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Comments
my '67 was a 6 cyl powerglide (first and last AT I ever owned), that was shot when I got it in '79. No trunk floor or rear fenders to speak of.
A 350 '69 had some sort of THM tranny.
BTW, don't try to speed shift an old PG. It won't like it. Trust me.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
My uncle initially drove it from PA to CA, then it lived the rest of its life in CA. IIRC, the Camaro got sold for, of all things, a Vega! Can't remember why he did such a fool thing.
The Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. It made a lot of people do crazy things.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
By 1972, she was married and had me, and didn't like the idea of driving a small child around in a convertible. Well there was that, and the fact that my Dad would drive that car pretty hard, and I think the brakes were shot.
But anyway, my grandparents had a '68 Impala 4-door hardtop with a 327 (dunno if it was a 2-speed or 3-speed automatic, though), and they were thinking about getting a new car. So they did a swap with my Mom, and then traded the Catalina in on a new '72 Impala 4-door hardtop with a 350-2bbl. I was too young to remember the Catalina, but I do remember the '68 Impala, vaguely. I'm sure the Catalina was much cooler, though!
Ah, the cars we wish we (or our parents, or some other relative) had hung on to!
My uncle had a late 60's Datsun 1600 roadster for a while .. I really wanted that, but he ended up selling it and started a relationship with a series of Volvo sedans.
Like the '55 Chevy 2-door sedan my mother had until 1961. Ok, it wasn't a Bel Air, and it had only the six and a 3-speed, but still...it was sky blue with a white roof...gorgeous.
She sold it to my uncle who passed it down to his son (my cousin). The last time I saw it was in about 1964.
And yes Andre, the '66 Pontiacs were definitely cooler than the '68 Chevys! Any full-size Pontiac from 1961-66 is beautiful in my book, as was the 1969. The Tempest/LeMans/GTOs also were lookers from 1964-72.
I grew up in the 80s...I don't yearn for any of my parents cars during my childhood. S-10 Blazer, Ciera, Horizon, 5000, etc...no thanks.
I've already owned way more cool cars than they've ever had.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
In any case, I wouldn't advise junking it, the car looks fairly decent despite the underbody rust. Too nice for a parts car. At $12k for a base car with no notable interesting options and lots of underbody rust, though, I can't see putting a bunch more money into it. This car isn't beyond hope, it's just overpriced.
Not to nitpick...
If it was a '68 the base V-8 was the 350...'67 (the first year of the bird) was the only year the 326 could be had in that car, and consequently was the last year for the pontiac 326.
They owned a Pontiac before that that was semi-cool,
a 389 Catalina 4-door HT. We had to lobby my Dad heavily to get him to go for the HT over the dowdy posted sedan.
The fact that the car would spin tires in second gear was as much because of the bias ply
whitewalls as the prodigious torque of the 389 (it's not like it was a Tri-Power or anything.)
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Well, my Mom's first car was a 1957 Plymouth! She bought it in 1965, for like 75 bucks. And she hated it! She doesn't remember much about it, except that "it was gray, and it was big". Out of all the wild and erotic colors available in the 50's, leave it to my mother to find a gray one! And she also remembers that one of the windows shattered when a door got slammed too hard!
But she doesn't remember what engine it had, what series it was, what body style, or anything! It was just a car that she got because she needed some cheap wheels, but she hated it the whole time she had it.
And to think that she'd ultimately have a son who, if he had something like that, would cherish it! Even if it was just some cheap Plaza 4-door sedan with a 6-cyl!
Anyway, after the Plymouth, she had a pink and black '59 Rambler station wagon. I think she paid about $200-300 for that one. Then she got the Catalina.
And, in being a typical mother, she had a fit when I bought my '67 Catalina! Carried on about me having convertible, and how dangerous they are, and all that fun stuff. Funny how parents forget the things they had and did when they were younger...
One thing though, I guess, is that my family's cars didn't get TOO emasculated in the 70's. The '68 Impala gave way to a '75 LeMans sport coupe with a Pontiac 350. I'm guessing it was just a base 2-bbl model. I actually hated that car as a kid. I think it was partly because it was this loud bronzish copperish color (a color that's common again nowadays, you see it alot on Neons and Muranos and such), and even back then, I tended to like blues and non-pukey greens. Another issue, though, might have been that square/rectangular headlights, and more squared-off, conservative styling in general, started to become much more prevalent in 1976, and here we were in this flambouyant thing that had curves up the wazoo and these big round singular headlights in an ugly color that just seemed so out of place. And that thing really looked ancient by 1980, when she traded it on a new Malibu coupe that appeared throughly modern, well-proportioned, and up-to-date. And in a color I liked better: medium blue. Mom actually let me pick out the color on that one ;-)
Looking back though, I think now I'd rather have the LeMans. Although considering the added weight, I doubt it's 350 was much quicker than the Malibu with its 229 V-6.
