What's up guys.

I am looking at picking up and older muscle car (late 60's camaro, firebird, or mustang). Honestly, I don't know a whole lot about this era of cars. But, I think these cars look sooooo nice with some wheels (not gettofied). So, here's my situation...... I'd like to purchase one for under 15K that is in good condition.

I now this is vague, but is it possible to rock one of these as a daily driver. Also, is this possible with my budget. Keep in mind, I'm not looking for a show car....def not in the budget. I want to get something that's good for a daily driver.


Any advice/recommendations/leads?

Thanks


pak


something like this......





or this

 

I would go with the mustang.

 

Under $15K? You can buy a rusty one for that price.

I'd take $70K for this one:

 

NO.....you do not want a classic as your DD. No matter how well you worked the car over they aren't reliable as a DD.....you will ATLEAST need a beater for the bad days.

 

If it's well kept and properly maintained, it shouldn't be an issue. Just don't expect rock solid reliability compared to new cars.

 

Old musclecars are awesome. But as a DD - not so much.

First off - for under $15k - tough to find a good car that is in good enough shape to be a DD.

Second - If you wanted to spend the money for one that could be a DD. You probably should be a pretty good mechanic.

I had/have a '69 442 that was my DD for a couple of years about 10 years ago. Lots of fun to drive - had a blast. Spent about half as much time working on it as driving it. Car currently in pieces to be reincarnated as.....?

I think an old car can be a DD - but either you have to be willing to spend a lot of time working on it or spend an obscene amount of $$$ on it.

 

Uh....neither of the cars he posted is a mustang

You don't want to DD a muscle car, carburetors won't be fun on a cold winter day, they're big/heavy and will take forever to stop in the snow (I see you're in IL) especially without ABS. In addition, most don't have airbags or seatbelts, so they're not the safest solution.

I say spend the 15k on a reliable daily (Perhaps a used Mustang GT, and a set of snows?

 

I never had any issues when I daily drove my '69 Chevelle SS 396 in college. This was 7 years ago. As long as you have patience and are handy with a wrench, its possible. Its not like these cars were designed to be weekend cruisers when they were new!
I get the feeling most folks on 6speed would rather pay someone to work on the car than deal with any hassles. Since older cars tend to require more attention, the consensus here does not surprise me.

 

In the price range you are looking, it will be anything but ultra reliable. I know people who did it for years, but it was at least every other weekend they were messing with something else that was giving them problems. Great weekend toys, but unless you pick up something well done like SilverSurfer did, I wouldn't ever consider DDing one.

 

thx for the advice..... will look into this a lot more carfully.


pak

 

So juvenile ,who said i was referring to the cars he posted.

 

Well, you said the Mustang, which to me indicates that there had been a Mustang previously referenced. Had you said a Mustang, it would have been understood that you were simply making a recommendation, not referencing something aforementioned.

Either way, I fail to see how it's juvenile.

 

Yes i said the Mustang as any old school Mustang.It's no big deal mate,just a little misinterpretation.On that note

 

I agree whole heartedly. Back in the 60's these care WERE daily driven. But comparetively speaking, they're nowhere near as safe and reliable as today's car (OK, a 60's Goat or Caddy has a lot of metal to work through in a crash but no air bags, no crumple zones and no retractable seatbelts.)

I built my Cobra back in 2005 and the motor as well; with just a vaccume gauge and a little patience, I was able to tune the carb pretty easily. I drive this thing as often as I can; I've taken it to work about once a week. I'm even planning on driving down to Los Angeles in April for a weekend.

Of course with these cars, you need to bring not only the requisite tools, you need:

fuel can
extra coolant/water
couple extra quarts of oil
duct tape
extra belt
good spare tire (I don't have one so I have a pump and tire plugs!)
jack (again, don't have that either but with plugs, you don't need one.)

When all else fails: cell phone and AAA card!!!

I think an old Firebird will work fine. Personally I'm a Ford person so I'd opt for a Mustang or go low key and find a Fairlane or Galaxy. On the upswing, getting a replacement alernator in a pinch will only cost you about $69. What's a Porsche /Bosch alternator go for ?

 

If you like to tinker then you can do one as a DD.