I wasn't part of the rich folk, but I went to a private high school in the early to mid 80s. There were lots of families with money there. Lots of kids drove their parent's sports cars or big boat Lincolns and Cadillacs. There were a few muscle cars but nothing that anyone would call "fast." This was before muscle cars really became collectible. They were basically 10-15 year-old daily driven cars, and most were not pampered.
I had my Cougar then as well and while it looked really nice following a fresh restoration, it still had the stock 302 with C4 trans and open 8" rear. The only real mod was dual exhaust. Hardly fast....
Good friends (3 brothers) had their parents' hand-me-down Plymouth Satellite wagon that they hot-rodded WAY before anyone thought wagons were worth messing with. While it had headers and glasspacks, it still only had a stock 318 in it.
Another buddy got to drive his Dad's 77 Bandit Trans-Am once in a great while. One kid got to drive his Dad's brand new Monte SS in 83 back when they only came in white and that grayish purple color.
A younger kid had a freshly restored 69 Firebird that had all stock running gear in it. I think it was a 400 and a 2V. Another older kid had a Buick Grand Sport that was an upgrade from a beat early 70s Camaro that he replaced it with. The GS only had a 350. There was another kid with a really nice mid-50s Chevy pick-up that got driven year round. Another early 70s Nova looked beautiful until you opened the hood and saw the inline 6 still there. I also recall an early 80s Chevy pick-up lifted on GroundHawg Monster Mudder tires. Anytime it snowed, that kid was absent because he was out plowing snow with it.
I think there were probably twice as many muscle cars that kids "claimed" to have at home that were undergoing restoration........ that nobody ever saw.