Teenagers / Classic Cars ??

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I built this for my son (with a little help from him, very little! LOL) when he turned 16. Slant 6 with Chrysler seabring convertible seats with built in shoulder belts. If he went a year without a ticket or fender bender I would update to a V-8. Well, I had to put in a V-8! He loves his car and so do I.

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As far as airbags . My thinking on them is they only really work if your not wearing a seatbelt . Right? I mean a shoulder belt should keep you from hitting the steering wheel.
 
SleeperScamp said:
As far as airbags . My thinking on them is they only really work if your not wearing a seatbelt . Right? I mean a shoulder belt should keep you from hitting the steering wheel.
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It is my understanding that air bags can be DEADLY without seatbelts.
A buddy of mine just wrecked a late model car with air bags, both deployed, and he is bruised up pretty bad but other than that he is fine. I believe the airbags helped him get through the accident better. So airbags are meant to work with shoulderbelts NOT replace them
 
I had the same thoughts/debate a couple of years ago regarding my son who is about to turn 17. Here in Florida, the age for a permit is 15 and a full license is 16. At 14, I asked what type of car he wanted figuring a late model car would be his choice. I've had my Barracuda for over two decades, so he's grown up going to car shows and cruising around town. He said he really wanted an older car, and mom was OK with that as long as it had a lot of metal around him.

We ended up picking up a '74 Charger with a 318. Not too bad on gas with enough power to get up to speed on fairly fast (55 mph) local roads. Not sure if familiar with Florida, but come the winter months there's a whole lot more cars driven by (very bad driving) senior citizens.

Over the first year we restored the car to driver quality, made sure the car was reliable (I needed to be towed 3 times and pushed home twice while restoring, but what's a parent to do...?) We upgraded the seat belts to very high quality 3 point belts. Although carbed, the car has been very dependable.

We drove it together for a lot of miles while he was 15, and he drives it about 30 miles a day to and from school. Regarding safety, he was cut off once, jammed his brakes to avoid a colission but ended up spinning out and resting on a guard rail. Dented the guard rail pretty good and left tire marks across the road. Not a scratch on him and all we needed to do was bang out a dented front bumper and add a little paint, but that's all. A newer car probably would have been totaled.

He loves the car and takes it shows and cruises with me. He constantly hears "you don't know how lucky you are..." at basically every show he attends, so I honesty believe he understands and appreciates what he drives. Besides, as a side benefit, it makes for some pretty good bonding time with a teenager, which is not always an easy thing to accomplish. So far, no regrets.
 
Old vs New


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJrXViFfMGk"]YouTube - Crash test: 1959 Chevy Bel Air[/ame]
 
I bought my swinger when I was 11 and me and my dad built it.I drove it all 4 years of high school and never wrecked or got a ticket. Now that I have a 15 yr old I would let her drive one not mine lol but I would have built her one but she wanted a jacked up ram. So jacked up ram she got
 
Well let me say this about airbags. My wife and daughter were hit head -on back in 2000 by a driver who passed out behind the wheel and crossed the centerline at over 60 miles an hour. They were driving our new 1999 Ford Contour with less than 4000 miles on it. The car was destroyed and the airbags saved their lives . I am thankful that my wife chose to leave her 80 corvette home that day as they probably wouldn't be here right now. My wife wouldn't drive the corvette again after that and she won't ride with me in our Mopars unless they have upgraded seatbelts. Things can happen to anyone, driving anything , at anytime. The best you can do is educate your daughter the best you can, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Good luck with your decision.
 
