Thread: Almost 16, what kinda car

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Camaros are probably a bit outta your leauge but if you like Novas, I'd go that route. If you stick to the 68-72's there are plenty of good soild buildable or restorable cars out there for a great price. I see those years of novas go for $1000-2500 as running drivers needing TLC and project cars for as low as $500. There are a TON of aftermarket parts for these Novas so I'd say that's your best bet. I have yet to see a premo Nova sell for more than $4500. I see them for more than that but they never seem to sell. Unless they are heavily modified of course. I was just referring to better than stock restos.

Another car you might want to consider is the '78-'82 Malibu Classics. Yeah I know Booooorrrriinnnggg. I had one and it was one car I really enjoyed driving long distances in. They are really lightweight and easy big-block canidates as well as super easy to dump in a 500 Caddy engine. (i wanted to do that to mine) Look into them, thay are dirt cheap and really easy to make go fast.

I know at 16 it's all about being cool, but you need to ask yourself the hard questions. How much do I want to spend? Do I want to live for the car, or do I want to have money left over for other things. How much will I have to spend for gas? Insurance?

At your age, any car with a V-8 will send red flags to an insurance agent. Ask your folks how much their insurance increases when the insurance company finds out you're driving their car. Anything that says "V-8" or "turbo", etc, will double your insurance (yes, I'm in the insurance business).

I'm not sure where you live, but here in Michigan, gas has been between $1.35 and $2.00 a gallon over the last year. I have a Ranger P/U with a small six, but I still cringe everytime I spend over $30 to fill the tank. My little Suzuki Swift was knocking down 43 MPG and cost me $12.00 to fill the tank. A V-8 car from the '60's or '70's will not get the mileage my truck gets (19 MPG).

Depending on your climate, finding 25-35 year old cars that won't need a lot of rust repair can be extremely hard. Cars built in the last ten to fifteen years are built far better, especially in regards to corrosion resistance. How many late model cars do you see with rotted quarters or rockers? I bought a '64 Studebaker to play with, but A) it was from California with no rust, and B) this isn't my daily driver, it's a toy.

Taking all this into account, you can find late model Escorts, Neons, and Cavaliers that can be improved upon without breaking the bank. And you won't have to have to be a ricer!

After all this, if you're still stuck on an older car, I'll make a couple of suggestions. '75 to '79 Chevy Novas, Pontiac Venturas/ Phoenix, and Buick Apollos are all the same cars. These are 2nd generation Camaros with a boxy shell. They take just about any GM engine made from six cylinder to big block. Find one with a six and an automatic and make little improvements as the funds dictate.

You can also get a '78 to '80 Ford Fairmont or Mercury Zepher with either a 4-cyl or 6 cyl. You can even find some of these with 4 speeds! These are fox platform cars (can you say Mustang?) and will take a 5.0L V-8 like it was born there. There is even a place that sells a kit to install 460's into these cars.

If you like Mopars, larger '75 to '83 B-Body and J-Body (Charger, Fury, Mirada, Cordoba, Magnum, etc.) are cheap if you can find them, as are Volare and Aspen models.

Anything before 1973 will not be cheap if it's in good shape. Any Camaro in good shape will be expensive and the insurance will be very high, as will any Mustang (except 4 or 6 cylinder, 1979 and newer).

I'm not trying to kill your dreams, but just want you to be realistic on the costs. While I still remember what I wanted when I was 16, I also remember how much money I had (or didn't have). If I were you, I'd be looking at a '94-'98 Neon coupe with a five speed. Chrysler and other suppliers sell all kinds of stuff for these cars. Just my suggestion. Good Luck!

Tom

Swiftster makes some really great points and thanks to him I remembered what it was to live for a car.

My 2nd car was a '76 Monte Carlo which was an ok car that I bought fairly cheap. It had a V8 that never got better than 12 MPG and the modding I did to it didn't help that figure any. The fuel, insurance and maintenance costs (and back then gas was 78 cents a gallon) on that car kept me broke constantly even though I worked a 8 hour a day job. No money to play with the honeys and that sucked.

