Crappy cars that have become classics.

[F4R/T]

I think the big swap issue is they think it’s better and easier but in reality not any of the above. Mopar suspension is considered ancient by some when really it’s easy to work with and torsion bars offer a lot of benefits.

 

[68BabyBlue]

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.

I just had this conversation with my friend Bob at our annual pilgrimage to the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals. Bob is the guy who sold me my namesake "Baby Blue" in 1983. He was a third generation Chevy guy, who bought the '68 GTX from a co-worker of his father's in 1974. He ran the car at Capitol Raceway throughout the 70s, and never broke anything in the original drive line. The car is still numbers matching today, and the original engine has never been apart.

Bob also owned a '68 Camaro, which belonged to his dad when new. With modifications, he got it to run in the same league as the GTX, but he's the first to admit, no Chevrolet he saw in that era could rival the strength of the Mopar drive train.

 

[6PKRTSE]

All of them. They were all built cheap and they were built fast to get them out the door, just like today but with style. However, I love all of them today because of their timeless classic looks and the old family and friends stories that came with them.

 

[guy gadbois]

OK... lemme go ahead and start something here...
just because a car is rattly doesnt mean its krap - just means it has poor NVH. If that was a valid consideration in determining 'crappiness', then all our old mopars are crap. Old Corvettes fall mostly into that category also - especially Roadsters as the Coupes are a little stiffer. But while old Mopars and Corvettes [as an example] are rattly, they ARE Classic and they are NOT crap.
Lots of crap cars on this planet, LOTS of them. But crap cars that are classic? I imagine there are many, but the first one that pops into my mind is an early 911 Porsche. Absolute classic, but also pretty much crap; engines wouldnt go more than 40k for the most part, evil handling and rust like theres no tomorrow. yes, Porsche got em straightened out - 3.0 SC, 3.2 Carrera, 993 and to some extent later ones will last like a small block Chevy [well, almost...] if taken care of and the head studs are replaced and Carrera tensioners installed on the SC and a couple of other little issues addressed on the earlier water cars, plus they got the handling as sorted as you can get a rear engined car and got the rust problem basically eradicated, but the early cars were krap in reality.

 

[Nutso]

I love these…becoming classic.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

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.

Some English cars have the shift lever on the right hand side, close to the door.
However, shifting with the left hand is more natural. Some of the big tricks had two gear levers. That was interesting shifting both.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I love these…becoming classic.

View attachment 1890457

I have always liked those also and even almost bought several, but I have always talked myself out of buying one for some unknown reason.

 

[DeltaV]

This thread will not doubt unveil some interesting perspectives since the thread title states "classics" and the actual question in the OP is "collector status". Not all classics, crappy or otherwise, have attained collector status; and collector status infers high prices to me because of widespread appeal.

What is a classic? Age of 20, 30, 40, or 50+ years old?

The first (limited) use of galvanized steel didn't occur until sometime in the mid-1970's by those pesky Germans. The Big 3 got on board by 1983? I'm not sure when the British cars started using galvanized steel, etc.

We don't like rust. Ergo, every American car built before 1983 is crappy? Is there anything built after 1983 that is a "classic", but has widespread appeal as a "collectible"? Is there anything built after 1983 that wasn't crap? When did the car companies stop producing crap? What is your definition of crap...ugly?, FWD?, anything not a V-8?, unreliable, anything foreign?, anything domestic?

Is it Friday yet?

 

[F4R/T]

Mopar did dip or treat the bodies up to a point at least there was some effort. They weren’t meant to last forever and folks used to buy a new one how often? Now it’s once every how many years and you have to sell your first born.

 

[coronet68mx]

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

View attachment 1889699

Yeap, same crappy k car

 

[coronet68mx]

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

Also yeap , one of the many many wonders of ma mopar here in Mexico.

 

[coronet68mx]

There is a rich history of A body production in South America, Australia and Mexico.
View attachment 1889701

View attachment 1889702

View attachment 1889703

Some of them really cool cars, i said this before, the Brazilian charger is the best looking a body ever.

 

[dadsbee]

WFC...

 

[WileE]

Posts #14, 15, & 16 don;t look like crappy cars to me.

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.

Uhh... what do you have against panty hose ?

 

[1STMP]

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

View attachment 1889408

View attachment 1889409

Had an '81 vette that topped a
whopping 196 HP, and the interior
being almost pure plastic was bent,
dried up, and twisted after 5 years
exposed to the relentless heat of the
desert southwest. Never could get the
windows or T-Tops to seal. Wind noise
to the point of being annoying.
Biggest piece of GM Americana
crap I've ever owned.
Never owned another Chevrolet after
that one.

 

[SlingLow]

Pretty much all the 80's crappy cars

View attachment 1889683

View attachment 1889684

They became classics???

I'm thinking Ford Falcon. Not my cup of tea, but there are a bunch around here, probably because of the relative affordability compared to other models.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

I'm thinking Ford Falcon. Not my cup of tea, but there are a bunch around here, probably because of the relative affordability compared to other models.

This one is probably not affordable.

The 1970 1/2 Falcon Cobra Jet was only in production for half a year, only 42 examples housed the Super Cobra V8 engine making this Ford a rarity among iconic muscles

 

[Photon440]

I don't even know why Ford bothered to move the Falcon name plate to the Torino body for a single year. They already had Fairlane for the lower end model of that car.

 

[coronet68mx]

They became classics???

I'm thinking Ford Falcon. Not my cup of tea, but there are a bunch around here, probably because of the relative affordability compared to other models.

Like everything, all is in the eye of the beholder, to this new generations, for example, classic music is from the 90's, just to set an example any car not driven by a pcm ergo carburetor is classic, just because is old to them, again we are inmerse in a generation renewal, for good or worst and this always has been.

 

[SteveSS]

All I see the younger Generation is interested in is trucks. That's a terrible sentence structure but you get it.

Young guys even like my '91 F-150 shop truck. It's got about 115K miles on it and runs and runs. Dash hasn't cracked, seats still look new. I wonder how many hailstorms its been through and not one dent.