| Author | Message | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 137 Registered: 9-2002 |
Frank Did you buy that car? Mojo | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 73 Registered: 9-2002 |
Frank Did you buy that car? Mojo | ||
| Chris Tanner (Ctanner)
New member Username: Ctanner Post Number: 38 Registered: 5-2001 |
Be careful on buying a convertible for the family. It's plently windy in the back seat of that big ole car. They may only ride with you only once!! It'll turn into a two person car just like your spider. My friend had a 68 Firebird and the back seat was a wind tunnel at even city speeds. | ||
| Doug O (Little_o)
New member Username: Little_o Post Number: 22 Registered: 6-2002 |
I'm with ya Magoo; 69 302dz Z28, silver with black stripes, black interior. | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 59 Registered: 9-2002 |
Magoo How about a 69 Z28 they made 19000 of them, little easier to find ,I think they only made 1600 1968 Z28. The68 look more muscle/drag race the69 looks more handling/road car to me. I love the 67 - 69 camaros. | ||
| Kenny Herman (Kennyh)
Member Username: Kennyh Post Number: 422 Registered: 8-2001 |
Great pick Will, beautiful car! | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Intermediate Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 1526 Registered: 2-2001 |
Joseph, the 240Z always struck me more as a Japanese E-type | ||
| Chuck Babel (Chuck_98_rt10)
Junior Member Username: Chuck_98_rt10 Post Number: 97 Registered: 5-2002 |
Oh good, something I know a little bit about. WilliamH the Trans Am only came in white w/blue stripe or blue w/white stripe from 70 � 72. Red didn�t begin until 73. I haven�t seen American Beauty in a long time but I remember thinking �Hey, that�s a 71 Firebird Formula just like I had!� Gotta rent the movie again. I was a Pontiac loyalist before everything turned Chevy. | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Advanced Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 3246 Registered: 2-2001 |
My next car is going to be a 68 302 Z28. | ||
| Ralph Koslin (Ralfabco)
Junior Member Username: Ralfabco Post Number: 61 Registered: 3-2002 |
The 396 came in three levels: 325, 350 and 375. The 375hp is a solid lifter. I think the 350 was hydraulic. Some also had aluminum intakes and other updates. Holly carbs, stronger transmissions, and rear ends etc.... There are quite a bit of books to help figure out the originality of a vehicle. I had a 68 GTO when I was 16. I remember running 4 way stop signs with my hand on the horn. NO WAY TO STOP. The 4 drum brakes were already faded !!!!! Spurs helped slow down the car. Ralph | ||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 2135 Registered: 2-2001 |
Muscle cars from the 60s and 70s are increasing in value and older cars from the 30s and 40s are falling because the people from those generations are dying off and there is not much interest in cars that are not from your era. Boomers were only dreaming about 409s and Z28s and Bosses and Hemis during their hayday. Now we can afford these cars and it is a sellers market for these cars. They drive like •••• compared to todays cars so keep that in mind. | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
Advanced Member Username: Bretm Post Number: 2765 Registered: 2-2001 |
Like supras and C5 corvettes... | ||
| Ben Millermon (Brainsboy)
Junior Member Username: Brainsboy Post Number: 82 Registered: 5-2001 |
Whats nice about this chat site is we can talk about other cars and our likes with out flamming. Great site | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 56 Registered: 9-2002 |
Frank We get off subject sometimes, but to answer your ? IMO some of the muscle cars look like cartoon cars, but the one's that don't are great cars, American classic's. | ||
| Patrick Pasqualini (Enzo)
Junior Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 56 Registered: 2-2002 |
If the 69 SS396 is fully restored and in pristine condition you will not loose the 24k you would have into it. Unless you flip the car quick, that car will continue to gain value as time goes by. Unlike an F-car all types pick up these cars in all types of conditions some restore or keep them at that level. Others cut them up and put mods on that weren't original thus lowering the value. So there are always the cars that are getting cut up for someones dream or vision which decreases the total number of original cars out there. | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 54 Registered: 9-2002 |
William don't you think a 240z was a knock off of a 250gto? Mojo | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Intermediate Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 1437 Registered: 9-2001 |
Horseffly, resale is never a consideration to me when I buy a car. I buy a car based on my wants and/or needs. I buy Ferraris based on wants because you never really need one. Plus, except for very rare instances you ALWAYS lose money on a Ferrari as well as most other cars for that matter. I bought my M5 because I wanted a performance car as my daily driver and needed the back seat for my family. As for the potential purchase of the SS396, I want a convertable and need the back seat for my family. My 348 Spider only seats two but I have a wife and three children at home. So, I plan to keep the 348 and buy a larger convertable such as the SS396 so the entire family can enjoy a droptop all at once. | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 308 Registered: 5-2002 |
