What Classic Car To Get?

[HenryNisental]

Here is my input: having worked as a technician and as an engineer for 13 yrs for GM Argentina (in its old plant in San Martin), I can proudly say that I designed many of the stamping dies for the SS Coupe Chevy.
The engine was an standard Chevrolet engine manufactured here in a 99 % local content (only the valve lifters ans rocker arms were imported, I think). Some models came with an automatic tranny. There must be plenty of spare parts here for this car. It also had a semi-chassis at the front, making it one of the best crash-resistant cars in the country (wheter it was a 2 dooor or 4 door).
If this is not enough muscle car for your taste, you can get a Crhysler Polara coupe with a V8, 4 liter engine, (the engine was made in Mexico at the time).
You wil be the fastest kid in the block (if you can afford the gas).

 

[Ries]

In the US, the Falcon was considered a joke car that, if your parents owned one, you would be embarrassed to seen in it. It lasted only a few years here.

I dunno where you lived in the USA, but that sure wasnt my experience.
I owned three, over the years, and a Comet convertible, which is a Falcon in everything but name. and they were great cars- cheap, reliable, and always got positive comments from other people.
Nowadays, the Ranchero, the convertible, and the 2 door coupes are quite desirable, and command high prices on the used market.
There are Falcon collector groups, specialty restoration suppliers, and they are often seen at classic car shows.


A good condition Ranchero will often bring more than a late model japanese car compact car, and the convertibles are in demand.

 

[germano]

The engine was an standard Chevrolet engine manufactured here in a 99 % local content (only the valve lifters ans rocker arms were imported, I think). Some models came with an automatic tranny. There must be plenty of spare parts here for this car.

That's very good to know! I think spare part availability is a key requirement here with import restrictions in place.

If this is not enough muscle car for your taste, you can get a Crhysler Polara coupe with a V8, 4 liter engine, (the engine was made in Mexico at the time).
You wil be the fastest kid in the block (if you can afford the gas).

I think a car like the Chevy would be enough muscle car for my taste. Speed is not really a requirement as I am getting too old to be the fastest kid on the block anyway

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I dunno where you lived in the USA, but that sure wasnt my experience.
I owned three, over the years, and a Comet convertible, which is a Falcon in everything but name. and they were great cars- cheap, reliable, and always got positive comments from other people.
Nowadays, the Ranchero, the convertible, and the 2 door coupes are quite desirable, and command high prices on the used market.
There are Falcon collector groups, specialty restoration suppliers, and they are often seen at classic car shows.


A good condition Ranchero will often bring more than a late model japanese car compact car, and the convertibles are in demand.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and nobody I knew would go anywhere near a Falcon. It was finished in the US by 1970, but held on in Argentina until 1991.

 

[Ries]

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and nobody I knew would go anywhere near a Falcon. It was finished in the US by 1970, but held on in Argentina until 1991.

Thats funny, I also grew up in Seattle- and my parents bought a new Falcon wagon in 1960. Never remember a single disparaging word about it.
I started buying used Falcons in about 1973, and, again, everybody I knew (artists, musicians, people like that) thought they were very cool cars- plus, as gas was zooming up in price at that time, everybody wanted a Falcon, a Nova, or a Dodge Dart with a smaller, more fuel efficient six cylinder in em.

In the early 70's, you could barely give away 1960's cars with big V8's. I had a totally pristine 63 Chrysler 300 2 door hardtop, with a 383 in it, that I bought for $250. It was perfect in every way, and the scrap value was almost that much. And man, it went like a bat out of hell- but got well under ten miles per gallon.

I went to Lakeside, with Gates, Allen, and the McCaws- the richest of the NW, in other words- and most of the mothers drove cheap cars, relatively speaking- there was one parent with a rolls, and couple of mercedes, but plenty of cars in the Falcon range, dropping off young Richie Rich's daily- and no nasty comments that I knew of.

I think you must have hung with a tonier, or more discriminating crowd. The rich people I knew in the NW drove VW bugs, old Volvo wagons, and even pickups. These were heirs and heiresses, the owners of pretty much every major business and corporation. All tried to downplay their wealth, and none would have knocked a Falcon. In fact, the humble american station wagon was routinely driven by people who could buy and sell entire towns.

 

[Crema Americana]

My husband had a Ford Taunus he bought to fix up - he ended up selling it.

What a money sink!

Note that the classic cars here aren't the same model as their US counterpart even if they share the same name.

 

[PhilipDT]

For the last 5 years the car I drove full time in the USA was a 78 continental mark V with a 460. I bought it as a second "cruising car" in excellent condition for $900 from a guy who had 15 of them in a barn.

I spent 4000 on the paint and a few basic maintenance items and then drove the crap out of it. After 3 months of owning it I sold my" sensible" BMW 540 because I found that I never drove it anymore. The Lincoln had power windows cruise control, the ac blew cold, it didn't leak oil, and the seats were 2x as confortable as the BMW which had the optional comfort seat package. The biggest negative was that i went from 22 mpg to 8.

My friends all laughed at me for never making it past a gas station but, even shelling out an extra 250 dollars or so every thousand miles I never came close to what their payments + insurance were! Plus my car was just so much cooler!

The american flag was a temporary july 4th addition

 

[germano]

My husband had a Ford Taunus he bought to fix up - he ended up selling it.

Yeah, I am definitely not getting a Taunus. If I got a European model Ford then it would be a Granada Mark I - with a 'big' engine ... but they don't have them here:

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

I have three words for you; G T O.

My pop and I restored a 1969 Goat when I was in the 9th grade. Was driving it daily to school when I was 16. Got laid so many times I thought I was Hawaiian. I saw one in San Diego in 2008 when I was with my wife. For 30 seconds I was completely in another world. She snapped her fingers ... "Hello? Where are you?"

I had this shit-eating grin on my face for hours. :wub:

 

[germano]

For the last 5 years the car I drove full time in the USA was a 78 continental mark V with a 460. I bought it as a second "cruising car" in excellent condition for $900 from a guy who had 15 of them in a barn.

I had done something similar back when I lived in the US. I got a '71 Mercury Cougar convertible for cruising. Kept it after selling my SUV. Drove from Canada to Mexico with it. I miss that car ...