DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Buying a Classic Car

Now that I've graduated from college and have my first "real" job I've come to the realization that I can actually afford to buy a better car for myself. I've researched about the different options I might have based on my salary and living situation and I could get a car such as an Accord, Civic, Altima, or a comparable car. But then there's a part of me that's always loved the way classic cars such as 60's Mustangs and Chargers looked and how cool it would be to own one of those cars. I've looked at a few listings on line for these classic muscle types cars (specifically mustangs) and I see where people have rebuilt the engine and transmissions and are selling these cars from anywhere from 6-15K. And I still can't get over how beautiful some of these cars look that are for sale. Certainly better looking than today's cars, at least in my opinion.

So, does anyone have any advice in buying classic cards? Are there certain things I should check before actually coming to the decision to buy or commit to one? Obviously I'd take it for a test drive and see, but is there anything specific I should look for? I mainly have my eye on late sixties mustangs. Anyone help from some one who has bought a car like this or actually has one would be great and much appreciated! I figure that you only live once and if I really love a certain type of car, than why deprive myself if it's technically within a particular price range.

Any advice guys? Thanks!

If it's not a '65 Lincoln Continental or a '73 Dodge Challenger, don't bother. Ha ha ha, just kidding.

I'd really like to get one too, but I'm still paying for a 7 year old, a wife, a downtown Chicago lifestyle, and a motorcycle. A classic car could only happen if we moved to the burbs (especially since we paid $25k for our one parking spot).

My brother-in-law bought a early 70's something to rebuild with his son so it could eventually be his first car. It's pretty rough, but that's the why he bought it, to put hours into it.

I don't have much advice other than be ready to spend a lot of money. The car you want won't be cheap and it will take up a lot of your time too. But hey, that's part of the fun.

Keep us updated.

I'm not so sure that getting a classic to make your daily driver is such a great idea, especially up north.

I see that car needing tons of work to keep in decent "classic" condition and not degrade into a bucket of rust.

Hate to say it, but getting the Accord and waiting on the classic might be the more sound way to go... and that doesn't even get into the differences between front & rear wheel drive in snow, safety features of newer vehicles, etc...

They're classics, but they're also squarely planted in the past.

IMHO, a Classic is a hobby.... best enjoyed with discretionary time and cash.

If you're trying to get to work, get to family reunions, and do a day's worth of errand-running, you'll want a reliable car to do that for you.

There's a reason all those classic cars you see on TV are being driven by wealthy-looking middle-aged men in Viagra commercials....

[quote]There's a reason all those classic cars you see on TV are being driven by wealthy-looking middle-aged men in Viagra commercials..../quote]

Yes, they're so rich they have everyone else run those errands so they can tool around in those cars!

Most important thing I can say when looking for an older car is body work. Some cars may pass the eye test but when your looking at a car from the 60's era you need to be sure there no underlying rust areas in the car and no hacked up body repair full of bondo. So your either looking for a well taken care of car or a southern vehicle. make sure you inspect it well. Floorboards, areas around the glass where water can lay, etc.

How much does gas cost there?

Just to let you know, with any old car, (and we are talking about old cars) you are going to have a harder time finding parts. Some mechanics will not install parts from any but their own sources, and so you may have trouble repairing the car if something breaks. Further, someone mentioned that driving a classic in the winter weather we get is almost a crime.

One other thing that I ran into when trying to sell a classic car we had in stock back when I sold cars, banks do not like to lend money on classics. New cars have a clearly definable value. They can look in a book and know what a car that is a few years old is worth. Classics? Man, so much of the value is heavily subjective. Just be prepared for this.

I have a 1969 Pontiac Firebird. I can offer a few points.

If you are buying from Ohio, based on your location. Bodywork is an important consideration.

First figure out how original do you want the car? Many cars of the muscle era were heavily modified and cannot be put back together properly, or even closely, unless you are willing to go though great expense.

The more popular cars are easier to obtain parts. Check out Year One, and see if your car is there. Junkyards are no longer a viable source for parts, and you probably don't want parts from a bone yard anyway.

My firebird is mostly original with 98K miles and sits mostly under a cover in the garage. It is the wrong color, and has 15 versus 14 inch wheels. The original brakes are crappy, and it takes 50 miles of tender driving to get it running well after it has sat for a while.

Don't buy the car for a daily driver, especially if you are in Ohio. My ex wife called it a garage ornament, which frustrated me, but I still have the car and found another wife. So if you can commit to the car, it will be around for a while. There is no exit strategy. Find something that you like, I probably would have selected another car given another chance. Cars can be an planned expense, unlike divorce.

I will just add that a 40 year old car, never was and never will be reliable transportation when compared to a 2000 era car, especially when compared to a common offering from Honda, Toyota, or Altima.

You can always find someone to fix an old car, but it is better if you are somewhat mechanically inclined, or know someone that you can trust.

