True car people are becoming a thing of the past

Part of the expense is lack of knowledge or thinking you need "modern" brakes, suspension, and drive train. If you look, there are deals out there, some cars my be out of reach, but you can still get a decent Mopar without spending a fortune. 20 years ago we bought my son's 73 Dart 4 door for $500 because no one wanted a 4 door. It was a doctor's wife car with 30,000 miles on it. 318, AC, Sure Grip 7 1/4 rear, disc brakes, no rust. It has about 100,000 miles on it now and still starts in a heartbeat and runs down the road very nicely. Only changes were a front sway bar, small Mopar Performance cam, double roller timing chain, 273 Commando intake, carb and air cleaner, dual exhaust, a 72 340 distributor, +1" heavy duty rear leaf springs, and original 15" x 6.5 Rallye Wheels with good tires. One step at a time. At one point we painted it Top Banana Yellow with the rear stripe. All over the course of years. Any old Mopar car can get the same treatment for next to nothing to become a nice enjoyable ride without spending a fortune. No need for a 360, 440, aluminum heads, strokers, headers, big cam and associated valve train upgrades, special ignition, overdrive transmission, coil over front suspension, rotisserie paint and body.