Sp00led Ya

Alright well I sold my 2005 Dodge SRT-4, I was just sick of it and the weather was all snow here in Maine and I just bla. Well I don't want another SRT-4 and I don't want an LS1 because power is no longer my main focus but I considered buying a muscle car, but I had so many questions as to how it would work. I do not have the credit to take out a $10-12000 personal loan, it would have to be an auto loan and I don't know if that can be done on a car like this without an appraiser and if the car WAS indeed appraised would they be able to finance it being that it is so old with most likely unknown or really high mileage. I figured it would be something that would turn heads be fun to drive, sound mean and have some ***** even though they are heavy and probobly wouldn't be winning any races but I was thinking of a number 2 or number 3 car in nice shape, doesn't have to be numbers matching or anything but at leaste a 318-327... I was thinking Mopar, Bow tie, maybe a Gran Sport, or something I just don't know what. I would like to be well under $13,000 for a nice #2 or #3 car and hopefully it would have some good times if I ever decided to make a pass or two at the track. Can I even buy one of these cars with an auto loan? What kind of gas mileage and reliability should I expect, sure it's old but aren't they very simple cars? The main concern is what to buy, and how to buy it because I don't have cash saved but I can afford a payment and a beater for the winter.

Triph75

I had a 73' charger that I took a small loan out at PNC bank this was indeed a car loan I was suprized, but you have to show pictures and or appraisal to prove its not a junker. As for reliablity same as anything my charger was a DD till some crazy guy traded a mint IROC for it (charger had quick patch work and paint). smaller cubes and 2 barrels will get you around 18-20 mpg. Performance and MPG on older engines are very adversely proportional. You can get nices drivers for around $10,000 in chevy, ford, but mopars unless your lookin at dusters, darts etc. your not going to find much.

Sp00led Ya

That is what I thought, what kind of track times can you fetch with a 283 Chevelle? 1967 maybe? or a 327 Camaro, Ford I really am not interested in. See the type of cars I am used to are very different I have no clue wtf the difference between a 4 barrel and a 2 barrel carb is, posi I always thought was when both wheels spun at the same time, I don't know any muscle car lingo, the motors are different I am typically a forced induction guy. Also how well do these cars respond to bolt ons and are they readily available if I wanted to slap on say an exhaust, or what are the typical bolt ons. I'd probobly be looking for an auto car, Im sure Id just get pissed off with these old clutches and manual trans.

nssane

iTrader: (8)

there are financing companies that specialize in older cars, and classic cars. try looking one of those up on the web.

79_T/A

iTrader: (1)

Search around for deals, even if it takes a while. It took me about 2 years to find a deal. Look online, look at classifides, and go to local car shows and ask around. After a lot of searching, I was able to find my 79 Trans Am that had 60k miles on it for $2000. It has been a reliable DD for 2 years, including new england winters. My advice would be to pick a muscle car that is not as popluar, because prices will be cheaper. Just keep searching, and if you find a deal, jump on it.

Sp00led Ya

Well I am very picky when it comes to these cars, I am a fan of 67-69 Camaros, 1967-1971 Chevelles, Malibu's are nice but I am assuming there SLOW AS *****! Mopar is too expensive now, I don't want a Mustang and I was never a fan of Olds Cutlass but I do like Gran Sport Skylarks. Keeping in mind what I just stated caught my fancy does anyone have any suggestions as to what ELSE I might like? I am not a fan at all of anything newer than 1973 up til LS1 Camaros. I do like Firebirds though but not nearly as much as 67-69 Camaros... I don't want a car people could care less about, I don't want a forgotten car. I like Novas too, I heard they were pretty cheap. Definately not as sexy as say a Camaro but still nice. I like Chevelles but I am more inclined to get something smaller than a boat, hell the Camaro pony car size is big enough.