As a former Teenager with an old car (now a 23 year old hot rodding the same old car) I figure I'd share some of my observations.
If she texts while she walks, she will text while she drives, which is bad. Get her in the habit now of keeping the phone put away while in motion.
All of my friends who had a car when they turned 16 and got their liscense totalled that same car by the time they turned 17. One close friend was killed because he wanted to see what the 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra his parents gave him would do, 4 days after getting his liscense.
I got my permit at 15, and liscense a week after turning 16. But shared cars with my parents until a month before turning 18 when I got my Duster. That trained me as to how different types of cars drive, which is important not only to what you are driving, but what other vehicles are around you.
The deal I had with my parents when I got the car was that they would pay for maintenance and keeping the car on the road, but any updates at all would come out of my own pocket, and that I would have to do all maintenance. Not only did I learn how to budget my money for the things I want, but also how to keep my own car running, something that has come in very handy over the years (landing me jobs...and dates).
From my personal experience, a Slant 6 is a horrible engine not only for a teenager, but for anyone in any car. I went through 4 in 3 years by cruising to and from school and doing the usual maintenance according to the service manual.
So long as someone understands the vehicle they are driving and pays attention to the road more than anything else, they'll survive and never have any problems. Good luck!
 
a peek up truck with bucket seats. Dakota. Birth control built in with truck and wont be hauling around 100 friends. Limits peer pressure and also

Remember what you did in highschool. The teens will be doing the same thing. The back seat of your car was used for .... umm hauling hmm ... homework... lots and lots of homework.
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
a peek up truck with bucket seats. Dakota. Birth control built in with truck and wont be hauling around 100 friends. Limits peer pressure and also

Remember what you did in highschool. The teens will be doing the same thing. The back seat of your car was used for .... umm hauling hmm ... homework... lots and lots of homework.
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But I have also used the bed of a truck as a " bed" ....
 
I'm 17, got my license 5 months ago and yes, us teens can be irresponsible ( I for one like to mess around time to time because its fun but otherwise I'm a good driver and drive great I'd say) but its mainly us guy drivers which is why we pay more for insurance than girls however when there's a group of kids in a car, 9 times out of 10 teens are irresponsible I'd say (always trying to show off). A slant 6 A-body sounds great in my opinion, I'd be grateful for one for sure, I'd say go for it, she'll have one of the coolest cars in the school lot. As long as she doesn't suck at driving and ding it all up like a lot of women drivers, go for it,
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
a peek up truck with bucket seats. Dakota. Birth control built in with truck and wont be hauling around 100 friends. Limits peer pressure and also

Remember what you did in highschool. The teens will be doing the same thing. The back seat of your car was used for .... umm hauling hmm ... homework... lots and lots of homework.
Click to expand...

Can't really fit in the back seat of an old VW beetle... :p
 
I'm 22, I got my Scamp what I was 16($500). It was my first car, it has taken me a loooong time to finally get her on the road, but if she breaks down I am confident that I can fix her. I'm glad I didn't have this car running when I first got my license, the lil' 318 thats been stroked, cammed, X-heads, 340 intake, etc... would have gotten me killed back then. However I did drive an old Ramcharger for awhile and that was really neat. I will never own a Honda again though, I bought a civic and while I was driving it (going the speed limit) around a turn one axel broke and sent me into a verrry unfriendly ditch... I say the /6 would be great.
 
I say buy a running driving eyesore that goes like a turd and looks like one too. But something that could one day be awesome. then id assume it would slowly be upgraded, which would help have a progression of driving with different power levels. then if body work is done that means there will be more appreciation for the exterior of the car. It would build appreciation for the car. Have you even seen people who get 50 grand cars as their first car to drive? 100% taken for granted and most often crashed.

Also these cars might not be up to new car safety standards but, i got t boned in a 73 4 door dart at about 50mph. Me and my friend walked away without any major issues. I think my friend had a bruise. not bad cars if you ask me.
 
