50's, 60's, & 70's Full size Convertibles
jsylvester
Member Posts: 572
With spring finally coming, I am anxious to spend some time behind the wheel of mine. I thought a discussion of such would be interesting.
I badly wanted a 58 New Yorker Convertible, but did not want to sell my first born, and to be honest, after seeing a late 50's convertible in person, kind of liked the 60's full sizer's better. After looking at a GTO convertible, didn't want to spend so much money on a car I would be afraid to drive it. Ended up with a 67 Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible, a boat to be sure, but so many people had a Galaxie growing up, surprising number left, and surprising intereset in it.
So, how different was a 58 New Yorker Convertible from say, an early 70's Chrysler 300 convertible?
What year/make/model would make the best deal to buy, the parameters being:
1. Bang for you buck
2. At a minimum, at least holds it value.
3. Performance
4. Cost of ownership (parts, maintenance, etc.)
I'm getting 14 mpg in mine, but women much prefer it to my old Miata, surprisingly.
I badly wanted a 58 New Yorker Convertible, but did not want to sell my first born, and to be honest, after seeing a late 50's convertible in person, kind of liked the 60's full sizer's better. After looking at a GTO convertible, didn't want to spend so much money on a car I would be afraid to drive it. Ended up with a 67 Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible, a boat to be sure, but so many people had a Galaxie growing up, surprising number left, and surprising intereset in it.
So, how different was a 58 New Yorker Convertible from say, an early 70's Chrysler 300 convertible?
What year/make/model would make the best deal to buy, the parameters being:
1. Bang for you buck
2. At a minimum, at least holds it value.
3. Performance
4. Cost of ownership (parts, maintenance, etc.)
I'm getting 14 mpg in mine, but women much prefer it to my old Miata, surprisingly.
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Comments
'57-'58 Chrysler 300C/D, big motor, big fins, can't get more 50's than that.
'53 Buick SKYLARK, a spiffed up Roadmaster with
bigger motor less chrome and wire wheels, Wow!
From the '60's:
'62-'64 Pontiac CATALINA, a nice car as a sedan or hardtop became a great one in topless form with a honkin' 389 under the hood.
'62 Buick Electra, a friend's family owned one of these with the Wildact (401) under the hood and full leather, power everything. I drove it once or twice but I've never forgotten it.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Anyway, have fun with your Galaxie -- it's a great ride, and there ain't nuthin like a bench seat covered in smooth, buttery vinyl to keep you and your squeeze up close and personal!
PS: you make me sick, picking something like that up for $175.00. Sick I tell you!! (with envy, that is ;-)
It seems the '71-75 Buick LeSabre is a pretty common convertible too, with a lot of 'em still around. For some reason, Oldsmobile Deltas and Pontiacs of this vintage seem to be much less commonplace.
"I think the most practical value of '70s convertibles would be '73-'75 Chevy Caprice ragtops, especially ones with 454s."
Those are very cool cars; I've seen several of them for sale in really nice condition. Back in the '80s when I was like 6 years old, my next door neighbor had a mid-70s Caprice sedan, complete with fender skirts, wire wheel covers, etc. I remember really liking that car as a little kid. She eventually sold it and bought a new Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight (around 1991?).
"Did the '71-'76 Cadillac Eldorado ragtops have a problem with the dashboards cracking?"
I think all cars from the '70s and '80s had that problem. Both my '86 Pontiac and my brother's '77 Toyota had cracked dash pads when we bought them. We retrofitted both with those molded plastic dash shells. They are really great reproductions that you just push on right over the original dash pad, and they can be bought painted to match. No one would notice anything amiss unless they really knew what to look for, and it's much cheaper and less complex than taking the whole dash apart to install a new pad.
-Andrew L
It seems they used two different types of soft-touch material back then. The "good" one was softer to the touch, and would stay soft over the years, while the "bad" one was a bit harder, and became more brittle as the years went by. Sorry, I know that's not the most technical description in the world!
As for the '71-76 Eldorados, I honestly don't remember, but I'd imagine they did crack. Cadillacs back then had another problem with the soft-touch stuff on the door panels. It looked nice when it was new, but seemed to crack pretty quickly.
If the price makes you sick, what happened to the car will make you even sicker. When I left Guam to go to college, i sold it to some kid who promptly wrapped it around a tree. I have a feeling the tree came out badly too, but the car was totalled. I hope the kid was, too (just kidding, but only partly!).
ps: I woulda made you an offer on it back then, but I was around -6 at the time!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93