1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Club Coupe

1964 was the last model year for the first generation Corvair. While its external styling was largely unchanged, there were significant differences beneath the sheet metal.

The Corvair Monza was the highest trim level, above the Corvair 700 and the bargain basement Corvair 500.

The Turbo-Air flat six that came standard in the Corvair Monza had the stroke increased to bring the air-cooled motor's displacement to 164 cubic inches from the previous year's 145. With an 8.25:1 compression ratio, the base motor put out 95 horsepower, nearly 20% bump from the previous year, while the optional motor had a hotter cam re-jetted carbs, and made 110 ponies. You could get three- or four-speed manual transaxles or a Powerglide auto.

A transverse leaf spring was added to the swingarm rear suspension, and a front anti-roll bar was now standard rather than optional.

Sales had continued to crater, and the introduction of the more conventional Chevy II/Nova in 1962 ate away at Corvair's market, and the launch of Ford's Mustang didn't help.

This Silver Blue Iridescent example was snapped with a Nikon Coolpix P7000 in Alliance, Ohio back in July of 2015. 

1964 Mercury Montclair

In the late 1950s, Mercury used the Montclair name as their middle-tier car, above the Monterey but below the Turnpike Cruiser/Park Lane premium models.

Remember that this was an era when the various sub brands of Detroit's Big Three pretty much only made one basic car each, though that car was available in a variety of body styles and trim levels. Today we call them "full-size" cars but that's a retronym, because back then there was only the one size.

At any rate, after the 1960 model year, Mercury shelved the Montclair nameplate, only to bring it back for 1964, slotted in its old familiar spot as the mid-tier of Mercury's full-size range. (Which actually was the full-size Mercury now, since the Pink Frost 1964 Mercury Montclair sedan in the photo would have been sharing lot space with the Ford Falcon-based Mercury Comet compact.

The '64 Montclair was available in a bewildering array of configurations: two- and four-door hardtops as well as two- and four-door pillared sedans. Most variations could be had with either the distinctive "Breezeway" reverse-sloped rear window with the power-retractible center section like the one in the photos, or else a fastback roofline that added the "Marauder" designation to the car.

The base engine in the Montclair was the 390 cubic inch Marauder V-8, which had a 2-barrel carb and put out 250 SAE gross horsepower, or 260 if the buyer sprang for the optional three-speed Merc-O-Matic transmission.

Optional powerplants consisted of two more powerful versions of the 390, the 300 horsepower Marauder Super or the Marauder Interceptor, making 330 horses. Top performance options, only available with a four-speed manual, were the Marauder 427 V-8, putting out 410hp, and the snarling 425 horsepower Marauder Super 427, with solid lifters, two quad-throated carburetors, and an 11.2:1 compression ratio.

With its dual exhausts and automatic transmission, the one in the photo likely has the Marauder Super 390, as the three hotter engines all had solid lifters and buyers of a posh Mercury sedan with a slushbox weren't likely going to go for noisy lifters that required frequent adjustment just for a few extra ponies.

This one was photographed in May of 2025 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens.

1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport Convertible

The final year of the third generation of Impalas, the 1964 is probably the most desirable. The most desirable of all Six-Fours would be the Super Sport convertible, like this Ermine White droptop with a red interior.

Super Sports came with bucket front seats divided by a console. All transmissions in an SS, whether 3- or 4-speed manual or Powerglide automatic, had a sporty console-mounted shifter rather than a proletarian lever on the steering column.

Despite the name, the '64 Impala Super Sport could be had with the whole gamut of Chevy powertrains, from the humble 230 cubic inch Turbo-Thrift inline six rated at 140 gross horsepower and two-barrel 283 Turbo-Fire 165-horse small block V-8, up through several flavors of 327 and 409 performance mills. Assuming a stock exterior on this example, the lack of "V" badges would indicate that this car began life, at least, with the inline six.

It'd still be plenty fun to cruise with the top down on a sunny day.

This one was photographed in October of 2021 using a Nikon D800 and a 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom lens.

