This has been but a taste of the vast GM Performance Catalog. GM crate engines run the gamut from affordable and economical four-cylinder mills to gallon-per-mile big blocks that sound like the devil gargling Listerine. And the future is bright: Chevrolet is bringing back the COPO Camaro and the newly-launched 2019 ZR1 packs 755 horsepower and a 210-mph top speed.
As if that wasn’t enough, GM then throws on a gargantuan 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger pushing a full 16 PSI of boost. All of that cast iron and forging means strength, and the COPO 350 can set dragstrip records day in and day out without breaking a sweat.
A removable top made the Bronco a perfect choice for sunny days and a retractable rear window that disappeared into the tailgate was added for this generation. A folding rear bench seat ups the cargo space so you could easily haul plenty of gear into the wild.
A Jeep is a good place to start when you want to get off the pavement and into some fun situations. However, if you’re looking to really tackle the wilderness, you need more than just a little more clearance. Use this list of Jeep mods to start planning your build to get in and out of some rough spots.
This is the beginning of the pickup truck era for Ford, and while not the most exciting choice on our cool old ford trucks list, it was one of the first mass-produced trucks out there and helped build the foundation of the truck market we know today.
Rock sliders create a solid barrier between your Jeep and a hard surface. Meanwhile, replacing stock bumpers with steel fabricated off-road bumpers protects the front and rear from sharp slams. These can also give a greater angle of approach when going up slopes or coming down from them.
The Chevy El Camino is probably the best-known example in this category but the Ranchero was the first and is a pretty cool car/truck. The Ranchero was introduced in 1957 and was in production until 1979. A total of 508,355 units were produced and while we like the early models, they are all pretty sweet.
Nevermind what happens when you get bouncing around on choppy trails and crawling across rocky slopes. There’s a fine balance between size, tread, and overall quality that make knowledgeable product reviews a good starting point.
The Ranchero is based on a two-door station wagon platform and was marketed as a light pickup that could haul a fair amount of cargo while being easy to operate and drive, like a car. There is not enough space here to cover the various engines and features that were incorporated into the Ranchero over the years, but a few engine choices consisted of a 250 cubic-inch six-cylinder and a variety of V8 power plants that ranged from a standard 302 to a 428 cu-in. (7.0 L) Cobra Jet.
You get the same 3.6L engine found in the Dodge and Chrysler minivans on our list. The only difference is that it is now in a slightly heavier minivan. We couldn’t leave you with a cloud of gloom and doom over the entire world of used minivans. So, here is the best used minivan in our opinion…the Kia Sedona.
The Bronco is so cool we had to put it on our list of cool old Ford trucks twice. These years fall into the first generation of Broncos, which were fairly small but oh so cool. The Baja was a special edition that was created by off-road racing legend Bill Stroppe and the Ford design team.
The Lightning was so popular that it was brought back from 1999 to 2004 and now, Pioneer Ford a dealer in Bremen, Georgia, is sort of selling a new version of the Lightning. They are building 650-hp supercharged F-150s that imitate the look of the original Lightning. If you have $50,000 burning a hole in your pocket you can stick one in your garage.