Oppo-inions: Fun vehicle for four

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 09/03/2015 at 10:30 • Filed to: Car buying

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Sunday I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! my ‘74 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Long story short, my wife didn’t feel comfortable putting our daughters in it, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing something she didn’t feel comfortable doing. This led me to not drive the Buick a whole lot. Also, there are many other cars I’d like to own, so I decided it was time to move on. I loved the Buick, but I am honestly totally fine that it’s gone.

The search is now on for something fun/interesting that my wife will let the kids ride in. The criteria are: I must want it, we must all four fit, it must have working air conditioning, and I’d prefer something with a manual transmission. I’d like to stay under $5k, but I could spend as much as the $6500 that I sold the Buick for.

Here is what’s striking my fancy right now on the list of Craig.

Square body ‘79 C5 Jimmy

I love love love square body GM trucks. My dad had an electric blue ‘79 Custom Deluxe K10 Chevy pickup when I was a kid. I cried when he got rid of it (I was 6). Things I love about t !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! are it’s completeness, it’s two-tone awesomeness, and it’s bit of patina that would make me not feel bad about having some stupid fun on a rally cross course. Things I don’t like are the cut front springs, and it’s a bit too low for my particular tastes. I’m really digging the idea of raising it back up a bit, and doing a Browndog-inspired !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The real problem with it is this picture. That makes it a no-go.

Edit: picture got kinja’d, but one of the body mounts is rusted away.

3rd gen Camaro

Yeah, I know they’re slow, but the Buick was a smog era car and it’s V8 was only rated at 150 HP. It’s too bad that the only V8 that these ever had backed by a manual trans was the 305, but it will still be faster than the Buick. This child of the 80’s must own a 3rd gen someday. Just look at that angular awesomeness! There are a couple of these that I’m interested in. I really dig this pretty clean looking !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! example, although there is evidence that the T-tops either did leak or maybe still do leak.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I talked to the very nice owner last night. He bought it with the modifications done, hasn’t driven it much and pretty much knows nothing about it. To be fair, he has it priced like a modified car that he’s clueless about and hasn’t driven much.

4th gen Camaro

These don’t have the 80’s-tastic looks, but they do have a lot more power, a better transmission, and they are pretty much at the bottom of their depreciation curve. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! example in white looks nice. I’m not a big fan of white cars in general, but I have always loved the white with orange stripes ‘97 30th anniversary editions. This one isn’t one of those, but a couple hugger orange stripes would make a lovely addition to it’s hood.

There is also !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! very clean ‘97 SS that is a bit more money, but also has more power and a lot fewer miles.

So what say Oppo? Feel free to chime in on any or all of my choices, or make other suggestions. Whatever I get I don’t plan to keep for more thana few years. Then I’ll move onto the next vehicle on my bucket-list.

jkm7680 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 10:32

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K5! Dot get one of those Camaros, honestly they were sorta garbage all around.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 10:36

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Camaro SS is my pick. Modern enough to be safe, but making some good power and the giggle factor is high while parts and upgrades will be well stocked for decades. Maybe you keep it as is or maybe you eventually do an engine swap or something? Your options are endless.

Milky > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 10:44

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Does bigger = safer to the wife?

crowmolly > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 10:44

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How old are your kids?

Rear seat space in an f-body is pretty tight.

punkgoose17 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 10:56

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The Camaro SS seems to be the best buy in this group. I like the 4th gen 93-97 Firebird better, but they are less common.

shop-teacher > Milky 09/03/2015 at 10:58

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Not necessarily, but when it comes to old cars, yes. Those are some fine choices!

shop-teacher > punkgoose17 09/03/2015 at 11:00

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There is actually one of those available that looks decent too. I like them a lot, but I don’t want to deal with the pop-up headlights though.

shop-teacher > crowmolly 09/03/2015 at 11:00

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They’re small still. Whatever I get I don’t really plan on keeping more than a few years, that’s why I’m thinking I’ll get a Camaro while they’ll still fit.

crowmolly > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:02

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Good call. For your price range I’d go 89-97.

