Could you tell it was a classic??

[Ibrox90]

Ok lads and ladies (particularly the older ones),

For years Ive had this question and now i can have it answered due to the car fanatics we have here on AFF.

(ill try my best to explain it but if its not clear ask and ill reword)

When cars like the XT to XY GT's and coupes, the GTS Monaro (etc) came out,

Did you know it was going to be something special?

Did you know it would be a classic?

I personally thing the new FPV GS will be a classic and the BF Cobra (particularly the Utes)

[Wally]

Yes we knew the XY GT, the H series Monaros and the XU1's were special, but I doubt any of us forecast the ridiculous prices they would fetch in their twilight years, otherwise I'd still have one or two sitting in the shed. They were pretty austere cars back then, so who wouldn't trade in for a new HQ, XA, or Jap import with electric aerial when the time came.

No there hasn't been anything since, but maybe the A9X, that has came close to the hyperbole and that's because the late 60 and early 70's was the golden era of Ford versus Holden, one that spawned a tradition that still polarises boymen into tribes, for the entertainment of others.

[Peter B - CV8]

As a youngster growing up in the 70's - it was absolute car heaven. Ford, Holden & Valiant were making some great cars & you always sort of knew that their top of the line efforts were a bit special (ie XU1, Monaro's, A9X, Cobra, GT's, RS2000, E48 & E49 Chargers, even Pacers.....).
Sure, there were plenty of boy racers out there modifying bog standard cars to go & handle better - but they lacked the "heritage" of the factory produced "super car".
Together with my mates, we all had some pretty special cars in our youth - but none of us kept them in the long term. The main reason for letting the cars go was the fact that your priorities changed. Things like getting married, having kids etc.... I still remember the day I traded in my Escort (twin cam) for a brand new XU1. Wish I had the ability to keep them both - but the XU1 went a few years later for a house deposit.

[Luke Plaizier]

Well, consider this. If Marcos Ambrose ever gets in and wins a Nascar championship, what will happen to that limited run of Devil Racer BA XR8's that came out?

We don't tend to think much of them now, nor the Enforcers that were released at the same time, but could these, too, be an investment waiting in the wings?


Lukeyson

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Well, consider this. If Marcos Ambrose ever gets in and wins a Nascar championship, what will happen to that limited run of Devil Racer BA XR8's that came out?

We don't tend to think much of them now, nor the Enforcers that were released at the same time, but could these, too, be an investment waiting in the wings?


Lukeyson

Even if Marcos Ambrose went on to win The Formula 1 World Driver Championship and it will not make one iota of difference to those Devil Racer BA XR8s!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Well, consider this. If Marcos Ambrose ever gets in and wins a Nascar championship, what will happen to that limited run of Devil Racer BA XR8's that came out?

Unless he wins the NASCAR championship in a BA XR8, nothing will happen.

[Bushbasher]

Personally, I don't think the B series muscle will turn into must have classics, there is just too many of them out there. The price structure of the various models will reflect their equipment levels and option rarity perhaps but I don't think they'll get to half the value of your house like the old school muscle has done. The Cobra and 40th Anniversary GT will get a few more bucks due to their build number badges but even then I think people will see them for what they truly are, just another sticker pack variant on the regular GT, with the exception of the Cobra ute which is a little bit out of the ordinary, and so might demand a few extra dollars, but only just. The last of the AU Tickfords will out perform them, price wise, in the long run I recon because of their relative rarity and their hand built quality but still not in the price bracket of the chrome bumper brigade. Just my opinion of coarse.


Bushbasher

[Neale]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Well, consider this. If Marcos Ambrose ever gets in and wins a Nascar championship, what will happen to that limited run of Devil Racer BA XR8's that came out?

We don't tend to think much of them now, nor the Enforcers that were released at the same time, but could these, too, be an investment waiting in the wings?


Lukeyson

What about the old Jack Brabham Torana's, the first torana that was based on the Vauxhaul Viva : , I dont think there worth mutch if there are any left that is!!! Maybe there not worth anything cause there a holden though ha ha ha

[jpd80]

I remember passing up an original 302 Boss Mustang, RHD converted for AUS$8,000.
It was 1980 and....well, I might have been able to afford it...

[GTPete]

We were blessed with tunnel vision all those years ago.
There wasnt the variation that there is now. For most you were either Holden or Ford.

