First Time Muscle Car Buyer

[nicholas9walter]

I'm looking to buy some american muscle, in decent condition so i can add a few personal touches. Which car would you reccomend?
I like the looks of pontiac gtos/lemans (66-70s), corvettes (lates 60s to late 70s), and dodge chargers
I'm not sure which way to go because i've never owned a car as old as this, however, want to try something new. I plan on adding more power to anything i get. any suggestions would be great.

[PeteRR]

What's your budget?

Originally Posted by nicholas9walter

I'm looking to buy some american muscle, in decent condition so i can add a few personal touches. Which car would you reccomend?
I like the looks of pontiac gtos/lemans (66-70s), corvettes (lates 60s to late 70s), and dodge chargers
I'm not sure which way to go because i've never owned a car as old as this, however, want to try something new. I plan on adding more power to anything i get. any suggestions would be great.

[nicholas9walter]

i'd like to spend around 15. but more of it on upgrades than the actual car. i was thinking like10 or less on the car, becuase upgrades are the fun part right? by the way, sharp road runner

[soxs]

If you have 10-15k to spend get something that is already resto'd unless your good at mechanics and such. If your not real handy and dont have all the tools your going to be dissapointed if you have to farm things out. Will cost a lot of$....I was looking for a Cuda for around that price range but soon realized it would cost a lot of money to resto it. I settled for a 69 340 4spd Swinger and coulndt be happier. Its clean, runs great and is one fast Scat Pack car...$8K canadian.....Dont bite off more than you can chew ....My 2 cents...

[PeteRR]

There are bunch of cars in your price range. The main thing is to buy a car you love. You'll end up spending alot no matter what car you get, way more than you'll ever be able to sell it for, so you better make sure you love everything about it.

[soxs]

Get a Mopar....

[Ghost74se]

Originally Posted by soxs

Get a Mopar....

Damn Straight!

[MrPbody]

The MOPAR offerings are pretty, but not very tough (engines and trans aside). They rusted out quickly, and became rattle-traps overnite. Same can be said for the Fords of the era. The GM cars are the "survivors". That is, there are many more times as many Chevelles, GTOs, 442s and even a GS or three, out there for every Charger or Torino that has made it through the last 35 years.
You will find you get more for your money, if you buy a pre-done car, as previously suggested. The trick is, buy one with a blown or missing engine and/or transmission. To some, that's the hardest part to "fix". To others, it's the easiest part. To those of us in the business, the drivetrain is definitely the easiest part to fix.
You'll find GTOs and Chevelle SSs to be the most expensive of the "run of the mill" cars (excludes rarities such as Torino Talledega, Hemi Charger, etc.). 442s come in third, and the Buicks bring up the rear. You can also get a non-muscle car and convert it. Something like a LeMans or Tempest, and upgrade the drive train to GTO specs. Maybe a small block Malibu with no engine, so you can put the obligitory big block (no muscle car ever had a small block in the era) and TH400 in it. 2-door cars are considered prettier, and definitely have a weight-transfer advantage over their longer wheelbase 4-door cousins.
The current hot rod baragin are the '78-'87 GM G-bodies. Monte Carlo and Grand Prix, Regal and Cutlass. Great little chassis for performance, lighter than earlier A-bodies, not bad looking, and dirt cheap! At least for the Chevy and Pontiac, traditional engines go right in. I suppose an Olds would fit, too, as some came with 307s. There are headers and mounting kits for BBC in them, as well as the 400/455 Pontiac.
Anyway, some alternatives to consider. All due respect to the MOPAR guys, the engines are GREAT. The cars, while pretty, aren't very well made.

[nicholas9walter]

yeah the plan was to buy a blown engine or no engine and do a new one if possible. I don't want to buy an already finished car. I wanted to get something with a pretty good body so i won't have to sink a bunch of money into repairs and then just redo the engine. if i wanted a brand new finished car i would just buy a new one. this is a "fun" car.

[soxs]

Originally Posted by Ghost74se

Damn Straight!

Whoa there Pbody...i'm certainly no expert but there was quality control back in the very early 70s with every make. Work to rule. That affected them all. For one thing nothing IMHO was considered "muscle" after 74. The camaros , birds, and everthing else went to the cow catcher front clips....hideous looking. There were far more slowmaros and rustangs made than mopars. Dont tell me no mucles cars had small blocks...The 340 in an A body beat up on any big block on the street.....and i mean any....There are lots of Mopars out there that are straight and rust free...i have one...So I dont buy the BS your slingin about Mopes.

[nicholas9walter]

where is a good place to find a car like the ones we have came up with?

[BleedDodge]

I don't know what Pbody's talking about, I've seen more rusted to shit Fisher bodies than Mopar bodies, and that's all over the place.

[soxs]

Dont rush...If you have a make and model in mind check out the those chat sites. Anything you want to know about Mopars check out moparts.com. ,,,,again take your time, after awhile you will know which one has your name on it. ...ps...dont buy a car unseen...like on ebay....hop on a plane and check it out first.

[PeteRR]

Originally Posted by soxs

Dont rush...If you have a make and model in mind check out the those chat sites. Anything you want to know about Mopars check out moparts.com. ,,,,again take your time, after awhile you will know which one has your name on it. ...ps...dont buy a car unseen...like on ebay....hop on a plane and check it out first.

Moparts is a great source for project cars. I've been thinking about it. You can get an early B-body('62-'65) for more reasonable money than the later ones. They are solid cars and big blocks fit easily. They universally have great looking sheetmetal as a bonus.

[Ghost74se]

Originally Posted by MrPbody

The MOPAR offerings are pretty, but not very tough (engines and trans aside). They rusted out quickly, and became rattle-traps overnite. Same can be said for the Fords of the era. The GM cars are the "survivors". That is, there are many more times as many Chevelles, GTOs, 442s and even a GS or three, out there for every Charger or Torino that has made it through the last 35 years.
You will find you get more for your money, if you buy a pre-done car, as previously suggested. The trick is, buy one with a blown or missing engine and/or transmission. To some, that's the hardest part to "fix". To others, it's the easiest part. To those of us in the business, the drivetrain is definitely the easiest part to fix.
You'll find GTOs and Chevelle SSs to be the most expensive of the "run of the mill" cars (excludes rarities such as Torino Talledega, Hemi Charger, etc.). 442s come in third, and the Buicks bring up the rear. You can also get a non-muscle car and convert it. Something like a LeMans or Tempest, and upgrade the drive train to GTO specs. Maybe a small block Malibu with no engine, so you can put the obligitory big block (no muscle car ever had a small block in the era) and TH400 in it. 2-door cars are considered prettier, and definitely have a weight-transfer advantage over their longer wheelbase 4-door cousins.
The current hot rod baragin are the '78-'87 GM G-bodies. Monte Carlo and Grand Prix, Regal and Cutlass. Great little chassis for performance, lighter than earlier A-bodies, not bad looking, and dirt cheap! At least for the Chevy and Pontiac, traditional engines go right in. I suppose an Olds would fit, too, as some came with 307s. There are headers and mounting kits for BBC in them, as well as the 400/455 Pontiac.
Anyway, some alternatives to consider. All due respect to the MOPAR guys, the engines are GREAT. The cars, while pretty, aren't very well made.

Aren't very well made? What the FUCK are you talking about? Were you dropped on your head as a baby? Mopars are rarer than other makes, because there wasn't as many of them made! Take a look at my avatar. That is my Charger. She is in ALOT better condition than many Fords and Chevies I have seen, AND she's been sitting outside for the past several years. Unless you know what you are talking about, I would shut the fuck up. It only makes you look like a dumbass.