1964 Chevrolet Bel Air

The Bel Air nameplate, which had signified the top trim level of Chevrolets through most of the 1950s, got pushed down a notch at the end of that decade.

With the arrival of the Impala as a distinct model, the Bel Air was now the middle tier car between it and the plain brown wrapper Biscayne. The 1964 model year was the final one for this generation of Bel Air and, other than the badges, a chrome trim strip down the flanks, and a window sticker $100 higher, there wasn't much externally to distinguish them from the cheaper model.

Available as a pillared sedan or coupe or the Townsman station wagon, all of them riding on an X-frame chassis with a 119" wheelbase, the Bel Air was the anchor of Chevy's value-priced full size rides.

The base motor in a '64 Bel Air was the Turbo-Thrift 230 cubic inch OHV inline six, making 140 horsepower. The V-8 lineup started with the Turbo-Fire 283 small block, which had a two-barrel carb and put out 195 horses.

The "V-with-flags" badge on the fender signifies that this Ermine White sedan has the next size bigger Turbo-Fire, the 327 cubic inch version. This came in two varieties, both of which had a 10.5:1 compression ratio and required premium fuel. The lesser 327 had a two-barrel carb and made 250 horsepower, while the hotter one had different heads with bigger valves, a four-barrel carb, dual exhausts, and was rated at 300 SAE gross horsepower.

If the V-with-flags badge had been accompanied by the number 409, then it would have had the legendary Turbo-Fire mill with that displacement and 340 gross horsepower.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS 5DS and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in June of 2021.

1964 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Convertible

The 1964 model year was the second one for the second generation of Chevrolet's Corvette sports car, now dubbed the "Sting Ray".

As was the practice for Detroit of the time, there were numerous cosmetic differences to make sure the neighbors knew that you had this year's model and not an old '63. The most notable change was the removal of the vertical divider in the rear window on the fastback coupes, so if you see a "split-window" 'Vette you know it's a 1963 model.

On the convertible, you’re deprived of that cue, but there are a couple others. For one, the chrome simulated vent grilles were removed from the hood, leaving a couple non-functional indentations in their place. Also, the chrome strips along the rocker panels had fewer ribs than the previous year and the indentations between them were painted black.

There were four choices of power plant for 1964. The base Corvette motor was the 327 small block V-8, with a four-barrel carburetor and a 10.5:1 compression ratio, rated at 250 SAE gross horsepower. Next up the ladder was the same motor with a bigger carb and different heads with larger valves, which gave you 300 horsepower.

The two enthusiast choices had all the performance goodies: solid lifters, Duntov cams, 11.0:1 compression, and could be had in 365 horsepower carbureted or 375 horse fuel-injected forms.

All motors could be backed with a three- or four-speed manual transmission, and the two wimpier offerings could also be had with a two-speed Powerglide automatic gearbox.

With such a wide range of powertrain choices came a wide range of performance. Road & Track tested a coupe with the 300bhp motor and the Powerglide transmission and recorded an 8.0 second zero-to-sixty and a 15.2 second quarter mile at 85mph. The 3.56:1 rear end gave a top speed of 130.

Meanwhile, Motor Trend tested a fuelie coupe with the close-ratio four-speed and optional 4.11 Positraction rear end, and it put the zero-to-sixty sprint away in 5.6 seconds and dispatched the quarter in 14.2 at 100mph. Top speed was measured at 134.

Base price was $4,394, and the as-tested price for R&T's coupe was $5,016 while the gnarly M/T test car was $6.367. (That's $44,463 for the base, $50,757 for the 300hp Powerglide car, and $64,428 for the wild-eyed fuelie ride, calculated for inflation.)

This Silver Blue '64 ragtop was photographed with a Canon EOS 7D and EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS zoom lens in September of 2021.

1964 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible

The Bonneville was Pontiac's flagship full-size car through the Sixties and a perennial strong seller. The 1964 model was the final year of the third generation Bonneville, and carried on the stacked quad headlamp snout that had first adorned the '63 model

It was available as a convertible, like this Yorktown Blue example, as well as two- and four-door hardtops, a pillared sedan and, as the Bonneville Safari, Pontiac's glitziest station wagon.

