46'ers Car Show

[Not A Duster]

I dont care what you people think. I like this generation of Mustang better than the 64-66. There, I've said it.

'67-70 will always be the best, but the 64-66 look like my grandmother's muscle car.. 67-70 grew into their skin.. And as far as these go.. I'll always have a soft spot for the true Eleanor.

Agree completely.

Wifey really likes these too. I could see that flash of interest in here eyes when she saw it was for sale. Not that she would actually do something as foolish as buy an old car....but.......

In my case, the only FOMoCo I would ever really want to own would be a 1966 Fairlane.

 

[Not A Duster]

Mr. 68: I agree that it's cool so see some of these "orphan" cars getting some love. But I think the reason many of these cars were/are ignored is because they may have suffered from unattractive styling in the first place, which makes them appealing to less people. Nasty styling remains nasty styling even 30, 40, 50 years later.... Some people like that - and I think it's cool - I've seen guys take some of the ugliest things ever built and turn them into obnoxious monsters that ooze attitude.

And from my own perspective, I've never been a huge fan of most 4 - doors or even 2 door sedans, because I think the "post" breaks up the flow of the car's lines. But that's just my own personal taste. Other guys like post cars, and we all know that it adds stiffness for drag racing. Some guys choose 4 - doors because that's what they can afford. My buddy's 55 Pontiac that's parked next to me in the second picture is one of those. What he would really like is a '59 Impala 2 door hardtop like he used to own...but other life priorities keep that out of his price range. Other guys are now choosing 4 doors out of a desire to be different from the crowd.....which is why even though it was (IMO) ugly in the first place and a four door, that Pontiac attracted my attention. (I tried taking a whole bunch more detailed pictures of the engine bay, but the sun was making it hard to see what I was doing on the phone's display, and I forgot my good camera......)

I'm less put off by the appearance of 4 door hardtops. The '68 Fury I grew up in was one of those, as was my high school friends '68 Monaco.....I loved the look of that thing with all the windows rolled down. I know a couple in the city in the city who have a '55 Olds moredoor hardtop that I think is pretty cool as well. It's a survivor that's never seen or needed paint and still sports it's original (unblemished) interior.

 

[68R/T]

I agree 100% with you about the extra door breaking the flow of a car. One more reason that the 4-doors are gaining in popularity is likely related to something you just mentioned. What we grew up with. Most of our parents had a 4-door, because they were more useful. This helped to flood the market with 4-doors, making them more affordable. We could only dream about owning a coupe. The nostalgia of our youthful upbringing has spurred many people to find & cherish something that takes them back to that carefree time in their life.

 

[Not A Duster]

Yep- I think that's true. Came within spitting distance of buying a 67 sport fury a couple years ago. It was a two door hardtop, but it was even the same blue our family car was.

All I could think of was how tickled Dad would be when he saw it.....

 

[Dr.Jass]

That's a lot of yawning kittens.

The "desirable" cars might be priced through the roof, if "desirable" means "rare high performance" but otherwise it's really not the case. A ratty-but-real '69 Road Runner 4-speed car just sold locally for $3,500. Yeah, it needed a ton of work but the VIN was there and it was an old '70s street freak. If you're willing to live with an RL21 or WH23 the prices aren't terrible at all. Everyone just thinks they are. The market remains soft, as the Road Runner's seller discovered after sitting on the car for almost a year at $8,000, enduring a lot of laughter, and the final selling number being his "best" offer--he openly laughed at the guy that offered him $4K a few months back, so he didn't call that dude back. The "$4K offer" guy, within the last few months, picked up a '68 Camaro for a scosche over two grand, and it isn't a rotten mess. Yeah, it needs some panels but the rails are solid and it's unbent. It's in astonishing condition for this area. It was in the middle of being converted to a race car when it was abandoned in the '80s. Last summer, one of my former employees picked up a '72 Barracuda with all new steel--quarters, trunk, fenders, etc.--already installed and painted, running and ready to drive. It's got a hopped-up 383, 4.10 Sure Grip, and floor-shifted A727B with a shift kit. It's Hemi Orange with a black interior. No, the finish work isn't perfect and he had to finish (or find) minor stuff like exterior mirrors and sunvisors, but it looks great at 20' and he gets a ton of thumbs up while he drives the wheels off it. It set him back $8,500... pretty cheap for a rock-solid driver big-block E-body, even if the VIN says BH23G2B.

The deals are out there. Barrett-Jackson mania exists, but it wanes once enough people say "no thanks".