[FH212]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

Everyone thinks that owning a classic car is great. Trust me, it seems like a great idea but in reality, they kinda suck to drive. I know because I have this sitting in the garage. I could drive it all day, every day but I would be miserable.

No AC, 3000+ rpm cruising at highway speeds in 4th gear and it gets like 11mpg. It's uncomfortable and in the Texas summer it's like driving around in an oven. I rarely drive it because the 1LE was a much more fun and enjoyable drive.

Now, I still like the car but it's not fun to drive for long distances. That's why I'm going to do full suspension upgrade with a TKX 5 speed. vintage air and possibly an LS swap.

If I had $130k to spend, I might consider a Yenko as it would be a lot of fun with 1100hp in that platform and it's a car that will likely hold value. I'd probably just buy a C8 Z06 instead though. I have no interest in a Porsche or a used Ferrari or Lambo.

This is sooooooo true. I still kick myself mentally for selling my beautiful 78 Y88 Trans Am and my 81 Y84 Turbo Trans Am AND my 68 Chevelle SS but the fact remains that the reason why I sold them was these newer muscle cars. The old classics are just not that enjoyable to cruise around in. Hot New Mexico summers with the sun beating on your head through the glass T-Tops and you just sweat in discomfort. And that's WITH the A/C on. (which do not work like these newer cars) Everytime I long for buying me my dream car 77 Y82 Bandit TA and selling my Camaro or 01 Mecham Trans Am, I will go for a ride in my friends 76 455 Trans Am I am reminded about why I sold mine and I cant wait to jump back into my cars. So only way I would buy a classic now is if it was Rest-modded. But I sill LOVE looking at and for the classic muscle cars!

[GearheadSS]

Originally Posted by FH212

This is sooooooo true. I still kick myself mentally for selling my beautiful 78 Y88 Trans Am and my 81 Y84 Turbo Trans Am AND my 68 Chevelle SS but the fact remains that the reason why I sold them was these newer muscle cars. The old classics are just not that enjoyable to cruise around in. Hot New Mexico summers with the sun beating on your head through the glass T-Tops and you just sweat in discomfort. And that's WITH the A/C on. (which do not work like these newer cars) Everytime I long for buying me my dream car 77 Y82 Bandit TA and selling my Camaro or 01 Mecham Trans Am, I will go for a ride in my friends 76 455 Trans Am I am reminded about why I sold mine and I cant wait to jump back into my cars. So only way I would buy a classic now is if it was Rest-modded. But I sill LOVE looking at and for the classic muscle cars!

Restomod is the way to go on classics, imo. I would love to have a restomod Bandit, even if its a clone. Much like this 73 restomod.

[FH212]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

Restomod is the way to go on classics, imo. I would love to have a restomod Bandit, even if its a clone. Much like this 73 restomod.

Hell yes!

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

Restomod is the way to go on classics, imo. I would love to have a restomod Bandit, even if its a clone. Much like this 73 restomod.

Agreed

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

Yep. That's pretty much all I do with it at this point and I hate it. I hate owning something that I don't enjoy driving all of the time. Part of me says sell it and either get a classic that's already made into a restomod or get my dream car(1969 GTO Judge) or do like I said earlier and just restomod this car. I would be ok letting a Judge sit and not get driven all of the time since that's my dream car.

Oh, that does not bother me one bit. They are toys they are not daily driver.

[hotlap]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

Everyone thinks that owning a classic car is great. Trust me, it seems like a great idea but in reality, they kinda suck to drive. I know because I have this sitting in the garage. I could drive it all day, every day but I would be miserable.

No AC, 3000+ rpm cruising at highway speeds in 4th gear and it gets like 11mpg. It's uncomfortable and in the Texas summer it's like driving around in an oven. I rarely drive it because the 1LE was a much more fun and enjoyable drive.

Now, I still like the car but it's not fun to drive for long distances. That's why I'm going to do full suspension upgrade with a TKX 5 speed. vintage air and possibly an LS swap.

If I had $130k to spend, I might consider a Yenko as it would be a lot of fun with 1100hp in that platform and it's a car that will likely hold value. I'd probably just buy a C8 Z06 instead though. I have no interest in a Porsche or a used Ferrari or Lambo.