As the model atop Pontiac's three tiers of full-size cars, above the Star Chief and Catalina, the Bonneville came with the best power plants in the lineup. The base motor was the premium fuel only, high compression version of the 389cid Trophy V-8, featuring a four-barrel carburetor and 306 SAE gross horsepower. (303hp if you ordered the Hydra-Matic.) If you wanted to run on regular, the 230-horse two-barrel 389 was a credit delete option.

The full array of H.O. and Tri-Power 389 and 421 mills were available in the catalog, giving a total of sixteen different powertrain combinations.

Riding on a 123" wheelbase, these were large automobiles, and yet the next year's models would be even longer, wider, and heavier.

The top photo here was taken in July of 2020, using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens, while the other three were taken in October of 2016 using an iPhone 6S.

1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon

The Safari badge was hung on all early Sixties Pontiac station wagons, whether based on the full-size Catalina and Bonneville, or the midsize Tempest.

The Catalina Safari was the less expensive of the two full-size wagons, and the advertising touted that the '64 Safaris "look like Pontiacs, handle like Pontiacs, ride like Pontiacs...and tote like troop transports!"

The basic motor, if you ordered a car with the three-speed manual, was the 235 horsepower 389 cubic inch Trophy V-8, with a 2-barrel carb and an 8.5:1 compression ratio allowing it to run on regular fuel. If the buyer opted for the Hydra-Matic transmission, the baseline motor was also a 2-barrel 389, but with a 10.5:1 compression ratio requiring premium fuel and putting out 267 SAE gross horsepower.

Also available were higher performance 4-barrel and 3x2-barrel versions of the 389, making 306 and 330 horsepower, respectively. If you needed maximum towing grunt (or wanted to surprise unsuspecting normies at a traffic light) there were  four-barrel and tri-power 421 Trophy V-8s on the menu that put out 320 and 350 ponies.

This faded Marimba Red 1964 Catalina Safari wagon was photographed in June of 2022 using a Nikon D800 and a 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens.

1964 Chevrolet El Camino

Revamped along with the Chevelle from which it was derived, the '64 El Camino was essentially a 2-door Chevelle 300 2-door wagon with a pickup bed where the load area would be. It even came with the same 115" wheelbase and carried "Chevelle" badges on the front fenders to complement the "El Camino" ones on the rear quarters. It came with either the Hi-Thrift 194 cubic inch inline six as the base motor or the optional Turbo-Thrift 230cid inline six, producing 120 and 155 SAE gross horsepower, respectively.

Also available as options were two flavors of the 283 cube Turbo-Fire V-8, in either two-barrel 195 horsepower form, or with a four-barrel carb and dual exhausts for an output of 220 horsepower. The "V" badge on the fender and the left-side exhaust outlet visible at the rear would indicate that this one's got the hotter of the two small blocks.

Grumbles in the press of the time complained that the midsize Chevelle and its hybrid El Camino cousin lacked really powerful engine options so halfway through the model year Chevy added two flavors of the new 327 cubic inch small block: A 250hp two-barrel motor and a high-compression four-barrel with dual exhausts and a rating of 300 SAE gross horsepower.

This super-straight Ember Red example has the "V"-badges on the fender denoting a V-8 and dual exhausts, so it has one of the spicier powertrains. It was photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-D "street sweeper" zoom lens in June of 2019.

1964 Oldsmobile F-85

Olds threw in the towel on the "senior compact" concept after a few years of slow sales and, for the 1964 model year, the F-85 was bumped up in size to be a new "intermediate" or "midsize" car on the body-on-frame A-body platform shared with the Chevy Chevelle, Buick Special, and Pontiac Tempest.

Not having a suitable small economy engine of their own, the base engine in the F-85 models was Buick's cast iron overhead valve 225cid 90-degree V-6 with a single 1-barrel Rochester carb. Derived from the alloy Buick 215 V-8, the 225 was marketed as the Econ-O-Way V-6 by Olds and put out 155 SAE gross horsepower.

