eli@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) (12/31/85)
I'm planning on buying a used car in the $1500 range. I'd like to get
something with a little power (i.e. 0-60 in under 10 seconds) that handles
half decently. People have suggested late '60's and early '70's muscle
cars to me. Unfortunately, there are quite a few models to look at. Also,
there is quite a wide range of engine sizes to look at. I don't think I
need a 429 Cobra Jet engine. I was thinking something in the 300-350 cu in
range. Right now, I've got my eye on the '71 to '73 mustangs, but I'm not
too picky as long as the car isn't too ugly and doesn't handle too poorly.
If anyone out there has any suggestions for cars that may fit my bill,
I'd appreciate hearing about them. I'm actually planning on spending $2000
on the car, but I'm reserving $500 for repairs & modifications (carb,
headers, etc.). Thanks.
- Eli Liang
--
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Eli Liang ---
University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
ARPA: eli@cvl, eli@lemuria, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep
CSNET: eli@cvl UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!cvl!elifritz@phri.UUCP (Dave Fritzinger) (01/02/86)
> > I'm planning on buying a used car in the $1500 range. I'd like to get > something with a little power (i.e. 0-60 in under 10 seconds) that handles > half decently. People have suggested late '60's and early '70's muscle > cars to me. > - Eli Liang If you want something that handles half decently, I would avoid muscle cars like the plague. They usually tend to have the biggest (read very HEAVY) engine that can be stuffed into a small or mid-sized car body. The result of this is a car that is very fast in a straight line, but one that under- steers very badly, meaning that driving around corners just isn't a whole heck of a lot of fun. Breaking systems also tend to be rather dubious, since these cars are heavy, with break technology from the sixties. All in all, they are cars that I would avoid unless you live in an area where there are no curves and no need to stop :-). As far as positive suggestions about a car for about $2000, I'm afraid that I really don't have any. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any reasonably fast cars that handle well and are that cheap. Every couple of years, Motor Trend puts out a used car issue-you might go to a library and check the most recent one. BTW, these are my opinions only. If anyone has any flames, please send them elsewhere, rather than tying up the net. -- Dave Fritzinger, Public Health Research Institute, NY,NY {allegra!phri!fritz} "I think. I think I am. Therefore, I am,...I think." Moody Blues
bellas@ttidcb.UUCP (Pete Bellas) (01/03/86)
Distribution: Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc. (CitiCorp), Santa Monica In article <1079@cvl.UUCP> eli@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) writes: > > I'm planning on buying a used car in the $1500 range. I'd like to get >something with a little power (i.e. 0-60 in under 10 seconds) that handles >half decently. People have suggested late '60's and early '70's muscle >cars to me. There is certainly a lot to choose from here. My friends and I owned many late 60s early 70s muscle cars. I had a 67 Chevelle that would turn the 1/4 mile in 11 flat (in street trim) but wouldn't turn a corner at more that .33 g (I think?). If you want to keep the price down stay away from collectables, BOSS and Shelby Mustangs, Z28 Cameros, etc. Here are my personal favorites from that bygone era (totally subjective). 69,70 Mustang fastback (351) 68,69 Camero (327, 350) 66-69 Chevelle (396) 71-73 Challenger (340, 360) 69-71 Road Runner (383) Of course I have a lot of expensive favorites too, Dodge Daytona (Super Bee), BOSS 429, etc. but these aren't cheep, if you can even find one. Good Luck, and let us know what you end up with. -Pete-
rm@faust.UUCP (01/03/86)
** Chomp, chomp **
You can't really get a whole lot of car for under $2000 and expect it to be
in anything close to good condition. Generally you can expect cars for that
kind of cash to be rust buckets or to have been hacked beyond hope by a long
line of under 18 years old previous owners. But I'm always up for a
little mind stretching, so here goes:
1. First generation Capri with V6. These German-built monsters handled
better than your average American car of the period, but were still
made the good old fashioned American way- heavy. The cast iron V6 puts
out good power and is ideal for hot rodding.
