[goatwgn]

Dont forget about the 3800 powered cars. Especially W bodies. They make nice, reliable daily drivers. and can be had pretty cheap. Things like up to 1997-2008 Grand Prixs, Impalas, Lacrosse. H/C cars like the Bonneville, Buick Park Ave/Lesabre (although the Buicks will likely not be "cool" at all to a teenager) Believe it or not, as much as I hate to admit it, (because I despise vans in any shape or form), Chrysler minivans with the 3.3 or 3.8 are solid vehicles. The Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis are a couple of others. All of these cars come with airbags and antilock brakes. I can attest to all of them being pretty mechanically sound due to years of working on vehicles. Sometimes window regulator issues with all the cars above, and other minor things, (like HVAC controls with the Crown Victoria and Chrysler vans, but overall well engineered. If you buy a new car, lease it, because every last single car made today is going to cost big $$$ to repair.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by goatwgn

Dont forget about the 3800 powered cars. Especially W bodies. They make nice, reliable daily drivers. and can be had pretty cheap. Things like up to 1997-2008 Grand Prixs, Impalas, Lacrosse. H/C cars like the Bonneville, Buick Park Ave/Lesabre (although the Buicks will likely not be "cool" at all to a teenager) Believe it or not, as much as I hate to admit it, (because I despise vans in any shape or form), Chrysler minivans with the 3.3 or 3.8 are solid vehicles. The Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis are a couple of others. All of these cars come with airbags and antilock brakes. I can attest to all of them being pretty mechanically sound due to years of working on vehicles. Sometimes window regulator issues with all the cars above, and other minor things, (like HVAC controls with the Crown Victoria and Chrysler vans, but overall well engineered. If you buy a new car, lease it, because every last single car made today is going to cost big $$$ to repair.

If the transmission on the caravans has been checked over or gone through I agree because they go for dirt cheap. But, getting a kid to drive a minivan would be a chore unless they see what they could do in it like the kids in the late 70s did.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

I thought the same thing. I graduated in 94 and drive a 1970 LeMans through high school. Do it was 24 years old. Still drive it occasionally today. Now I’m wondering if it’s possible to drive a 25 year old car to school?

I've mentioned this before but still holds true IMO..what's 'old' has changed over the decades... A 25 year old car in 1975 was a heck of a lot 'older' than it is in 2020.
Think about it... A 1950 Chevrolet delivery van in the HS parking lot in 1975 would be way more noticeable than a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe in today's HS parking lot.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by 455Grandville

If the transmission on the caravans has been checked over or gone through I agree because they go for dirt cheap. But, getting a kid to drive a minivan would be a chore unless they see what they could do in it like the kids in the late 70s did.

Agree about the transmissions in those.. Maybe the girl could make it "cool" by hauling her girlfriends around in it. A lot of people always wanted me to ride them around in my wagon in high school (40 years ago, lol)

[Mr Anonymous]

If said vehicle is "uncool" enough, its rolling birth control, and that might matter.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

I thought the same thing. I graduated in 94 and drive a 1970 LeMans through high school. Do it was 24 years old. Still drive it occasionally today. Now I’m wondering if it’s possible to drive a 25 year old car to school?

.

I can't think of a single reason why not. My son drives a 65 bug to college, it's 55 years old! His Mustang is already 31 years old.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Think about it... A 1950 Chevrolet delivery van in the HS parking lot in 1975 would be way more noticeable than a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe in today's HS parking lot.

I've thought about this a lot: Cars today don't see the rapid changes every decade like they used to. When I was in high school, cars that were over 7 years old were classics. (or "old POSs"). A couple of years ago, my uncle visited and was driving a rented Ford "big car" product (I forget which.) I couldn't tell if it was brand new or 25 years old.

[Formulabruce]

This could end up beating the "What camshaft" threads in length!

[1965gp]

It is definitely a longer discussion than I planned on!

[Formulajones]

Least this one stayed civil for a change, from what I've read in it anyway.

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I've mentioned this before but still holds true IMO..what's 'old' has changed over the decades... A 25 year old car in 1975 was a heck of a lot 'older' than it is in 2020.
Think about it... A 1950 Chevrolet delivery van in the HS parking lot in 1975 would be way more noticeable than a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe in today's HS parking lot.