How versed are you in the Gen II LT1?

shop-teacher > jkm7680 09/03/2015 at 11:02

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I know they were, but I still like them. I will have a K5 someday, whether I get one now or not. Whatever I get I don’t plan to keep for more than a few years.

shop-teacher > crowmolly 09/03/2015 at 11:05

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I’ve never owned one, but I know all about the Optispark issues, and I want one anyways :)

JR1 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:09

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The 92 RS has a lot of 90s character and looks pretty clean.

However the black 97 looks clean as well. If I where you I would pick one of the two. Maybe the 92 because purple is cool and the fact that it is a 25th anniversary makes it a bit different and interesting.

shop-teacher > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 09/03/2015 at 11:10

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I’d probably keep it as-is. Whatever I get I don’t plan to keep for more than a few years, then I’ll move onto the next vehicle.

crowmolly > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:11

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Just make sure you buy a vented opti car as the conversion is a PITA.

Now that I think of it, skip 1995 if you can since that’s a wacky OBD-1.5 year. Not that you are gonna mod the heck out of it (maybe you are) but you’ll have more luck finding a PCM shop if you are OBDII.

Chances are that white car will need a WP, Opti, and WP seals. You are looking at $750 to do it right. Red shifter button screams “line lock” or “N2O” so be aware of that.

Black car looks good but I’d run the VIN past SLP to see if it’s real.

In any case, you can get a bone stock LT1 to 300whp for about $1000.

shop-teacher > JR1 09/03/2015 at 11:12

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Those are my top two choices right now. The ‘92 is cooler, but the ‘97 is unquestionably better. It’s tough to decide between looks and performance!

shop-teacher > crowmolly 09/03/2015 at 11:15

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Good call on the white one. I had it in my head somehow that the waterpump had been replaced, so I went back and looked at the ad and saw “needs new water pump”. F that, the white one is out.

Also good call on the VIN.

JR1 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:15

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Time for a test drive!

uofime-2 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:15

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One of my friends in highschool, 8 years ago, had a gen 3 with a stroker it went like stink, but it had cooling issues.

So if you look at that one make sure they are using the stock radiator otherwise you’re likely going to have problems.

shop-teacher > uofime-2 09/03/2015 at 11:18

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I did ask him about cooling issues. He said he hadn’t had any, but he also told me he barely ever drove it, so I will take his word with several pounds of salt.

crowmolly > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:18

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Oh, and PS- the first mod you should do is subframe connectors. They make a big difference.

uofime-2 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:25

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A nice slow test drive on a warm day around town would probably tell you everything you need to know

shop-teacher > crowmolly 09/03/2015 at 11:26

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Duely noted! Thanks for the tip!

shop-teacher > uofime-2 09/03/2015 at 11:34

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Likely so. That ones the farthest away, so I’m not sure if I’m going to bother or not. It depends if the guy can actually manage to send me a few more pictures, as there are only two in the ad. If he can’t be bothered with that, then I don’t I can be bothered to go see it.

uofime-2 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:45

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yeah, more pictures would be good. The one of the engine bay doesn’t look terrible, but not really detailed enough to tell if the swap was done by a hack or done well.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 11:47

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What about a B body? 5k would buy a fairly decent one

RallyWrench > Milky 09/03/2015 at 12:24

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Yikes, the door gap on that 280 is horrendous.

shop-teacher > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 09/03/2015 at 13:17

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That’s a definite possibility. No manual trans unfortunately, but a great family cruiser. It just occurred to me this morning that it’s been a while since I bugged my friend about selling me his 1-owner ‘96 Roadmaster wagon.

deekster_caddy > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 13:24

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Bummer that you had to sell the Apollo, but I understand. I need to get the A/C working on my LeSabre so we can enjoy it all year round! Need to get some new AC hoses made from scratch for that to happen, but it shouldn’t be that difficult.

I go through the same dilemma with our ‘54 MG. Only two seats and there are 4 of us, plus it has no safety in the event of something going badly wrong. It does have aftermarket seat belts, but that’s it. It’s really fun to drive, but it’s pretty much a deathtrap if the shit hits the fan.

shop-teacher > deekster_caddy 09/03/2015 at 13:32

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I wouldn’t say I had to, I just wanted something we could all enjoy together, and I only have space for one fun vehicle. The safety thing is a real dilemma hen kids become involved. Motorcycles are out of the question for me. Beyond that things get fuzzy real quickly.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 13:44

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Duh, forgot about the manual part.

