Hello
I'm thinking about buying a 60's American made car. At the moment I'm
looking at

Chevrolet : Nova
Chevrolet Corvair
Ford : Falcon
Dodge Dart

I don't work on cars so I want one that is fairly reliable (no
laughing) can you recommend one of these models to me or can you
suggest a different model I should check out.

Thanks
Dan

On 7 Mar 2007 21:56:09 -0800, "Dan" <dan.garriott (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Reliable? A 60's era car? They were not reliable in the 60's so they
are likely less reliable today... But if you must (and I'll get flamed
for blasting 60's iron) then my vote is for a Plymouth Satellite.
Probably hard to find, but the Chrysler cars of that era were fairly
good. The Satellite was a 'direct' competitor for the Ford Mustang,
but IMHO it was better. Not quite as sporty, had reasonable
performance for the year (318 V8 IIRC) and was a good fit.

I had many early 60's Ford Falcons. All were reasonably good cars too,
very simple, easy to maintain. The Corvair would probably be out as it
is rather unique and non-standard (rear, air cooled engine).

No old car is going to be "reliable" in the sense that new cars are --
they're old, their parts are old, and if you use them, they're going to
break.

Instead of looking at reliability, then, look at what it's going to cost you
to get a car and keep it on the road. If you don't work on cars yourself,
then find a mechanic in your area and see what he's comfortable working on.
Buy publications like Hemmings or Cars & Parts, and see how much parts are,
and how difficult they are to find. Finally, buy the very best example you
can find. It's probably going to cost you more to restore a bad car than it
is to maintain one that was done right the first time.

Get your infrastructure in place -- find your mechanic, find your parts
supplier. Then start looking for your car. And give some thought to learning
how to fix it. You don't need to be able to rebuild an engine, but just
knowing basic things -- how to change spark plugs and wires, how to replace
a water pump or a fan belt -- can save you a lot of money.

Rabbit

On 7 Mar 2007 21:56:09 -0800, "Dan" <dan.garriott (AT) gmail (DOT) com> puked:

You can check around, but I think you might be most successful getting
parts and sheet metal and whatnot for the Nova.
--
lab~rat >:-)
Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

PeterD wrote:


What planet are you from?

I've had two Studebaker T-Cab pick ups that NEVER left me stranded. NEVER!

In fact, the '64 sitting out in the back yard right now would be able to
go any where in the country on a moment's notice.

JT

Rabbit wrote:


I'm going to take issue here.

The old cars were much simpler and if well maintained, were very
dependable. Up until the gas crunch, I drove a Studebaker every day
with full confidence in reliability.

The complexity of today's plastic is an issue by itself. Suffer a
breakdown and you had better have towing, etc at the ready. The "old"
iron OTOH offers the good possibility of a repair in place.

Of course, the comfort factors of modern transportation are a lot more
appealing...

JT

On Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:26:29 GMT, Grumpy AuContraire
<Grumpy (AT) ExtraGrumpyville (DOT) com> wrote:

Some were good... But not all by a long shot. Had a 64 Ford Galaxy...
Big POS... Had a 63 Dodge wagon, blew an oil pump (about 70K miles).
The 60 Dodge was great, but at four years, it was rusted to nothing,
the clutch was never right, nor were the brakes. The 65 Plymouth
Satellite was a good car, as was my 61 Falcon (and IIRC, the 62 falcon
too.) My 68 Camaro was great, but not quite trouble free, but maybe
some of that was my fault...

I guess compared to the 50s era cars, the 60s were good, dang I had
some real pieces of crap from the 50s... <bg>

REgardless, no car that old is a good 'reliable daily driver' as the
OP wanted. They are just too old, and our expectations are much higher
today. Back in the 60s we figured fi we got 100K miles we'd done
really good. Today 100K miles is just broken in!

A 1960s 6 cyl. compact car is an excellent choice for a first classic car.
I find them much easier to maintain than a full-size car.

Don't forget to consider the car that started it all, the Rambler American.
The Corvair is too unconventional for my taste.
If you require great gas mileage, stay away from the Chevy II / Nova..
Watch for front shock tower rust on the Chevys and Fords.
Watch for front torsion bar rust on the Valiant/Dart/Lancer/Barracuda.
The 1960-1963 Falcon rides very nice for it's size.

I drive my '65 Rambler American to work every day. I have no use for a
modern car. I can't imagine any modern car being more dependable or cheaper
to run than a properly maintained 1960s U.S. 6 cyl. compact car. You really
don't need air conditioning when you have proper floor vents and wing
windows. In a modern car you'd bake to death without a/c.

If your modern car doesn't start what do you do, tow it to the dealer?

If your 1960s car doesn't start you can diagnose it with a simple test
light.

Ken D.

"Dan" <dan.garriott (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:17:32 -0500, "Ken Doyle"
<kensoldradiorepair (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Ouch, forgot the Rambler American! Yes, rates as high as the Ford
Falcon (which I rate as high). Nothing better than the convertable
American either, but they're getting scarce! <bg>

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:10:39 -0500, PeterD <peter2 (AT) hipson (DOT) net> wrote:

Yep, and I've got a good one...a 54k miles, rust-free and nearly
cherry '64 American convertible. It'll get a 289/C4 and be my wife's
car after I finish my Model A this spring.

Joe
--
Heather & Joe Way
Sierra Specialty Automotive
Brake cylinders sleeved with brass
Gus Wilson Stories
http://www.brakecylinder.com