(Photo credit: ClunkBucket.com) – Last week I happened to be in the greater Los Angeles area for a media conference. Chad had family stuff going on so I spent a couple days with my pals Elana and Tom. You know Elana from her work at Hot Rod Magazine and Tom’s the boss because he owns and is restoring one of Dick Landy’s old ramp trucks. They are a fine pair of Mopar loving gearheads and we had a bunch of fun tearing around their ‘hood in an awesome 1969 Polara coupe (the actual car pictured in the lead photo and below) that packs a warmed up 440, steel wheels, green paint that is totally flipping perfect, and a trunk lid we could land a Chinook helicopter on. The truck is comically giant and the car is super awesome to chew up highway and secondary rods with. It was pretty much love at first sight.
As I was gettin’ my Polara on, I couldn’t help but think of the other giant coupes that Detroit automakers produced. Of course there’s the Coupe DeVille from Cadillac, the Biscayne and Caprice from Chevrolet, Buick had the Electra 225, Poncho’s Bonneville 2+2, Ford’s Galaxie 7-Litre, the Marauder X100 from Mercury, and the list goes on and on and on. These were statement cars. They were massive and they could fix six or eight people in their gut with relative comfort while looking great and not suffering the stigma of being a “four door” during an era when the only people who drove them were old and uncool.
These were cars that could be had with the biggest engines in their respective lineups and while they were more adroit at pulling like unloaded freight trains at highway speeds than they were at leaping to victory at the stoplight grand prix, people loved them all the same and they respond to hot rodding tricks like everything else. We’ve long held the opinion that the only thing cooler than fast is BIG and fast. Most of these cars fit that bill. Now….we need you answers!
BangShift Question Of The Day: What’s The Best Giant Coupe Detroit Ever Built?
you hit the nail on the head with that polara… i’ll take it most any available flavor, specially in convertible or cop car version.. 440 with all the trimmings, please…
The Polara is awesome. My votes gotta go for pretty much all of the ’69-’72 Mopar C-bodies and the Lincoln Mark IV.
Pontiac catalina.
Polara or the Grand Prix…
The ’65 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with the 421HO, Tri power with the Hurst shifted 4spd.
Car and Driver magazine tested one in ’65: 0-60 in 3.9 sec, 13.9 quarter. For grins, it beat the ’65 Ferrari 2+2.
1968-69 Ford Torino’s with the 428CJ engines backed with a 4-speed and a 9 inch. It’s a long boat with 4 wheels!
Always been a fan of the 63-64 Ford Galaxies and Merc Marauders
Marauder, Pontiac 2+2 (’60s version), Galaxie XL, and 7-Liter, Pontiac Grand Prix.
I’d take a ’63 Galaxie 500XL fastback with a 406 3×2
I think the 66-69 big B-body Chevys with the 427 are just plain awesome.
1970 Cadillac Eldorado. 500 ci inch of monster torque that will mangle the front tires with the chain drive TH425 trans in a car that weighs more than 5,000 lbs.
FWD is the devil’s spawn . . . Just sayin’
I love Mopars, but Ford got this one right more often.
No Big Three coupe is as in-your-face as a ’65 T-Bird. Second place to the Continental MK III. Third to the ’61 Imperial with swivel seats, stainless steel roof inserts, toilet seat trunk lid, TV screen-shaped steering wheel and fins to the moon.
Fury GT with a 440 6 pack. Runner up Baldwin/Motion Copo 427 Biscayne sedan with the 427. “Street Racer Special”.
1969 – 1972 Mopar C bodies, and 1963 – 1964 Ford Galaxies, 1965 – 1966 Chevy Impalas.
Definitely the ’62 Chevrolet “Bubble-Top” Bel Air with a 427!
They were full-size but not all that weighty.
Hang on the factory OTC aluminum and fiberglass body parts and one almost had to chain ’em down while parked to keep ’em from floating into the air.
RPO Z11 427 was not available until MY 1963. No factory 427 “bubble tops.”
I once picked up a Plymouth Fury III from the back lot of a dealership for….$200.00!! I had to put a tranny in it but it was long, straight, no rust and a 440!!
Mid 80’s….those days are LONG gone!!
I may be partial because of the current rides in the stable, but I’m going to go with Plymouth Fury and Lincoln Continental. Caddy monster engines rule too.
