Unloved classics that deserve more respect.

I haz a Mercury Capri and the GTV6.

I wish to add my other oddity, the Triumph Stag. Much maligned but with modern parts to repair the known issues, a really nice GT

93EXCivic wrote:

Javelin wrote: Every AMC! The prices on the 2-seat 68-70 AMX have been climbing for a long while, and now the 68-70 Javelin and 71-74 cars are starting to catch up.

I was coming in here to say AMC.

I saw a really nice '69 AMX at Kissimmee Old Town a few weekends ago

Also I will say Yugo.

I know that GRMers love them, but I didn't know that they were collectable in the wider population

Javelin wrote: Every AMC! *snip*

Every AMC?

I think not...

wspohn wrote: For that matter, a Lotus 7 could also be purchased in knocked down form back in the day, IIRC.

As could an MGA. Friends of mine have one; the oldest SCCA-registered race car, it has never been street-registered. They have documentation from the then-dealer in Kutztown PA.

I like the Stag and prices for them have been climbing.

A comment on the Jensen Healey.

Early reputation and complaints have a nasty tendency to sticjk with a car even decades later. The TVR being a poorly assembled plastic car, the MGC being a pig for handling (easily recitifed, but those first road test articles tainted the cars ever since) and the Jensen Healey....

Jensen basically got snookered by Chapman when he offered them the new 4V engine either with or without a warranty and they took the cheap way and opted to warranty it themselves. It damn near bnroke the company because the engine was untested and Chapman benefitted from watching Jensen pay for the development work that should have been done by Lotus prior to release. The engines are quite reliable now, but still carry a bit of a reputation for unreliability as a result of early reports.

The sad thing is that many of the JH owners are the usual cheao skates and insted of restoring that lovely engine, they have a nasty tendency to pull it out and replace it with something much more mundane, basically throwing away the very best aspect of the car (which while persentable is certainly no Ferrari in the looks department)

i'm going to sound like a broken record and nominate a car i own also, Audi 4000 quattro

the 2 door quattro or "urq" will sell above 15k thanks to the limited numbers imported to the states, but the 4 door version won't bring a grand without bieng in very good condition. a $200 turbo swap from a 5000 will make it an equal car in almost every way.

I mostly bring it up because people seem to go nuts for mk2 jettas but the 4k's, with thier stacked options, awd, lower production numbers and overall better build quality get ignored. . . bonus for me I guess

I wish people would start respecting the r107 mercedes, I swear having a classic that you can actually drive daily without having to repair often seems to hurt resale. People go googoo over british cars you have to repair daily, god forbid you can hop in a 70s mercedes and drive 100mph all day and not have any issues. The problem with the r107 is mercedes made too many of them and too many survived. Hoping more die off so eventually my car will be worth more than 3k.

noddaz wrote:

Javelin wrote: Every AMC! *snip*

Every AMC? I think not...

it was just ahead of its time. If the Hot Rod's April Fool's joke had been real, this would have given the fiat a run for its money

AMC, aren't they the company that first produced what we now call "crossovers?" This ride looks damned good compared to some of the trash currently being foisted off on those who really need a van but wish they had a SUV.

I think that the Mercedes-Benz R107 cars are already getting some respect. These cars have been quietly climbing in the last few years. I bought a very very nice car a few years ago for $4,500 and it had very few needs. We drove it to Monterey that year and it fit right in with the vintage Ferrari, Porsche, and Jaguar cars that litter the streets there. I sold it a year later for $8,000. The same car now would sell for about $10,000 in this market. So hold on to yours if you own it or if not consider buying a 500SL if you can find one.

noddaz wrote: I think not...

I thought the Pacer wasn't a bad car to look at..before they added that stupid hump in the hood. That's a monument to the stupidity of annual design change.

agreed. it looked much better in merth mobile trim than the later versions

2K4Kcsq wrote: agreed. it looked much better in merth mobile trim than the later versions

Kalaboosh, we can do the fantango!