well ive went and looked at most of the posts in this thing and u guys mite hit me with rocks but what bout a b body mopar a 69 4 door coronet i say that i had one for my 1 st car and i loved it as if it was a 2 door when i was going down the street it was a super bee well in my head lol and i was like most teens are nuts i washed the car like 4 days a week and i would play alot u know smokeing tires slideing on the back dirt streets i even jumped it one time but i gess i had enougth in the trunk it laned right and i hit the ditch many times playing out on the dirt any through it all i had my bro with say U CAN MAKE IT DO IT !!!!! now 22 that car lasted me 3 years tell the cam went out and i sold it for me my old 64 4 door point is u cant kill a 69 coronet lol and it had sholder straps ant that i ever had it one should have but didnt the body on it was still good on it when i sold it
 
im 23 i hav no kids, do not give your daughter a 78 lre, buy her a dodge truck off clist, i got my car and the min i was alone, i got it up to 120 mph with a worn out 4 cyl! kids will test and push, i had a convertible, perfect car, 35 mpg, i wanted something faster the vey next year. kids change their minds alot. if you get a new car, shell want it trust me, then be bored with it a few days later
 
I agree with AbodyJoe. Get her something with fuel injection and air bags. Better she have a couple of advantages with MPG and safety. At the cost of gas and the number of miles teenagers want to put on them ( my youngest is 19 I know) it just seems to work out better for them. Good luck.
 
This is quite the popular thread. Kinda a situation I was in. My best friend bought a 68 chevelle when he was 13 and it was rough and was able to restore it with his dad to drive to prom senior year. but in the mean time he drove a fox body mustang.
My other buddy has a 68 torino gt with a 302. he drove almost every day if not he was driving his 90s f150.

Now to me. I started of driving the family car a 1994 chrysler new yorker. veryy veryy lonnggggg car. but was comfortable and nice to drive with the 3.5 in it.
Both my brothers have 99 neon r/ts one red with silver stripes and one white with blue stripes. It was only destiny for me to get a blue with silver stripes to complete the american tribute. Sure enough my dad found a blue 98 neon r/t in the new paper for 3500. we went and test drove it and he ended up fronting me the money to buy it. and i payed him back over the years while i modded it out a little with a few boltons under the hood. it was quick and reliable for a 4 cyl the motors are straight forward and easy to fix if anything ever goes wrong. the head gasket issues was only in the 95s and early 96s when they were 1 ply the factory made them 3 ply the second half of 96. I would average around 30 mpg and it was peppy with the 3.94 trans in it. I then in college found a 85 power ram that me and my dad worked on and i almost have on the road and this past year i picked up a 67 barracuda that we are going to restore together. One of the main reasons i am close to my dad is cars. we go to cars shows ever where and our yearly vacations to chryslers at carlise and the mopar nationals in ohio. My neon has 155k on it and not may problems over the years. same little issues ud run into with any car. But having that car it was different and i took pride in it like none other. the paint looks almost mind and thats where i learn a lot of respect form cars form even though it wasnt fast.

Id say find a 4 cyl like a shadow or neon so she has gas and safety and find an a body or what ever suits her and work on it together over the years and her awareness will increase and she will be a lot better off once she gets an old beauty to take care of.

All in all what ever you end up getting her congrats on having a girl interested in cars. Take advantage of it me and my dads relationship wouldnt be half of what it is now if wasnt for cars.

MOPAR OR NO CAR!!!!
 
I vote no on the lil red express. Too rare to give to a teen. See if she likes the early A bodies. They are plentiful, cheap and easy to work on. If she really likes the trucks, get her any 72-86 D100. If you're looking for safety, new cars are the only way to go. Big heavy cars and trucks are definitely not safer than newer compact cars.
 
I'm 26, I just got my first real "muscle car" a 70 340 Dart. But I went the same route when I was young. First was the /6 73 Valiant 4 door. Had disk brakes, had air, had power steering, had a GREAT running motor, had no power, HAD TO SELL IT. (I'd kill to have the damn thing still.) I was 18 and brilliant, so I picked up a 273 64-1/2 Barracuda. Had to see how fast it went, had to chase down import cars, had to hit a pot hole at 100 and bring the torsion bar through the passenger floor... Now clearly boys are different. We have a broken "off button." But in many cases I was very ginger with the car. IT'S THE ONE TIME YOU DO NOT RESPECT IT, that you get bitten. And After hitting the pot hole, popping the frame, and missing a telephone pole by less than a foot head on; many thoughts passed my mind.