I think that you would be hard pressed to ever get your money back on a $24,000 '69 SS396 convertible. You better have iron clad documentation to back everything up. I think the base horsepower on the 396 engine was 325 horsepower. But I think the Chevelle 396 had several horsepower levels. That should all be in the documentation. The same money (or quite a bit less) put into a ho-hum condition pre-1968 Corvette would be more of a money back guarantee if you ever decided to resell. But the fact that the car in question is completely restored means that it can actually be driven and enjoyed, which is a major plus considering most muscle cars are long term projects with a "some day" completion date. (In other words, all the cars that I own!) | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Intermediate Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 1525 Registered: 2-2001 |
I have a 68 corvette roadster being restored, the design is a knock off of the 250 GTO so its gorgeous  I would go for a 69 Boss Mustang 429 or a nice 70 Trans Am in red with a screaming chicken on the hood like the 1 in American Beauty | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 53 Registered: 9-2002 |
Frank There's no replacement for cubic displacement. Mojo | ||
| Ron Thomas (Ronsupercar)
Member Username: Ronsupercar Post Number: 365 Registered: 5-2002 |
The coolest thing about Muscle cars is they have a huge following...There are shows every weekend if you know where to look... I just wish F-cars had that many shows... Good luck and if you like, get it..If you don't get it, later you may regret it....... | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 1536 Registered: 9-2001 |
thanks I knew there were diff levels of hp. I think a few camaros got the 396 too | ||
| Patrick Pasqualini (Enzo)
Junior Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 55 Registered: 2-2002 |
The 396 came out in 1965 and in the Vette (Are you listening Ed?) it had 425 hp and in 65 Chevelles it had 375 hp. Here is a link to the history of Chevy engines. http://www.antiquechevytrucks.com/Content/Engine%20Information/engine_intro_body.htm | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 349 Registered: 9-2001 |
Don't be overly concerned about a number matching car. There is good money in making a non-matched car to number matching car. | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 1534 Registered: 9-2001 |
did the 396 come with diff horse levels. I think the biggest one had 375 horse? but was there a lower horsepower one?? | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1515 Registered: 6-2001 |
"Muscle cars in this country are common" not numbers matching chevelle SS's, especially convertibles. They are good cars, and you will never have to maintain them, just change oil and keep them clean. Does it have the original docs and dealer stuff like the window sticker? (serice docs arent important) does it have the protect-o-plate (or whatever it was called)? I like muscle cars too, a '70 GSX is 1 of my first choices. how could i turn down 510ft/lbs of torque? If not that, then a 67-69 camaro Z28, because they can be made to handle, and just because they are 302's doent mean they arent powerful. If i ever have 80k burning a hole in my pocket, a hemi cuda would take care of that. | ||
| Patrick Pasqualini (Enzo)
Junior Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 54 Registered: 2-2002 |
You are right Tom 1970 was the start of 454 in Chevelles. Frank like everyone is saying make sure it checks out. Everyone seems to want to take a great car and make into something that was rare but at the same time the are taking value away from the car that they are doing that to. It was like when we restored our 66 Lemans Convert the bodyman wanted us to make it a GTO but we declined and after that we found out that our Lemans is 1 of about 200-300 ever made. | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 1532 Registered: 9-2001 |
as noted make sure the protecto plate is in tact and checks out - the 396 is a nice engine. I think in 70 some chevelles got a 454 but I might be mistaken | ||
| VS (Vs1)
New member Username: Vs1 Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2002 |
I have a 1969 Corvette Convertible. Muscle cars are loads of fun to drive [in a straight line - gobs of power and heavy]. If it drives anything like the Vette - give yourself lots of room to stop and wide turns to CYA when you spin and hold on. With that said - if everything checks out - go for it. | ||
| Bob Campen (Bob308gts)
Member Username: Bob308gts Post Number: 348 Registered: 9-2001 |
For the money a fun car, be sure to code out the vin to insure it did start life as a SS396. A lot of these cars have been rebadged and reworked to look like the real thing. If not correct it is a 12 to 15,000 car. | ||
| Joseph (Mojo)
Junior Member Username: Mojo Post Number: 52 Registered: 9-2002 |
Frank Muscle cars in this country are common, seems like rare cars are what people like. But muscle cars are so cool. And other countrys would die to get one. Chevelle convertable is a prime example of a bad ass muscle car. I have had 3 69 camaro's lots of looks and fun. let us know if you get it. Mojo | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Intermediate Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 1436 Registered: 9-2001 |
I have found a 1969 Chevelle SS396 convertable that I am considering buying. It is red with a white interior and top. The car has been professionally retored and is in concours condition. The guy wants $24k for the car. What do you guys think of these type cars ? |