Originally Posted by FH212

This is sooooooo true. I still kick myself mentally for selling my beautiful 78 Y88 Trans Am and my 81 Y84 Turbo Trans Am AND my 68 Chevelle SS but the fact remains that the reason why I sold them was these newer muscle cars. The old classics are just not that enjoyable to cruise around in. Hot New Mexico summers with the sun beating on your head through the glass T-Tops and you just sweat in discomfort. And that's WITH the A/C on. (which do not work like these newer cars) Everytime I long for buying me my dream car 77 Y82 Bandit TA and selling my Camaro or 01 Mecham Trans Am, I will go for a ride in my friends 76 455 Trans Am I am reminded about why I sold mine and I cant wait to jump back into my cars. So only way I would buy a classic now is if it was Rest-modded. But I sill LOVE looking at and for the classic muscle cars!

I agree with both of you. I mentioned in my previous post that I sold the TA because the creaks and rattles became too annoying. Once we got into the LS1 era, classic muscle was outshined.

I want to get another classic to use as a second car when I'm retired. I won't need the car on a daily basis and I like the idea of having it as a nondepreciating asset rather than a boring second blah-mobile.

A Tremec conversion is a must if you plan to drive on the highway. Been there too

[Hrothgar]

Originally Posted by hotlap

I agree with both of you. I mentioned in my previous post that I sold the TA because the creaks and rattles became too annoying. Once we got into the LS1 era, classic muscle was outshined.

I want to get another classic to use as a second car when I'm retired. I won't need the car on a daily basis and I like the idea of having it as a nondepreciating asset rather than a boring second blah-mobile.

A Tremec conversion is a must if you plan to drive on the highway. Been there too

This is a fun conversation and I'm obliged to offer my own perspective. After having lived my entire adult life driving conservative, safe, reliable, and predictable vehicles, in May of 2019 I decided to purchase something I've always wanted, a 2017 Camaro loaded 2LT T4 that had been sitting on a dealer's lot for two years. $38k MSRP, 200 miles on it, and I think I paid $24,950 before tax and fees. It was a splurge purchase, a fun car to take the wife on a long weekend with. Everything was great for the first six months, and I even added one of my dream rides to the garage in February of 2020; a 1973 Z-28 with 49k original miles. Then, COVID hit.

Now I'm working from home, but also having to visit sites as an "Essential Worker". However, if we all remember, those first few months everything was shut down. Restaurants, theme parks, movies....all of a sudden, the fun weekend car had nowhere to go. By June things hadn't changed much, and I decided to sell the T4 Camaro (and took a good hit doing it), and instead put the money into yet another 2nd gen Camaro. Now, I love my two second gens, and they are fun to drive, at least in the driving season in Florida (generally, November-March), but they need constant maintenance, something always seems to be breaking down or in need of replacement, and I spend more time getting them ready for the road then actually being on it. Someone might see all of that as a huge downside, but I've learned more about vacuum gauges, carburetors, steering boxes, mechanical gauges, and the like in the last year and a half then I had in the previous 20, so it's all good. This has evolved into a hobby of sorts, so as long as I'm having fun, I have no complaints.

2021 rolled around, and I came upon a 2002 SS SLP-registry car with low miles for sale locally and I bought it. Its a modern car, and pretty fun to drive, but it wasn't a 6th gen, and ultimately, I decided to add my current car in May; a 2018 Camaro V6 2LT 1LE. Between the four, I drive the 1LE 90% of the time, because its a ton of fun, and there are zero worries about reliability, or adding unnecessary mileage. I couldn't see being without a truly modern sports/muscle car, especially if i kept the vintage cars, just because they are so different from a driving dynamic perspective, and because I don't worry taking them on an extended outing, like I would the older cars. And, yeah, if it isn't November to March, driving an old car in Florida without an A/C isn't the most enjoyable experience.

[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by hotlap

It says Yenko
It is supercharged.
It has a built bottom end.
It makes 1,100 HP

https://specialtyvehicleengineering....-yenko-camaro/

Then it is worth every bit of $130K without question.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

You sure about that? These Yenko cars are limited to 50 stage 1 and 50 stage 2 for 2022. With the Yenko name attached, you can bet that they will go up in value.

No one thought the 2002 ZL1 Camaros done by GMMG would be a good investment either.

Wow, that is one ugly Camaro...


Honestly, compared to my 6th Gen 2020 2SS, I wouldn't offer them $10,000 for that... I think the 4th Gen were the worst looking Camaros by far... For $70k or so you can buy a 6th Gen ZL1 which is a MUCH better car than that!!! (and go put $84,000 in your pocket to do what you want!!!)