Classic or not?

by MichiganMuscle77 Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:19 pm

Copy pasta (my own) from two other Olds/A-Body forums I visit:

Back when I first got my 77 I posted about it on a forum I've been a regular on for many, many years. (www.anti-rice.com, if anyone is wondering.)

I mentioned something like "I've always wanted a classic car"... and boy, you should have seen the flaming commence. Everybody just laughed and laughed and said it's not a classic. I couldn't get a definite answer as to why they thought that, but the general consensus is because it's a smog era 70's disco mobile.

This argument was just recently brought up again and I want some ammo to fight back with.

So, are our cars "classics"? If you think so, what information can you offer me to support why you think they are?

by IndyG3 Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:37 pm

Old v8 rear wheel drive American car. That's what most morons understand these days...
Or you can mention how the A bodies dominated NASCAR throughout the 70's. I don't know, it's just fun to drive something that's not a Camaro or a 69-72 Chevelle. In all honesty, they're talking out of their asses because everyone else said your car was lame so they wanna be cool and agree with the crowd. Rolling Eyes

by ant7377 Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:42 pm

Ask them what they define as a classic. In true definition and by the AACA
nothing after like 1942 is a classic. They must all drive Dusenbergs or Chrylser Lebaron Dual Cowl's then.

by bigredlaguna Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:13 pm

Most guys seem to get stuck on perceived horsepower ratings. 1970 is always referred to as the pinnacle year for "classic" muscle car performance because factory published horsepower ratings across all makes is the highest for that year. This is a fluke because the government made manufacturers rate the engines in full dress as installed in the car. This is old news to me, but some people still don't know or don't care.

You are going to have to get them to think about other aspects of the car and any gearhead worth his salt knows that most of these engines produce abundant power and still pass emissions.

The front suspension is far superior to the earlier years, and in fact, is being retrofitted onto older cars as an upgrade.

Styling is in the eye of the beholder, and some folks will refuse to look past the bumpers.

Most people who have actually owned one, driven one, or had a friend who did, usually have fond memories of whatever G-3 it was.

by chevy76monteman Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:35 am

Some people are just ignorant. "If its built after 1972 its junk." Whatever. This is why I love my Monte Carlo. All I ever see at any car show I got to is 1972 and older muscle cars and classics. Rarely do I ever see anything from the mid-70s or 80's. My car stands out from the crowd. I could care less what people think of my car because all that matters is what I think of my car and I KNOW its cool and it IS a classic. If anybody wants to say otherwise then they can f*** straight off.

by Roadcaptain S3 Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:06 am

Opinions are like.........
I have discovered that whatever is considered a "classic" often depends on the group. I had a 1990 mustang GT that I was working on. If I took it to a car show where ther were lots of street rods or "muscle cars", they looked at it as a daily driver and thought it shouldn't be there. Took it to a gathering of tuners, and they would tell me it was a classic. Age, I think, has a lot to do with it. Old guys like ACES think it's too new to be cool, and they associate with an era they don't care for, the 70's. Younger guys, under fifty, appreciate the cars for what they are, not when they were built.
Size and weight of the G3 to me is not much different than some of the other cars of the 50s and 60s. 68 Impala?

Ego has a lot to do with it as well, "if you don't have the same kind of car as me, then you ain't as cool" BLAH BLAH BLAH.
For most of us, the coolest part of the cars is the fact that so few of us have them. I don't need or want to be like everybody else. I could spend twenty grand on a car so I could be cool like the social security recipients in ACES, but why?
I (we) never needed to "fit in" so why start now.
Each group separates itself based on their own values. The "ratrod" guys don't like the streetrodders, the ricers don't care for the drag cars, the bikers think the concourse guys are stupid, etc etc.
in the end, F%^& 'em all, it's your car.

by 74MonteCarlo Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:28 am

chevy76monteman wrote:Some people are just ignorant. "If its built after 1972 its junk." Whatever. This is why I love my Monte Carlo. All I ever see at any car show I got to is 1972 and older muscle cars and classics. Rarely do I ever see anything from the mid-70s or 80's. My car stands out from the crowd. I could care less what people think of my car because all that matters is what I think of my car and I KNOW its cool and it IS a classic. If anybody wants to say otherwise then they can f*** straight off.

I feel the same exact way!!!

by 74Malibu383 Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:07 pm

I love to blow by "classic" cars at around 135.... Did it a few times on Power Tour. You do that once or twice, and people don't have much to say.

by Roadcaptain S3 Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:19 pm

74Malibu383 wrote:I love to blow by "classic" cars at around 135.... Did it a few times on Power Tour. You do that once or twice, and people don't have much to say.

Yeah, 135 mph with your power brakes,steering, AC,comfy seats, great suspension,heat and all the other stuff you don't get in "classic" cars.
I've had 'em and they look good, but can be a real bi^&* to drive.

by BlackChevelleSS Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:58 pm

I got a 1950 Chevy Truck....Now thats a classic. I really dont even consider my 70 a classic, its a muscle car.
I was watching something the other day and they said the chevelles only were built between 64 and 73. I had to laugh nope no 74-77s they just non existant.

by JasonZ Fri Dec 11, 2009 4:52 pm

I have a 1989 Caprice classic, dont mean its a classic lol.

by Roadcaptain S3 Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:00 pm

JasonZ wrote:I have a 1989 Caprice classic, dont mean its a classic lol.

In some states, your car would qualify for classic or antique plates. (20 yrs old)
That is ONE definition of a classic.

There are people that consider a Corvair a classic.