In general, less modification is better than modified. Modified means driven hard. You want Granny's car, or the old mans car, that does not need Viagra.




double shot tonight.

Less modification and lightly driven applies to potential spouses as well.



triple shot...

I would also add, as a veteran of carburetors in winter ..... if you are going to drive this thing on a daily basis in the winter, invest in starting fluid. I actually ran a line through the top of the left fender and into the carburetor cover. I kept a cap on the line, that was easily removed. I could then uncap the line, and hit it with starter fluid without having to open the hood.

It was a must, because my old Grand Prix hated to start in the winter. I rebuilt that Rochester Quadrajet, and repaired the choke, and it still never worked right in really cold weather.

I would never buy one as a daily driver. Other than the stuff already stated, I would like to add.

Most classics ride terrible compared to todays cars
The brakes generally suck
They are much more maintenance to keep on the road
They dont corner nearly as well

To me classics are for Saturdays or weeknight cruise-ins. If you want a DD with updated brakes, suspension, and fuel injection to bring it up to todays standards you are gonna have to have pretty deep pockets.

Great advice Charger! Like the ex-wife inclusions as well as I've been through the same thing, though I don't have another wife yet.

While neither of my cars are truly classics - I've got a Factory Five kit car AC Cobra and a '93 Mustang Cobra - I have had plenty of friends with classic Mustangs (which one day I will have a 66 fastback). My kit car looks like a 65 AC Cobra, but the underlying technology is based off of a late model Mustang. Disc brakes, fuel injection, etc which makes it more modern. If you are going to go with a classic as a daily driver, IMO you are going to want one that someone put the cash into to upgrade the chassis and drivetrane - disc brakes, fuel injection, transmission, and electrical. It won't really be a "classic" at that point, but it will be sustainable as a DD.

That said, in Ohio I would never do that. In a warm weather state, possibly, though after getting used to the amenities on newer vehicles it would be difficult to go to a 60's era car every day. My '93 Mustang (when it isn't in a gazillion pieces) even lacks in creature comforts, though I did build it to go fast in a straight line only (if you can turn, you aren't going fast enough ;)). I'd go with a reliable car now and save for the classic so you don't have to drive it every day. Or, you can go the route I did and bought my '93 Cobra right out of college and also bought a $1000 beater Ford Ranger for the winter and put the Mustang into storage.

Also, as stated above, you should have a descent knowledge of cars and be able to fix basic things on your own if you go the classic route. I'm self taught with everything I know about cars as my dad is about the least mechanically inclined person I know. I got into cars in high school and kinda wish I hadn't as it is a stupidly expensive hobby.

If it's going to be your primary mode of transportation year round, then go with a late model car that is more dependable.

Ir it's your toy car, something to fiddle and tinker with and drive in the summer so as to keep the salt off of it, then just find someone that knows cars better than you, have them look at the car for all the things that can or have or will go wrong.

Good luck..

Some people I Know daily drive a car like a classic mustang but have a winter beater when the weather turns. If you play your cards right you can buy one off craigslist, turn down your insurance (storage insurance basically) and you shouldn't have to pay much in the winter. Then deactivate the insurance on the beater come spring and leave it in your garage.

If you want a beautiful classic looking car, but you want it to be reliable to drive and have the modern day safety features, then here you go:

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/625349368/overview/

Oh darn Tasty, I just realized, you are in California. You don't have a change in seasons like we do in OHio.

Anyway, if you have a mechanic that is trustworthy, insist that he looks the car over. What you are looking for are quick fixes to body damage, indications that it's been in a wreck, Rust on the frame and floor. Things like that.

You want evidence of engine rebuilds such as receipts for parts and labor (if they didn't do it themselves)

Good luck

Now, I am going to go a different route. If you want a really comfortable driver, that will do just about anything you want it to do, from carrying almost anything, to towing a small trailer, to lugging around yourself and 6 friends ....... and you want something that, for some reason, seems to work on the ladies on a subconscious level ...... get a minivan. You will get a lot of vehicle for a low price, and there are billions of cheap parts available for almost any of them.

I drove almost everything on the market that cost less than $50K or so during my time as a car salesman. (For 15 years from the early 90s on)) I hated it the 1st time my used car manager told me to take a minivan as a driver ..... but I changed my tune after driving it. (I drove from YTown to Kent every day) Those minivans were the best, and most comfortable drivers, and I was approached by more women when driving a minivan than when driving anything else. Trust me. Forget the hot sports car, and get a minivan. You'll thank me for it.

Congratulations on getting a job and making things work for yourself.

I agree w/several others that your best move would be to buy a dependable car to transport you safely--and on time--to your job each day.

The time to buy classic cars is when you are older. I bought my cars after my kids left home. I have always had nice cars, and had several Caddies even when my kids were living w/us, but we also always had a SUV or pick-up, or maybe both in addition to that car. You have to accumulate wealth.