1. You're an idiot.
2. This 40+ year old lap belt didn't do a damn thing.
3. Doesn't matter if you stand on them, manual brakes have TINY master cylinders.
4. WHY that steering wheel is made of wood... that would have impaled me.
5. Where the HELL did that telephone pole come from?
6. At least I beat that A-hole in the farting Jetta.

NOW, i'm not saying don't. But she needs to be 100% AWARE of the risks. She needs to know it WILL kill her if she does not respect it. Her chances in it depend on the scenario. Airbags help, but every accident is different. In a Hyundai Accent, hit head on by Dodge Ram 1500, they won't do ****. Cars are dangerous. Old cars are more dangerous. A lot of this depends on how well you know your daughter. But the rest depends on how well she acts in the moments you don't know about. It's a tough choice. But you'll know if she can handle it. BE HONEST. Not emotional. It's her life. She deserves to know what realistically could kill her. You have a picture that looks like your hunting together. "Open the action and show me; so no one gets shot." is no different than, "Stay under 75, and be cautious in the rain with the rear wheel drive, so you don't have the steering wheel go through your chest." It's tough to say, but you will be happy she knows the reality. This isn't something to sugarcoat. It's big kid time.

Good luck Sir
 
Pop and I built my sister a '72 scamp (/6, 4spd, 8 1/4, disks, rebuilt suspension, modern day 3point seat belts, I did the paint and body purple with a white top and a white but stripe) and she loves that car, she drives it everywhere and she can get it started with the funky choke almost better then I can. Anyway she has been very safe with the car and it's now going to be getting a 318 and 4spd.


I was talking to an officer awhile ago and he was telling me that he sees a lot more people coming out unharmed from big crashes in modern day crush zone and air bag equipped vehicles. I grew up driving old cars and manual transmission cars and I truly believe everyone should have to start out on a stick because you are a lot more in tune with whats happening with the car and around you.

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In my opinion the only thing that the old VW's have going for them is that they are grossly underpowered. My first car was 64 VW Bug, got it going 65mph downhill once. The have horrible handling, I rolled mine on a gravel road, about a month after getting it, only doing about 40mph at the time, it fished tailed the rear wheel caught the berm on the side of the road and rolled off the rim, it landed on its side in the ditch, I was thrown clear and received a bad bone bruise on my back. The newer bugs aren't much better, I worked with a guy that had one and he hit a patch of frost and spun around, and ended up at the bottom of a big ditch.
When I was 25 I had a 67 Dodge Dart 270 4-door, and t-boned a 90 Mercury Wagon at about 40mph, shortened the Dart about 6 inchs, totaled it, I had 5 teeth knocked out, a ruptured spleen and a cracked rib.
I would suggest something with fuel injection, so they don't forget the correct procedure to start it, save yourself s trip by not having to go and start a flooded car.
My thought would be a Sebring or similar, really bug em and get them a 4-door.
 
Lots of civilized discussion here .. Read some very good points. This is something I am giving lots of consideration into.. I just don't know if I could put her in anything old for a daily driver. I agree newer cars do get destroyed in " minor" crashes but I truely believe they are designed that way to absorb the energy.. Heck I'm always extremely cautious and nervous anytime we are in my Duster because I know any wreck is going to hurt bad. I'm giving lots of thought into a 94 -01 or so Dodge Reg. cab short bed truck. Preferably 4x4.. These seem pretty affordable , pretty safe ( like the idea of limited passengers ), good looking ( IMO) , and she can do lots of mods to it if shes willing to spend the money.. I still have a while before I have to buy any thing but the search has begun... Thanks for everyone's input..

P.S. I will also be installing a device that I have seen lately that prevents the cell phone from being used any time the engine is running...It was $100 and I believe it should be mandatory in all teenagers vehicles .. Probably most adults also.
 
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