The V-8 fender badges on this Wedgewood Mist 1964 F-85 sedan tell us it has one of two 330 cubic inch Oldmobile V-8s: Either the 2-barrel Jetfire Rocket rated at 210 horsepower, or the high compression 4-barrel Cutlass V-8 which made 260 horsepower and sported a 10.25:1 compression ratio that required premium fuel.

 These photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy SII in July of 2014.

1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Convertible

All new for '64 was the midsize Chevelle model from Chevrolet. Riding on a 115" wheelbase that split the difference between the compact Chevy II and the full-size Chevys, it was mostly aimed at younger buyers who didn't want the stigma of a "penalty box" frugal compact but wanted fresh styling and better handling than the big cars.

Just like the full-size Chevrolets, they came in three basic tiers: The stripped-down Chevelle 300, the better-optioned Chevelle Malibu, and for the super sporty buyer, the Chevelle Malibu Super Sport.

With distinctive "Malibu SS" badging on the rear fenders, the SS was only available as a hardtop coupe or convertible. The base engine was the 283 Turbo-Fire small block V-8 with a 2-barrel carb, rated at 195 SAE gross horsepower. A buyer could upgrade to the 4-barrel 283 with dual exhausts and get 220 horses. The Hi-Thrift 194cid and Turbo-Thrift 230cid inline sixes were also available as credit delete options for buyers who wanted to look baller on a budget.

All Super Sport Malibus had a floor shifter for the the 2-speed PowerGlide, or buyers of V-8 cars could opt for an all-synchromesh four-on-the-floor.

Motor Trend tested a Malibu SS hardtop with the 220-horse 283 and 4-speed combo and managed a 9.7 zero-to-sixty time and a 17.4 quarter at 80mph through the traps. Base price on the Tuxedo Black convertible in the photo would have been $2,857.

It was photographed in May of 2022 using a Canon EOS 7D and EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS zoom lens.

1964 Dodge Dart 270

Dodge has gotten a lot of mileage out of the "Dart" moniker over the years, and not just figuratively. They introduced the Dart name in 1960 for a newer, slightly-smaller Dodge model based on a Plymouth that would fill out the catalog with something cheaper to buy and thriftier to drive than the full-sized Matador and Polara models.

After a quirky-looking second generation that only lasted for one model year, 1962, a new downsized third generation of Dart debuted as something called a "senior compact", a name meant to reflect a car that was slightly larger and roomier than the '61-'62 Valiant/Lancer Mopar compacts, but thriftier than the full-size cars.

Unlike the Valiant/Lancers, the new-for-'63 Dart models rode on a 111" wheelbase, which was a four-and-half inch stretch over the earlier car. While 111" was indeed compact by the standards of early Sixties Detroit, where full-size behemoths like the Dodge 880 rolled on wheelbases nearly a full foot longer, by the time the Dart was discontinued after the '76 model year, it was feeling distinctly mid-sized.

Originally introduced with your choice of Slant-Six motors in 170cid displacement with 101 SAE gross horsepower or the classic 225 cubic inch version rated at 145 gross bhp, an all new engine was added for 1964.

If the fender badges on this super-straight Ivory 1964 Dodge Dart 270 sedan aren't fibbing, it has the brand-new-for-'64 273 cubic inch V-8. With a 2-barrel Carter carb, 8.8:1 compression, solid lifters, and a single exhaust, the 273 was rated at 180 SAE gross horsepower and gave a noticeable performance bump in these relatively smaller, lighter cars over the regular six cylinder mill.

The 273 was the first in a long line of what were dubbed Chrysler's "LA" series of small blocks. It was produced in 318, 340, and 360 versions and eventually morphed into the fuel-injected 5.2L and 5.9L Magnum V-8's of the Nineties, powering a host of Mopar trucks. It also served as the basis for the 8.0L V-10, which was basically a 360 with a couple extra cylinders.

