People who love money own and drive classic cars

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Not everyone gets a thrill out of driving these old cars. I started (legally) driving in '64. I get excited now just driving or even seeing these old cars out on the road, any of them at all. I relate to that experience of driving them, the all together difference in them vs. the modern vehicle. Does not have to be a "musclecar" just a period car, any car from that era.
I see this with the guys that love the old 30s, 40s, 50s stuff. Some are old like me and others are 30s, 40s, 50s guys. They enjoy the experience even if they had never seen it before in their lifetime. Some are original types other are the "streetrod" type guys.
These guys will build a 4 door version just as fast as a 2 door. Vintage car.Classic whatever.
Yea the guy that wants to build a "hotrod" will usually look forth appropriate 2 door! Not always!
 
Dont daily my dart sport more for the crazies that are out int he roads now. But if any chance I have I will give it a spin! Not as daily friendly as it once was ( 292 purple cam, 3.91's out back.) But it's so much more fun to drive now I think than when it was just a lowly slanter.
 
However, I will admit it was always dead nuts reliable anywhere I went then. Never any issues with the ballast resistor or ignition or fuel or any system problems. Only issue that came about when I daily drove it was alternator brushes wearing down. Just got new ones back in business. Other time water pump went out. All were problems only of wear and tear. That why I have so much admiration for old mopar tin!
 
The people that I know that are reasonably "wealthy" used to buy 2-year old cars and drive them for ten years. That has always been the best bang for the buck in term of dollars per mile and reliability. That whole thing got turned on its head the last couple of years. According to Hyundai my 2020 Elantra has a higher TRADE IN value than I paid out the door. Granted, I got a smokin' deal (about 25% below sticker) in late August 2020. but in normal times it would not have held this much value. I want a newer Durango, but used is outrageously expensive compared to new when you look at cost per mile.

The tremendously wealthy can do whatever they want to. The cost doesn't really affect them, whether they're driving new or old.
 
It wasn't meant to mean selling of the cars it was meant to provide an example of the simple fact that modern day cars depreciate every year whereas classics or old cars will or should hold thier relative value. Also one would hope that most could do the necessary work needed on a 60's or earlyish 70's car without too much trouble....even if they had to buy a manual or ask a friend to help that aspect of it should not be outside of most peoples reach.

I just buy cars that are already past most or all of their depreciation. The Buick in my signature was around $40k new in 2000, now they go for 1/10 that. I do want something newer though, I would have gotten a 2015-17 Acura TLX but the used car market was too screwed up by the time I started looking last May. A Japanese car like that is super reliable, easy and cheap to repair and maintain and runs to 200k+ miles with normal good care. And they're pretty dang fast and fun to drive, and luxurious.

Back 12 years ago I routinely used my Duster for regular driving around but it's worth too much now with all the work I've done to it over the years, and just how much Dusters have gone up in value overall. Not to mention traffic has gotten insane with everyone moving to CO over the past 5 years or so. At some point I might get another cheap undesirable Mopar to drive, depends on life circumstances there are benefits to both (driving classics vs. newer cars).
 
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I think it partly depends on what you are happy with in the old car. If stock performance, might be easy. Want gears, acceleration, mpg, AC and comfortable cruising at 70? Not so sure anymore.

Just me, but I couldn’t be happy with a /6 car as a daily. Been there, did fine but I need a V8. A more door is fine. But comparable braking, acceleration, comfort (AC) and mpg start to make it a project and tougher to figure out if a good used 6M Challenger might the better deal. I want to drive performance everyday but performance costs money. Trick is figuring out where to spend it.

Back in the late 80’s when I was getting into cars and graduating HS, it wasn’t too tough to find a decent Duster or similar for cheap. And with a little sweat equity and parts, build something that was equal or better than the new car offerings of the time. Not so anymore. Even if you give up on the rust free offerings and settle on something that is only ok for $6500, figure a fair amount of money to get it to run with a new car. Just a guess but maybe $6500 for a T56 swap, $2000 for a good rear axle and $5800 for the 375hp 408 from Blueprint with another $2000 for miscellaneous like headers, carb, etc. By then the bill is up to $20.8k and the car is faster than a late model Challenger with a 5.7. But it wouldn’t be as comfortable with no AC, cruise control, upgraded seats, etc.

Step it down some though. Maybe start with a $2k shell that is structurally solid but needs quarters. Maybe use a solid 5.9 out of a Ram for $750, then a cam, intake, carb, headers for $1500? Instead of a T56, use an A833OD so only $2500 for that? The last piece is the an 8.25 or maybe an 8.8 so maybe $1000 or less? With that it would be $7750, so figure $9k to put the car on the road. That would make for a fun driver, probably all I would need. But don’t think it would be as fast as a 5.7 Challenger. Add an AC kit, cruise control and upgrade the interior and it would probably still be cheaper than a Challenger, but it wouldn’t be it’s equal. Don’t care about keeping up with the Challenger or the comfort? Then you are probably ahead. Want to be a little more even and it gets more expensive.

