Alright, no wind up, no over prose…I’m exhausted from having to rip up the second half of the floor of my house and simply put, I need rest before I get back to replacing a ton of flooring. So for today’s Question of the Day, I want you to think back in time to a car that might have piqued your interest a little bit, that you didn’t give much thought to until all of a sudden they were gone from the roads and suddenly look rather tasty. I’m sure some of you older folk remember the days of bypassing Novas or AMC Hornets and are now looking at them going, “Y’know, that doesn’t seem so bad now…”
For me, it’s a fourth-gen F-body, but with one exception: the LT-1 era. Yeah, I know, the LS1 is better, Optispark, yada yada, whatever. Here’s my take: You have OBD-II plus old-school small-block. The Optispark stuff has known fixes. And I’m not the biggest fan of the Catfish Camaro of the multi-snout Pontiac. Give me a 1996 Z28 SS or a Formula V8 with the nostril nosecone and I’ll call it good. These were common cars in the barracks, the used V8 muscle car that was good for a tire fire when Friday nights got rowdy. They were cheap, too. So, in the whole time they’ve existed on the planet, why is it now that I look at them and think one would be awesome? Is it the T-tops? It has to be.
A lot of people charmed up to Colonnade A-bodies, Fairmonts and even FWD turbo Mopars over the years, so let’s hear it!
Buick Grand National. Could have picked one up for a couple thousand bucks.
Late 70s Firebirds! They were a dime a dozen in the late 90s
Fairmont Futura or Merc Zephyr ZX7 slammed down with some beefy rubber they look awesome. No idea why anyone would do the “boxtop “ version IMO. Also the early aero birds and yes, I’m “of an age” ( 53) and I’m a Ford guy so I would gladly kneel at the altar of Glidden. Any of them with a 5/6 speed and big cube Windsor or even better an 07-12 GT500 drivetrain. Good seats a/c and I’m all in ! I love my 08 GT500 but if that motor/trans was in one of those bodies with subframe connectors and a 6 point I’d never sell it. Drag Week everyday!
I always really liked the Beretta GTZ…… I know they weren’t fast or anything but they were quick enough with a stick in them. Now they’re all but Jon existent.
Non existent…Not Jon
As a guy who bought a ’94 LT1 six-speed T/A for $1500 to part-out a couple years ago, I have to say that the complexity of some of the systems and the amount of plastic parts make these an old car that I wouldn’t want to be the one to have to fix in many cases. Early C4 ‘Vettes are a thought, but again the cracking plastic. What I wish is that I’d picked up a half-dozen Vega GT hatchbacks back when they were $100-400 a shot. I can buy a nice one now w/ V8 already done for…ten grand—ouch, no.
Graduated from high school in 1974. Came close to buying a C2 corvette. You could pick up nice, running driving 64-67 Corvettes in the $2500 range. Unfortunately the insurance was stupidly high. About 2-3 years later those $2500 cars were in the $7500 range. Oh well.
1965 Shelby Mustang GT 350. They were inexpensive in the early ’70’s. Their reputation got tarred somewhat by the Hertz rent a racer image so prices were not unreasonable.
1970-72 Firebird Formula with either the 400 or 455 and a four speed. You hardly ever see these around anymore. Prices for all Firebirds have gone insane thanks to all of the Smokey and the Bandit wannabes!!!
1967 through 1969 Dodge Dart, any two door, small block will do. My favorite is the ’68 GT.
The AMC AMX. I thought they were nice looking cars then and still think so. The thing was I had no respect for AMC cars back then.
Today I respect them a little better.
1975 – Just out of high school, I had been saving up for a car and had about $2000,00 so far. I answered an ad in the local paper. The guy\’s front yard was littered with tri-fives in various states. Sedans, coupes, convertibles, wagons, Nomads, 150s, 210s and Bel Airs. Some running, some obviously parts cars or projects. \”Are one of these the car you advertised?\”, I asked. \”No, it\’s in back\”, he said. In the back yard, in a wooden garage sat two 57\’s parked nose to tail. The one closest to the door was a convertible Bel Air, freshly painted and covered in a thick layer of dust.
The other car was the one for sale. 1957 Bel Air Sport Coupe. The black paint and interior, while worn were original. It wasn\’t wrecked or rusty but the back window was missing. He assured me I could find one at a salvage yard he knew of for $50.00. All the exterior trim had been removed in preparation for body work and paint. It was wrapped in plastic and on a shelf beside the car.
Under the hood was a dual-quad 409 with a 4-speed. He assured me it ran and offered to put a battery in it to start it. He wanted $1,500.00 for the car.
I was overwhelmed with this monster of a car and passed. I kick myself to this day over this decision.