Putting race history or race cred aside you can now choose a Golf GTI or a WRX or an EVO etc as well as a GT Falcon, GTS Holden or F6 Falcon. Plus any number of other prerformance models.
Way too much choice, all of these cars are high performance hero cars for their respective manufacturers.

But none truly stand out from the pack. You can throw a blanket over all of them in performance terms.

Is there anything out there now that is unmodified that out handles, outbrakes and out accelerates its competition and is punching above its weight in terms of price and value. Thats a future classic.
I struggle to see any one car offering all that.

The F6 maybe the best value sedan for performance and value with aftermarket mods. But I still think theres some underlying negative opinion about turbo cars otherwise the VL turbo would have laid the path for the F6 to be something special. V8 sales would suggest that the F6 hasnt made it as a classic either.

The W427 is the stand out for Holden but its performance is not that far ahead of the F6 or other hi performance commodores that are closing in on it now.

[ROBO332]

Hi.. Sorry to upset the younger generation but plastic cars will never become classic's.....A real car is a steel car..... : :

[trippytaka]

One major point:These cars were actually raced at Bathurst. Back then you were buying pretty much the same car as the one that won.

Today there are a barely few visual similarities between the V8 Supercars and that's it.

Second major point: It was a new era of Australian motoring... the XR GT was the first Aussie muscle car. Everything is always more exciting when it's new.

I don't believe any of the modern cars will ever evoke as much emotion as the "golden era" cars of the late '60s and early '70s. Because of this they will never be as desired. Sure, a handful will be labelled "classics" (and already are) by enthusiasts, but there will never be the kind of frenzies that surround the XY GT etc.

[Ibrox90]

Well the thing is my thinking would be did people not think the same back then????

for example (a poor one i know) did people not think "well the new falcon will never be a classic like a 57" chev or a 48' ford (just for arguements sake)

[Jack91]

Originally Posted by Ibrox90

Well the thing is my thinking would be did people not think the same back then????

for example (a poor one i know) did people not think "well the new falcon will never be a classic like a 57" chev or a 48' ford (just for arguements sake)

I wouldnt have thought so, you always hear people saying "oh I used to have a phase 3 blah blah blah wish i knew itd be worth something and hadnt have sold it (how many phase 3's can there be? honestly, every 10th person says the same story) They all traded it in for the new model with the electric aerials and fancy radio not thinking anything of it.

[JACK250]

Originally Posted by DAVO_XR

I wouldnt have thought so, you always hear people saying "oh I used to have a phase 3 blah blah blah wish i knew itd be worth something and hadnt have sold it (how many phase 3's can there be? honestly, every 10th person says the same story) They all traded it in for the new model with the electric aerials and fancy radio not thinking anything of it.

You're not wrong, reasons I think for this- 1. The cars changed hands pretty often in many cases so 1 GT could have seen many owners, and 2. Many people that owned them aren't the kind of enthusiasts you get on this site, they just liked the car or wanted something fast, and think that an XY GT and Phase 3 are the same thing.

Jack

[Kryton]

I honestly believe that people who think current Gt's (and the likes) will be worth something one day in the future, only believe this because old Gt's are worth something now.

If production of GT's never stopped at all, im pretty sure you wouldnt be seeing stupid prices for now for X series GT's.
Sure, they still would be a little special but when theres 40 years of GT's to pick from, they arent going to be that special.

[Gaz]

GS defiantly won't be something special in the future. It's a the pov pack GT, or the up spec XR8...

[xr_ash]

Not that I was around for much of the 70's, but I think the old GT's etc are awesome cars and like it has been said, these were the cars that were actually racing bathurst and the like. Due to that, I think there is much more appeal for them as classics than the newer GT's and performance cars that are coming out now.
If Ford do bring out something like the much anticipated HO, and only in a very limited release, maybe then you may have another classic on your hands........
Nothing that's out so far would do it for me - too common!

[tankclare]

I wish I was around back in the 70s. My uncle and his mates had some pretty decent cars with no idea how much they would be worth in the future. My uncle had a HG Monaro (had a fight with his girlfriend so took it bush with the poops and beat it up with an axe..I could smack him in the back of the head) and then a HQ monaro, F100 etc. Another mate of ours had a number of chargers including an E49, then a hemi cuda and a range of yank cars..

