Best Muscle Car for Beginner

Coldsnap wrote: I love the white on red of this Nova http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3569688392.html

I've always had a soft spot for that era Nova.

Looked good until I saw the price. $6K is berking nuts for that car.

For reference, this 64 LeSabre is only $5K OBO.

That Black Ventura is still for sale! I bet you can probably get him down under $3K now that it's been a few weeks.

Here's a nice little 318 Dart for $3K.

Or a totally stock and clean 318 Dart for $3500.

I'd be all over this sweet 318 Duster for $2800 that just needs a carb re-jet!

Damn good find on the Duster!

that green duster just needs a fuel pressure regulator. those edelbrock carbs want a max of about 3 psi -- iirc 2.5 is the sweet spot.

summit racing has it for $69.95

I think I could offer this guy $2,500 on this Nova. I have driven it, it has drum brakes and they felt floaty. It seems like a great buy, but i know how you guys feel about 4 doors.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3573684336.html

Heres a video of the engine running

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJLYp750UH4&feature=youtu.be

Just out of curiosity around what age are you?

I'm 25.

Coldsnap wrote: I think I could offer this guy $2,500 on this Nova. I have driven it, it has drum brakes and they felt floaty. It seems like a great buy, but i know how you guys feel about 4 doors. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3573684336.html

Good find. I like the 4 door myself.

Dude I'm telling you the people around Knoxville think Novas must be worth their weight in gold.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3574185840.html

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3572743748.html

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3568516365.html

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3545008304.html

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3543544587.htmlLOL

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3534608055.html

Wow, I thought Raleigh was bad.

here's a link to photos of the interior

http://s5.beta.photobucket.com/user/Moshiiii/library/Nova

4 door Nova..."muscle car"...uh, no. Man. I guess the term doesn't mean what it used to! "Old car", yeah, that fits.

Just my brutally honest opinion but here goes; looking around under the hood and seeing plugged vaccum lines, the carb stud that he couldn't even to put forth the effort to cut to proper length, etc. says "hack job" to me. Sounds like you don't have a lot of automotive experience but want to learn. I think you'd better off learning on something that hasn't been cobbled together which will leave you scratching your head wondering what the heck the PO did. Go back to your original $5K budget and go check out that yellow big bumper car nicksta43 posted. That appears to be a car that you can begin enjoying right away. He's looking for about 2X what it should realisticly sell for---negotiate.

My 2 cents, worth exactly what you paid for it. Good luck!

Gotcha, thanks for your opinion. He will probably sell it for $3,500 today, i feel like thats a price someone would bite at. I'd like to get it for $2,500 but I can continue waiting till the next car.

$2,500 seems like a good deal though, for a car and that shape and a 350 v8. Not going to get a v8 for this price anywhere else it seems.

Where are you guys? Around here all of these, except for a very, very few have been eaten by the rust deamons. If I was looking for a 60's era car I would get 6 cyl Nova or equivlant from Olds or Buick set up the suspension and brakes and just use it as a summer car.

What I would like to find is a '95 Buick Roadmaster Wagon. The one I had until the frame rusted out was just about the best car ever for everything from grocery getting to stop light drags. The local ricers never figured out just how quick an old wagon with a 350 V-8 could be.

If everything is solid underneath it, $2500 probably isn't bad. Not great, but not bad. The extra doors will hurt selling it later, but if it gets you into something to play with and learn, I get it.

The hardest part of the hunt it not being in a hurry. But the longer it takes, the more $$$ you can squirrel away making for a better starting point.

GregWClassic wrote: Where are you guys? Around here all of these, except for a very, very few have been eaten by the rust deamons. If I was looking for a 60's era car I would get 6 cyl Nova or equivlant from Olds or Buick set up the suspension and brakes and just use it as a summer car.

He's not in the rust belt. Also, the "buy a six cylinder and upgrade as time and money allows" has been floated, but he doesn't have 1) shop space or 2) mechanical experience, and he wants a V8. Even a simple, well documented engine swap on an old 60's car is a pretty major undertaking if you have nowhere to do it and no experience working on cars.

OP, you seem to be really hung up on 4-door Novas. We've all told you you're willing to pay too much for them. Honestly, though, if YOU want a particular car,and YOU don't feel like it's too much to spend, go buy it. Car values are subjective and frankly, we're a bunch of cheapskates. Just realize you may lose your ass if and when you sell it.

Buy a V8 2 door car (as in muscle) already done for the right money, it'll prolly already have enough aftermarket parts and stuff to repair/ tinker/ tune to get your feet wet... and then some.

Yea, I think I'm going to look around a bit more and continue to stash away money. I'm in no rush, cars pop up every day it seems.

Good idea. There's no shortage of cheap '60's cars out there that are in decent condition. Just find the ones that weren't the "desirable" collectibles. Here's an Olds around my neck of the woods.

http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/3544111621.html

this car seems like a mess right?

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3586441470.html

Coldsnap wrote: this car seems like a mess right? http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3586441470.html

use the carb and interior conditions to leverage the price down... way down. Otherwise, not too bad a looking car that needs a little work... if that's all that's wrong w/ it.

600 Holley will fix that

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/ctd/3605512202.html

This is cool besides the dumb rims