63 1/2 Galaxie 427 w/ dual quads and 4 spd!
Buick Wildcat if you want the sporty side of big coupes or the aformentioned Electra 225 if you want to go full on over the top size.
Personal favorites are the ’65 Wildcat with a 465 Super Wildcat dual quad 425 and switch pitch 400, ’66 Wildcat with the same powertrain, and the ’67 430 powered Electra 225 still backed by the SP400.
Rivieras are just too small to fit in this company till you get to the 70’s and I’m honestly not a Boattail fan.
None of you guys are too familiar with mid-sixties Imperials, I guess. Monster 413 engines, and the only car ever banned from demolition derby’s. I rest my case.
That said, my crazy aunt that lived in Dallas always had Buick Woldcats, with big cube V8’s, and always got them from the dealer with 2 4’s on them! They were wild all right!
1956 Packard Caribbean Hardtop
This was a real tank but very good looking. When I was a kid I caddied at a course where one of the members, a reputed young mob guy, had one of these. He would arrive at the course with at least 4 knockout girls, one or two in the front and three in the back, drop them off at the pool, play a round of golf, and then load them back in the car and leave. He was a real nice guy to the caddies and always had a smile his face.
He was a great role model for all the young caddies.
Hmmmmm… I have to go with either the ’69-’70 Maurader X100, the ’65-’67 Grand Prix, or the ’69-’70 Wildcat.
*Marauder*…
1970 Impala sport coupe …blue/blue..vinyl roof, 396,,350 turbo. Enough room for the kids but enough grunt to get you there in a hurry if you want..Nice styling too…… Wish I still had that car.
Pfftt; 1970 Caprice in Anniversary Gold with the LS4 454. Power everything. I still have mine. bahahahaha.
radar love – Fury at DW 2009 -http://www.flickr.com/photos/dignlif/3917678665/in/set-72157622310536102/
Olds 98 coupe!
60’s to 71 buick riviera
for got to add
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py9ueq_3kL8
WOW! That is some shiny paint.
So many too chose from in this segment..67 Galaxie 427,or a LTD..68 Galaxie Fastback GT..70-71 Plymouth Sport Fury with 440..69 Chrysler 300 or New Yorker..65 Impala..67 Impala..68 Impala SS 427..Buick Wildcat 67-68..Pontiac Grand Prix 69-70..Bonneville and Catalina 65-67…
Hidden headlight 68 Impala SS 427 or 69 429 Galaxie XL GT, 64 Dual Quad Wildcat or Mercury X-100
1972 Imperial, 1962 Olds Starfire, 1968 Lincoln Mark III.
The 1970 Chrysler 300 H was a beauty with the white and gold paint, the fiberglass hood, the 440 to move it, and Hurst badging to make it official.
My favorite type of car! The 2 + 2 from Pontiac is great for a performance car but for cruising its the Olds 98,Caddy Coupe and Electra 225. This is not to discount the Fury GT and Mercury Marauder,I just prefer GM. Mark III is really cool too then you can get into the smaller variants of full size like a Delta 88 or Lesabre which are also great cars.
69 Olds 98 Coupe. You could get one with a 400hp 455 if I remember right.
I’m with Mark Panos on the Chrysler 300 Hurst! If not that, then any other fuselage C-body Mopar.
One of my customers had the coolest one I’d seen for a long time. It was a 1967 Ford Custom. Not a “Galaxie”, or even a “Custom 500”. It was a bare bones 2 door post full size car with absolutely zero options – except for a 427 and a 4 speed! A little scruffy around the edges, but still had the original Army green paint…
No one posted a 1959 Caddy coupe with dual quad 390 engine and fins Jaws would be jealous of?
60-61 Ford Starliner with an FE block. I love these cars they were really my dad’s favorite. In fact there is one engraved on his tombstone.
65′ Riviera GS 425 w/dual quads…..the sweetest fullsize car GM ever produced.
’65-66 Impala.
Also, it’s not terribly giant, but the 70-72 Monte Carlo is definitely long, and amazing.
1974 Chrysler New Yorker Braumgham 2 door 440 power everything, and tons of chrome trim
Buick Rivera Boat Tail. 455 ci of cruising beauty. I’ll take mine in green with a darker green vinyl top, perfection.