It's no secret that some of the best-sounding engines are V8s, which luckily were popular with iconic classic muscle cars. Trying to find a cheap Mustang or Camaro is hard to do these days, as the demand is still through the roof. Thankfully there are several other less popular cars to choose from that fit the category.

Sometimes the popular cars simply had bad years and can be found for cheap, but it's rare. Even a mid-'70s Mustang, arguably the worst era for Ford's iconic nameplate, is considered at this point a collector's car, but a '77 Corvette is an approachable classic muscle car.

10 Early 1970s Dodge Dart Swinger

1971 Dodge Dart Swinger
via Mecum Auctions

Long-adored for its tenure as a Mopar was the Dodge Dart. For the fourth generation, the base had an inline-six, but for a good sound they had several V8 options, from 4.5 to the 7.2-liter, which was only available in limited quantities.

via mecum.com

Today a 7.2-liter V8-equipped early 1970s Dart would be hard to find and thus expensive, but to keep costs down the 5.2-liter would be a better option. Mopar engines sound the angriest of American muscle car manufacturers, with deep low-pitched growls erupting into rough and disjointed roars.

9 Ford Maverick Grabber

These Classic American Cars Will Crumble After 50,000 Miles
via Mecum

For a brief seven year stint the Ford Maverick graced the streets with its compact, rear-wheel-drive, curved and vivacious attitude. They are difficult to find, but relatively inexpensive for the classic restorer.

Via Pinterest

It would be even more difficult to find a Maverick with the 4.9-liter Windsor V8, but luckily that engine was made for decades and used in several cars, so it wouldn't be difficult or expensive to perform an engine swap. At that point, it would be better to get the 351 Cleveland. It still has a great sound, but better performance.

RELATED: You Can Buy These Classic Muscle Cars For Dirt Cheap

8 Ford Torino GT

This Is What You Need To Know Before Buying A Ford Torino GT
via HotRod

TV comedies like Starsky and Hutch and brooding, dramatic movies like Gran Torino might have made the Gran Torino popular, but that moniker didn't exist until 1972, where the Torino was first released in 1968 and carried on until the line was discontinued in 1976.

The Torino looks like a proper muscle car, with fastback style roof all the way to the trunk, an angular grill with sunken headlights and an aggressive rake. The second generation had four different V8 options depending on the trim, a 302 or 351 Windsor, 351 Cleveland or the 429 CID 385 Series V8.

7 Ford Ranchero

via iCollector

The Chevrolet El Camino is perhaps the most iconic example of the bizarre concoction that was the half-truck-half-sedan, but the Ford Ranchero was its direct competitor. The Ranchero and Torino used the same chassis.

All that really happened was Ford took the Torino station wagon and chopped off the rear half of the roof.Nevertheless this body style is extraordinarily popular among enthusiasts, and it's an attractive platform for motorcycle transport for its low profile and long bed.

6 1971-1973 Mercury Cougar

1971-mercury-cougar Cropped
Via: American Muscle Car Museum

The first generation Cougars are more iconic and common among enthusiasts and restorers, but the second generation is no less muscle car worthy. Although this Cougar shares its platform with the Mustang, Mercury was an intermediate division between Ford and Lincoln, thus the Cougar would be a more luxurious Mustang.

1972-mercury-cougar Cropped
Via: Classic Cars

It uses both 351 CID V8s, plus the 429 Cobra Jet V8 which produced 370 horsepower. It was dropped in 1972 for a Cobra Jet version of the 351 Cleveland. Ford somehow gets incredible low rumbles from its V8s, so any of these choices fit the bill.

RELATED: 10 Most Glaring Issues With 70s Muscle Cars

5 1975 Chevrolet Camaro

via pinterest.com

The Camaro is one of the most desirable classic muscle cars, despite being made in such large numbers. However, 1975 was a perfect storm that hit performance cars like the Camaro especially hard. Catalytic converters were fitted to battle emissions, plus a couple years prior the horsepower ratings changed from gross to net, severely impacting the engine output numbers.

350 CID V8s were now producing 145 horsepower. As if all this wasn't enough, the Z28 was discontinued for 1975. All this could be why it's possible to find a '75 Camaro for cheap. It's still possible to get that great V8 sound, albeit without bite to back up its bark.

4 1972 Pontiac LeMans

1972-pontiac-lemans-mecum
Via: Mecum

If the Pontiac Tempest can be considered the grandfather of the GTO, possibly the most iconic muscle car and the first of its kind, then the Pontiac LeMans can be considered the proud and beaming father. The GTO is far away from being affordable, no matter what year, but a LeMans can be found for just a few thousand dollars.

1972-pontiac-lemans-antique automobile club of america
Via: Antique Automobile Club Of America

With performance upgrades and some elbow grease the LeMans can become a GTO for significantly less money. Whether it stays a LeMans or becomes a GTO, it will still have a proper sounding V8, either the 5.7, 6.6 or the 7.5-liter.

3 1977 Corvette Base

1977 Chevy Corvette
via Bring A Trailer

The Corvette needs no introduction. It can be an expensive venture, especially when considering the more rare models like the ZL1 of which there are only a handful that ever existed, but some of its less popular years like '77 can be found for reasonable prices.

Courtesy Barret Jackson

Although the Corvette's popularity was on a steady increase throughout its third generation, and despite its price tag increase each year, the '77 went through very minimal changes compared to '76 and is one of the least complicated C3s.

RELATED: 15 Of The Cheapest V8-Powered Cars You Can Buy

2 Plymouth Fury

Via: Car Throttle

The fifth generation Plymouth Fury marked a milestone in the car's design. Plymouth had decided to opt out of the vertical headlights which were popular in the mid-60s and go with horizontal headlights.

The hood and panels were almost completely flat, giving the car similar luxurious lines to a Lincoln Continental. There were five different V8s as options for the Fury, from 5.2 to 7.2-liters, and as has already been determined the Chrysler V8s sounded angrier than the timid Ford and hollow Chevrolet.

1 Dodge Polara

The stunning Dodge Polara Classic
Via Wiki

Dodge's full size sedan from 1960-1973 was the Polara. It was marketed as "luxury-sized elegance without extravagance", and was also later used by police. In 1969 police trim, the car could reach 147 mph top speed, a record that stood until 2006 when the Charger Interceptor reached 150 mph with its 5.7-liter V8 by Michigan State police.

Beginning in 1970 the 440 Magnum's 7.2-liter V8 power was down considerably by almost 100 horsepower due to new, strict emissions laws, propagated by a much lower compression ratio.

NEXT: 10 Coolest Police Cars Ever