Posted: 9/22/2012 9:12:31 PM EDT
| I am looking at getting a muscle car. I know nothingabout the mechanics of them but I did own a 84 Monte carlo SS so I was thinking of getting a Nova and building it. Is a Nova concidered a muscle car or should I save up for a chevelle or camero or stang? |
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You can't go wrong with a Nova. Very light and you can stuff a mountain motor in one easy, at least the 68-72's. If it were me I'd drop a LSx into a 66-67 though. One thing nice about Nova's is they aren't super expensive like Camaros or Chevelles. The downside to Novas is the relative lack of aftermarket support for trim and body parts. You can build an entire Chevelle or Camaro from new parts. Even frames are available. The 80's Monte Carlo is NOT a muscle car with the factory engine, but is an excellent host for updated powerplants. They're all good. There are just different considerations to be made. Have fun with whichever you choose. 
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| thanks, I had a 84 or 85 SS and I loved it but for some reason they are over priced now. I was also looking at 68 cougar XR-7, I was thinking something different, I would like something good but I dont want to go to a car show and be one of those guys. I even thought about building a corvair. My uncle builds them and he is only a few hours north of me so he might help. |
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What part of the country are you in? Hidden rust can be overwhelming if you're buying a 30-40 year old car in the midwest.
Finding a car with lots of aftermarket body parts makes a lot of sense in the Midwest. In the Southwestern U.S. it's not so critical. A friend had a '76 Camaro rear subframe fail while driving because it rusted itself to nothing. That was around 1991. Cars fall apart fast on salted roads. 
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I am in IL, I have an empty garage so I am thinking of a 67-69 cougar xr7 or eliminator. and build it slow and right Look for a "perfect" southern car or budget for Ebay, swap meet travels, soda blasting, and lots of metal fabricating/welding for fixing rust issues. Have you looked at Dynacorn Classic Auto Bodies' site to see what's being done with new metal? It's not cheap (and they don't make Cougars) but there will be no rust issues to pay to resolve so a hotrodder may save money in the long run. Another site worth a (free) glance is Art Morisson Engineering. They make entire CAD designed chassis for any car that are far superior to the factory original, and have never been bent or rusted. |
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Body lines on those Dynacorns suck! Contours of door to quarter don't even look like the parts belong on the same car on a few of the samples I have seen.
I'd rather take my chances with rust repair. I say do a '69 Eliminator with a MII suspension so you can fit in the new Coyote 5.0 |
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Body lines on those Dynacorns suck! Contours of door to quarter don't even look like the parts belong on the same car on a few of the samples I have seen. I'd rather take my chances with rust repair. I say do a '69 Eliminator with a MII suspension so you can fit in the new Coyote 5.0 What do you know about "hot tanking" where the body is kept in a tank of heated chemicals that eat away everything but the good metal? It seems interesting but it can't be cheap. Street Rodder Magazine has an on-and-off project car that had it done and it looked like it worked well. |
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Body lines on those Dynacorns suck! Contours of door to quarter don't even look like the parts belong on the same car on a few of the samples I have seen. I'd rather take my chances with rust repair. I say do a '69 Eliminator with a MII suspension so you can fit in the new Coyote 5.0 What do you know about "hot tanking" where the body is kept in a tank of heated chemicals that eat away everything but the good metal? It seems interesting but it can't be cheap. Street Rodder Magazine has an on-and-off project car that had it done and it looked like it worked well. I know you have to be very careful with your selection of dippers. Too much time and you might not get the car back. I don't care for a dipped body because all the areas you cannot get to now have no rust protection, and have been wet with water to get them clean. Think about it, car just got dipped, gets hosed off, and water gets in between pinch welds to start rusting. If you are going to have areas of bare metal like this, they should be seam sealed before any water gets near it. I've even gone as far as pouring primer on the seam and allowing it to drip through to seal the metal. Years ago a shop I worked at had a '40 Ford convertible dipped. We had to work our asses off sanding the metal and getting etching epoxy on it FAST since the exposed metal was forming rust on it. Inside and out. |
| Like I said I found 2 beat to hell cougars and I am really leaning towards buying both and building 1. I have seen a lot of novas and no cougars around here, but can they be built to be fast? there is a quarter mile trach near me route 66 I think and I want to build a car and take it there. |
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Yep, throw enough money at anything and it will go fast!
For me though, these old muscle cars are about style and a time period. I'm not always concerned about trying to be the quickest. I just want to look good and sound good getting there. So, Calypso Coral or Grabber Blue?? 
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