I gotta say, I really hated what passed for design change by US automakers during the '70s & 80s (I was a teenager back then, but already into cars). Here's (IMO) the best example of what I'm talking about.

1977-78 Pontiac Firebird:

1979 Firebird.

Funny thing, my '79 Sunbird still had the open grille. I guess the F-body and H-body folks weren't talking to each other back then.

Fiat 124 coupe?

I like 70s/80s italian cars. I want to buy one but I cant decide on which. I wish I could justify to myself to pick up a X1/9 over a AW11 MR2..... then one would be in my garage lol.

Joe Gearin wrote: Shifting gears a bit......I still think the 63-65 Buick Rivieras are way underpriced. Great -European inspired styling, strong engines and an interior to die for. A great GT- Touring car, for under $20K in good shape.

I'll see your Rivera and raise it a Grand Prix. Both were standouts in my opinion. And as far as a car to travel cross country, I've never had one that ate up the miles as effortlessly as my '66 Catalina 2+2 with a 421 H.O with Tri-Power.

Before the 55 laws & most interstates existed Arizona, Nevada, etc. were just 100+ mph blurs on two lane roads from midnight till about 7:00 in the morning. Almost the only time I ever got passed at night was by the occasional Monfort Meat Packers semi on a long (miles long) downhill stretch.

Opel Manta? The SCCA racing heritage should ensure it gets respect, but it still gets none.

Rupert wrote:

Joe Gearin wrote: Shifting gears a bit......I still think the 63-65 Buick Rivieras are way underpriced. Great -European inspired styling, strong engines and an interior to die for. A great GT- Touring car, for under $20K in good shape.

I'll see your Rivera and raise it a Grand Prix. Both were standouts in my opinion. And as far as a car to travel cross country, I've never had one that ate up the miles as effortlessly as my '66 Catalina 2+2 with a 421 H.O with Tri-Power. Before the 55 laws & most interstates existed Arizona, Nevada, etc. were just 100+ mph blurs on two lane roads from midnight till about 7:00 in the morning. Almost the only time I ever got passed at night was by the occasional Monfort Meat Packers semi on a long (miles long) downhill stretch.

I totally agree---- I love Pontiac's design language from the 60's--- all of their cars looked good! I'd love an early Grand Prix, or better yet a Catalina convertible to cruise around on Summer nights.

I'm gonna say Corvair.

They don't get the love that they deserve. Created from a peak time in GMs ingenuity, it gets zero love from 95% of the car community. It's still laughed at and when someone who isn't knowledgable sees one, they make some ingnorant misinformed comment about them.

I know this owning one and having been around them all my life. They are a just as good as any other classic car. They were built for ten years and many examples are still around.

I'm glad to see that Classic Motorsports has taken interest in having one. Maybe one day they can get a late model.

Yes,

I too was a real Vair fan. Of course speaking of fans, I'd never leave home without a spare fan belt. And if you smell gasoline in the cockpit, it doesn't hurt to see if the firewall carpet has tacks in it causing leaks in the fuel tank! Yes that did happen to a buddy of mine!

Corvairs are definitely not a car most people understand that well. I was pretty shocked at the Mitty last year when they had Corvairs running with a bunch of tiny British and German sports cars - and much to my surprise, the Corvairs were getting clobbered on the straightaway, then blowing past everything in the turns! The exact opposite of what I thought they'd do...

Yep a well set-up Corvair is one fast race car. A buddy of mine has a '66 Yenko Stinger set up for vintage, and we split 2nd in the points chase in the DC Region SCCA Solo series in C/Prepared through all the tie breakers. Him in a his pretty little Corvair and me in my ratty but fast Mustang.

Mitsubishi Starion

Turbo K-Car

1966 1600cc. Fun as hell.

Morris Vintage Racer

All Morris Minors!

What did I just say? I'm sorry, but I kinda like the commercials (pick up and Van). I remember a pick up running SCCA in the Northwest a long time ago. Saw the link and it took me back in time.