what classic car should i buy?

Hi my name is Jason and im currently stuck on what kind or classic car i should buy. i really like the 60's camaro ss/rs/z28 but i dont have that kind of money to put out, i like the 70-72 GTo's (very nice a friend has one), but i also like the look of the 1934 willies. can i get your opinions one what i should buy?

im also looking at a 55 or 57 bel air.

personaly if i had the money i would go for a first gen camaro, (67-69). but i dont. eventualy i will get one, but i love my chevelle. you should look into those also. but then maybe you should look into novas too. i dont know if you have or not but my list probably goes first gen camaro, chevelles, and then novas. it all kinda depends on what you personaly like.

yeah i looked at the nova's but i know quite a few people that have them and i dont wanna get a nova. i too would go for the first gen camaro but like you, i dont have the money right now. chevelles are one of my favorites too, what engine do you have in your chevelle?

i would go with an early 70's chevelle. if you get one with a 454 in it, it would be real nice. thats just my opinion.

good luck getting one with a 454, you will probabyl pay as much as you would for a first gen camaro so i would asume thats probably out for you. umm i persoanly have a 350 in mine. for a grand i got my 68 with a straight six and owerglide trans. it ran perfectly and we drove it about 60 miles home. the body was ok, needs the usual work and has the usual rust. but the interior was shot. i have replaced about half of it as of now and drive it around like that, no door panels head liner and missing some of the door seals. but i have sence swaped out to a 350 th350 combo puttng out around 400. im soon gunna be swaping my trans for a 2004R overdrive. but yeah i would say your best bet would be a chevelle. they are god cars and there are lots of parts for them too. and they arnt all that expecive, most of the time. as far as the years its all up to your personal preferance. they had a number of styles over the years so it just depends on what you like cuz you can do whatever you want to whatever you get.

good news for me, my dad is going to look at a 67 camaro tomorrow that i might buy. the guy says it needs 2 rockers and 2 quarters and an interior. im really looking forward to getting this if it all works out.

cool. got any specs on it? engine trans any of that fun stuff. and do you mean rocker arms or rocker pannels? cuz one is body and the other is engine.
im just curiouse. oh yeah and how much if you dont mind me askin?

the guy is a good friend of my dAds and he sAID it has an original 327 4-speed. i think he said it needs rocker panels im not sure about the rockers part. ill ask him though. hes askin 3grand for it

damn, 3 grand is not bad, especialy if it all original and running. around here your lucky to find one for 3 grand without it being totaly rusted and with no engine and trans.

i didnt buy the camaro due to the extensive amount of rust it had.

I have a 71 SS camaro and love it. But a 55 bel air would be choice. By far my favorite muscle car, just my opinion though.

yes i love the '57 bel air, it probably is my favorite muscle car too, but i also love the '67 camaro

You should try to find an early 70s Trans Am or Firebird. If you can get it in your budget.

Budget? Those are probably the cheapest ones you can come by.

Jason,

Personally I also like the 1st generation Camaro's for a number of reasons.

What is it about the Camaro that you like???

For example, is it the look, or the way the car handles, or something totally different???

IMHO, you should go with what really "excites" you about owning the car, versus what you may be willing to settle for.

Because when you get to the point where you run into a challenge, (and it happens to all of us) the thing which excites you, is what will motivate you to continue working on the car.

As far as price goes, my experience has been that there is always someone selling a car in "your" price range.

Soemtimes it's just a matter of time, before someone gets "tired" of their project, and the next thing you know... it's for sale.

How many times do you read an ad that describes a car that is 90% done, and just needs to be finished??? :smile:

And it's usually something simple, like putting the interior together.

A friend of mine went to look at some parts.

He decided not to buy, because of the price was too high.

Another person who had stopped by to visit the seller, turned my friend onto a "project" 69 Z28, which only needed the motor and trans put together, and installed.

My friend purchased the "project" at a great price, which turned into a win-win situation for everyone!

Keep focused on what you want, because it's out there. :biggrin:

Elon

I agree go with your gut not your wallet!

69 camaro z-28 would be nice or a yenko

if i were you i would research the parts prices and availability of all of the cars, so when you go to look at any of them you wont buy something that turns into a money pit. as for what car to buy i've always been a fan of the a body gm cars. just finish a 70 cutlass for my father. after all it doesn't really matter as long as you like it, just build and ride. :)

what about dodge charger, dodge challenger, early 70's cuda, road runner...? why dont u consider any of them?

good luck getting one with a 454, you will probabyl pay as much as you would for a first gen camaro so i would asume thats probably out for you. umm i persoanly have a 350 in mine. for a grand i got my 68 with a straight six and owerglide trans. it ran perfectly and we drove it about 60 miles home. the body was ok, needs the usual work and has the usual rust. but the interior was shot. i have replaced about half of it as of now and drive it around like that, no door panels head liner and missing some of the door seals. but i have sence swaped out to a 350 th350 combo puttng out around 400. im soon gunna be swaping my trans for a 2004R overdrive. but yeah i would say your best bet would be a chevelle. they are god cars and there are lots of parts for them too. and they arnt all that expecive, most of the time. as far as the years its all up to your personal preferance. they had a number of styles over the years so it just depends on what you like cuz you can do whatever you want to whatever you get.

My friend gor a 72 chevy truck with a 454 for $3000 You just have to look really good for at least 6 months or so and try to get the owners to like you so they'll hold the car for a while.

I'd say a 70 to 73 Camaro. Those years of Camaro are rare. I had a 73 with a majorly built 383 stroker that could pull both front tires off the ground. People would ask if I wanted too sell it 2 or 3 times a week. Great car for building a street toy.

