Practically Used Homestead Wheels

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Then there are the dull and lumbering old two-and four-door sedans and station wagons. Sometimes the owner'll pay you to haul "that damned old heap" out of the driveway. Otherwise, you can get a well-preserved Ford LTD, Chevy Monte Carlo, or Plymouth Gran Fury Brougham for around $500. Sway and bounce common to these heavy vehicles can be eliminated with $100 worth of new shocks and perhaps accessory or replacement springs.

Do be leery of buying any older car for the "ice-cold A/C" you see in ads. Old-style air conditioning units must have their freon refrigerant renewed periodically, and the ozone-hole-eating/CFC Freon is being phased out. To date, Du Pont hasn't developed an environmentally acceptable substitute, and replacing the old A/C with a modern unit can cost $1,000.

Avoid power windows, door locks, seats, and such unless the car is grand enough that it's worth keeping them repaired; there are no manual handles or controls if the power systems break.

Muscle Car Dreamin'

My nominees for the greatest daily-driver cars ever made are the sporty, midsize convertibles, and two-door hardtops of the late '60s and early '70s.

Leader of the pack is the 1964 1/2 to '73 Ford Mustang. You can get a well-preserved late-'60s hardtop in original condition for $1,500, or an older restoration for $2,500. In #1 shape it's worth $12,000. Convertibles cost more; a 1969 302V8/auto with power steering, brakes and top, rebuilt in the '80s, will go for $4,700—a fair #3/#4 asking price if the top and interior are good.

To compete with Mustang, GM built the Chevy Camaro/Pontiac Firebird, Chrysler the Plymouth Barracuda/Dodge Challenger, and AMC the Javelin/AMX. Like the Mustang, they all offered a wide choice of engines and other options. Prices are comparable to Mustang. You can get a good little Camaro with the athletic but gas-saving (25 mpg) 305V8 for around $2,500. Add $2,000 and you can get one with a 350, newly restored and guaranteed to dazzle for another 20 years.

Two-door models of more conventional lines were also done up pony style. Chevy's Cosworth Vega or Yenko Nova are expensive limited editions. But with SS or GT trim and a V8, Novas, Vegas, Chevelles, Ford Torinos, and others are dandy to drive and cheaper than the better-known models.

Detroit built a few super-high-powered Pony Cars to do two things very well: attract girls and accelerate over a 1/4-mile straightaway in under 10 seconds and over 100 mph. They are expensive if you can find one. A #3/#4 Shelby GT/350 Mustang convertible goes for $15,000; a #1 is worth $50,000. The Big Three all support Performance Divisions, so these cars will never become orphans.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print