Just don't hit a Dodge Ram!
Great looking car, but she had a lot of trouble with it (too young to remember the details), and traded it in for a '59 "batwing" Chevy Bel Air 4-door sedan. She never went back to Mopar again.
I understand now that the Plymouth six was a hoary old side-valve design that made a lot of noise but not much power.
In my family, my parents didn't go for "cool" cars as they were partial to Plymouth station wagons, including a '65 Fury III that I ultimately wound up with. But, I had an uncle that did own at least three cars that I would buy in a heartbeat if anything close to them turned up in Hemmings or at an auction.
When I was growing up, my uncle was partial to Thunderbirds. His first was a white '59. I'm not sure of the engine that it came with. It was either a 352 or 390. Big for its day and quick. Even though I was just 5 years old then, I knew then that I wanted a T-Bird just based on that white '59.
The '59 was traded 3 years later for a gold '62 with a black "landau" roof. That car had a steering wheel that swiveled out of the driver's way when the drivers door was opened. Back then, I thought that was cooler than Elvis! The '62 was powered by a 390 engine that was great on the highway.
A few years later, the '62 wound up being traded for a metallic sky blue '67 with a black landau roof, suicide doors, and a 428. Just before I turned 16, I made my uncle an offer on this beauty, but he wouldn't sell. Instead, he traded it for an ugly looking '70 T-Bird in nutmeg and white. By then, T-Birds had become just another luxoboat, and I wasn't interested in it.
A few years ago, a co-worker where I worked owned a '63 T-Bird convertible with a tonneau cover(!) that was her pride and joy. The car wasn't for sale, and every summer I see her husband driving it around town. Lucky guy!
I get the order mixed up sometimes, but I think his first car was a '64 Ford Galaxie 500 2-door hardtop with a 390. He's told me that he hated that car when he had it because it was a Ford and he wanted an SS 409 sooo bad. But in retrospect, he says it was probably the best car he ever had!
After that came a '63 Impala SS409, the 425 hp version. It had a 4-speed. I think that one set him back like $1600, when it was only 2 years old. I guess even back then, if it had a stick, it depreciated like a rock! Wouldn't an SS409 be pretty expensive new, even a stripper? He did a few annoying things with it though, like putting 6-cylinder badges on the fenders, and a hood scoop from a '63 or so Plymouth or Dodge.
After that he had a '65 Impala SS, which I think had a 396. Also a 4-speed. I think that one threw a rod or something like that. It had been pretty ragged when he got it.
Then he went on to a '62 Corvette. I remember this car only vaguely. I know he hit a taxi cab with it, which broke a taillight on the cab but shattered the fiberglass fender and door on the Vette! And it had a big happy face painted on the underside of the hood, for whatever reason.
Then there was a '64 GTO 2-door post. I still remember the night be brought this one home. My Mom and me followed him, and I could see sparks showering from under the car from the exhaust or something dragging. It was a primer grayish-black. I was actually afraid of that car as a kid! I think he paid $400 for it, and sold it for $400 awhile later.
The last thing I remember him driving was a light metallic green '71 Torino 4-door that he inherited when my great Granddad died around 1977. By that time, Mom & Dad were separated. I'm sure my Dad hated driving something that mundane that screamed "family" after all those other cars he had, but at this point he just needed some wheels.
He moved to Florida in '78, maybe early '79. I forget what happened to that Ford. I think the 289 or 302 or whatever it had in it simply expired. The last car he had, which I never saw, but heard about, was a 1966 Pontiac Executive 4-door hardtop, metallic blue with a white painted (not vinyl) top. Then along comes a DUI, and away goes that car. I think that was in 1984.
Now, he drives a 2003 Buick Regal LS. Nice, conservative silver family car that pretty much flies under the radar, although the way Dad drives now, I think the cops would overlook him if he were in a Ferrari with dead tags! He's told me a few times that if he had bought a car like this when he was younger, it would have kept him out of an awful lot of trouble over the years!
He'll still look through the paper in the antiques and classics section though, to see what's out there. Today he told me about this ad, which I quote, verbatim...
"Desoata '55 -- Complete car w/ numerous extra parts, Hemi engine, $800." That's all I know about it, but the phone # indicates that it's pretty close to me. I'm thinking about going to at least check it out. I think it's funny though, that they can't spell the name of their own car, but they know it has a Hemi in it! Although whomever wrote the ad at the paper couldv'e mis-spelled it I guess.
