19th Oct 2011, 08:20
You're calling a bare-bones Chevy II six-cylinder an "instant classic", because a Nova SS with a 396 is now a collectible car?
Right.
20th Oct 2011, 08:26
That's right. In 2 door form. If it were a 55 Chevy 210 or a 57 Chevy with a 6 as well. If you were driving a 65 Mustang bare bones with a 6, is it a classic? I guess motor vehicle in Pa should not tag the above with classic plates. How about a bare bones 53 Corvette that had the blue flame 6? Is it a classic and it is also an antique. Over 50 years old.
20th Oct 2011, 13:57
I think there is confusion with the word collectible and the classic description in the comment I read. Sure, a Super Sport is worth more, but worth does not define classic. What is a sports car vs a muscle car?? What is a street rod? What is an antique? How many mods can you have at a show and remain in stock class, and on and on. At any rate, this question is it is a classic? I have a friend with a 66 Chevelle 300, no factory power steering, no power brakes, no heater and radio delete. It is a 2 door showroom mint condition. Has classic exempt tags on it.
21st Oct 2011, 13:21
I have seen it all lately at car shows. Last weekend I saw an old Cadillac open flower car like showroom new. Why worry so much over labeling what shows up? I like seeing restorations of all types.
Someone totally restored Aunt Bee's Studebaker. I wouldn't have any problem seeing it at a show.
Here's a few very plain but factory original ones I saw lately... A plain Biscayne with factory 409 Dual Quad 4 speed, a rare Chevrolet station wagon at 2011 Hagley with a factory 396 4 speed in it, and an early 60s Plymouth with Hemi push button trans.
With the costs of some cars making them prohibitive to own and drive on the street, many tributes and clones exist. There are more 454 SS Chevelles today than were built. Making a great driver is commonplace out of the entry models. There's a lot of big blocks where a 6 cylinder once resided. As long as you are not changing trim and VIN tags, and are up front, it's fun to build what you want. Many cars are just too nice to do this, and I do admire ones that go to great time and expense to keep the originality. It's still a classic car. I would much rather see cars restored than rot, or be crushed and disappear.
I wish I had some cars passed down to me by the way. I wouldn't pull the enthusiasm off someone that had a car their family owned. I think that is great.
24th Oct 2011, 18:31
I've been very pleased to see far more older cars (and newer ones too) at car shows recently with the more basic trim and 6 or 4 cylinder engines. One show I attended last summer had more in-line 6 Mustangs from 64-66 than they did V-8's. I'm seeing a lot of older (50's) Chevys with 6's. I think people are becoming less impressed with unusable horsepower than with looks and classic design appeal.
After several V-8 Mustangs, I switched to a V-6 a few years back. It's a real head-turner and gets far more attention than any of my V-8's did. I'd much rather put my money into the outward appearance of my cars than invest thousands in a powerful engine that I can never drive fast legally, and is hidden away under the hood and never seen. I've owned my last V-8. Times are changing.
25th Oct 2011, 17:18
Yes, you can buy a classic with a 6. It's not a muscle car, but is a classic. I would go with a V8 late model however.
26th Oct 2011, 16:59
8:20 They are both classics. It's up to you to pick which is the muscle car out of the 2.
16th Oct 2011, 11:12
Not so. I would call this an instant classic. Very clean lines, always desirable as a 2 door model. It is today, and is a drag racer's dream car. I see this falling somewhere between 6k to low 20k. If pro-streeted, even more. The Nova SS and Chevy II with a 396 375 HP 4 speed are extremely fast cars. My 70 Chevelle SS was only a year old in 1971 as well. It's certainly a classic car as well. And with the highest factory HP at the time, as well as the Factory Hemi Cuda