In the end, seems like it comes down to what the individual wants.
 
My 73 Satellite 318 is very economical to work on and relatively easy to find parts for.
It's also extremely reliable, so the need for parts is not frequent.
Time spent to diagnose and repair is also far lees than any of my newer vehicles.
On some of the newer ones the diagnostic process ends with "I ain't doin' that (or the need for a $*** special tool I don't want to buy).
That never happens on the Satellite.

I don't have full coverage on anything, but it is the cheapest of all four cars on my policy.
FL "Antique Auto" plates are also about 30% less than "regular" FL plates and have zero restrictions like some states do.
 
I live in FL and bought my Dart exactly a year ago, slant six. I purchased it for $3000 from the original owner at (76k miles) It is in really good shape (no rust) but needed a lot of updating. The car was completely original when I bought it.

I’ve put $3000 into the car and so far did what’s listed below.

I do daily drive it and spent on the car what I’ll never get out of it, but I really enjoy it and think I’m just about finished spending and updating. At this point moving forward I’m hoping it’s mostly routine maintenance moving forward. I did do all the work myself except the AC service, pressing bushings and aligning the car)

So all in I’m at $6000 and not sure a four door will sell for that if I want to recoup my money, but it’s reliable transportation a don’t have a monthly payment. Most of all, I love and enjoy my car.

-full tune up myself (belts, timing, valves, plugs, oil) ($100)
-AC service to R134 (shop) ($300)
- Front and rear suspension myself (except the upper and lower bushings and aligning the car, luckily the previous owner sold it to me with new tires) ($600)
-front brakes calipers and rotors (factory disk) and change fluid, I left the rear drums alone ($200)
-rebuilt transmission (I took it out and dropped it off at a shop and picked it up and installed myself) and u joints ($400)
-Sent the power steering box for an overhaul (most expense-$500 for the rebuild of factory unit)
-Grease all wheel bearings ($50)
-Recored the factory radiator (dropped it at a repair shop) and redid the entire cooling system including water pump ($400)
- Slant six Dan lights upgrade all four corners and relays ($400)
-blue tooth speaker with built in battery to charge iPhone (Santa brought it-no more AM radio/single speaker)

I do need a new headliner and want to redo all the fuel lines and possibly the fuel tank, but these items are not really a necessity now.
 
I don’t get All hairy about spending money, that’s what I have it for. I resolved myself years ago that I just like Mopars, I wake up in the morning and check in here, or on FB, to the many Mopar sites I’m part of. I’ll pull junk parts cars out of the weeds, work on them in the winter to seek parts to fund my own projects. I drive a 2012 Ram daily because I need a truck. Money spent is all relative. I need to get to work, I buy gas. The truck gets 14mpg, I don’t care. It gets me there and back and has a cup holder for my coffee. When I get home, it’s all Mopar. I’ll spend countless hours on junk cars, removing good parts to sell for 1/2 of what they’re worth, to make a few hundred on the car. So what? I love it, my labor is free, and I love doing it. My payoff is jumping into something I really want to drive, and going somewhere in it that I really want to go. If I can do that for $20 in gas, I’m happy. If I spend $40 for race fuel, it’s because I want to, and I like the smell. There is no investment concerns with me, I spent the money to have them, I earn the money to fix them, and I drive them because I love them. Simple formula, it works for me!

Here’s my job today, working on parts from scrap cars, cleaning and inspecting them, and putting the best sets together so someone who needs them can buy them and have decent parts for their car.

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man there is just no way i'd be able to daily drove a slant six again. way too much of a slob. hell my 4 cyl subaru will tear that stock slanty up.


and looking out the front window this morning is another reason i won't drive a classic car daily. {no need to subject a nice classic to that stuff. hell i won't subject my 08 mustang to that.lol) then ya have: mpg, less maintenance, safety, comfort, heat, good defrosters, great working wipers, a/c, handling, stopping, acceleration among other things.

IMG_20220103_114012.jpg
 
Holy ****!
You guys pay Yearly Personal Property taxes on classic cars? And your everday cars?
My (3) 60s Mopars are pleasure cars. That would take some of the fun out of it.

It costs less than $50 to get historic plates on a 25 year, or older car here. There are limitations on use. Not to be used for regular transportation. One time charge and the registration is good for 50 years.

I used to drive the Barracuda to work once a week or so. One time my boss made fun of my 68 calling it a Valiant. (I love my Valiant) I told him it was going up in value everyday and your Altima is going down and he never mentioned it again.
 