Yes and no, Andre. The 409/425 motor itself was probably $500-600 which was a healthy but not unreasonable amount in those days.
The SS option itself was mostly trim on the early cars, consequently not more than $200 or $300. The fact that your Dad's car was an Impala SS with the top optional engine and four-speed would suggest that it probably had other nice options on it but not neccessarily. Everything was ala carte back then, even gearing.
I'd guess the car stickered around $5,000 new which was healthy change when a stripper Biscayne could be had for perhaps $3300, IIRC (it was a long time ago, bro).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
My Uncle Daniel had three really awesome cars: a dark blue metallic 1970 Chevrolet Impala Custom with the unique concave back window, a 1973 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, and a 1975 Lincoln Continental sedan. Today, Unc drives an SUV. Yuck!
At least my cousins still have cool cars. My cousin Raymond has a 1969 Shelby Mustang and two others have twin 1957 Chevrolets.
But I'd happily pay this price now (if I had the dough LOL).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
http://hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/classifieds.cardetail/id- /2172209
$3 Grand??
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
What would something like that be worth fully restored? I know station wagons can often be a hot commodity, which is odd because for decades they were considered loser cars. If I were to take a wild stab, I'd say maybe $8-10K fully restored? I know I'm probably out of touch, though!
Personally, I like 56s and 58s just as much, but it seems like for most, 57 is it.
It'd cost you $20K to have a car worth $12K if it were a trophy winning trailer queen of Pebble Beach quality, polished to a mirror finish and purchased by a drunken billionaire.
Given this car's needs, you are doomed financially.
If it were cleaner, or a "survivor", it might be fun to have. For $3K it should be running and cleaner than it is. For $7,500, you could buy a pretty nice one.
...but I can only gasp in disbelief at the price of $45K!
What's it worth to own the best 1300cc sports car ever made? I think
I'd rather park it in my wallpaper for a while for free.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
;-)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Very pretty car, but I think I could do better with the money
We were talking about '57 Nomads, this one looks worthwhile..
http://hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/classifieds.cardetail/id- - /2172184
Dunno how much non-stock drivetrain and wheels detract from the ultimate value of a Nomad.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Barrett-Jackson starts next week! Not gonna see any project cars there, but I predict that these "restomods" will be prevelant.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The thing that bugs me though, is when they start messing with the interior, as they did with this one. My first thought with something like that is now much would it cost to fix it back the way it should be?
Now that being said, I think I'll go clear the snow off of my '68 Dart 270 with the '69 Dart GT door panels and carpet, and the early 70's A-body vinyl interior ;-)
Back in the early 90s when my dad was experiencing his old car bug, he knew a guy with a similar Nomad, a black and white 57 with a 350 and rallye wheels. Othwerwise, it was pretty stock - interior included, and well done. I remember the guy wanted $25K for it, which I thought was outrageous for a car with incorrect details.
Also, I think a 389 in a '64 Grand Prix is a pretty basic engine. Now if it were a 421, it might be worth something! So basically here, I'd say maybe $1500-2000 in its current condition?
IMO '63 and '64 were the best years for the GP and the golden era of Pontiac.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I like the looks of those by the way.
The only thing I hate about a car not running is that it doesn't give you a chance to check out what else might be wrong with it. Depending on what's wrong with it, maybe a rebuild, maybe just pull another motor and drop her in. I could live with it if everything else checked out.
I do like those Pontiacs too, the wheels are cool and the steering wheel is pretty awesome as well.
I'm not trying to imply anything with this post, just wanted to confirm my facts.
The most valuable Alfas are pre 1958 because that's the cut off date for many prestigious European re-creations of historical races.
The 1300 is a little screamer. You can rev that engine and bend the tach needle on its peg, up to 8,000 rpm or so if you are daring enough.
It's a really really fun car.
But GEESH, $45K I'd buy a Ferrari 328, an MGB and fly around the world with what's left.
Pontiac built a lot of full-sized cars in the 60's, and the vast majority of them were 389/400's. It's not like Chevy, where the cars ran the gamut from a 6-cyl on up through a bunch of underpowered smallblocks, then a bunch of nicely powered ones, and a scattering of big blocks.
I think the Pontiac block is what's unofficially known as a "medium" block. Bigger than something like a Chevy smallblock, so it's going to be more durable and able to take more stress, but still lighter and smaller than something like a Chevy big-block. I've heard that once you get to the 455 range though, they tended to be more fragile than a Buick or Olds 455.
Anyway though, while they're not as common as something like a Chevy smallblock or Mopar 318 or slant six, they're still pretty easy and cheap to get parts for.
For the most part thats true...but dont forget up until 1967 the 326 that was a mainstay in the tempest/lemans line...and that one year(67)in the firebird.