I can only pretend to understand or imagine how many times this subject has been brought up here... but why is it 6 years ago i could find 68-72 chevelles ALL DAY for $3000-$6000 in complete working straight order, and now the same car won't go for less than $14,000? These are just plain non-SS 350 autos!

I have even been seeing 84 El Camino Conquistas for $18,000!!!!!! WOW! why would I want to pay that much for a 267 automatic of a body style that are as abundant as pennies on the ground?

I've always yearned for a 70 ss 454 LS6 4spd.... realizing now how impossible that dream has become I'll settle for making a clone, but I can't even find a shell!!! And mopars are even worse. Its depressing. VERY depressing. I mean sure I'm greedy and want a 70 chevelle, 68 charger, 71 cuda, 87 gran national, 65 rivvie, 59 caddy, 58 chevy, and so on, but I mean, c'mon at this rate, I'll never be able to afford any one of them ever... and every mopar you find seems to be "all original numbers" r/t or hemi or special package of some sort. What about a 318 auto? any left in existence?

I should have started saving when I was 14 and picked up a couple junk piles to hoard for when i have money to build... at this rate its tempting to just start snagging up miatas, rx-7s, eclipses, 300z's, and honda civics for the day that they bring $60,000... is there any hope of a young broke guy like me ever getting a 68-72 musclecar of ANY kind?  

got a 72 nova for 3,000. straight 6/powerglide. straight body. litte rust  

If  nobody pays those prices, they will come down. If somebody out there is willing to pay them, then that has become their true worth.  The problem essentially lies with the baby-boomers who have reared their children, payed off their houses, and are cashing in their 401k's.  They have incredibly deep pockets and are ready to enjoy the cars they had to deny themselves for the past two/three decades.  These are the same guys who drove the prices of new Harleys into the stratosphere.  Take heart, all we Gen-Xr's and younger have to do is wait another ten years for heart disease to start taking hold and the market will be flooded with garage-kept, rotisserie restored, Detroit iron that the younger-than-us import wing-dings won't want anything to do with. Then the prices will come down and we can scoop up these pampered cars.  We will be in a lot better shape than the guys who had to refurbish these cars after their 70's/80's thrashings. Hopefully internal combustion is not outlawed by then.  

You know, as a baby boomer, I hate being the thrashing bag for the high price of muscle cars.  I have muscle cars because I had the good sence to have kept a few around, and I can sniff out a bargain.  My last barn find ('67 Cougar w/ factory 4 speed) cost me the price of renting a car carrier to go and get it.  Sure, some people have trees growing through old car bodies and want a grand for them, but once in awhile you can find someone who just wants to get rid of something and you can score a good find.

I realize that in parts of the country it is hard to find anything of age that isn't rusted to sin.  In my part of the world, you can still find solid cars from the '60s and '70s for good prices.  If you can get past a Chevelle and into a '70 to '72 Buick Special, you can have a darn nice car for good money.  Some people scoff at outfitting them with Chev engines, but if you want to get a big bang for the buck, it's a way to go.  Personally I would stay BOP.  

The guys that are plunking down big bucks for cars on TV have more dollars than sense.  For what those cars are bringing, you could resurect a total junk heap and gold plate the hubcaps.  Face it, Barret Jackson is in large part hype - people get into bidding frenzies like sharks.  My reaction is if they want to spend their money that way, let them.

There are some good deals out there.  When you aren't looking for one, that's when a bargian will hit you right between the eyes.

It's about hit me one too many times!  

Bowser    

Keep in mind I said "the baby-boomers" not "all baby-boomers". At least the positive thing about the Muscle Car surge in popularity is that a lot of these cars are being saved and restored instead of crushed, even if it does drive the prices up.  I am happy knowing they will live on, even if I never get my hands on them.  I think the internet and Ebay have had a hand in the price surge also. People are a lot more savvy to things now.  Somebody is less likely to give a good deal on a car when they think they might be able to really cash in on Ebay when some guy, a thousand miles away, will pay double the reasonable price for a car because he had one in highschool.  The audience is too big now.  How is that Cougar coming along anyway, Bowser?  

you need to do more leg work.you can find great deals on all the popular years and body styles.maybe you don't get a lot of time to comb the internet during the day.i seem to notice most young guys want a mint numbers matching type car for next to nothing because they "deserve" it.i spent 10 years and a lot of money on my 55 chevy.you think i would sell it cheap 'cuz some punk kid thinks it's his turn to own one? kids today are lazy.  

Ok, sorry - I may have misunderstood.  I still stick with the idea that what can be made into a classic rod doesn't have to be a '57 Chev or a classic Camaro.  The Buick idea is good - my daughter has a '71 that is basically solid - needs to be repowered, but most people do that anyways.  I think she wants around $2,700 for it and it has minimal rust and minimal bodywork. Front seat needs a cover, but floors, trunk and quarters are in good shape.  I don't know - for that price you can dump alot of money into it to make it what you want and still not be much for wear.

As for the Cougar, I have it stored right now for long term. It was an abandoned car on my cousins property from a former tennant, and I got a temp title.  I will need to sit on it for another year before I start turning the screws as that is when I will have full title.  THAT car is flat amazing.  No radio, no power options, no a/c, manual steering, manual brakes, and factory 4 speed. The Mercury dealer there in the town where it was bought still had records on it and confirmed it as an actual '67 Cougar ordered that way.  Being under cover for 25 years made it look beat at first, but after my son and I washed all the slime off and pulled the berries out of the wheel spokes, it was in really good shape.  Floor pans solid, seats are still perfect - totally usable, and the headliner and dash are like brand new.  The only thing inside that got ugly was the fake chrome on the plastic dash bezels. That needs to be professionally redone. But as a restore - it's going to be a piece of cake.