I don’t get All hairy about spending money, that’s what I have it for. I resolved myself years ago that I just like Mopars, I wake up in the morning and check in here, or on FB, to the many Mopar sites I’m part of. I’ll pull junk parts cars out of the weeds, work on them in the winter to seek parts to fund my own projects. I drive a 2012 Ram daily because I need a truck. Money spent is all relative. I need to get to work, I buy gas. The truck gets 14mpg, I don’t care. It gets me there and back and has a cup holder for my coffee. When I get home, it’s all Mopar. I’ll spend countless hours on junk cars, removing good parts to sell for 1/2 of what they’re worth, to make a few hundred on the car. So what? I love it, my labor is free, and I love doing it. My payoff is jumping into something I really want to drive, and going somewhere in it that I really want to go. If I can do that for $20 in gas, I’m happy. If I spend $40 for race fuel, it’s because I want to, and I like the smell. There is no investment concerns with me, I spent the money to have them, I earn the money to fix them, and I drive them because I love them. Simple formula, it works for me!

Here’s my job today, working on parts from scrap cars, cleaning and inspecting them, and putting the best sets together so someone who needs them can buy them and have decent parts for their car.

View attachment 1715846789
Nice, you got a good job!
 
man there is just no way i'd be able to daily drove a slant six again. way too much of a slob. hell my 4 cyl subaru will tear that stock slanty up.


and looking out the front window this morning is another reason i won't drive a classic car daily. {no need to subject a nice classic to that stuff. hell i won't subject my 08 mustang to that.lol) then ya have: mpg, less maintenance, safety, comfort, heat, good defrosters, great working wipers, a/c, handling, stopping, acceleration among other things.

View attachment 1715846798
There is am older guy that lives in our town that drives around in a model A ford, it looks all stock, kinda wore, faded paint, torn upholstery.
But I see him all the time driving it, rain, snow, sunny days it does not matter, I figure he thinks the car is going to out-last him so why not enjoy it.
 
There is am older guy that lives in our town that drives around in a model A ford, it looks all stock, kinda wore, faded paint, torn upholstery.
But I see him all the time driving it, rain, snow, sunny days it does not matter, I figure he thinks the car is going to out-last him so why not enjoy it.

lol.. it probably will too..
 
I hate car payments, always felt that paying for something that is getting less valuable every day is counterintuitive. At today's prices for newer cars, I will never spend as much in gas for my older, less economical cars as I would in monthly payments for something newer, plus I still have to pay for gas, insurance, and maintenance.

My dad used to constantly give me grief about my old cars, one day I made the argument above with him, using his recently purchased year old car compared to my 70 Dart. I spent money on my car as I could afford it, never owed a nickel on it, did everything except the quarter panel replacement and paint, and still had less invested in it than what his car's purchase price was. He never brought it up again.

So when I need to replace one of my vehicles now, I find something that suits my needs at a price I can afford, dip into my savings, and never look back.

I have owned a couple of late model muscle cars, and did enjoy them, but reality is I don't need a $20k car just to get to work and back.
 
Holy ****!
You guys pay Yearly Personal Property taxes on classic cars? And your everday cars?
My (3) 60s Mopars are pleasure cars. That would take some of the fun out of it.

It costs less than $50 to get historic plates on a 25 year, or older car here. There are limitations on use. Not to be used for regular transportation

PP taxes on my classics is $4.85. There are limitations on antique tags, so I just run regular plates on mine. About $60 for two years.
 
PP taxes on my classics is $4.85. There are limitations on antique tags, so I just run regular plates on mine. About $60 for two years.
I got collector plates for my Scamp abot 10 years ago for $90. They are life time. As far as limitations go about the only thing I'm limited to is not being able to drive it every day back and forth to work. It's ok to drive it to car shows and parades. It's okay to drive it somewhere for repairs. Where I'm at in Minnesota, there is a car show every day of the week and I keep a list of them in my car. I don't need regular plates to go where ever I want. Never had an issue with law enforcement. They have a lot more important things to worry about.
 
I got collector plates for my Scamp abot 10 years ago for $90. They are life time. As far as limitations go about the only thing I'm limited to is not being able to drive it every day back and forth to work. It's ok to drive it to car shows and parades. It's okay to drive it somewhere for repairs. Where I'm at in Minnesota, there is a car show every day of the week and I keep a list of them in my car. I don't need regular plates to go where ever I want. Never had an issue with law enforcement. They have a lot more important things to worry about.

I’ve not checked to see what limitations are here. We can get either historical plates, or we can use plates from the same date as the vehicle. Same here about permanent with no inspection required. Regular plates are only about $30 a year.
 
One of the richest guys in Michigan drove a 1978 Granada to work every day for decades. When he finally retired at 80 something years old, he sold the company for $69m and gave all of the employees very large bonus’s, some as much as $1m. He was also notorious for bringing a sack lunch to work every day.
There is am older guy that lives in our town that drives around in a model A ford, it looks all stock, kinda wore, faded paint, torn upholstery.
But I see him all the time driving it, rain, snow, sunny days it does not matter, I figure he thinks the car is going to out-last him so why not enjoy it.
 
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