I have a Cadillac XLR now. It's pretty sweet. I also have a '69 GTO in storage. I had one when I was around 20 years old. It cost a heckuva lot less than my latest did.....LOL

I wanna get a '59 Caddy, mostly because it symbolized the absolute height of America's power in the world and well...........it is just a beautiful car. They are so expensive.

And like YTown said..........parts are a problem.

Get a Honda. My wife and I by Honda's for our kids and they are reliable and safe. Save your money and make it a dream to have a classic car as your second car, not your primary mode of transportation.

I have several friends that do this. San Fran, Atlanta, Portland.

I get the high rise living, although I don't see much difference between that and a dorm room.

But I can't wrap my head around the paying for a parking spot thing. And $2k+/month?

Sorry Punch. I say the same things to my friends. It just makes no sense.

Thanks very much everyone for the great advice. It made it a little bit easier for me to see the many different pros and cons to owning an older car, and there's probably a lot of stuff in my modern car that I take for granted. A\C, electric windows, locks. Heck, one ad that I came across said that the car didn't even have power steering....?:) Wouldn't know what that is like...

But yeah, I think everyone's suggestions helped me make up my mind to get a newer car. Although those older cars look nice, I think I could do without certain headaches and other issues. Problems such as weather (don't even want to think about getting salt\snow combination on a classic car), things going bad on the car (I'm not the most mechanically inclined person), and I'd be afraid someone would hit my car by accident in a parking lot or something, lol.

Sounds like it is better to just have one of these cars as a thrill machine to drive every now and then. Thanks again guys for the opinions and maybe I will look at getting one of these cars down the line, but will most likely purchase a newer one in the near future. I do like the looks of the 2015 Mustang that came out.

You seem like an intelligent young man.

Yeah, your classic car should be your pleasure car that you drive occasionally, but don't depend on for life's daily endeavors.

Save your money..........do your research......believe me, it's a cut-throat trade for buying classic cars. Gotta be really careful. Pay money for body and mechanical experts to fully examine the car before you make a huge purchase. Throwing $40,000 to $80,000 on a car w/mechanical and body defects and that does not have original manufactured parts is throwing your money away.

With that said, you can buy tricked out cars, but they are harder to sell later. Try to get a car that has original parts. And please.........get a body guy out there to check everything.

Good luck, young man.

Neither my AC Cobra nor my Mustang has power steering. I could put it on, but the AC is so light it really doesn't make that much of a difference and the Mustang is a drag race car and power steering weighs a lot

It's really not that bad. Both of those cars also have manual brakes.

LOL...........manual breaks. While somewhat safer in certain instances........they were a pain, even moreso than not having power steering.

Back in the day, there was only one cylinder to hold the brake fluid. That was for the rusted out emergency brake.

I know this for a reason. Redundancy and safety are good things.

I echo your comments. Consider it a hobby and have a reliable car for your daily driver. (I had a '65 Goat, tripower, 4 speed, Isky, when I was in my early 20's. Traded it in when I got married the first time - perhaps I should have kept the car).

How would they be safer than power brakes? My Viper has a brake booster but no ABS, just a proportioning valve. I can understand that in straight line stopping non-ABS can stop you sooner but figured manual brakes would be harder to lock up.

It's about pedal feel. Much like how you can feel more of the road on good-handling cars.

I don't know...........maybe my statement about the brakes was out there.

How is the booster working for you? I have been reading up on it a bit and one guy did drums in the back and disc in the front. He swore it was great. What's your thoughts on that?

I had an 80 Chevy Citation with a bad the notorious bad proportioning valve. In the day before ABS, the rear brakes would lock before the front. Combine that with front wheel drive and it was just bad.

I tossed the car into a ditch while braking on a turn. Scary. Luckily there was no damage, other than my ego.

Early power brakes were over boosted and you lost the feel of the pedal. Manual Brakes took more effort but you had greater control of the pressure being applied to the brake pedals.

Most of the disc conversions work pretty well. Discs are far better on the front. Some proportioning valves are adjustable so you can balance the system for the weight of the car.

Those Citations were absolute junk. I owned one for about 2 weeks. I always owned older cars, so I liked to have 2 in case one broke. I drove that one for about 3 days and put it up for sale myself.

I do seem to recall that I made something like $50 on the whole transaction though.

Pedal feel is a valid point. Drum brakes tend to have a more natural feel to them and you don't need a booster.

The booster works fine for me, although on the Viper my brake pedal doesn't travel terribly far. But that's just because of the car being what it is. Touchy throttle and heavy clutch too

Because most cars have a high bias toward front discs (to avoid the situation described a post or two above), using drum brakes on the back is fine. It may even be preferable if you are using non-boosted brakes just so the pedal isn't incredibly hard to push down. Did the person you find with the disc/drum combo decide against a brake booster?

Thanks for the information and yes, he did.