Smaller Muscle Cars?

[sykane]

I am looking to buy a muscle car to restore and turn into my daily driver. The problem is i dont know what car to use.It needs to be cheap to get initalily between 2-5k.The onlt real requirement for the car is i want it to be on the smaller size. Now obviously im not gonna get a muscle car the size of a 2000lb civic but i dont want a massive car either. What are your reccomendations for a car? Also what are some sites i can go to to learn more about muscle cars specificly?Like what other forums do you visit that are geared toward muscle cars?Thanks

[ProSStreet]

check out www.musclecarclub.com
If I we're you, i'd go with an early Chevy Nova, but thats just me.

[AMC360Concord]

Chevrolet Novas have plenty of parts to come across, awesome car.

Plymouth Duster/Dodge Dart is a neat car too, theyre a little harder to find though.

[Murray B.]

Originally Posted by sykane

I am looking to buy a muscle car to restore and turn into my daily driver. The problem is i dont know what car to use.It needs to be cheap to get initalily between 2-5k.

The Nova and the Dart are good choices but it will probably be hard to find one in good shape with a big motor and for cheap. It might be easier to find one with the L6 and put in a small block V8. Big blocks have been known to twist the frames of small cars. The 454 Novas were known for this.

Another car that is in the price range and is somewhat muscle like is certain Dodge Shadows and Plymouth Dusters from '93 and '94. At the end of the series they were putting leftover 3.0L power trains from the minivans in a few of them. V6 Shadows and Dusters went pretty good for cheap cars and there are probably a few still around.

[65Ponchoboy]

well ur best bets are:

64-69 Plymouth Barracuda
70-76 Plymouth Duster
63-76 Dodge Dart/Demon
62-74 Chevrolet Chevy ll/Nova SS
67-73 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am/Formula/Espirit
67-73 Chevrolet Camaro SS/Z-28/RS
68-72 AMC AMX
71-74 Pontiac Ventura (74 Ventura had GTO option)

thats all i can think of for now

[benswolf_1]

i say mustang-get on ebay-but thats just me-if u want a 75 nova-350 let me know

[artistic]

Originally Posted by benswolf_1

i say mustang-get on ebay-but

do you work for ebay? lol just playin

[benswolf_1]

lol-no i just love getting stuff on their and selling stuff-great place to get good stuff at low prices-we almost bought a 65 mustang fastback of off ebay till we found our convertible so i thought it would be a good place to look on.

[artistic]

Yeah, ebay is great for buying hard to find stuff.

[Musclecarclub]

Any pony car (Mustang, Camaro, and Firebird) would make a good choice, but a good example would probably be out of the price range. Compacts (Nova, Duster, etc.) are usually cheaper, but V8s may be hard to find.

[MrPbody]

Musclecarclub nailed it. There is no such thing as a "smaller muscle car". A muscle car is an intermediate body with a "big car" engine. A Nova is a compact, NOT intermediate. F-body and Mustang, along with 'Cuda and Challenger, are "pony" cars. If you just want a small performance car, then say so. One of my goals is to eliminate all this myth and superstition surrounding older cars. BTW, Nova is a major POS. I've seen too many of them blow the back window out when shifting gears under power. You'll need to put a cage in it, not just connectors. Same is true of all the "X-bodies" and the pony cars. GM muscle cars have an actual FRAME.

[MagicRat]

A smaller performance car is a good thing....less weight means less power required.
While the Nova Camero/Firebird might be considered smaller, they are not lighter. They are still 3500-3700 lbs, pretty much the same as an intermediate Chevelle or GTO.
All the suggestions made so far are fine, but consider the 1979+ Mustangs especially the later LX 5.0. (The GT's are fine too, just a bit heavier, the hatch backs weigh 79lbs more than the notch back coupes)
Also, if you must have a chevy, consider the 70's Chevy Monza. Find one with a V8 and swap in a decent 350.
If you really want light (and ugly).....get a Gremlin and swap in an AMC 390/401 or a sbc.

Sub frame connectors are a good substitue for their (unit body) lack of a full frame

[duplox]

64-66 mustang coupes are small and around 2600lbs.

[Ratieya455]

What about a Falcon? It is pretty small and you should be able to fit a 302 in it. For some odd reason my local area has a few old falcons cruising around, but they are of the early 60's with 4 doors and sixes. I had seen a Falcon sold on Barrett Jackson for six figures, and it was a special factory drag model with 220 miles on it. A normal Falcon is decent condiiton should fall into your price category.