They still kick them selves on letting them go. Although our mate that had the chargers still has a few performance cars including a 68 dodge ute with a 1000hp 588ci big block and a 7 sec LJ torana

[zdcol71]

The point is made often enough about the connection between the classics of the late 60s and seventies with Bathurst etc.To me the reason they are classics now has far more to do with aesthetics.I personally found the "look" of the ZC and ZD to have it all over the standard Falcon 500 of the time, and I still don't think we have produced better looking cars than the XA, (or dare I say it, HQ)
A Falcon coupe of the time, and 2 door Monaro were actually discernable from not only each other but their family donors, (transpose that to a modern Monaro), V8SC hold absolutely no attraction for me, as until a drivers name is mentioned, I have got no idea who the hell is who.Same for the brands they represent on the street, I find it hard to get too enthused about the run of the mill cars on the street today, until they are close enough to see the badges they may as well be the same car to a large degree.(just as a divergence.. I watched the movie Stone last night,dose of nostalgia to see the cars on the Ku ring gai(??) freeway during the funeral procession, a lot of future "classics" in that scene alone)

[RedHotGT]

To me - the future classics are the un-loved cars of today...

Now that the market is 'conditioned' to look out for cars... (anything that says Monaro, GTS, GT, V8, 351 etc) It will be the unloved cars of today (or the past 10 years) that will be classic.

Force 6 / 8
T Series Fairlane
NL Concorde
Super Pursuit Utes
Short Production Colours (ie: Congo Green GT-P)
ED Sprint

I guess only time will tell - but I know what I'll be storing away and selling in a few years... (i'll let you know when they're for sale)...

[GTP 044]

Originally Posted by loftie

To me - the future classics are the un-loved cars of today...

Now that the market is 'conditioned' to look out for cars... (anything that says Monaro, GTS, GT, V8, 351 etc) It will be the unloved cars of today (or the past 10 years) that will be classic.

Force 6 / 8
T Series Fairlane
NL Concorde
Super Pursuit Utes
Short Production Colours (ie: Congo Green GT-P)
ED Sprint

I guess only time will tell - but I know what I'll be storing away and selling in a few years... (i'll let you know when they're for sale)...

I like the sound of that Short Production Coloured car you mention becoming a classic!! : LOL!!

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by GTP 044

I like the sound of that Short Production Coloured car you mention becoming a classic!! : LOL!!

Saw it at the AFD 2010

A fine looking machine - love the colour

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by GTP 044

I like the sound of that Short Production Coloured car you mention becoming a classic!! : LOL!!

I thought you would... ;)

[Ibrox90]

huge fan of the force 8's

[blkvt8]

2 car that are now become very saught after the vn ss and the eb xr6 sprinter not many of those left in good nick

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by blkvt8

2 car that are now become very saught after the vn ss and the eb xr6 sprinter not many of those left in good nick

This EB XR6 Sprinter you speak of?
What exactly do you mean?

EBII XR6 S or ED XR8 Sprint?

[disco]

This is an interesting thread.

I do believe that some owners did consider the old muscle cars to be future classics.

Some time ago I acquired a 2 owner 1969 XW GT-HO, this car is in original unrestored condition with books and lowish miles (66000). Anyway I had the opportunity to speak to the first owners who are a couple in there late 60's/early 70's.

They told me over the phone that the very reason they purchased the Phase 1 in 1969, was because they had read and heard about it's impending release after the XW GT. The husband said "we ought to get one of those as they'll be collectible one day!" Well he was right, some 30 years later he sold the car to the 2nd owner for 5 times the original sticker price.

The original owners even told me that they regret having sold it in the first place and it would be awfully valuable these days.

Anyway, due to their appreciation and believing it would a future classic, my GT-HO "survived' in remarkably good original condition, with all it's original paint, glass, drivetrain, interior...etc.

So they were appreciated by some. Sorry for the long post and hope this wasn't boring.

cheers,
Dave.

[pottery beige]

Absolute cracker there disco..

[Scott]

Cars of today will become classics (and not just because of age). In 30-40 years time our kids and grandkids will wonder how we managed to wrangle a Fairlane around the city and listen with astonished gazes at how much fuel we used to burn up just to get to the shops.

They won't believe that you could drive out of a Ford dealer with a brand new GT for $70k and will ask why everyone didn't have one. Many will look at their Dads like idiots for trading the TS50 in on one of those Japanese buzz-boxes and conversely, Dads will have a million "fishing tales" of the ripper skids they used to pull and how they could outsmart the cops back in their day.

Will they be worth anything? Probably not, certainly not worth enough to warrant tucking one away thats for sure.