,000 and 650,000 euros—approximately $485,000 to $700,000 at current exchange rates. It may not have competition history, but this car’s sheer rarity should justify a high final bid.
The beauty of a custom-built restomod is that it blends vintage looks with modern power and conveniences. Back in the 1930s, things like power steering, CD sound systems, air conditioning, power disc brakes, and independent front suspensions weren’t part of vehicle specification sheets. But today, you can seamlessly blend old and new for the best of both worlds. Case in point: this pearlescent teal 1938 Chevrolet Master. It is being offered by a dealer in St. Louis, Missouri, and the auction will end on Tuesday.
The listing says that the car’s aerodynamic body is all-steel. The Master launched in 1933 on what General Motors called the A-body platform. It was available in various configurations over the next decade or so, including a coupe, a cabriolet, a sedan, and even a pickup truck. (These were the days before pickups and passenger cars had distinct underpinnings.)
Most notably, there have been some very custom touches to set this Master apart from any other car even remotely like it: The bumpers have been removed, the door and trunk lid handles have been shaved, the running boards have been painted body-color, the rear fenders have been molded, and a pair of flush-fit custom taillights have been added.
Under the hood, power comes from a later-model 350cid small-block V8 that has been upgraded with a FiTech fuel injection system, chrome valve covers, an aluminum intake manifold, and tube exhaust headers. A three-speed automatic transmission sends power to a set of American Racing Torq Thrust wheels at the rear end. The drivetrain sounds great! Be sure to check out the two-minute video on the Revheads YouTube channel which shows a start-up, a rev, an exterior walk-around of this one-off Chevy.
By the way, Revheads has listed a number of vehicles on AutoHunter in the past and has a special story worth sharing. The Sales Director, Damon Bounds, has been an automotive enthusiast since growing up in the 1980s. He was influenced and inspired by his father who he called “Pops.” Damon moved into a new chapter by launching a marketplace for collector cars that adopted a brick-and-mortar presence in 2023. Today, Revheads has a customer-centered approach: “With transparency, education, and a little courage, anyone can appreciate the unique experience of stepping back in time and experiencing transportation like our ancestors did,” he said.
Back when both hardtops and cars with B-pillars were a thing, the latter was the entry-level and cost a few dollars less than its pillarless brethren. Yet if you look at Oldsmobile’s 1971 lineup, the two-door Cutlass Hardtop Coupe was the cheapest two-door of the series. Doesn’t jibe with prevailing wisdom, right? Our Pick of the Day is one of those pricier pillared coupes, a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Sports Coupe. It is listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Greene, Iowa. (Click the link to view the listing)
1970 Cutlasses and F-85, left to right
The value-leading F-85 lived on in 1971, but it was only available as a Town Sedan as Oldsmobile clearly was phasing out the model. The next step up was the Cutlass, and the Lansing company’s cheapest two-door was the Cutlass Hardtop Coupe. It cost $2900 with a six, or $3,021 with a V8. You could move up to the Cutlass S for something fancier, which added rear armrests with accent moldings, rear ashtrays. floor carpeting, chrome body-side, rocker panel, and wheel-opening moldings, bright moldings for front bench plus foam padding front and rear, louvered hood, and recessed windshield wipers.
Interestingly, Oldsmobile offered a Cutlass S pillared coupe called the Sports Coupe, as well as a Hardtop Coupe. The Cutlass S Sports Coupe cost $2,957 with a six, or $3,078 with a V8, while the Cutlass S Hardtop Coupe was $3,020 with a six, $3,141 with a V8. Why Oldsmobile decided to offer its cheapest two-door as a hardtop without offering a pillared coupe is anyone’s guess, as a Cutlass Sports Coupe would seem logical. However, that didn’t happen.
As you may have inferred, there were two standard engines depending on whether you preferred a six or V8. The 250cid six, which was quite rare (under 2500 units among all Cutlass and Cutlass S models), was known as the Action-Line 6 and was rated at 145 gross (110 net) horsepower. The V8 was Oldsmobile’s famous L65 Rocket 350 with a two-barrel carburetor. Horsepower was 240 gross (160 net with single exhaust, 175 with duals). The optional L74 four-barrel 350 was rated at 260 gross, or 180 net with single exhaust, 200 with duals). Standard transmission for all engines was a column-mounted three-speed manual, with the M14 heavy-duty three-speed with floor shift and M20 wide-ratio four-speed being available for L74-equipped cars. M38 Turbo Hydra-matic 350 was available for all engines.
If you wanted to get creative, you could order a Cutlass S coupe of some sort with the six and M38, A51 Strato Bucket seats, W26 console with Hurst Dual-Gate shifter, and W35 rear-deck spoiler. Weird things did happen, but is it as weird as Oldsmobile having a hardtop as its cheapest two-door? Nonetheless, this Matador Red 1971 Cutlass S Sports Coupe is not a common sight these days. As one of 4,339 V8 examples built, this Cutlass S is a “nearly original survivor” featuring 39,672 miles on the odometer, according to the seller. “Popping open the hood reveals an authentic, numbers-matching 350cid V8 breathing through a two-barrel carburetor, sitting inside an engine bay so genuine it still has the factory chalk markings.” And check out those standard hubcaps without trim rings! Are those original to the car or they were added by a more recent owner for a Plain Jane look? Hard to tell, but they don’t jibe with the power trunk release – a relative luxury for a post coupe with no other luxuries but, again, stranger things have happened.
Other options include power steering and brakes, AM radio, and driver-side mirror. Honestly, this sounds like a car ordered for dealer stock, perhaps? For $38,995, you can purchase this beauty from the lot and park it in your driveway.