Rede

iTrader: (2)

My dad alway snoops around washington area and has imported a few across the boarder into BC.
One of his finds was a 73 charger with a 440 with a 2 barrel carb.
Dispite the age of the car, weight and size of the motor... the car had pretty good power, was 100% original with 70,000miles on the clock and still got 26mpg (Canadian gallon = 4.5L/gallon not 4.0L/gallon as in the US... milage works out to be slightly higher) Regaurdless of the difference in milage, that still works out to about 22US mpg

There's a lot of muscle cars starting to surface now that the price of fuel is creeping up.
Checkout the Deals on Wheels fliers as well as sites like racingjunk.com which has TONS of nuscle cars on there.

Happy hunting

Ray455

Word of warning, if you get a Buick be prepared to spend Buick dollars should things start messing up.

But even with part prices being high, I still love my Skylark and I'll never get rid of it. Plus, its nice knowing that I've got an A-Body that you don't see around every street corner (yes, I'm talking about Chevelles )

Good luck!

fast01z28

iTrader: (6)

get a buick GS, say 69 or 70. bad *** muscle car. you can also look into an olds 442, some years it was a cutlass 442 and others it was just a 442.

some really good advise would be to buy a book with GMs from 65-75, itll have all makes, models and engine options.

carado1984

You might be able to find a nova, 307 chevelle or malibu, olds cutlass, pontiac lemans<--- which can be made to replicate a gto.. All of these can be had for fairly cheap and can but daily drivers but also have the potential to be made nice and fast later on when you have more money...

Face it, you arent going to get fast and reliable from an old muscle car these days for the price you want to pay.. The demand is too high.. Youre better off looking for something without such a demand, such as the cars above, and try to find one with a solid starting point such as a 350 in a chevy or pontiac or something, its a good block to build on and has a big aftermarket..

You might be able to get a late 70s trans am with a 400 for pretty cheap too.. And although its not the best performance wise, it does have a 400 and the potentials there..

I would have someone who knows cars check any car thoroughly for rust, bondo, etc before you buy it because generally with old muscle cars, if its cheap, theres a reason... And forget about any camaro 69 and before.. Demand is too high.. You might be able to get an RS or Z28 from the late 70s but it wont be quick...

If youre short on money, I recommend not doing it. Youll be kicking yourself in the *** financially for years.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Are you sure that you wouldn't consider anything inbetween?

Taking that into consideration, especially the part I bolded, are you sure that you wouldn't have any interest in an '86-'87 Buick Grand National?

They are similar in size to the older A-bodies that you like, but the MPG and driveability will be much better due to being a V6 and having fuel injection. It's a 3.8L V6 turbo (RPO LC2), and in '86-'87 they were intercooled. All of them are automatics. Depending on which year you're looking at, they could be had as a Grand National, a T-type, Turbo-T, Regal Limited Turbo, or Regal GNX. The GNX is WAY out of your price range though, that's a very special limited production (547 units) car that sells for sick amounts of money today. It had many upgrades from the other turbo buicks, which made it faster than anything else GM sold in the '80s until the '89 TTA was released.

Don't let the seemingly weak (230-240hp) factory power ratings of the GN fool you, You'll be running similar times or better than many of the muscle cars you're looking at. A stock '87 GN should be good for mid 14s or better if it's running properly. And for VERY little investment, you can knock them into the 12s, and still have great driveability and MPG.

Just something else for you to think about.

thmass6

iTrader: (2)

I agree about the Buick Grand National, I've driven one before and they've definitely got *****. Lower it and put some nice wheels on it and it'll be looking pimp too. My stepdad has a '68 Camaro with a 2bbl 327 and 2spd auto, and it's not very fast at all. I think it's rated at about 220 hp and that seems about right. It's a beautiful car, in good shape (but not quite "Barret Jackson" shape) and he's turned down offers for over 20 grand for it. Not to mention the fact that the car is almost 40 years old...and it can be a little tempermental at times. I honestly wouldn't waste your time and money on an old car like that. I'm a HUGE fan of old muscle cars, but I'm glad I don't have one because everyone I know that does is always having problems or replacing something, etc. Plus, I don't know if you've ever driven an old car like that, but they really drive like crap. I've driven 5 or 6 different old muscle cars (Camaros, Chevelles, Corvettes) and they all have really loose steering and handling, mushy brakes, etc. It feels dangerous even driving them around town. To get an old car like that up to current standards, you're looking at investing thousands of dollars. Leave those cars and their inflating prices to the millionaires that want them for their showrooms, I'd look for something else if I were you.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I've driven stock ones all the way to ones that run 10-11s. What's great is, unless you get into boost, there is very little difference in driveability between a stock one and one running 11s.