While the '64 Dart was the first year of the new LA V-8, it was also the last model year of a quirky old Mopar artifact, the pushbutton gear selector. If this car has a three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission, then rather than having a conventional lever on the floor or column, it has a set of pushbuttons to the left of the wheel.

This example was photographed using a Nikon D800 and 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens in July of 2023.

Sixty Years of ‘Stang

In early 1964, the first Ford Mustangs rolled into dealerships. The 1965 model year at Ford wasn't officially underway yet, so these earliest Mustangs are known as "1964½" models, like the Skylight Blue convertible above.

That particular Mustang has a 260cid V-8, sourced from Ford's midsize Fairlane line. With a two-barrel carburetor and 8.8:1 compression, the little small block was rated at 164 SAE gross horsepower.

Thirty years and three generations later, the Mustang nameplate was on its third platform: The initial Falcon-derived chassis had bloated to almost midsize proportions. The base model '64½ weighed in under 2500 pounds, while the final 1973 'Stangs tipped the scales at over 3500 in even their most spartan trim.

The second generation shrunk to a Pinto-based car that only weighed 2600 pounds in hardtop coupe form. After four years of the Mustang II, the all-new 1979 Mustangs debuted on Ford's Fox platform, the same as the compact Fairmont sedan.

My Laser Red 1994 Mustang GT in the photo above was the first of the fourth generation, called the SN95, thirty years after the the originals. While the basic dimensions of the small block 302 V-8 are shared with the old 260 and 289, it has thirty years worth of improvements. 

Tuned-port injection, electronic ignition, computerized engine management... the 1994's 5.0L H.O. V-8 put out 215 SAE net horsepower with no drama on midgrade pump gas. Bear in mind that under the old SAE gross brochure horsepower numbers, this thing probably would have been advertised as having something closer to 300 and in the days of carbs and no computers it would have taken radical cams, solid lifters, and a high compression ratio necessitating premium gas to put out these numbers.

Another thirty years on we see the first seventh generation Mustangs, like the Vapor Blue 2024 GT coupe above.

It's been three generations since the Mustang shared a platform with anything, and the new S650 7th generation is its own car. The 5.0L under the hood of this '24 has nothing in common with the 5.0 in my '94 except the name and the number and arrangement of the cylinders. It's a 307 cubic inch DOHC 32V motor rated at a whopping 480 net horsepower.

Sixty years is a long run for one nameplate. The only one with a longer uninterrupted run I can think of is Chevrolet's Corvette.

You gotta wonder if there'll be 75th anniversary editions of either one?

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1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Sunliner Convertible

By the early Sixties, a Ford dealership had most of what we'd now consider a full-range model lineup. When the 1964 range debuted, a customer in a Ford store could choose among the sporty Thunderbird personal luxury coupe, the compact Falcon, the mid-size Fairlane, and the full-size Ford, which came in Custom, Custom 500, Galaxie, and Galaxie 500 trim levels.

In the photos above is a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Sunliner convertible in Skylight Blue. The '64 was the last model year for the Space Race-inspired lines of this generation, to be replaced for 1965 with a far more sharply-creased looking design

The base engine in the Sunliner was Ford's 223 cubic inch Milage Maker OHV inline six, rated at 138 SAE gross horsepower. Additionally, a buyer could opt for a range of V-8s: The Challenger 289 2-bbl rated at 195 horsepower, the 2-barrel Thunderbird 352 putting out 250 horsepower, the Thunderbird 390 four-barrel FE big block at 300 SAE gross, and the top of the range dual-quad 425 horsepower Thunderbird 427.

Going by the badges on the rocker panels and the dual exhausts, the convertible in the photos came with the 390 V-8. The transmission could have been a 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic, or a 3- or 4-speed manual.

Motor Trend tested a '64 Galaxie 500 XL hardtop sedan with the Thunderbird 390 motor and Cruise-O-Matic and got a 0-60 time of 9.3 seconds and a 17.6 quarter mile at 82 mph through the traps. With a cast iron drum at each corner, hauling the two-ton sedan down from 60mph took 163 feet. The convertible was only about a hundred pounds heavier than the hardtop, so the numbers should be similar. 