Beauty/Beholder.

There is no solid definition of classic or muscle or antique or hotrod.

You call it want you want, and then rag on the other guys definition of classic when they rag on you.

by The Dude Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:50 pm

Roadcaptain S3 wrote:
There is no solid definition of classic or muscle or antique or hotrod.

You call it want you want, and then rag on the other guys definition of classic when they rag on you.

Exactly. If these guys are calling you out on it's status, why not have one of them show proof that it's not a classic? Where's the fine line supposed to be drawn?

In my eyes, they aren't classics. They aren't really muscle cars either though. A true muscle car is a lightweight car with a big block stuffed into it from the factory. Unfortunately 73-77 A Bodies are just too big & heavy. When someone says classic to me I think of the movie "American Graffiti". If you think a certain car could fit into that movie, it's probably a classic. If I really had to categorize G3s, I would probably just call them vintage street machines. Sleepers come to mind as well, LOL.

by 74MonteCarlo Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:55 pm

Would you classify a G3 as a collector car? Since you don't think they are "classics" or "muscle cars"? Just wondering. *Shrug*

by The Dude Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:08 pm

I think it was said best in this thread how we all feel about the collectible status of G3's:

https://www.g3gm.com/off-topic-f12/ebay-cars-t1147.htm#8883

by 74MonteCarlo Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:13 pm

It works. Lol.

by TWBouska AKA Wooderson Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:53 pm

MichiganMuscle77 wrote:
I mentioned something like "I've always wanted a classic car"... and boy, you should have seen the flaming commence. Everybody just laughed and laughed and said it's not a classic. ?

dude, in all honesty, F*ck those people..i get crap all the time cause my car is a 74, honestly, their just a bunch of smug a-holes who probably dont even have a nice car themselves. I get people at school all the time that talk trash on my car cause its not pre-72 (as they step into their POS insert-garbage-car-here)...honestly i just usually tell people hey, nobody hands me anything, i had to earn this car, and it takes me along time to save the money to upgrade it, and could i afford something thats more "mainstream" and drive it? yeah, i could, but i got this car for 500 bucks, fixed it up for about 2,000, and its nicer than 95% of the cars on the road. Or i could have dropped 5-10k on a pre-72 chevelle, elco, monte, lemans, cutlass, etc, and still be paying for it with no money to fix it up. I would say your best defense is making your ride a beast on the streets...they can say its not a classic all they want when all they can see is your tail lights fading into the horizon.

by IndyG3 Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:12 am

Interestingly enough, I don't think I've ever caught crap for driving mine in the racing capital of the U.S. As a matter of fact, all the people I know around here that are car guys freakin' love my car, cause they all had one! Oh, and they're all about 40 years older than me.

by 74MonteCarlo Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:15 am

IndyG3 wrote:all the people I know around here that are car guys freakin' love my car, cause they all had one! Oh, and they're all about 40 years older than me.

Same here. Lol. Every car show, someone tells me they had a 73-77 Monte Carlo, or knew someone that did.

by TWBouska AKA Wooderson Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:23 am

hmmm...then it must be the rich, snobby, stuck-up california lifestyle that makes it so that people hate on my car.

by 74MonteCarlo Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:26 am

Probably. They're all used to they're "PIMPED"(I still don't understand the meaning of that term) Hondas & Mercedes. They don't know what a REAL car is! And it's our job to show them!

by MichiganMuscle77 Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:30 am

74MonteCarlo wrote:
IndyG3 wrote:all the people I know around here that are car guys freakin' love my car, cause they all had one! Oh, and they're all about 40 years older than me.

Same here. Lol. Every car show, someone tells me they had a 73-77 Monte Carlo, or knew someone that did.

Almost every day I'm greeted with "I had a car JUST like that! I loved it! Take care of yours!" "That was my first car! Wish I never sold it!" and various other fond memories.

by TWBouska AKA Wooderson Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:35 am

74MonteCarlo wrote:Probably. They're all used to they're "PIMPED"(I still don't understand the meaning of that term) Hondas & Mercedes. They don't know what a REAL car is! And it's our job to show them!

haha yeah man...dont really make much difference to me though...i hate it here...the whole lifestyle is so perverted...its all about being stupid to get status...who drinks the most, goes to the hottest clubs, who acts the most immature, etc,etc,etc, that gets all the attention...if you want to see everything thats wrong with the United States come to Southern California...im stoked ill get my certificate to be a service advisor after the spring semester and then hopefully i get get hired on at a dealership back in Texas....plus i miss my Longhorns being on TV every saturday.

by 74MonteCarlo Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:38 am

MichiganMuscle77 wrote:
74MonteCarlo wrote:
IndyG3 wrote:all the people I know around here that are car guys freakin' love my car, cause they all had one! Oh, and they're all about 40 years older than me.

Same here. Lol. Every car show, someone tells me they had a 73-77 Monte Carlo, or knew someone that did.

Almost every day I'm greeted with "I had a car JUST like that! I loved it! Take care of yours!" "That was my first car! Wish I never sold it!" and various other fond memories.

Again...same here. Lol.

by The Dude Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:50 am

I never had people saying that back in the day when I owned my other 76. Almost like people were ashamed. Although one cop did let me slide on a speeding ticket because he dug the stinkbug stanced, black primered, 10" rear wheeled, noise machine. Twisted Evil

Since I've got back into G3's, everyone & their mother has told me a story about some Malibu or Laguna that they owned & wish they still had. Just one more sign that our cars are gaining in popularity I guess.

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