Newer car VS old, beat up classic for a DD.

Thought about this a few days ago. If you were put in front of you, a newer car or a beat up classic for a DD, which would you choose? I'd choose a beat up classic. Something in the late 40's. I'd love to have a 49 Chrysler for a DD

Well, if it's going to be happening, I "might" be getting a '73 boattail Riviera that needs a bit of work and using that as a DD

Dang, didn't you just get a wagon for a DD?

I'm on the fence when it comes to that question though. My daily driver was my 76. It will be again whenever I get time to finish putting the font end back together. OTOH, there are some new cars that just feel "right". To me it doesn't matter if it's a 1955 or 2005 car, it just has to have the right feel to it. Something that can't be described.

Rago wrote:Dang, didn't you just get a wagon for a DD?

If I like this car enough, the wagon will be sold. I just don't know what I'm gonna do with it at this point...

If not for road salt here in NY I would have a mint 77-79 Coupe De Ville for a
DD.Or a 79-85 Riviera.

i like the sound of the 73 riviera
but my daily driver now is my 76 el camino classic
hmmm.... my dream daily driver would be along the lines of a 59 biscayne, 68 biscayne, or in the 70s my 1977 malibu classic all fixed up haha

You can say old cars are good cars if you want to, but they just do NOT compare to today's cars. If they made a new car with none of all this unnessessary junk on it, like GPS systems and heated seats and...well, the list is endless, you could not beat it. People buy new cars and NEVER use all this junk on their cars and all it does is add weight and cause lower gas milage and increased cost. They are so complicated that if you get a good one you have it made, but if you get a bad one you might as well junk it because it would NEVER be right. JB

I will probably get a newer "old" car for a daily when I have to. I'm considering the 80's 90's cars, which I posted on the other day.

Classics are great. But when you might haul the family around in a daily, you HAVE to consider the modern safety features that newer cars have.
PS,PB,4 corner discs, or even just up front discs,ABS , crumple zones,airbags etc. can make a difference. So can gas mileage in an old car.

Would you put a kid under two, or your 85 year old granny in a car without AC on a 95 degree day? Nah.

If your just driving yourself 10 miles down the road to work, an old 40s or 50s car would be cool as hell. I love old cars, but I'm a BIG believer in the modern safety features on cars.

I posted up something similar on another site a while back, and got responses from all of the badasses who are the greatest drivers in the world, yapping about thir skills and how they would NEVER need ABS etc. Idiots.

On second thought, I would like to add that although I really enjoy my Chevelle, my '05 Colorado is very nice to drive. I just wish modern cars would be built lighter so they could be a little faster and have a potential for better mpg.

thats why i want to get a new project. itll be powered by a t56 manual and either a ls1, 2,3 or 6 motor for decent milage and power...either another chevelle 66,67,70,71,72 OR a camaro or firebird 67-69, or a gto 65-67

coreys73chevelle wrote:thats why i want to get a new project. itll be powered by a t56 manual and either a ls1, 2,3 or 6 motor for decent milage and power...either another chevelle 66,67,70,71,72 OR a camaro or firebird 67-69, or a gto 65-67

Alright sounds good, I'm sure it will be a great project/car. However, you'll be into one of those cars for at least 20k before you start driving it. Think about it -

- Decent rolling body: 8K
- Used motor/tranny: 6K
- Interior: 1 to 2K depending on what you do
- Paint: 1-5K depending on what you want
- Wheels/Tires: ?
- Misc crap: ?

Your 73 Chevelle -
Your motor should make some good power from what you say you have in it. Dude, you want mileage, swap your gears or put a AOD tranny in your car (I'm knocking down 17mpg with a 700r-4 and 4.10 gears).

I'm not picking on you, just trying to be the voice of reason. I think you've done some nice work. Everything looks clean. Unfortunately, you're not going to sell that car for anything close to what you have in it. The only way you're going to get enough out of it to start the project you really want is to part it out. I only know you from this site, but I'm pretty sure that's not something you want to do. You sell this thing now, you're back to square one. You'll have a new project, no daily driver, and not enough money to finish it.

So, what to do? How about this... Finish your car, and drive it. You don't have to spend thousands on the paint or interior, just drive the damn thing. While you're driving it, save your money for the project you really want. I drove my car all through high school and college in various states of FUGLY. Who cares though.... I had a car!

74Malibu383 wrote:

coreys73chevelle wrote:thats why i want to get a new project. itll be powered by a t56 manual and either a ls1, 2,3 or 6 motor for decent milage and power...either another chevelle 66,67,70,71,72 OR a camaro or firebird 67-69, or a gto 65-67

Alright sounds good, I'm sure it will be a great project/car. However, you'll be into one of those cars for at least 20k before you start driving it. Think about it -

- Decent rolling body: 8K
- Used motor/tranny: 6K
- Interior: 1 to 2K depending on what you do
- Paint: 1-5K depending on what you want
- Wheels/Tires: ?
- Misc crap: ?

Your 73 Chevelle -
Your motor should make some good power from what you say you have in it. Dude, you want mileage, swap your gears or put a AOD tranny in your car (I'm knocking down 17mpg with a 700r-4 and 4.10 gears).

I'm not picking on you, just trying to be the voice of reason. I think you've done some nice work. Everything looks clean. Unfortunately, you're not going to sell that car for anything close to what you have in it. The only way you're going to get enough out of it to start the project you really want is to part it out. I only know you from this site, but I'm pretty sure that's not something you want to do. You sell this thing now, you're back to square one. You'll have a new project, no daily driver, and not enough money to finish it.

So, what to do? How about this... Finish your car, and drive it. You don't have to spend thousands on the paint or interior, just drive the damn thing. While you're driving it, save your money for the project you really want. I drove my car all through high school and college in various states of FUGLY. Who cares though.... I had a car!

I know and i am still working on it to drive it no way ill part it out, im not going to spend 8k on a car more like 6 max? but it must drive. then i can get a nice running ls1 with a t56 trans for about 2k with all the wiring and ecu and all i need to worry about is a fuel injected gas tank, motor mount plates, exhaust and oil pan.

2K for all that stuff??? Didn't know you were looking for a high mileage LS1.

You want specifics.... Here's some on a LS6/T56 swap.
$5k for the motor/trans (USED)
$400 for an oil pan
$60 for the mounts
$140 for the A/C relocation bracket. (Optional)
$300 to get the fuel situation figured out
$600 for a computer setup
$600 for headers
$250 for a radiator w/ LS connections
$400 for electric fans
$120 for A/C condenser (Optional
$35 for an air filter
$35 for the clutch master bracket
$350 for a clutch and pressure plate
$150 for a steel flywheel
$35 for a shifter handle
$180 for a transmission crossmember
$15 for a transmission mount
$140 for hydraulic throw-out bearing
$180 for modified hydraulic master cylinder
$40 for T56 sensors
$150 for electric gauges
$600 for the fuel tank
$300 for the nickel and dime $hit that I forgot.

Hell, that’s $10K. And you STILL haven't got a car yet. Can you do it cheaper? Sure. But it will be a big piece of whoa nelly just waiting to fall apart with old used up parts. Granted you could reuse original parts like the clutch and pressure plate/flywheel… but how many times do you want to break down?

If you really just wanted to have a car that happened to have an LS1 and a T56 it would probably be cheaper to either buy a 1999 or 2000 Camaro, or put that drivetrain in your Chevelle...

for my dd id have to say my monte all done but as for my family dd 94-96 lt impala/caprice wagon