Check out those rocket exhaust taillights! You can easily picture some dude driving this thing to watch the first NASA Gemini mission launch.

This one was driving to Fresh Market in August of 2024, and not Cape Kennedy in March of 1965, and it was photographed with a Nikon D300S and 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II zoom lens, which would have been alien space magic tech when this car was new.

1964½ Ford Mustang Convertible

Check out this Cascade Green 1964½ Ford Mustang convertible! Officially, according to Ford and the VIN plate, it's a 1965 model, but the first Mustangs built from the spring of '64 until the actual start of Ford's 1965 model year later that fall are known by fans as "1964½" cars.

By building a sportily-styled 2+2 coupe with front bucket seats and a console-mounted shifter on the basic underpinnings of their compact Falcon sedan, Ford created a whole new class of automobile for the American market: the "Pony Car". It sold like gangbusters and was immediately* joined by the Plymouth Valiant-based Barracuda and, later, the Chevy Camaro, which shared the front subframe of the Nova compact.

The fender badges say it has a 289 V-8. Prior to the official start of the 1965 model year, there was no 2-barrel version of the 289 offered in the Mustang, with the cheap V-8 role being filled by the 2bbl 260cid Fairlane V-8. The 289 would be one of two 4bbl variants, either the 210bhp 9.0:1 compression version, or the hi-power "K-code" motor, which was considerably beefier, with an output of 271 SAE gross horsepower.

Car and Driver did a full road test on the '64½ convertible with the 210-horse 289 and the 4-speed manual and recorded a zero-to-sixty time of 8.2 seconds and a 16.4 second quarter at 81.5 miles per hour. Sprightly enough, if not exactly scorching. Figure a K-code car would likely shave a couple seconds off both those figures, although you had to drive it out of the hole carefully, because the hotter 289 would easily send those skinny bias-ply tires up in smoke.

This one was photographed in March of 2023 using a Nikon D700 and 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G zoom lens.

*...and when I say "immediately", I mean immediately. Mopar fans will gleefully point out that the Barracuda was actually the first Pony Car to go on sale, having beat the Ford to showrooms by almost two weeks. The Mustang program was a poorly-kept secret around Detroit, and the rush program to put a glass fastback and bucket seats in a Valiant got iron on the streets before Dearborn did.

1964 Buick Electra 225

Did you know that the Buick Electra was named after somebody?

That's right, in 1959 Buick juggled the names of their models and the top-of-the-line Roadmaster became the Buick Electra 225.

The "Electra" name came from Electra Waggoner Biggs, Texas socialite, sculptor, and land baroness, who was the sister-in-law of then-GM president Harlowe H. Curtice. The "225" appellation was the overall length in inches of the big 1959 Buick, from gleaming chrome snout to rakishly finned tail.

The Arctic White 1964 Electra 225 hardtop coupe in these photos represents the final iteration of the second generation of the famed "Deuce and a Quarter", which spanned the '61-'64 model years.

The base motor was the 401 cubic inch Buick "Nailhead" V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, rated at 325 SAE gross horsepower. (Buick’s overhead valve V-8 was dubbed the “Nailhead” by period hot-rodders because of the small valves relative to the long stems, reminiscent of nails.) The only transmission available for '64 was the 3-speed GM Turbo-Hydramatic 400, which Buick sold under the "Super Turbine" moniker.

Buyers could opt for the bigger version of the Nailhead, in 425 cubic inch guise. The 425 was offered in regular format, rated at 340 bhp with a 10.25:1 compression ratio and a single Carter 4bbl carb, or a "Power Pack" version with a pair of Carter 4bbls and dual exhaust, rated at 360 bhp.

The car in the picture doesn't have dual pipes, so it's either a 401 or the regular 425.

An interesting bit of trivia regarding the 401 cid Buick Nailhead: The United States Air Force used a special starter cart with a pair of the big V-8s to spin up the Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojets on the SR-71 Blackbird. (Later versions of the cart used a brace of Chevy 454's.)

This Electra was snapped with a Nikon D2X & 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II in May of 2023.