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My turn for car ADD disease....
I'd like to start a project car with my boys (4 and 5.5 years old). I also have a 4 yo daughter.
what classic car could be a fun family cruiser?
I like everything from 49 mercs, Buick 225 Electra's, Corvairs maybe
what I'd like.
Classic styling,
Uncommon on the road or at shows aka "Unique"
Easy to put a modern drive train in to
1936-40 dodge Four door.
No reason other than they look awesome.
I saw a REALLY neat '60s Oldsmobile the other day (still had the Goodguy's card in the window from the Des Moines show, I guess). It was outrageously cool. Unusual because it's not an impala/belaire/biscayne...but it's still basically an impala/belaire/biscayne, if you know what I mean.
I like the "badge engineering" clones for this sort of stuff. Just like the example above, if you find a mercury anything, it's going to be a little less overdone than it's equivalent ford counterpart. Same with olds/buick/pontiac stuff. I guess I'm talking less about badge engineering but more about back in the day when it was "platform sharing" or such.
Vintage chevy or ford vans are neat. I'm a little wary of straight axles up front and drum brakes, but they all look pretty cool, and that stuff can change.
Clem
'58-'60 T-Bird convertible
Any Willy's product; (Wagon,Jeepster CJ-6)
Series Land Rover
46-53 Austin A40 Devon sedan. Black with flames. Gasser look.
If you can make out the phone number the blue one is for sale
http://www.britishv8.org/Other/48AustinDorset/48AustinDorset-A.jpg www.flickr.com/photos/mr38/3553065464/ www.flickr.com/photos/mr38/3553065464/ http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2009/03/28/fs_austin14.jpg http://hotrodworld.net/pictures/austin.jpg
P71, P71, P71!
Seriously, I'd start browsing the ads and see what catches your fancy. Personally, I'm thinking of a drop-top domestic with a V8.
Caprice wagon. They do it all...and mine's for sale!
In reply to Grtechguy: I would recommend a big late 50's sedan, I am naturally leading up to something. I had a 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 4 door (hardtop) holiday sedan. There is enough room in the rear seat for your 3 with seatbelts. These cars have a lot of heavy steel and it is a great ride as well as being FAST. Go buy a Hemmings Motor News to start your dreaming process.
59 Buick Electra
/thread
Nomad (if you can afford one) or a classic Suburban.....
aston martin lagonda with ls-1?
p71?
nomad with ls1?
national lampoons vacation Ford LTD/Crown Vic Wagon with 351 ( Wagon Queen Family Truckster )?
64 Lincoln Continental?!!!!
59 Impala wagon
Well, I am partial to 60'2 t-bird convertibles as well and the wagons of the '50's - '70s. An 80's wood paneled wagon with an LSx could be fun. I think the sky is the limit with big American wagons. I always thought Jeep Wagoneers were cool. I am also partial to 70's-80's jag sedans with v-8 swaps. How much do you want to spend?
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, 1970 - 1972. Woodgrain. LT1 / 4L60. Big Bars.
now it's time for /thread
5 year olds don't care about cars, but give 'em something cool to have a blast with.
Convertibles, Vista Cruiser station wagons with the glass roofs, VW buses with the glass roofs, or anything with flames painted on it.
They will mostly enjoy waxing it with you. Do it every chance you get! If the car is too big a project, they will loose interest, and you will spend too much time working on the car.
If you buy a glass roofed car, make sure to take them in it on a vacation to FL- do a car show at Daytona, then go to a wild animal park. Make sure it has giraffes. Put the kids in the back with a video camera. The giraffes will lick the salt off the roof of the car, and you will have some AWESOME videos of their 12" long tongues cleaning up your glass taken from 3' away! Ask me how I know- I've got some super 8 film footage still around from over 40 years ago when I was 5!!!
This is my buddy's company:
The truck is a 1962 vintage ice cream truck he had restored, including all the original equipment. Jobie is a blend of his 2 kid's names, and they go to events and car shows all over the place. Great little family business, great ice cream, and a great time with the kids every time, PLUS a little income!
1965-1970 full size Pontiacs. From 1965 on they had the TH400 transmission (earlier models had either Hydramatics which are expensive to rebuild or 'slim jims' which weren't very good to start with), there are affordable disk brake conversion kits for them, they're pretty fast (389/400/421/428 engines) they drive nice and handle well for a big 1960s American car, and they are still reasonably priced. The 1965-1966 models are arguably some of the best looking big American cars of the 1960s.
AngryCorvair wrote:Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, 1970 - 1972. Woodgrain. LT1 / 4L60. Big Bars.
now it's time for /thread
X gazillion
AutoXR wrote:Caprice wagon. They do it all...and mine's for sale!
I've always wanted to make an Impala SS wagon, with an LSx and manual transmission, that would be HAWT!!!! All black of course
68 T'bird with suicide doors............
P71 wrote:59 Buick Electra
/thread
But But But the 65 Riv's are just so cool and road house was the best worst movie to boot 
I would love to put a c-5 under one of these bodies.
I always liked the early 70's Cadilac. Extra points if it looks like the Blue's Mobile. One of buddy's had the honor of riding in the backseat of his dad's big old Cadilac whenever he took it out of the garage - car never once saw a drop of rain, let alone a flake of snow.
I recently saw a "suicide door" T-Bird on Craigs List here in the Dayton area not too long ago. Seriously thought about that for a couple minutes till my wife said "what is that? why are the doors backwards?"
Mark
'66 Mopar drop top - has potential: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1254303161.html
I always liked the '66 Cutlas too: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1250780901.html
Old Buick Sport Wagon with A/C: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1235304406.html
Did someone say Buick Electra 225? http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/1228207543.html
Much as I'd like to say TR-6 you need something that all the kids plus you and mom can all fit in.
Say a '62 Coupe de Ville convertible.
54 chevy wagon