About a year and a half after I bought the Monte I sold it to some other stupid kid who thought he got the deal of the century and I bought a new Isuzu pickup (awesome little trucks!) to get me around in until I got to a point in my life where I was better able to afford a "toy".

Now some years later I have my own house, my own garage, my own tools and a little money to play around with so now I'm starting another hotrod project.

Abe

Someday I plan on getting the car i want but in reallity it wont happen for a year or two. I am sure i can find some thing to drive between now and then. I live like 2 miles from my school and the main use would be to get me to and from school, gas would not be to bad then but if you ever went on a drive it could get spendy. But i am sure i will get the car i want some day.

I love reading this stuff, Well i have a 71 nova and love it, wouldnt want anything different, get a 68-72, dont buy an ss and u can get on reasonable, i read Dcons reply, i had to laugh, start pricing some mopar stuff and you will realize why everyone drives chevy's. Especially from the horsepower to dollar issue. If u want a muscle car then go with the nova, if u want a good looking fairly cheap car, try the 82-92 camaros, they are cheap, nice looking and it dont take much work to make them have a little pep. i like the fox body mustangs too. well thats my opinion and im not that far away from your age, my opinion, buy a chevy. i know ill hear about this from the mopar people but its true.

Dear 71Nova, I guess your right! You will here it from us Mopar guys. Now that you forgot to mention in YOUR reply was that I also mentioned chevy's, olds, and fords in it as well. So I didn't try to sway his opinion in any way towards what I happen to like.
I have had my share of GM's that I have owned as well.
'70 Chevy 1/2 ton 350/4 speed customized
'76 Monte Carlo tri-black, swivel buckets, T-Tops
'77 Olds Cutlass
'78 Olds Cutlass Calias that I spun the main in and replaced with a Z28 engine and drive train
'76 malibu
'73 Camero with a 350 and a radical cam
Sorry guys...no Fords
Ya know some people like a car brand, engines, and such just because they are cheap to build. That is fine. I just look at things a little more different.
I like the body lines and styles that ma Mopar had to offer. Sure they had some ugly stuff. So did Gm and Ford. Can't say they didn't. I also looked at it this way. Whay be part of the pack and follow along like everyone else does. Makes life kinda boring. So why not LEAD the pack instaed of being part of it. Also, the air is better up front. If ya know what I mean...LOL

Thats also why I didn't build a mid '40 Ford or a Hi Boy when I went to build my street rod. I built a T-bucket to get my feet wet then I did "46 Plymouth 2 door sedan. EVERYONE has done mid 40 Ford, a hi-boy, 34 coupe, 55-57 Chevy. I mean why do what everyone else has done?!
I suppose it comes down to this..... Put a Ford guy, a Chevy guy, a BOP guy, and a Mopar guy and everyone one of them can come up with a car, power train, insurance, cost to build combination that is equal from everyone. Tit for Tat!! Build what ya like!!! I don't make fun of the other brands ( well not to much). They all have there street screamers and thier POS's.
DCON426

Forsaken, Why don't you try an Impala or something a little larger....It takes $500-1500 to pick one up in decent condition and you can customize the living be-jeezuz outta them with only a little cash! plus, they're good on gas (my '68 is better than my 02 cavalier)and they have a huge trunk, huge back seat tons of leg room and can hold they're own on the track. once you go big, you'll never go back !!! and guaranteed to get some notice !!! I'll post some early pics of the 68 if you're interested !!! as well, as if you don't mind coming to Canada to pick up a car you can check out prices up here.... try looking on Canadatrader.com !! think of the exchange rate !!!

Streets, I'm sure that you can have it fixed in Canada.... We can have out dog sleds fixed just about anywhere ! and someone in the U.S.A would know how to fix it !