2. V6 Pinto. I think it's the same engine as the Capri. Pintos handle
surprisingly well even if they are rattle traps. The advantage here
is you might be able to find one previously owned by the proverbial
little old lady. Also very hot rodable. It's a Pinto though, so
keep your foot on the gas and your eye in the rear view mirror.
3. Cop car. Any model. Get one at the State Police auction, or from a
dealer who bought a lot. Guaranteed to have as much power and handle
as well as that particular model is ever gonna get.
R.M. Mottola
Intermetrics Inc.
Cambridge, MA.
"I didn't do it ... (total disclaimer)"bellas@ttidcb.UUCP (Pete Bellas) (01/03/86)
Distribution: Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc. (CitiCorp), Santa Monica In article <2101@phri.UUCP> fritz@phri.UUCP (Dave Fritzinger) writes: >> >> I'm planning on buying a used car in the $1500 range. I'd like to get >> something with a little power (i.e. 0-60 in under 10 seconds) that handles >> half decently. People have suggested late '60's and early '70's muscle >> cars to me. >> - Eli Liang > >If you want something that handles half decently, I would avoid muscle cars >like the plague. They usually tend to have the biggest (read very HEAVY) >engine that can be stuffed into a small or mid-sized car body. The result >of this is a car that is very fast in a straight line, but one that under- >steers very badly, meaning that driving around corners just isn't a whole >heck of a lot of fun. Breaking systems also tend to be rather dubious, since >these cars are heavy, with break technology from the sixties. All in all, >they are cars that I would avoid unless you live in an area where there are >no curves and no need to stop :-). While there were a lot of muscle cars that did not handle well, there were also a lot that did handle decently. Small block Mustangs and Camaros are fast and handle quite well (the early Shelbys are still used in autocross, and slalom racing, that takes handling). I still have my 70 Mustang, with a small block, and it will not only out accelerate 75% of what people call sports cars these days, it will out handle them too! >BTW, these are my opinions only. If anyone has any flames, please send them >elsewhere, rather than tying up the net. Do not interpret this as a flame (note: no capitalized words :-), I just wanted to set the record straight. -Pete-
bob@nbires.UUCP (Bob Bruck) (01/07/86)
I'm not sure if this posting was meant as a joke or not, but for those who took it seriously, I felt I should reply. In article <2800006@faust.UUCP> rm@faust.UUCP writes: > >1. First generation Capri with V6. These German-built monsters handled > better than your average American car of the period, but were still > made the good old fashioned American way- heavy. The cast iron V6 puts > out good power and is ideal for hot rodding. > Yea, I had one of these, a 1973 Capri V-6, and it was a sporty car. But for someone that has less than $2000 to spend on a car, this car wouldn't be very good to buy. I sold mine in 1979 with 70,000 miles on it because for the last 14 months I owned the car, it cost me an average of $243/month to maintain it (little things like timing gears, fuel pumps, resonator mufflers, heating cores, engine mounts, etc., etc., etc. kept breaking). >2. V6 Pinto. I think it's the same engine as the Capri. > Weren't these the cars with the AC/Heater vents just above the ashtray? Ford really had a better idea on this one - especially for smokers. The rest of the car was just about as well thought out, too. >3. Cop car. Any model. > This one might be a good suggestion, but I was always told that ex-police cars and ex-rental cars are the most abused used cars to buy and should be avoided. Bob Bruck (hao | allegra | ucbvax | ...)!nbires!bob NBI Inc. Boulder, Co.
mikey@techsup (01/07/86)
> Of course I have a lot of expensive favorites too, Dodge Daytona (Super Bee), > BOSS 429, etc. but these aren't cheep, if you can even find one. I thought the Daytona was a special Charger, like the SuperBird was the special Road Runner, which was the special Sattelite? Wasn't the Daytona 66 or 67 and the SuperBird 1970? As to the Superbird, I know where there are 2 of these beast sitting outside rusting. They have no engines, and could probably be had cheap. As near as I can remember, they've been sitting since about 1974, and were still there August of 83. mikey trsvax!techsup!bbimg!mikey