from Driving Line

BIG CAR, BIG BLOCK: 5 V8 MUSCLE MACHINES YOU CAN STILL AFFORD

by Benjamin Hunting

Mercury MarauderThe Mercury Marauder X-100

Looking for a V8 classic but feeling squeezed out by muscle car pricing? Don’t worry, there’s an entire subset of stealth big block cars out there that the collector market has largely ignored, keeping them affordable and relatively plentiful as compared to their more celebrated siblings.

Full-size sedans and coupes were often available with range-topping, large-displacement eight-cylinder engines in the 1960s and early ’70s, but given that the primary demographic for these models were families and business executives, they mostly flew under the radar with the hot rod crowd. It’s a trend that continues today, even with personal luxury coupes that throw in a bit of style to go with their torque-happy drivetrains.

For most builders, these enormous engines can be considered mere starting points for generating huge power after a few judicious modifications, but even in stock form they are a lot of fun. Just remember that we’re quoting gross horsepower ratings for each of these models, as they were all introduced before SAE net ratings were adopted.

Let’s take a look at five fun big block V8 classic cars that you can still afford.

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