You can go for something like mine......68 Chevelle....for sale at this moment.
Once you get your hands on one and if you have time to restore it, you can get it like this one in about 4 years...depending on your budget of course.
The 70 or 71 Cuda is a good option but they are just one of the most expensive muscle cars you will find.
The 67 - 69 Camaro are sweet. I was originally looking for a 69 Z28 or RS before I got my hands on this Chevelle (7 years ago), but I never found one at the right price.
Good luck....and is all about your personality...match it with a muscle car and go for it.
P.S. just don't even think about a "secretary car"...the pony (mustang).....just don't.
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Why not a 442? Nicest muscle car In my opinion. Fast and they're prettty rare compared to what u listed and not too expensive. Bigger engine than anything in any of those cars cept some gtos had 455s as well

My friend gor a 72 chevy truck with a 454 for $3000 You just have to look really good for at least 6 months or so and try to get the owners to like you so they'll hold the car for a while.

Finding a 72 pickup with a 454 isn't that hard, finding a muscle car (chevelle) with a 454 is. Those run into some high figures. Finding one isn't hard, finding one you can afford is.

thanks for all ur replies i finally decided on a truck a 1955 ford f-100, iam goin to make into a hot rod with a big 460 and a c6 tranny prolly

I thought you were muscle CAR fanatic.

Just playing hope it turns out to be all you were hoping

musclefanatic, check my add, got a sweet 1969 buick skylark for sale for $3800. e-mail me if your interested

The Chevelle is probably the most car for the least money of those listed.
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A 70 mustang fastback with the 302/427 would be off the hook. Or a Mustang Boss 302/427 would be even better.

A '70 SS454 Chevelle with RPO LS6 option which included the M22 tranny if you can afford it. Low 13s with trap speed of 110 mph box stock. 450 hp, 500 ft-lbs torque.

Too bad the ones for sale in good shape go for $50K and up nowadays.

56 belair-the best car ever..well almost.

Budget? Those are probably the cheapest ones you can come by.
I definitly say go for the Chevelle, there are plenty of them around, so you can find deals on things if you play your cards right. If you break down, you can generally get parts at a local parts store, and they're easy to work on. the older you get, the harder parts are to find, and that might not be what you need if you're on a budget...so I'd skip on the willies. For example I got my 72 Chevelle (last good year, don't go newer than that...73 got ugly) for $700 "not running" when I got there I saw the trunk had gotten redone, along with the rear window, which notoriously rusts through after 30 years, the body was pretty straight, it was a Malibu 350 w/ a 350 Turbo trans... The guy said it ran, but he installed a new alternator and it didn't start anymore... So I figured that was electrical... Got it home, replaced a bad connector on the Alternator, charged the battery, and it started. Since then I pulled the engine, and just got a 400sb bored a little to like 406 w/ camel hump heads 10:1 compression w/ a Holley 750 double pumper carb... I'm yet to put it in, and I actually dismantled the whole front part of the car, found that the front end needs a rebuild, so I'll tackle that, sandblast and paint the whole front end, put it back together, drop the motor in, and button it up... and I'll have some pictures on here soon, and a ass haulin report... :)
But keep lookin for that deal, cause when you find it, you'll knwo, just don't let the seller know how badly you want it, and you're more likely to get a deal... just play it cool. I also picked up a 64 Lincoln Continental for $800 running... some cancer on the lower body, but it's going to be sweet.

thanks for all ur replies i finally decided on a truck a 1955 ford f-100, iam goin to make into a hot rod with a big 460 and a c6 tranny prolly

Good choice. These trucks look hot when done up right. Besides the prices for any of those muscle cars listed are sky high right now. Bad time to get a good deal on one. Have fun with your "muscle truck".
:naughty:

i personally would buy a 1969 camaro. they are one sweet ride and they always turn heads.

buy a chevelle, they are one of the best american muscle cars!

Finding your dream classic car is almost just that(a dream). The chances of you finding your choice in a suitable fashion are less than slim to none(especially if it's an exclusive or rare auto). Here are some examples.

Chevy:Early Camaros/SS/Yenko; 64 Impala Convertibles; 67-69 Impala 2 Door Coupes or Covertibles/SS

Cadillac:62-67 DeVille Sedans or Convertibles; Mid to late 60's Seville 2 Door Coupes; 84-87 Broughhams

Take your time. When you see the car you want you'll know that's the one. Depending on your budget, starting from the bottom up may not be a bad idea. Buying someone elses $7,000-$9,000 project wasn't apart of the plan. Make sure at least it has an engine & transmission. You can either buy or rebuild the rest.

I bought my 67 Impala based on the fact the owner said the engine was good(a good plus) and the body didn't have that much rust(interior was decent). I did end up having to make a lot of repairs, but I had met a real nice mechanic who liked to work on old school cars, so I had about almost $2,000 worth the work done for less than $1,000(hell, less than $900). I paid $2,000 for it(some say I over paid, but oh well. Gotta pay the cost to be the boss and right now I'm the boss). It's running flawlessly now.

Every day I get asked the same 2 questions: What year is it? and How much do I wanna sell it for? My parents(mom)talked me out of a 67 Cadillac Deville Sedan just because it didn't look like it was worth the asking price(and it looked better than my Impala, with the exception of a tear in the passenger side front seat). My grandma didn't want me to get the Impala either, but I didn't listen. I got it anyway and now I got(arguably)the greatest Chevrolet ever made, all because I waited.

Closing this old thread so it doesn't get resurrected again.