PLUS when ya have a problem with it you'll have no where to have it fixed 'cept back in cannadaland..

Maybe, but at least he gets the exchange rate at the repair shop. And he can file to get his GST (tax) back at the end of the year.



As for big cars, they are cool. I have always been partial to big Chrysler 300's. Big cars are cheap, but there are other problems. Many don't have an aftermarket parts following unless your car is older than 1965. Plus the gas cost for a car this big would be extremely high. I'd still suggest a small, economical car until school is done.

My gosh, I sound like my dad! Shoot me now!!!

hey y'all.... i just went through this not too long ago....

i bought a'72 nova and i love my car, but it was in good shape and built decent .... added posi and 3.73s and it goes 13.5. all i have to say is stay away from the rice.....muscle cars own on rice rockets that cost 5 times as much. they are just big gokarts. anyway... if you aren't just doing this to be "cool" and you wanna go fast for cheap than you should buy a (braces for flaming) dodge omni GLH. turbo charged dodge omni..... almost breaks into the 14s stock. not bad for one of the ugliest cars ever made... and they actualy make aftermarket stuff for those things. other than that 3rd gen camaros and those crappy 5.0 mustang things are pretty cheap and have all kinds of stuff to put onto them.

How about a 62-65 Nova/Chevy II? These are good looking rides, nice and light, plenty of parts around for them. Then find a 400 small block and a powerglide or T350 and you will have a very quick ride for not a lot of money. If there is a problem with these cars it's getting a decent tire under them, but they respond well to bolt on traction bars. If you really want to build a sleeper, find a 4 door or a wagon.

Pat

Well Forsaken, i was in your position not too long ago. My first thought was a 69 Camaro. I had about 5 grand to spend and that wouldnt get me anything better than a parts car. So I moved on to Chevelles. 1970 was my favorite, but same case as the camaro only a little cheaper. By this time im feeling really discouraged. Finally i found a 67 el camino not exactly what i wanted but over time it grew on me. This is what i ended up buying. Now i love it
So the Moral of the story is: Dont be too picky for your first car because you'll probably end up with something bad-ass anyway

Well, I remember my first car. 72 cutlass. However, that was when gas was still near 1$ a gallon. Even then it would cost me a good 20$ to fill it. I personally say, go with a big six, like a 3800 or a 4.3 L. OD is almost a need if you want to get any type of gas mileage. If you do need a V8, remember, Big blocks create ungodly torque, but cost you. Small blocks can be made to move healthily down the road and get good gas mileage if you dont go too radical. And, remember, pontiacs and oldsmobiles cost less than Chevys in many cases and can be made to do just as well. So, when your looking at the monty carlo, dont forget the cutlass and the grand prix. I personally was looking for a GTO or Chevelle when I got my Cutlass. I never regretted it.

yo forsaken,

I am turning 16 in two months. For two years i was looking at 1st gen camaros and 68-73 Nova's. It turns out that those camaros cost alot of money and it was money that i didnt have. I had gone to carisle "huge car show" and spotted a 73 Nova SS. That day i baught it. my freinds have cars like eclips, integra, and prelude. The nova beats them easily. dont expect to get any good handling around any corners though. The only way your gonna beat ur freinds car is in the straight aways. These cars have no handling. Well basically i would have taken the camaro but the nova was cheaper and looked just as good. I am gonna have to tell you to go with the Nova all the way.

I just made an account here so i could learn some stuff about my nova. and to respond to ur thread......

Forsaken go with a Mopar, I am 16 i own a 1972 dodge dart 318, my car is great and i love it..... my brother(17) owns a 69 nova with a 307, i blow the doors off his nova anytime he wants to race...You just have to look around for your car... it took me 6 months to find mine....I tried looking in www.collectorcaqrtraderonline.com but they are very pricey.... in my opinion the best way to find your car is to look locally or ask some relatives.... i found mine off my grandads friend for 4k and my car has no rust, 23k miles, factory a/c, original paperwork and everything