2016-MCMU-bracket

Three former Muscle Car Match-Ups champions made it to the final eight. Now, only one remains.

Reinforcing the notion that 1969 is the best model year in automotive history, three of our remaining four contestants are from that year. The iconic Melba Toast of Dazed and Confused fame brings 1970 to the party.

Stay tuned as Muscle Car Match-Ups (Hot Rod Edition) rolls on with the championship round slated for Monday. You can review our original post for details on how to vote, then let your voice be heard.

We’re down to three Chevys and a Mopar. Three ’69s and a ’70. When there are no wrong answers, we all win, even if only one of these iconic contenders can wear the crown.

The Final Four

1970 Chevy 454 Chevelle SS vs. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T

70-Chevlle-vs-69-Charger

With the quintessential muscle-car look, a no-nonense name and badge, and 454 cubic inches of “I win at life” roaring from the exhaust and engine compartment, the 1970 Chevelle SS is an undeniably bad machine. In Round 1, it spit out the ’62 Dodge Polara 413 Max Wedge, then took out TWO fellow muscle-bound titans from 1969 — the Ford Mustang Boss 429, and then the 1969 Pontiac GTO. The Judge held the Chevelle in contempt. Then the Chevelle said: “Contempt this.”

Mortal opponents of the Chevelle usually start wetting the bed around now. But this opponent is no mere mortal. The 1969 Dodge Charger R/T is about as scared of other cars as Pro Stock champions Greg Anderson and Jason Line are of losing a sanctioned drag racing event in Cuba. The sole Mopar and non-Chevy still standing dispatched the 1962 Pontiac Catalina 421 Super Duty in the first round, then bid farewell to the 1957 Chevy Corvette in Round 2, and rolled through the defending Muscle Car Match-Ups champ ’70 Buick GSX last round.

Chevelle vs. Charger. Melba Toast vs. The General Lee.

Now you determine the victor.

1969 Chevy Yenko 427 Nova vs. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

69-Nova-vs-69-Camaro

The 1969 Chevrolet Yenko Nova, winner of the 2014 Muscle Car Match-Ups, is sort of like college basketball’s Kentucky Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils — a threat to win it every year. The Yenko Nova is the only car in the field with a chance to add a second crown to its already-impressive resume. To get here, the Nova sped past the original lead sled ’49 Merc, then the inaugural tournament champ — the ’65 Shelby Cobra 427 — and then the seldom-defeated 1970 Plymouth Superbird in Round 3, in its best imitation of a high-octane, chassis-twisting cakewalk.

There’s just one problem, Yenko Nova: Now you’re staring down another ’69 Bowtie who plans to feed you your two-year-old trophy for lunch. The 1969 Chevy Camaro ZL1 has spent the 2016 tournament destroying the hopes and dreams of 1969 and 1970 classics like they were Cleveland sports fans. The ’69 Camaro ZL1 ran through the 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler, then the 1970 Dodge Challenger, THEN the 1970 Plymouth HEMI ‘CudaWha-?!

Only one ’69 Chevy can move on. The champion or the no-nonsense contender.

Choose your favorite, then tell us in the comments below.

Author: Matt Griswold

After a 10-year newspaper journalism career, Matt Griswold spent another decade writing about the automotive aftermarket and motorsports. He was part of the original OnAllCylinders editorial team when it launched in 2012.