When trying to bring the best news and information we can find about classic musclecars, there are some big hits, some minor misses, and plenty of content to share. At the end of each year we like to bring our readers a look back on the year, to see what they missed, what they loved, and to help bring in the new year.

Checking out our Top Ten trending articles from 2016, there were a couple of surprises, and a couple of non-surprises. Sitting at the first spot is an article that actually published a couple of years ago, but last year it was shared and reached hundreds of thousands of viewers yet again. Some people saw it and were quick to tell us, “this was two years ago” and, to be honest, we knew that – we published it. But it is always great to hear from our readers, we encourage it.

So let’s get to it with the top ten, starting with the tenth most viewed article of 2016.

Number 10 – On the Trail of the Blue Lady: Jim Morrison’s Lost 1967 Shelby GT500

There was a lot of speculation around the disappearance of the late Jim Morrison’s ’67 Shelby GT500. He got the car from his manager as a gift when their album did well, with Morrison having seen one and decided he wanted one. But Jim was not so nice to the car, constantly crashing it. One night, he crashed it and just walked away from it, and it hasn’t been seen since. Is it still around? One of our sources claims it has been found. See what you think.

Number 9 – Tech Install: 1962-82 Mopar Steering Box Upgrade With Borgeson

Regarding our entry for Number 9, to steal a line from Tom Cruise in The Firm, “it’s not sexy but it’s got teeth.” We started racing our 1965 Belvedere at Willow Springs, and part of our upgrades included a Borgeson power steering box. It’s about 13 pounds lighter, and much smaller; it gave us a much firmer feel to the steering, and a quicker ratio, and we loved it. Apparently, so did thousands of others last year.

Number 8 – Musclecars You Should Know: ’71 Dodge Demon -The Devil in Details

One of our regular and popular series is the Musclecars You Should Know series. We try to feature cars that aren’t of the cookie-cutter variety, and something that some may not know about. This Dodge Demon was spotted at a show in Colorado, and became the subject of one of our features a couple of years ago. It still draws a crowd, and we can see why.

Number 7 – Cops Arrest Teen Driver For Going 146 MPH – In A 2004 Dodge Neon

We weren’t as surprised by the fact that this kid was going 146 mph in a Dodge Neon as were were with his nonchalant attitude when he was pulled over. Many responded with comments about how they’ve gone faster in their car, but doing so in traffic like this kid did was just not smart at all, and risked other lives.

Number 6 – From New To Old: Chrysler 300C SRT8 Converted Into ’69 Charger

There was a lot of hype over this very cool Charger conversion the first time we shared it. We called it a custom 1969 Charger build, to which many responded telling us it had to be a 1968 because of the tail lamps. But it has a 1970 front end, so how is it that the tail lamps determine the year? Alas, we got to the bottom of it when we reached out to our friend Martin Tremblay and asked. He used cues from 1968 through 1970 Chargers, and even grafted in the marker lights.

Number 5 – ’68 Hurst HEMI Dart L023: Is This The World’s Fastest Muscle Car?

When we shared this article with our readers in 2011, the Hellcat wasn’t even a wet dream yet. So it stood to reason that this L023 Hurst Hemi Dart could have been the fastest musclecar of all time with low 10-second quarter mile times. Tuning them brought the car down into the 9s, but tuning back then meant something entirely different than what it means today.

Number 4 – What Is A Mopar 318 Polysphere And How Come Nobody Likes It?

Sometimes we like things that are different, and our own Project Track Attack Plymouth has a rather unique engine in it: the Polyspherical 318, also known as the wide-block, A-block, or simply the Poly. It’s different, and the sad truth is that it’s typically the engine that many Mopar owners remove – and sometimes just give it away so they won’t have to deal with it. We like it, but it’s about due for a replacement. One day soon, and we’ll share that with you.

Number 3 – Taking a Tour of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Secret Race Car Graveyard

Hundreds of thousands of people enjoy NASCAR racing, and for many of us who enjoy racing in general, we preferred the NASCAR entries of the past where the cars looked more like what came off the showroom floor. Today, almost all of the cars look the same with lamp stickers that help identify them. In this graveyard we stumbled upon, there were some of those unique, identifiable NASCAR entries from years past. That seems to have been a good thing for many of our readers as this tour of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s, secret graveyard was a favorite, again, last year.

Number 2 – Die Cast Diamonds: The Top Three Rarest Hot Wheels In The World

Many of us may have started out on Matchbox cars when we were young, but when Hot Wheels came onto the scene in 1968, we would be changed forever more. For some of us, our introduction to our current musclecar fascination began with a sixty-nine-cent Hot Wheel car, complete with redline tires and a five-spoke mag wheel. If we had known then what we know now, we would have all hung onto those gems, some are worth a mint. We took a look at the top three rarest Hot Wheels.

Number 1 – Two Chevys Full Of Bodies Found In Oklahoma Lake

Although this tragedy was discovered in 2013 following the 40+ year disappearance of six people, it was once again our most viewed article for the previous year. Sadly, both cars exited the roadway near the same place and ended up side by side at the bottom of the lake, even though the accidents occurred about a year apart.

It was merely by chance that local Troopers found the two cars, subplanted in the mud for decades, while testing sonar equipment. We posted a follow up article noting that all victims had been identified, and even another, similar article where a woman returned to her home town and asked the local authorities to check the local lake with their sonar equipment. They re-opened the 43-year-old cold case and, sure enough, they found the woman’s father, still in his Pontiac Catalina, at the bottom of the lake.

So there you have it, our top ten most viewed articles from 2016. Some were cool, some were different, and some were sad, but it just goes to show that we all love a little variety in our lives, and that’s what Street Muscle Magazine is all about: variety. Thanks for being a part of our success, and as always – reach out to us and share your car, your story, or your musclecar obsession with us, we’d love to hear from you!