​Muscle Cars Need Muscle Car Wheels

Nothing can quite compare to the classic muscle car. It was the classic muscle car that caught the spirit of America. They made us yearn for the open road and the smell of burning rubber. Even today, gearheads are enthusiastic about their Chevy Novas, Pontiac Firebirds and Dodge Chargers.

There are some of us who will openly admit that the true love of their life was their first muscle car. I am one of those people. In my adolescent years, girls would come into my life and girls would exit, sometimes rather angrily, from my life but the one consistent, the one thing I could always count on was my 1969 Chevy Nova.

It was red, it had muscle car wheels, American Racing wheels to be exact, and boy, she was quick. Muscle cars should never be described as fast, because a lot of cars are fast. That is, there are many types of cars that will exceed 100 miles per hour. But muscle cars, muscle cars are quick. They get from point A to point B in a manner of seconds. This is why muscle cars are only on the racetrack for the quarter mile.

But I digress, I was talking about my muscle car before I got sidetracked.

As I was saying, the love of my life was my Nova and I paid more attention to her than anything. She was washed and otherwise groomed on a regular basis, including details like vacuuming out the trunk, washing the custom wheels and polishing the valve covers.

Now, there were several aspects of my car that set it apart from other muscle cars, even other Chevy Novas. For example, I was not a fan of chrome car parts. Chrome might look nice, but it is pretty high maintenance. I had friends who decked out their engines in chrome, and spent a considerable amount of time in a vain attempt to keep it clean.

I mean, chrome valve covers look cool, but with so much dirt and grime happening under the hood, it’s hardly impressive. When I popped the hood of my Nova, spectators were awed by my black-painted aluminum Mickey Thompson valve covers. They always looked great, no matter how dirty or dusty they were.

The same held true outside the engine compartment, no chrome. Well, with the exception of the bumpers, because I couldn’t afford to swap them out. When I bought the car, it came with a set of chrome Cragar wheels, which were quickly changed out with a set of aluminum American Racing wheels. Wheels that if I owned a muscle car today, that is what it would be wearing.

Speaking of muscle cars, like many of you I suppose, I am considering purchasing one to restore. You may call it a mid-life crisis, I call it a labor of love.

Here is the problem, I am having a difficult time choosing which kind of muscle car to restore. I am still infatuated with the Nova, but certainly wouldn’t mind restoring an El Camino, AMC Rebel or even a Pontiac GTO. Heck, I would probably be happy with a Vega to restore.

If you are into muscle cars, maybe you can help. I would like to know what kind of car i should rebuild and give me some reasons why you chose that particular car. I am open to any suggestions.