What Classic Car To Get?

[Ries]

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

That car is what we used to call a "full Cleveland"- originally, a full Cleveland meant a leisure suit with a white belt and white loafers, but, when applied to cars, it means white vinyl top, and lots of extra doo dads. Yours is sadly lacking opera lights, although it did have the classy oval windows, and the continental spare bulge.

Unfortunately, these cars, once very common and cheap, are much much harder to find these days- the recession, combined with high scrap prices, caused a lot of them to be recycled, and, the older a car gets, the fewer of them there are on the road- and thats a 35 year old car these days. Most cars in the USA get scrapped at 5 to 7 years of age.

 

[French jurist]

In France, I had a Citroën Traction avant BL of 1938 (kept it +15 years). It was my main car for some time (was mainly a biker).
The only French car the German got jealous for!

(similar model, same year, original colors as mine)

Your question is very difficult to answer...
Would you prefer the comfort of a big US like car?
The thrill, sound and smell of an Italian coupé of the 1970s?
Wishing a cheap experience, driving with no roof, no doors, total cool style like in a Mehari?
Go radical and get a vehicle no one ever sees in the street, like a BMW Isetta 300?

That's tough (may I get them all?)

 

[mc kenna]

Here in Argentina, i would have to go with the dodge gtx or even the rt model with the slant 6 and of course 4 on the floor
As a matter of fact that will be my first decree after i become RULER OF THE UNIVERSE ,everyone should own a fun car but if you own a gtx i will make you prime minister

 

[French jurist]

Example of a weird Ad for a Fiat coupe:
http://www.arcar.org/fiat-1500-coupe-59794

60% restored but obviously the new paint job has been included. When you restore a car, you do the paint job at the end logically. I wonder about the engine (no pic) and the body itself (no pic). Lol...

 

[French jurist]

8000 USD

http://www.arcar.org/fiat-800-spider-52790

 

[germano]

Your question is very difficult to answer...
Would you prefer the comfort of a big US like car?
The thrill, sound and smell of an Italian coupé of the 1970s?
Wishing a cheap experience, driving with no roof, no doors, total cool style like in a Mehari?
Go radical and get a vehicle no one ever sees in the street, like a BMW Isetta 300?

It could be either a 'big' American car or a European size model. Although it would only be used here and then for fun (cruising on a sunday etc.) - it should obviously not be too exotic because then it will be difficult or impossible to get spare parts. So probably not a Isetta.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

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.

I grew up in suburban Tacoma (Lakewood) and, while it had some wealthy enclaves (one of Eisenhower's brothers lived there), it was not extravagant. The Falcon was an utterly utilitarian vehicle - not that there's anything wrong with that - that was considered comparable to a Chevy II. I couldn't care less now, but at the time it seemed important.

 

[ghost]

I forgot how to post a PIX on this forum. Oh well.

 

[fifs2]

Go for it Germano..No new car, at whatever price can be as full of character and personality as a classic, My last classic I left in the US and had to practically give it away as everyone admired it but wouldn't pay the money for such beauty..a 1961 cream Volvo P1800. All dashboard instruments came with their original label in Swedish...thx for making me think of "her" again...

 

[germano]

View attachment 2415
Go for it Germano..No new car, at whatever price can be as full of character and personality as a classic, My last classic I left in the US and had to practically give it away as everyone admired it but wouldn't pay the money for such beauty..a 1961 cream Volvo P1800. All dashboard instruments came with their original label in Swedish...thx for making me think of "her" again...

What I nice car - sorry I made you think of your loss