I keep saying it, but I will start posting pictures of my cars. They are all neat in their own way, and they are slowly getting completed.  And I mean slow. Can't wait for retirement.  I got plenty to do!  

Talk at ya later - Bowser    

Its just disappointing to me seeing that just a mere couple years ago, what I could have had for peanuts is now almost priceless. I don't get much time to internet search, most of the problem is that I don't have any money though. Yeah, nobody has money, but really, I work two jobs just to have a little to spend and after $620 dollar/month wyotech loans, a credit card, storage unit, gas, food, rent, utilities, phone, the ever-inevitable traffic tickets, random collections that just keep popping up, well I have not much.

As far as kids today... I've given up hope on a numbers matching complete car - even a shell of a SS 454 LS6 would be rediculously expensive - which is why i'd settle for any cars of the 70-72 body style or 68-70 mopar B body, or 70-73 E body style, because I can interchange parts to make them look as I want. So I wouldn't want a numbers matched shell. And at the same time yeah, lots of my generation are lazy, which is why they drive honda civics and subaru STI's: readily available, easy to find, and cheap horsepower. (they fail to remember the ever-imporant factor of torque though)

I'm not lazy, just greedy. :S  

eBay is depressing, but I watch craigslist daily just for fun. Seems like that's where the reasonable deals are around here. How about a respectable looking TPI car for less than $3k? This was a hot car when I was 16: http://madison.craigslist.org/car/292061091.html
A couple of weeks ago there was a '69 Chevelle looking unmolested and barn fresh with a straight six in the same price range. That one didn't last long!  

A little perspective here.  When I was 16 (about 35 years ago) a 57 chevy was going for about $2500 for a nice one.  A new Ford Maverick was about the same price (you could get them for $1995 but $2500 was closer to what you would want to drive).  Anyway if I'm thinking correctly a new compact car today can be had for $12,000 to $15,000.  I'm sure if you look around you can find a pretty nice hot rod for that amount of money.  BTW I was making $1.65/hr a McDonalds back then and guys were raising families for $5/hr.  Just some history you might want to think about.  

I gave up trying to sell chevelle shells from here in southern NM and also transporting them to contacts i met through the internet to locations in MI and IN.  The reason being just about no one wanted to offer or pay for what the car was worth. For example a 69 Chevelle New Mexico hardtop shell with title on solid rolling frame, could not even get the $2500 I thought was fair.  This was when the car was up in MI to boot.   After you deduct your time, the gas, and other expenses it just doesn't pay.    And this is back in the time of $1.25 fuel (post 9/11 mini recession) Only made or should say broke even on a 79 Malibu coupe that i bought for $200, transported and sold for $1500. They (the junkyards) are continuing to crush solid two doors here in NM simply because no one is willing to look for them or pay for them.  

I got a rust free and fairly straight 68 Cutlass shell (shell meaning no engine/trans or much of an interior but did have all the trim, headlight surrounds, bumpers, rolling chassis, etc) for $750 in November of 2000.  I'm in mid missouri and the guy transported it 60 miles on his flatbed to my door for free...awesome guy...knew the car was something special...and helped out a 15 year old kid.  Unfortunately his salvage yard shut down before I was able to finish the car.  Otherwise I was planning a trip to show it to him.

I got a rusted, but complete and running, 68 Cutlass 2-dr post parts car for $550 back in 2001.  The car had 66000 original miles on it.

I also got a very rusted but complete and running 69 Cutlass that I intended to be a project, but ended up being a parts car for the 68 shell, for $300 back in 1998.

None of them were on the internet...none were advertized in the papers.  The only way to find cars like that is to go looking.  It takes a ton of time and patience, but in the end I pretty much got the car I wanted.  I've seen plenty of potential projects since, but with my Delta 88 and my IROC, I have no room for more projects.  

what is the big deal about a car being numbers mathing and all original?  personally i would buy a stripped down version and make it what i want, how i want.  if i made it original my chevelle would be a malibu with a 307 open 10 bolt and four wheel manual drums.  

i take an offence to "kids today are lazy", im 23 years old and have worked for everything i have, i know alot of kids are lazy, but please dont generalize

i think it is also important to take into account inflation and supply.  i bet in 30 years ill be bragging i got a running and complete 85 monte carlo for $700, you know the 80's monte carlos were the last rear wheel drive v8 cars you could get from the factory with a carburator  

The more rare the car, the more value it would have if it's has the numbers matching drive-train. If you have a 71 Chevelle that came with a 2 barrel 350, it'll be worth more if you modify it with a big block or something. If it's a 70 Chevelle with a LS6 originally, then it's worth far more totally stock.

I have two cars. My 65 Impala SS is one of 250,000 that came with a 327/PG. I had no qualms about trashing the original motor/trans for a 383/ 4 speed. My other car is a 70 Caprice two door with tons of options (some as rare as 1 of 3411) and a LS4 454. I'm keeping that as original as possible.  

Well I guess there are some good points - the price of a '57 back in '70, same parallel, and I could find some stuff if i go looking, but its just so hard to find what you're looking for. Like I said, I'm greedy, I'm swimming through Sweet old iron for good prices, but to settle for anything other than that '70 chevelle is to me, being like everyone else and settling for something cool and coveted, just to be cool... but then again I guess thats kind of what I'm doing by searching for a '70 that isnt an LS6... hmm... :S kind of a hypocrite... guess I'm just complaining because I'm upset about the price of iron -

I can get a fairly straight-but-rusty '73 nova for nearly free (buddy owes me parts) or a pair of '71-'72 chevelle parts cars, but that guy wants $500 bucks a week payments.. which is basically my income. And maybe I should start hoarding G-bodies, as their value is inevitably going to skyrocket by the time I hit 30.