This Hemi-Powered Photo Book Puts You Behind the Wheel of History’s Greatest Muscle Cars

Clear off some room on your coffee table.

Pg. 157
Legendary Motorcar Collection

This Baldwin-Motion LS7 454 big block Camaro listed for $6,193 when it was new.

Muscle car maniacs: not everyone who is shopping for your holiday gifts can afford that Holley Dominator carburetor you need for your hot rod, so why not add something a little more affordable to your list?

This is the Dan Gurney road edition Mercury Cyclone Boss 429 being tested at the company’s Dearborn Proving Ground.

Something like the coffee table book Day One, from muscle car era participant Marty Schorr. For those of us who where around to experience the arrival of some of the most legendary machines in automotive history, Schorr puts us in the driver’s seat by relaying his first-hand experiences with the most incredible muscle cars.

This 1968 Oldsmobile Hurst-Olds sport coupes was one of just 515 cars built in partnership with the famous Hurst aftermarket shifter company.

That means not only factory machines, but also custom builds from the likes of Balwin-Motion, Yenko Chevrolet, Nickey Chevrolet, Royal Pontiac and Tasca Ford.

The Chevrolet Bel Air was the lightest model offering the 409 big block engine, so it was the choice for performance-minded drivers.

Day One includes cars like Pontiac’s 1962-‘63 lightweight Super-Duty 421 street car and Chevy’s ‘63 427 Mystery Motor Impala.

A Yenko/SC 427 1969 Camaro and Chevelle (left and right) and a 1970 Nova 350/360 COPO Deuce.

Ford had the 1963 1/2 427/425 Galaxie fastback, and Chrysler introduced the first 426 Street Hemi

This Roger Penske-prepared Sunoco Camaro Z28 had its body shell dipped in acid to reduce its weight.

These incredible rides and more populate the pages of Day One, taking us back to times many of us missed.

Author Schorr poses with a one-off Ram Air V Pontiac GTO magazine test car more than 40 years after testing it.

So here’s your chance to catch up on what it was like when these iconic muscle cars debuted and how they were to drive, thanks to a man who tested them all himself back in the day.

Day One is $45, from Motorbooks publishing.

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