1971-73 "Clydesdales"

[Mister 4x4]

Sweet Camaro!  

I'm non-denominational when it comes to cars.  In fact, I have all of the American "Big Four" represented in my fleet.  '71 Mach 1, of course, along with my '80 AMC Jeep CJ-7, 2012 Ram 1500 Lone Star (my DD), and a 2015 Camaro RS (hers).  I've had a few Chevys, Pontiacs, Nissan trucks, an '82 Mustang, and a Honda Civic hatchback over the years as well.  I like to think I can see the potential for coolness in just about any car.  I was lovin' my little Honda hatch, right up to the time I bought the Mach 1 - even though it was basically a pile of rust in the shape of a '71 Mustang with a seized engine, locked up brakes, and Fred Flintstone floors, that little Honda just wasn't cool anymore.

You ought to get your buddy to join the forum - the car in that pic is a Mach 1, after all. 

[1969_Mach1]

A friend of mine has a 1969 Z28.  It's had one repaint and a motor rebuild before he bought it.  But it's still a numbers matching car, DZ 302, 4sp trans, 3.73:1 12 bolt posi rear axle.  Basically an all original nice old school muscle car.  Still has the original Holley 780 carb, plug wires, radiator hoses, exhaust system with transverse mounted muffler, interior, etc.  Kind of looks like a time capsule. The weather stripping is so hard it chips off.  The choke is missing the fast idle cam that's not available and the intake heat crossover seems plugged.  It loads up when cold, but, he won't let me convert the choke to a modern Holley electrical version because that would not be original.  The previous owner installed some 30-30 solid lifter cam that Chevrolet used to offer so it has a nice mild exhaust note.  I wouldn't mind a car like that.  There are zillions of Camaros out there but you don't see too many of the first generation Z28's, especially in original form.

Mustangmike, why does your son's 69 Camaro have hid-away headlights but the Z28 I mentioned doesn't?  Was that some sort of option only available on particular models?

[Steven Harris]

Nice thread Eric - but you are preaching to one converted!

I love the 69, next to my "Clydesdale".

But then the 65/66 is really nice,

and the 67/68 fastback is sweet as well.

[JTS71 Mach1]

Sorry Guy's you all lost me when you went off talking about Chevy's.   LOL!

JTS

[1969_Mach1]

I'd say the 1970-1971 Dodge Challengers about the only other muscle car and brand I would spend my money on.  If I had any disposable money that is.   They don't seem to ever out run a Mustang on a road course or in a straight line for that matter..  And dollar for dollar, Ford motors seem to always make more power than a Dodge motor.  But from my experience, they are more comfortable to drive if you're height is getting close to the 6' range.

The 69 Z28 I was talking about is about the only GM muscle car I've seen that is a little unique in the 1st generation Camaro line up.  It doesn't look or even sound like every other Camaro running around.  Probably because it's still about 100 percent original.  You probably know the other type, Flowmasters turned down at the rear axle, a lopey idle Comp Cam, wide tires in the back and narrow tires in the front,  over restored with reproduction parts.  I guess I should add, I like the car, but not enough to ever buy something like it.

[Mister 4x4]

I'm also a big fan of the Challengers, and even the Satellites, GTXs, Chargers, and Road Runners of the same vintage.  I had originally thought about getting a Challenger, but when Dodge released the 'new' Challenger, the prices for the originals went through the roof.  Add that, along with the fact that there's not much of a repop market for Mopars, and that put Challengers out of my range.  Same thing happened with the '69 Mustangs - seems like when Ford released the 2005 Mustang, '69 prices shot up as well.  I had also looked at a nice AMX, and even found a Javelin that might've made a worthy project.

I'm not saying I've 'settled' for my '71 Mach 1... not in the least.  But rather, there are lots of different cool muscle cars out there to be had.  I'm just glad that plastic model kits are still somewhat reasonable.

[1969_Mach1]

I agree, the original Challengers are grossly over priced.  They are the worst performers compared to Ford's and dare I say GM's of the same era.  A Mopar guru won't admit it.  But more times than not it seems to look that way on the track, straight line or road course.


I often wonder if they are so overpriced partly because people that currently have them and buy and sell them have a lot of money.  So that drives up the prices kind of like real estate.  If wealthier people are migrating to a particular area, the housing prices go up weather or not they are worth it.  Shows like Graveyard Cars glorifying them doesn't help matters either.

[1969_Mach1]

Sorry Guy's you all lost me when you went off talking about Chevy's.   LOL!

JTS

You know, General Motors.  The company that's currently doing so well that they are closing plants in Michigan and Ohio and laying off 15% of the salaried employees.  Sometimes I think auto mfgs. have no clue the majority of middle class people can no longer afford their new vehicles.

[Mister 4x4]

I often wonder if they are so overpriced partly because people that currently have them and buy and sell them have a lot of money.  So that drives up the prices kind of like real estate.  If wealthier people are migrating to a particular area, the housing prices go up weather or not they are worth it.  Shows like Graveyard Cars glorifying them doesn't help matters either.

Bingo.  All of the shows, including Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, and especially shows like @ss Monkey Garage, whoops... 'scuse me - Fast & Loud, have brought about this whole new generation of wanna-be car flippers, which has a mixed bag effect on the hobby of owning a classic, vintage, antique, etc., car.

On one hand, it's bringing attention to many otherwise overlooked cool cars, and some are getting people excited about having nice old cars.  On the other, it's driving the prices up on old junk because someone saw a Boss 351 go for $86K on B-J... so now their 302, non-running, basket-case hardtop is suddenly rare and collectible and worth so much more... not to mention that any Joe Dirt guy you ask will tell you that all '71-'73 Mustangs are Mach 1s, and are rare, collector cars.  Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

The shows like F & L only serve to promote getting high dollars for shoddy restorations, because they pull sneaky tricks like taking a 6-cylinder Sportsroof, swapping the engine to a 351 Windsor (for instance), reupholstering/repainting, and slapping on a set of Mach 1 decals, then asking $10K+ more than the car's actually worth, claiming that it's rare and now has the GMG spin on it.

That's pretty much how I wound up with mine - it was a Craigslist "Rare & Collectible '71 Mach 1," and the seller wanted almost $3K for it, in the original state I purchased.  I talked him down to $1600, after pointing out what a POS it was in that state, and that it is 'just' an H-Code, a.k.a. "most produced engine code Mach 1" for 1971... so there was nothing rare, collectible, or particularly valuable about it at all.  Then, I waited him out for a month and he eventually realized nobody wanted such a project and caved in to my offer - which was still about $1000 too much, but whatever.

[Mustangmike]

Sorry Guy's you all lost me when you went off talking about Chevy's.   LOL!

JTS

You know, General Motors.  The company that's currently doing so well that they are closing plants in Michigan and Ohio and laying off 15% of the salaried employees.  Sometimes I think auto mfgs. have no clue the majority of middle class people can no longer afford their new vehicles.

I think the main issue with GM is no one is interested in several of their passenger vehicles lines and they will be discontinued.  Consequently that comes with lay-offs.  I know I already heard the main-stream media drop the tariff bomb.  Not true...