What’s the best muscle car for a beginner in muscle cars?
I would love to start off with the hardcore classic muscle cars, but I do no have any experience,or info, on owning (let alone driving) a muscle car.
Camaro
Chevelle
Torino
Gran Torino
Pontiac GT
Pontiac Firebird etc.
I’ll just add to everyone’s excellent answers…
I’d look for an early-model third generation Firebird or Camaro (early 80s to early 90s). Very easy to work on, VERY easy to find parts for, and there are tons of online forums to help with any issues you might have. If you need parts quickly, I guarantee you that any pick-n-pull yard will have at least 10 of them sitting out in the yard to choose from.
Also, you can find a decent example for about $2500. This will get you a straight body, decent interior, decent engine (probably tired, but can be refurb’d), etc.
A Firebird would be the easiest to locate and the cheapest to buy.
Be prepared to pay extremely high insurance premiums and you’ll need to learn how to maintain and repair the car your self. If you had to pay someone else every time this car needed work you’d go broke.
References :
Chevelle, Camaro, and Mustang are all fairly straight forward to build and easy to get parts for.
References :
If you are just starting out, Camaro, Chevelle, Firebird and Mustang would be your best bets. They were produced in high numbers so they are easy to find. They have a big following, so parts are easy to find, There are several repro houses making new parts for them, so resto is not as frustrating as with some other cars. SInce there are so many parts, they are cheaper on rebuild than, say, a Plymouth GTX.
Also, look for cars that make good clones. For example, if you like the Chevelle, but cant find one, maybe start with a 2dr Malibu or Olds Cutlass, Buick Skylark. A lot of times, these will be far cheaper on the initial purchase, can use many of the same parts, and will be just as much fun, especially for a beginner.
References :
I’ll just add to everyone’s excellent answers…
I’d look for an early-model third generation Firebird or Camaro (early 80s to early 90s). Very easy to work on, VERY easy to find parts for, and there are tons of online forums to help with any issues you might have. If you need parts quickly, I guarantee you that any pick-n-pull yard will have at least 10 of them sitting out in the yard to choose from.
Also, you can find a decent example for about $2500. This will get you a straight body, decent interior, decent engine (probably tired, but can be refurb’d), etc.
References :
Former F&I manager, own a ‘88 Firebird Formula