Sp00led Ya

My issue is appearence, I don't mind the look of the GN and I am well aware of how nasty they can be but if I were going to do anything I think after serious consideration I would be too inclined to hate what I did buying an older car like that, sure the attention would be nice, they look nice etc but like one said above they drive like ****, straight up ****. I drove a 1971 Chevelle with a silverado 350 in it, the car was so slow I could have fallen asleep, I also drove a 1968 383 Camaro, it could melt the tires sure, looked decent sure and it was nice and loud but honestly it was slow as ***** too. I think it is out of my generation but in the same perspective I would LOVE to have an SVT Cobra *the blown ones* but too bad they are NOT cheap, typical ford didnt bite these ones and sure I could get a lightning with the same motor but damn the MPG is awful in those.

They also handle dangerously mushy. Cars are so far off nowa days there is nothing that is "just right" and priced "just right". I'd love an EVO but they are so expensive to maintain and own, though they are amazing at everything, anything else is either a straight line only RWD car, or doesnt have the power potential either, a 350z would be a great car if it weren't so damn useless in the power department, people say it's fast but I'm sorry $750 bucks into my SRT-4 and I ran right with a blown Z, motor trend or car and driver had them clocked in at low 13's at best. WA-OOOOPIE. A WRX is ugly, not fast to me and oh, it's ugly. The only cars that would fit my need if I could afford em, would be an STi or EVO, an RSX Type S if it had 50hp more and wasn't front wheel drive, hell I almost liked the new 2005 Mustang GT but theyre too expensive even used, dealers are charging like $17-18 grand for V6s! when the V8's are only $25k NEW! Fords depreciation should have them at like $18k by now. I drove a 2002 LS1 SS and it was too nose big for me, I can't afford a C5 Corvette because the mileage on one for $16-17k is too high and I can't get financed for 48-60 months on one... otherwise that'd be a PERFECT car. Oh wow I would be ALL over one of those, I love them. I don't want FWD, I don't want crappy feel or lack in power, I need handling that is adequit and a good price as well as reliability but damn nothing FITS THE MOLD!

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Sounds to me like you need a bigger budget.

Sunset'01Z

iTrader: (10)

old muscle cars arent as simple as you would think, because replacing parts on them isnt the hard part, it's finding parts for them. honestly unless you want a money pit dont buy an old car. what about a fox body mustang, early 90's style? you can do a few things to them to make them pretty quick.

69camaross

iTrader: (4)

For anything even remotely nice built before 73 you're gonna need at least $20,000 and even then it will need a fair amount of work to compare to late model cars. You may find an "ok" 79-80 Trans Am for $13,000 but it'll have a 403 boat anchor in it not the 400.

I am all about 64-72 muscle cars, late 70s TAs, IROCs, and SLP 4th gens however all of these cars nowadays (even IROCs) are WAYYYYYYYY over priced for what you get. If you want a nice LS1 powered car that you can run everyday and its not a POS like the 4th gens are, get a 04-05 GTO. That was the nicest GM car I have EVER owned. 04s are going for mid to upper teens with very low miles. Hell of a bargain.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Wow that was an ignorant statement.

You win the prize for today!

Sunset'01Z

iTrader: (10)

yea really, i like goats but they arent that much of a nicer car than a 4th gen fbody, and yes i have ridden in one.

Sp00led Ya

I was thinking GTO, they are built well, essentially a rebadged holden which is NOT domestic thank god. However I hear they are like 3700lbs which is heavier then like A CHEVELLE. And I don't know how well they handle