Thread: Classic Cars

I'm sure this topic has been done before, but what classic cars are we driving, working on or even one day hoping to own?

I've had a few old cars, one of my favorites was a '70 Plymouth Fury...not too popular in terms of collecting, but i loved the thing...she rang like a*** censored***!

I hope to one day own a '69.5 Road Runner A12 tribute (unless i'm at a point to own the original), but i would also love an Alfa GTV 2000 to take out canyon carving.

I'm driving a 12 year old Mazda 6. Does that count? I cannot service a car myself so I guess a classic is beyond my reach.

I have had several. 1969 Plymouth fury 3, 1969 Chevelle ss, 1976 Plymouth Volare that my dad and I stuffed a 383 big block in am currently I own a 1966 Plymouth belvedere II which needs a complete resto. I was born too late and missed all the good cars but I have enjoyed a few along my way

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I guess it may be a classic someday...the older rotary Mazdas are becoming somewhat classic. I don't like the fact that the newer cars are pretty much taking away the owners ability to fix and tweak a car...instead opting for the 'go directly to the dealership' option when there's an issue. I like to see all the things going on with a car...they're like inanimate objects now with the engine bay all covered up in plastic.

Love the Fury 3...it was a 20 foot tug boat, but could still wrap donuts. I was planning to do a 440 six pack conversion, but time and money put that to a stop.

The Volare sounds interesting...did the 383 have to be shoe horned into it?

When I was in high school, I thought I wanted to turn wrenches for a living. So, I went to a Tech school (Lincoln Tech Inst, in Indianapolis, Ind), then onto the Army where I wrenched on big trucks (63S Heavy Wheel Vehicle Mechanic). So, I've always been a gear head at heart. Even after I decided wrenching for a living wasn't the best for me, in the long run.

Anyway, here is a couple (trashed) pics of a couple I done a little work to, back in the day.



The VW is a 73 Super Beetle, with a '67 327 in the front end and a 9" under the butt. I built ladder bars that dang near went to the gas pedal area, just to get it to hook up. It was a solid mid 10 sec car at about 127mph.

The 4 door is an 81 Dodge Diplomat. She was an old Il State Police pursuit car. Orginally she came with a 318, but it was worn out. So, after 'a little' modifying of the frame, in went a 440. With the stock 224 gears in the rear end (I blew all my $ on the engine lol), if you could run fast you could beat her stop light to stop light. But, the BiG road is where she shined! 176 is where she started floating and I decided that was good enough for me. (As a side note: I was paced on this run, by a '76 Ford Pantera which had, echem...A Lot more big road than I did!)

The motocycle is a month after I bought her, still bone stock. 1990 HD Sportster 883. The engine stayed stock until '96 went I torn her all the way down to the frame. Along with comsmetic changes, the power plant (or lack thereof) got a remake, too. Axtel jugs and pistons took it to 1370 from 883. Balanced and blue printed heads (courtesy of Rat's Whole Place in Decatur, Il). And a set of Andrews V6 cams. That made her 'worthy' of being a HD. This is the only street 4 stroke that felt like it had a "power band" like a 2 stroker.

Of all of them, I only have the HD. All the others went to other hotrodders. When I retire (5yrs 10months and 27days, not that I'm counting) I want to build a '34 Ford from the ground up.

1971 Chevelle.
EVERYTHING done by ME...

Originally Posted by RiseAbove

Love the Fury 3...it was a 20 foot tug boat, but could still wrap donuts. I was planning to do a 440 six pack conversion, but time and money put that to a stop.

The Volare sounds interesting...did the 383 have to be shoe horned into it?

Very much so it was wedged in there! You had to remove the inspection plate on inner fender to remove plugs. It was all motor for sure. My buddy owns my fury 3 it's a land yacht no doubt. Miss that old beast. I'll see if I can find some pics of the Volare in the near future that shows the engine

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Originally Posted by AcesandEights

I like the military stuff. I was looking at maybe getting a Jeep m715 but i wasn't sure it would have the giddy up for highway speeds...maybe drop a Cummins in it. Did you ever work on the M715s?

I had a '66 1300 Beetle. Pretty easy to work on, and not too hard make to make it look half good...i dropped the spindles, stuck on some Empi BRMs and put dual 48's out back. Wasn't a bad car, although it was a constant battle trying to save the floor pans and other parts from rot.

Mid 10's...dam that's a quick Beetle. That must of taken a lot of work to get the 327 hooked up front and all the running gear to go with it. The Super Beetle...was that a 1600 5 speed in the 1303 body shape from the factory?

The Diplomat has that sinister look of the Buick GN/GNX. Was it a G-body?

The Harley sounds good. Did you alter the frame with a rigid tail? My next bike is gonna be an FXR...an ex police one with the hard panniers would be good. Eric Buell really knew what he was doing when he put the FXR frame together...the geometry is perfect. He has had some real good inventions/innovations in the bike world.

Originally Posted by Chevhead

1971 Chevelle.
EVERYTHING done by ME...

Nice car. What motor is she running?