Save the '80s

Save the '80s

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

August, 2007 - Terry McGean

Just got back from Musclepalooza V, our semi-annual show-n-go event held at Lebanon Valley Dragway in West Lebanon, New York. Despite threatening weather, we managed a record turnout with around 700 cars total. We don't put any model year restrictions on entrants, so the show winds up providing a good cross-section of the American performance car hobby. Naturally, there's plenty of representation from the '60s and early '70s, but there's also a little bit from every other era of muscle up to the present.

There once was a time when a muscle car was something built prior to 1972, or maybe '74 if you were talking about a Super Duty Trans Am or something with a big-block. The cars that followed were generally considered poseurs, trying to emulate the look but never matching the performance. Some of them were still desirable, mostly because they were new and looked good, like late '70s Trans Ams or Z28s, but it was generally understood that they couldn't hang with their elders in a speed contest.

In the early '80s, new-car performance sank even lower, but by the close of the decade, there were some players posting numbers that couldn't be ignored. The 5.0 Mustang was probably the first "new" muscle car that forced the general public to take it seriously--especially once the aftermarket started to offer upgrades. Then there was the Turbo Regal, which, by the '86 model year, could smoke all but the most serious early muscle cars in stock trim, and which turned into 12-second cars with only minor tweaking.

Seeing all those later-model muscle cars at our show made me think that "the death of muscle," in the mid-'70s, has turned out to be little more than a dip on the muscle timeline, rather than the apocalypse we once considered it. Now, all those '80s cars that brought factory muscle back are as old, or older, than the original muscle cars were when they first became collectible. And while an '85 IROC may not inspire the same looks of wonder and awe as a '69 Z/28, I'm starting to view the '80s and early '90s cars with a little nostalgia.

Those feelings likely stem from the growing realization that '80s performance cars are becoming increasingly scarce, at least in terms of clean, original specimens.

Don't believe me? Take a look in whatever local source you use to find cars and parts--not national Web sites or magazines like Hemmings Motor News. How many stock 5.0 Mustangs are there? Probably not many, if you can find one at all, as most have been tweaked and beaten relentlessly. If you do find a bone-stocker in good shape, it's likely a convertible with an automatic. The situation for third-gen IROCs and Trans Ams is similar--there are plenty around, but nearly every one I've seen lately is hammered. Ditto the Monte SS, 1985-'87 442 and Thunderbird Turbo Coupes. Good luck finding a turbo 2.2-liter Mopar of any kind--they seem to have been thrashed to near extinction.

Many of these are cars I actually daydreamed about as a high-school slacker. The only one I've managed to corral for myself is the 5.0-liter Mustang LX in my garage, and I bought that one 11 years ago. Now I'm starting to feel like I need to grab specimens of some of the other '80s and '90s cars I've admired over the years, while they're still cheap and at least somewhat available.

I'm not proposing to start ground-up restorations on '80s machines, just that it may be time to revisit some of them before they actually require complete refurbishment. One of the primary benefits of these cars is that a decent example, if found, can provide exceptional entertainment value for the dollar. That GTO in your garage may still be a couple years of work from seeing a cruise night, but in the meantime, a third-gen Trans Am would likely provide good fun not only for the daily commute, but maybe at the local bracket drags or an autocross. And if it looks halfway decent, you might not even be embarrassed to take it to a cruise or a club meeting.

Here's another angle: In recent years, open-track events have become increasingly popular with muscle car enthusiasts, many of whom have made efforts to update the handling capabilities of their classics to better cope with a road course. The cost of those upgrades can add up fast and, in some cases, still not yield a particularly capable car. Not to mention the ever-present worry that has to accompany high-speed driving with valuable vintage iron, especially for someone still learning competition driving techniques. Now think about taking that third-gen F-car or an early SN-95 Mustang (1994-'95) to a driving school. You'd enjoy the benefits of their improved handling and braking in stock form, coupled with a greatly reduced lack of concern over scrapes and scuffs. And you probably wouldn't hold back when it came time for those hot laps.

If nothing else, these cars can also provide a way for the guys not yet fortunate enough to have staked a claim on some early muscle to get in on the action. While prices of the classics are out of reach for many, those remaining '80s machines are ready and waiting to divert you from driving a Camry while you work on your scheme for acquiring something from the golden era.

Who knows, maybe after you've utilized your '80s muscle for all it's worth, it'll turn out to be worthy of restoration. And surely by then, that GTO project will be complete and ready for action... right?

This article originally appeared in the August, 2007 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.

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