Crappy cars that have become classics.

[SteveSS]

I like 3rd Gen Corvettes but everyone I've owned was a rattle trap. Even our '71 Challenger is very rough and full of rattles. I wonder how much better they were when new. But more to my point what cars were pretty awful when new and have gained collector status?

 

[68BabyBlue]

Any E body painted with FC7 meets the criteria. Highly sought after today. Here in the PA rust belt, they were rolling buckets of swiss cheese in only a few years. I remember more junky purple cars with peeling paint than good looking examples back in the day.

 

[WileE]

Top o' my list : 75-81 GM F-body Camaro and Firebird, especially the Smokey Bandit Trans Am. Overweight slugs. In my view, the poster child of the 70's of a great car transformed into a loafing oaf. If I had the $$ at the time I might've bought a 73/74 SD-455, one of the best cars at the time. Which turned into a stripe & mudflap turtle.

 

[Ron H]

When owning a ’70 Cuda in ’72, and later buying a new ’73 Challenger, I recall the doors being tinny. They rattled when closed. I’d tell my future wife at the time don’t slam the doors. Her t-bird and my GTO doors were more solid sounding having tighter feel.

 

[chargervert]

I like 3rd Gen Corvettes but everyone I've owned was a rattle trap. Even our '71 Challenger is very rough and full of rattles. I wonder how much better they were when new. But more to my point what cars were pretty awful when new and have gained collector status?

Let's not be dissing the Corvette. My convertible E body cars rattle less,because the body flexes more.

 

[hemi71x]

When owning a ’70 Cuda in ’72, and later buying a new ’73 Challenger, I recall the doors being tinny. They rattled when closed. I’d tell my future wife at the time don’t slam the doors. Her t-bird and my GTO doors were more solid sounding having tighter feel.

Owned a 71 Cuda for 39 years, and in all that time, the doors would always rattle, bang, clang, around when closing them.
I put up with that throughout my ownership.

 

[Ron H]

Owned a 71 Cuda for 39 years, and in all that time, the doors would always rattle, bang, clang, around when closing them.
I put up with that throughout my ownership.

Sure wish I had my Cuda, but I have a story many now geezer car guys have about letting a ride that was our daily transport go before we knew what we had or would become. It ran great, reliable, fast enough for my thrill, and the doors were the least of my worries (other than passengers thinking some brute force was required to close them, lol).

 

[SteveSS]

I would love to have a Smokey and The Bandit Trans Am. With all the gold pinstriping. Easy enough to make it fast.

Remember we have the '81 Camaro BumbleBee replica. It gets so many positive comments, I think because everybody knows what a Camaro is.

It's a real POS but so was the movie car. I paid $900 for it and maybe another $600 into it. I gave it to my daughter for her birthday 10 years ago. I get it back from time to time when it needs something.

 

[coronet68mx]

Pretty much all the 80's crappy cars

 

[eldubb440]

I learned collision repair in the 80s. There wasn't much to them

 

[coronet68mx]

Pretty much all the 80's crappy cars

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My grand pa own a 1987 dart in good condition and he gets compliments about the car all the time, of course from young people who think just because is old is " classic " and " cool"

 

[RR Fan Dan]

My grand pa own a 1987 dart in good condition and he gets compliments about the car all the time, of course from young people who think just because is old is " classic " and " cool"

They didn’t make a Dart in 1987.

 

[DeltaV]

They didn’t make a Dart in 1987.

They did in Mexico. He's in Mexico.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

They did in Mexico. He's in Mexico.

Silly me. Thanks. Sorry coronet68mx. So looking it up I gather it’s the equivalent to a dodge 600?

 

[Kern Dog]

There is a rich history of A body production in South America, Australia and Mexico.

 

[matthon]

Hemi!

 

[Photon440]

They did in Mexico. He's in Mexico.

It was basically a Dodge Aires with a Plymouth Reliant front clip. Dodge kept using the Dart name while Plymouth still had the Valiant.

 

[Kern Dog]

Hemi!

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Driving from the right side of the car would be weird but then trying to shift with my left hand would take weird to the next level.

 

[Photon440]

Driving from the right side of the car would be weird but then trying to shift with my left hand would take weird to the next level.

Whilst still a railroader, my boss bought a few of these to use for scooting around the yard for light repairs and carrying parts. They were never licensed for road use, just stayed on the property. Shifting left handed didn't take long to get used to.

 

[Runcharger]

Chevy II or whatever they were called had real flexy flier frontends in them. I spoke with a few GM guys that told me after a few power shifts they would move around and need a front end alignment. Then theres the great powerglide anything. I found the Chevies of the day could run hard and responded well to bigger camshafts but their weaker drivetrains would break under the strain while my Mopars were read to race anytime. Oh lets not forget the wheelhop prone GM coil spring setup either. To this day I cringe when people want to swap in a diaphraghm clutch and coil springs into a good Mopar.
As far as Mopars, the thing that disappointed us back in the day was the panty hose upholstery in the Dusters and low line Road Runners. Upgrading to the decor packages was money well spent. Couldn't fault the drivetrains though.