Buying a Classic Car

[Paxton]

As if three cars aren't enough, I have decided that I need something to occupy what little time I have remaining. After reading threads here, on the old forum, and on other car related forum, I think either an early 70's Falcon, or Valiant would be best, however I have no idea where to start looking, and I have less of an idea how to do up the car when I finally find the right one. My biggest problem at the moment is knowing where to start. I don't want a complete car, I would rather something that needs fixing, but as I said, I have no idea what to look for.

If anyone has any experience in the classic car arena - that is, what to look for, and how much to pay etc, let me know in the thread. Before I get flamed for wanting to know about Valiants, my Mum's car when I was growing up was a Valiant. We didn't get Falcon's until Chrysler went to the Sigma.

Any help is greatly appreciated, in what I know will be a long, and difficult process.

[Fairlane]

Check out an old XP, i reckon, that would be a pretty good bet. A friend of mine has a '65 XP with a Pursuit 170, its a nice old car and cruises at 90/95 very easily.

Very simple car, still a resonable amount of them around. Mechanicals are no problem (144/170/200cu) and are freely available, bodies might have a little rust (you wanted something that needed fixing) and just about everything you could want interior and trim wise is made by rare spares and they are a much smaller car than the later X series models.

Valiants are relatively similiar, but parts are slightly more expensive and repro parts are harder to find, but in my opinion have superior mechanical (you cant beat the old slant 6 and a torqueflight)

Personally id be looking for an nice XP Fairmont, a reasonable orignial example shouldn't set you back anymore than 5 or 6 grand. A wagon would be very nice (but alas they are bloody rare due to rust) As for where to find one, id pretty much be going after the ordinary suspects, the tradingpost, your local paper

[Falcon Coupe]

Have a browse through here and see what catches your eye, all types and prices.
http://www.australianmusclecarsales..../muscle/aussie

Buy something that makes you want to open up the garage and just stare at it, as soon as i saw my XA i knew i HAD to have it.

[XR6Gal]

If you want a Valiant, go to www.moparmarket.com.au The car sales section has new cars nearly every day.

[apolloxbgt]

Go an xa-c coupe,if you want a fixer upper,look here:http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Ford-Falcon-X...QQcmdZViewItem
Rough,but a start.

[OzJavelin]

After owning too many "classics" to count (being a recent convert to new cars) my two cents is buy something popular, that you can get parts for, in a popular colour, that you can sell again. You'll have 90% of the fun of the dare-to-be-different crowd, but have something which you can sell again (if you want) and won't loose ALL you money.
My personal recommendation - Valiant Charger. Still a nice price, but plenty of visual impact and a good re-seller.
Rod.
'69 AMC Javelin
'69 Dodge Phoenix 4-door hardtop
'74 AMC Javelin
'01 AUII Falcon ute
'03 VY1 SV8
.. recently departed '70 Plymouth Fury III convertible.

[ShaydeNZ]

Of course, don't forget the old Mustangs and the huge amount of aftermarket parts available for 'em.

[BENT_8]

How about an XP 2 door i think they were futura's. A bloke in town has one with a 289 and it goes fairly quick for a small 8.

[Polyal]

2 doors are getting rather large $$$ at the moment.

i was going to buy a XK, XL or XM instead of my EL, but for everyday probably wasn't a good idea.

As soon as I can save up enough though I will buy one. But IMO, dont ot anything above a XR as they are too common, plus it would be cool to say that you have one of the first falcons built!

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Polyal

As soon as I can save up enough though I will buy one. But IMO, dont ot anything above a XR as they are too common, plus it would be cool to say that you have one of the first falcons built!

Herein lies my problem. I want a classic car, but I don't know if I want a car that is going to have spares that are rarer than rain in Sydney, or if I want something that will appreciate more than depreciate. I don't just want to look at Falcons, because I know that Fairlanes would also be a good investment, however they are also going to carry a premium, and have rarer parts. I haven't even started looking at cars. I need to know what I want, and also what to look at before I make a decision for anything definite.

I will keep you posted when I start the looking process over the next few months.

[agony]

Originally Posted by Polyal

2 doors are getting rather large $$$ at the moment.

There is one on ebay at the moment a xp ute project even comes with spare sedan and a rotissore fairly cheap I think

[Shonky]

I was desperate to buy an XP until I saw the light and bought an E-Series instead :P

I love the XPs and am always on the lookout for them. I WILL own an XP one day.

I'll leave the advice to those who know better than I, but in my personal opinion... you cant beat the old XP.

[Paxton]

Originally Posted by Young 'un

I'll leave the advice to those who know better than I, but in my personal opinion... you cant beat the old XP.

It depends on what XP you are talking about. I don't use a Microsoft OS at all, and never plan to.

As for the Falcon, I am watching SourBastard's XP rebuild, and if it goes well, I may look into getting one of them. I must admit that they look a nice car, however I don't know whether I want a 302 or a 351 (Falcon) or a Hemi or Slant 6 (Valiant).

[bundy bruiser]

What about a 770 2 Door or a Chrysler by Chrysler? 318 and 360, cheap easy power.Pacers are another option, though they are only 6's.
There is a few things you should look out for in Valiants, and if you know where to buy stuff it is only a little dearer than Ford stuff. They are certainly a good investment.

You could look for an early model GS or GT in reasonable condition or even a resto Mustang. You can still get some good deals on some early v8's.
Lets face it any good condition V8 classic will appreciate if looked after.

You should ask yourself how much work on the resto will you able to do, how much you will have other people do....for $ reasons and you own satisfaction when the job's done
What sort of budget are you looking at? these things end up costing more.

[apolloxbgt]

Originally Posted by Polyal

But IMO, dont ot anything above a XR as they are too common,

Too common??I'm lucky to a clean xd on the road these days let alone an xt-xc,
Anything made by ford in australia that came from the factory with chrome bumpers are becoming classic and collectable _2:

[LeMans]

Once you have decided generally which model you want, its a good idea to buy as many books as you can about that model. There are plenty of specialty book stores such as The Pitstop Bookshop in Perth that sells online (www.pitstop.net.au) or any major technical bookshop in your area.

If you don't do this, you will nearly always find, after you have bought the car, that there was a more desirable model that you could have had at the same price (maybe with better seats or a better head-gasket setup or whatever). If you do buy the books, then you can go out and have a great time looking at all the variations before you buy the car, and when you finally see the one you want, you can negotiate with confidence. And if it ever comes to selling, you will be able to point out these features to the next potential owner.

Finally, join a club. There is nothing more useful than knowing a group of people with hands-on experience on the exact thing that you are about to do. And you can also look touch and feel other identical cars before you start the next job on your car. Then when your car is finished, there is nothing better than going on a drive with a dozen other like models.

Good luck and welcome to the wide world of classic car ownership

[Dodge]

what about a cooper s ? fun to drive and plenty of new parts still available.