Greg, so often I've seen you post responses that parallel my thinking!
Before getting to this post, I was reminiscing about my own experiences with "old" cars at school. At age 16 I owned the GTO I have today, and that was in 1973. I was in high school and driving a 6 year old car. My parents had a 4 year old car, and we were lower middle class economically in my opinion.

My best friend was driving his 4 year old '69 Z28 and the '40 Ford coupe that he inherited from his father's passing a year earlier. It had a 283 with a three speed behind it, 63 Impala bucket seats and chrome reverse wheels with white walls. Talk about sticking out in a crowd! At 33 years old then, it compares to a kid driving a 1987 Crown Vic (or Mustang?) today.

We raised so much Hell in that coupe, we should have been locked up several times over but never were.



Fast forward to now. Three months ago we took in a true, numbers matching Hugger Orange '69 SS Camaro that a middle aged woman had saved and garaged since her teen years. She asked me to go through the car and get it road worthy and safe for her 16 year old son to drive. To their credit, they cut no corners letting us get it right.

We also added Vintage Air and an upgraded stereo system with Bluetooth.

This kid seems so half-hearted about having this car, it's a shame. I get the feeling he will be embarrassed to drive it, and I feel bad for the parents. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

Greg, so often I've seen you post responses that parallel my thinking!

True, true..lol.. same here. Often I feel that a response that I'm thinking of is appropriate but it's already been said by you or one of a handful of others here of 'like mind'.

This kid seems so half-hearted about having this car, it's a shame. I get the feeling he will be embarrassed to drive it, and I feel bad for the parents. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

That IS a shame. Possibly he'd prefer a Prius or Mini Cooper?

[necdb3]

Fast forward to now. Three months ago we took in a true, numbers matching Hugger Orange '69 SS Camaro that a middle aged woman had saved and garaged since her teen years. She asked me to go through the car and get it road worthy and safe for her 16 year old son to drive. To their credit, they cut no corners letting us get it right.

This kid may think that now but once He/She drives it to school and the kids are saying how cool it is, the story will change.

[Formulajones]

Agree, that'll change.

32 Ford, 57 Chevy, 69 Camaro, are all iconic cars that have gone, or will go down in history as some of the most influential hot rods. Given enough time, once he realizes what he has, that mindset will change, and the attention it will get from both young and old, and even the amount of women that flock to that car, will only solidify his appreciation for it.

[400 4spd.]

I talked with the boy a couple of times when they came to see how it was progressing. When it was finished, I showed him everything we had done. Then I told him in front of his parents how fortunate he is to be given a car like that, and to appreciate it because not many parents would do what they were doing. He nodded, grinned and shrugged his shoulders, like "okay". He seems to be a good kid.
This is the car.
(If we paint it someday, I will certainly put the stripe on correctly!)

[1965gp]

My god tgat is a nice car for a 16 yr old!

[necdb3]

He'll be the talk of the school bringing that in. Looks great. He'll learn quickly to love that car. Would be curious if in 25 years, he still owns it. That will create a lot of great memories for him.

[1965gp]

I know I’m glad I still have my high school car- although it looks nothing like that!

[Greg Reid]

Wait'll all the guys and gals driving new ones go ga-ga over his.

[NeighborsComplaint]

When I was 16, dads were the authoritarian. I wanted a used Malibu SS w. a 4 speed but he was loaning me the money so he made me buy a 4 door Galaxie 500 6 cylinder stick. I was embarrassed to drive it anywhere. When the time came for my son's first car, he really liked the Camaro IROCZ. We found a clean, one-owner used one and he never put a scratch on it. When my daughter was ready for her first car, she wanted a Ford Explorer. We went out and found a clean Eddie Bauer for her.

It was more of a collaboration with my kids when picking out a car. I wouldn't force them to drive to drive a "taxi cab" like my father did with me and knew they were much responsible than I was at that age. I know my dad had my best interests at heart (car was slow and safe) and he was absolutely right. First time I took one of my buddies for a ride, I put it in a ditch trying to do a power slide around a corner on a gravel road. No damage, but it taught me to never drive beyond my abilities.