best handling muscle car

[miller]

so most people associate muscle cars with 0-60 times, quarter miles and street repavers (that black rubber looks oh so good on there)... but which one handled the best?

i know most will be partial to mopars.. but try to be fair...

lastly... 1969 charger vs 1971 chevelle, which one sets the pace?

[miller]

oh by the way... i ment this to be about stock... not a mr angry or xv charger against that chevelle that pulled 1.2 Gs or whatever it was

[Rolling_Thunder]

I believe the T/A and AAR cudas were close to the top of the list as far as handeling...     not 100% sure on the best.

I believe the 1969 Charger led the 1971 Chevelle.   The Charger is a uni-body car while the chevelle has a full frame, but the chevelle did not have a great suspension set up from the factory. The factory 4-link / coil spring rear gave alot of wheel hop problems.

I do know I can compare a 66 Chevelle and a 1968 Charger.

Keep in mind these were at the time impressions (3 years ago)
My brother's 1966 Chevelle: 
Pros = More Power (270hp), Better gear set (3.08), Cheaper
Cons = Extremely light steering, no factory sway bars, poor cornering, scary braking (manual drums)

My 1968 Dodge Charger:
Pros = Better handeling, Better steering response, Better braking (manual drums), factory front sway bar, better handeling
Cons = Less Power (230hp), piss poor gear set (2.76), more costly, heavier 

We later added front and rear sway bars to the chevelle wich made a massive improvement but my Charger honestly did still handle better...    go figure. The Charger even with less hp, more weight, and less gear would still pull away from the chevelle...   both engines were stock - a 350 in the chevelle and a 318 in the charger - both were automatic cars as well.

I know the 1971 Chevelle is heavier than a 66 but the 68 and 69 chargers should be around the same weight.

Keep in mind the small block cars will usually handle better than the big block cars.

Hope this helps a little   

[Red Ram]

Best handling? The 69 Z-28 handles pretty good.  71 Chevelle v 69 Charger? The Charger of course. One of the things I like about the Charger compared to other muscle cars is that there was only one body choice...the Chevelle cam in a four door, station wagon, convertible and of course El Camino!

[trev0006]

I think tires would play a big roll in this case.

[hemihead]

I think the 65 Shelby was the best handling.

[Rolling_Thunder]

I think tires would play a big roll in this case.

my bros chevelle and my charger both had 15" wheels - brother had 235/60/15 & 255/60/15...      my charger had 235/60/15 & 255/60/15...          so the exact same set up

[BlueSS454]

I can make a fairly good comparison here once I get the Charger insured and registered.  My 70 SS454 Chevelle handles quite well on stock suspension with 15" tires on it.  I have stock suspension, and the same wheel/tires sizes on the Charger that the Chevelle has.

[Mike DC]

 
IMHO the comparison has to be done with the old bias-ply tires to be anything like fair. 


Modern tires utilize different suspension spring/shock/bushing rates.  Even different geometry needs come into play.  If you pick a winner with modern radials, then you're also partly picking which car's original 1960s setup happened to be closer to what modern tires utilize.

And then there's the issue of body stiffness, which was only built to be as stiff as the tires of the time would demand . . .

 

[bull]

Whichever muscle car is the smallest and heaviest I would think. Can I guess the Australian Charger?

I know the Challengers and Cudas didn't do as well in the AAR series as the Mustangs and Camaros, and maybe the AMC stuff too.

[JMF]

Has to be the 65 Shelby, there's a reason these are seen more on a circuit than the drag strip

[Ghoste]

The 65 Shelby was a fairly worked over car though (and would I be saying that if it were a Mopar?).  If the discussion is limited to musclecars and pony cars (and excludes Corvettes) I would have to say that most ponycars will outhandle the intermediates (which are the cars I consider "musclecars").  Of the ponycars, I would put my money on any of the TA cars (AAR, Z28, Boss etc.) but if we only look at intermediates, my experience makes me prefer the Mopars in general.  But, most of my driving experience is in those cars too so it could just be that I know (or think I know) what to expect in them.

[Blakcharger440]

It would seem that the 66 Cobras would "corner" the market so to speak on handling....the small block one.

[Joshua]

'65-'66 Formula S Barracuda's handled pretty good, fun to drive with a 4-speed.

[Jon Smith]

'65-'66 Formula S Barracuda's handled pretty good, fun to drive with a 4-speed.

my 66 barracuda formula S handles bloody awful
best handling musclecars I've been in have all been various years of camaros

[Rolling_Thunder]

It would seem that the 66 Cobras would "corner" the market so to speak on handling....the small block one.

not a muscle car...      sports car   

[MichaelRW]

I had a 69 Charger and a 71 Z-28 back in the day. The Z handled better, much less sway when turning but the Charger was better built car.

[Mike DC]

The Shelby Cobras probably need to be excluded from the category.  Too much different from the rest of the domestic sedans/coupes, and all of the difference was a major handling benefit.


The biggest problem with the B-body Mopars was the size & weight.  The actual build design & spring rates were darn good for the era.

[C_stripes]

deffenently not a V code challenger.   

[69bronzeT5]

I personally think a Trans Am would be pretty high up on the list

[derailed]

I personally think a Trans Am would be pretty high up on the list

[Silver R/T]

I think we could include a Stingray in there

[Nacho-RT74]

Mercedes 300 SL "Gullwing" is considered the first muscle car made and still with the best handling. Doesn't mean the more comfortable or powerfull, but is a fact the best handling one.

[Ghoste]

Sorry, but I don't consider ANY Mercedes a "Musclecar".  I don't consider Stingrays or AC Cobras or any other two passenger sports car to be musclecars either.  It's a question of definition for each person as an individual but when I think of a musclecar, I think of American two door, four passenger cars with higher output V-8's and marketed with a performance image (whether that image is through race wins like a Max Wedge car or perception like a striped up GTO).

[greatwn73]

I may be biased but for a regular car you could buy at the dealership the Pontiac Trans Am could out handle my charger all day long.