I know that a T56 swap is fairly popular, at least with the 9C1 people. It’s possible you could find one with the trans swap already completed.

A friend did it to his 9C1 and loved it while he had it. But he moved on a while ago. He likes to change his toys up every so often.

shop-teacher > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 09/03/2015 at 14:06

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There was a guy selling one nearby a couple years ago with a T56 swap, that would be a whole lot of fun. I just spent some time searching for one, and wow is it hard to find one that hasn’t been utterly ruined with a lift and/or hideous huge wheels and/or terrible custom paintwork.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 14:10

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Damn, never even thought of the Donk culture. Yeah Bubble (and Boxes) are rather popular with that subset of the automotive audience.

You might want to browse the for sale ads over at Impala SS forums. There's a lot of B-body guys over there, not just Impala guys. They're a pretty good bunch.

shop-teacher > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 09/03/2015 at 14:24

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That’s a good idea, I haven’t made it to any forums in quite a while.

jkm7680 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 17:10

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Get a CUCV!

shop-teacher > jkm7680 09/03/2015 at 19:02

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There was a nice one nearby, but I missed it! The only problem is no AC for keeping the family happy.

jkm7680 > shop-teacher 09/03/2015 at 21:10

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Ah, I see. Check out Govdeals for that kind of thing. Last time I checked, they had a couple of fairly low mileage K5s. Can’t seem to remember if they were CUCVs or not though.

Spridget > shop-teacher 09/06/2015 at 13:54

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There’s this LS Swapped 1965 Impala . It could use a few cosmetic touch ups, but sounds mechanically sound. It’s $4000. which leaves you up to $2500 to fix some of the cosmetic issues. Kinja w

Then there’s this ‘62 , which needs chrome reinstalled/bought. However, according to the ad, th engine has been rebuilt, and it has all new shocks, springs, gas tank, brakes, exhaust, and gas and brakes lines. The price is $4200, which leaves you $2300 to fix the interior and the chrome,

There is also this excellent Chevelle wagon , which has apparently been swapped for a manual, and has the ubiquitous 350 with a 4 barrel. The ad is hard to read, but the car either has body work or needs body work. They interior looks good, but the seats don’t match the door cards or dash; they car probably had a bench seat originally but was swapped for buckets. The price is only $4995, which leaves you $1505.

Then there’s this Patina’d Ford , which apparently has rush issues in the rockers and lower trunk. The front bench has been swapped for buckets, but the original bench is included. Running condition isn’t specified, but a rebuilt carburetor is included. The rpice is $4650, leaving you $1850.

Or you could buy this hoard of Fiesta’s. I don’t really know what to say . . .

At this point, Kinja is being borked and my ADD has kicked in, so I leave you choose which path to hell I’ve presented to you is the best. I would recommend the hoard of Fiesta’s/

shop-teacher > Spridget 09/06/2015 at 22:22

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Those are some great choices. The LS swapped Impala I’m actually contacting to see if I can get more pictures. The ‘62 needs more work than $2300 can fix, IMO. It’s too bad those wagons are both rusty, because they’re both sweet. The hoard of Fiestas is just ... wow ... I can’t even ... I didn’t even know they sold those in the US ... why would anybody ....

Spridget > shop-teacher 09/06/2015 at 22:55

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They sold them for a few years in the late ‘70s, I think from ‘77 to ‘80.

Do you have any brand preferences? Chevy over Ford, domestic over import, etc? From your posts, I would think you’re a GM guy, but I dunno if you have a huge preference for their stuff.

shop-teacher > Spridget 09/06/2015 at 23:10

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I definitely prefer GM, but other domestics are being considered. I don’t hate foreign cars or anything, but there’s nothing of them in my price range that I’m dying to own.

shop-teacher > Spridget 09/07/2015 at 16:24

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The guy with the LS swapped Impala just texted me a bunch of pictures. It is ROUGH. Lost of rust, paint is shot, the windshield is held in by duct tape, the interior is trashed. I’d buy it for $1500 as a rallycross beater.