Cheapest true muscle car?

[Veeayt]

I decided that there's something missing in my life (possible midlife crisis), so am seriously looking to get my hands on one. 60's-70's, so almost anything before Mustang II. Must be at least 350ci.
Been looking alot at Novas, but looks like they starting to command some serious dough. Budget is another question - I have around 5-6 thousand, and the rest can be partially financed by my partner, but I don't want to go too far. Thanks for suggestions!

[Pebbles167]

I'm certainly not all knowing when it comes to muscle cars.. and not entirely sure what could be considered proper.

I seem to remember that Buick Skylarks (68-72) could be had for around £15k in good nick?

Got the looks, Got the V8.. Although I dont know st about them

[Welshbeef]

Doesn't the E55 w210 and E55 K w211 have the total for modern day muscle car if so these things are cheap and cracking cars.

[tjlazer]

With that kind of budget you might want to consider an e39 m5. It will cost a fair bit to run but at least parts and expertise is widely available unlike something older and most importantly it has a nicely torquey v8. Loose the backboxes and you'll have the soundtrack.

[MagneticMeerkat]

You won't get an actual muscle car for that price. They're more than just V8 powered American cars, of which there are many and that Buick isn't one, in fact there are specific lists of them which would fill lots of pages.

But the idea is that most are MOPAR: Charger, Challenger, Roadrunner, Dart Swinger and so on

AMC had a go with the AMX and Rebel Machine (they count) as did GM with endless iterations of GTO, Pontiac Can Am, Chevelle, Monte Carlos and the rest. Ford had Torinos, and Fairlanes and Falcons and so on.

What made a muscle car was never really defined, certainly a displacement of above 300 cubic inches and V8 power was a must have. Live axles, coil or leaf springs, vinyl seats, tachometers, oil pressure gauges, dual exhausts, chrome trim rings, Muncie M22s and Saginaws, four barrel carbs, stripes, badges and window louvres. You kind of know a muscle car when you see it but nothing was really set. Generally speaking they were two-door sedans. Nothing bigger than a mid-size (in the old vernacular) and some counted as Compact.

The coupes of the time had similar features but somehow just weren't. Camaros weren't quite. Mustangs and Corvettes definitely were not. The same goes for full size cars: there were four speed big block Chevy Biscayne and Impala models but they weren't muscle cars. They were more like luxury cars with muscle.

So that leaves the true muscle cars way out of reach in terms of budget. The answer is to go for one of the 'not quites' as it will offer most of what you want. Which is, let's face it, uneven firing on a cruciform crank. The antidote to the insipid thrumming of a German V8.

Camaros are cheap. Trans Ams are a bit more, especially the 400 and 454 models. Fox body Mustangs can be had with a 5 litre. And then there's the G-Body, very cheap. Moving further away there are four door sedan models such as Dodge Aspens and Caprices that I've seen advertised cheaply. Perhaps even a big station wagon: a Tempest or a Country Squire?

[skyrover]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

(no idea if its true muscle, but its old, American, huge and has a V8 )

Nope... not a muscle car in the traditional sense.

Just about everything on american roads for many years had a V8 in it of all shapes and sizes.

[deltashad]

Have you thought about importing?

May be the best solution

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1970...

edit ; Sorry its a six, if you have a look here there's a lot of choice

Edited by deltashad on Sunday 13th April 21:00

[deltashad]

These sites are quite handy

http://www.import-car.info/shipping.shtml

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-...

[aeropilot]

Veeayt said:

I decided that there's something missing in my life (possible midlife crisis), so am seriously looking to get my hands on one. 60's-70's, so almost anything before Mustang II. Must be at least 350ci.
Been looking alot at Novas, but looks like they starting to command some serious dough. Budget is another question - I have around 5-6 thousand

Muscle cars have BIG engines (not 350ci small blocks) and as Meerkat says, you need to quadruple your budget to even get into 'cheap' muscle car territory.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

deltashad said:

These sites are quite handy equally disasterous for your bank account...

http://www.import-car.info/shipping.shtml

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-...

Just changed that slightly

[Pebbles167]

So looks like the OP wont be getting a "true" muscle car with his budget then.

I know the thread will probably go nuts and end up with an argument about the technicalities of what is and isn't a true muscle car.

Instead I think it would be helpful to suggest some cars with a "bit of muscle" that he can afford

Edited by Pebbles167 on Sunday 13th April 21:39

[aeropilot]

Pebbles167 said:

Instead I think it would be helpful to suggest some cars with a "bit of muscle" that he can afford

Next to nothing on that budget.

A ropey 1970's Camaro or Firebird perhaps.....?

[Pebbles167]

aeropilot said:

Next to nothing on that budget.

A ropey 1970's Camaro or Firebird perhaps.....?

Yeah that would be my thoughts.

Better than nothing though, Perhaps he wants a project?

[Veeayt]

Pebbles167 said:

So looks like the OP wont be getting a "true" muscle car with his budget then.

I know the thread will probably go nuts and end up with an argument about the technicalities of what is and isn't a true muscle car.

Instead I think it would be helpful to suggest some cars with a "bit of muscle" that he cat afford

Ok, I think my budget stretches as far as 15 grand, so I can get something to play with spanners So using the links above I was quoted with 14+ with the excellent suggestion of Buick Riviera above.

There's no problem with me defining "muscle car". It's an american car with sporting or getaway credentials, big V8 and is not purposed to do corners (preferably loosing hubcaps while cornering). I don't care whether it is a pony car, a muscle car or a barge. Although I detest american barges in general.

As for German muscle - I do like them, and have one in my garage, but they are not true by my сriterion.

I think getting sensibe and going the hard route importing one. But there's still the question of cheaper muscle. Thanks for suggestions!

[HD Adam]

deltashad said:

Have you thought about importing?

May be the best solution

http://www.autotraderclassics.com/classic-car/1970...

edit ; Sorry its a six, if you have a look here there's a lot of choice

Edited by deltashad on Sunday 13th April 21:00

That is a great find.

Import that over and you'll pay that Dollar price in Pounds to have it on the road here so it's within your budget.

Enjoy cruising it around and save up in the meanwhile for a BB Chevy to build your own Yenko clone when you have enough pennies.

[Steve93]

tjlazer said:

With that kind of budget you might want to consider an e39 m5. It will cost a fair bit to run but at least parts and expertise is widely available unlike something older and most importantly it has a nicely torquey v8. Loose the backboxes and you'll have the soundtrack.

Oh wait you're serious....



It'll cost more to run in parts and repairs if anything goes wrong on the M5. Much as I'd like an E39 M5 I'd have a proper muscle car first.

[aeropilot]

Veeayt said:

Ok, I think my budget stretches as far as 15 grand, so I can get something to play with spanners

Here you go.....Olds 442 with a big block

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmob...

[Killer2005]

There was a Camaro (possibly a 69) on eBay recently for about £14k.

Was based in Leeds and needed quite a bit of work on it iirc

[HD Adam]

aeropilot said:

Here you go.....Olds 442 with a big block

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmob...

Yes but it's in the States.

You need to ship it, insure it, clear it at the docks, get UK legal lights, MOT and register it.

General rule of thumb is what you pay in Dollars, ends up the same figure in pounds unless you wait for $2.50 to the £ to come around again.

Lovely looking car but somewhere between £20-25,000 on the road here.

[CR6ZZ]

If you were willing to import from Australia or NZ there hare plenty of V8 Falcons and Holdens that would fit your needs within budget. e.g. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/auc...

Not true muscle cars, but hey, big lazy and very tunable V8 - what could possibly go wrong?

Edited by CR6ZZ on Sunday 13th April 23:29