Old Classic or just old?

[jphanna]

As a kid surrounded by car freaks, I been a passenger in a variety of cars from about 1970 onwards. I wont know the proper names of all of them, but mostly American/aussie coupes, and various sedans. Cars that were just common transport then, can be highly sought after today. this obviously excludes any Bathurst models GT/XU1/RT/GTS etc. Being dropped off at school in any valiant back then was embarrassing, and I copped a ribbing many times….but now they are in ‘vogue’

aussie coupes

Chargers 215 (three on the tree), to E38, 360Auto , XA 302 Landau, XC 302, Monaro 68 186, HJ Monaro 253. 68 monaro 307.

Aussie sedans

XB GT, XC 351, valiant 245 VG, valiant 245 VK, valiant 265 coupe, 74 LTD 351, XC silver monarch 351, 73? statesman 308, HD 173? Holden, VC Valiant 225 (3 on tree), LX 173 torana.

American cars

65? Galaxie convertible, 73 convertible mustang, 69 cadillac eldorado, ‘tank’ fairlaine, rambler matador X, Lincoln continental mark 5?, 1950’s ford fairlane convertible (with roof that stores in boot), oldsmobile/buick invicta?, 64 thunderbird. Pontiac parrisiane, chev impala.

The only 4 cyl car I was exposed to in 70’s was a Gemini coupe, an RS2000 and a mini moke.

I wonder how many of those cars are REAL classics now, and how many are just remembered today, as they were back then…..just A to B transport. Its hard to imagine any of those cars being considered A to B today.

[Saraco]

I finished rebuilding my XA coupe back in 1992, back then people showed an interest in it, said nice car etc. Today, people that only have a very casual interest in cars, go nuts over it. You DON'T drive these cars now, if you don't like attention.Any pre 1980 aussie 2 door now is desirable, probably get as much, if not more attention than US muscle cars/ Pony cars etc. They're certainly rarer! 4 doors: Any pre 1986 factory performance or upspec luxury vehicle is collectable today and some are extremely desirable and collectable.Ford: Any GT, FAIRLANE, GS, FAIRMONT, FAIMONT GHIA, ESP etc. Holden: HQ GTS/SS, PREMIER , STATESMAN, HK/T/G PREMIER ,BROUGHAM even factory V8 kingswoods ANY FACTORY V8 TORANA, BROCK COMMODORES, SL/E etc.Chrysler PACER, VIP, CHRYSLER BY CHRYSLER factory V8 AP6/VC ETC. IS TOO COOL TODAY!

[Mr Hardware]

Interest is directly proportional to rarity, jphanna, and age brings rarity.
The older a car gets the more special it becomes. People hated the style of the HD/HR when first released, never became anything special, there was even the old joke that there's a car club for every type of holden except for the Hardly Driveable and the Hastily Revised.

Contratry to this thinking, the HR is one of the most iconic yesteryear 'normal' cars around today, people will stop and look at a HR, and personally I'd really like one. Fifteen years ago people would not give two hoots about some crappy old holden, but even a basic example is now interesting.

And the same I hope is going to happen to my VH. It's gonna take a good 15 years before it becomes special, but it will happen. It doesn't even have 150k on the clock, one owner, lived in exactly the same garage its whole entire life. It's mint. But people are only just starting to mildly notice it. This will increase over the next 10 years I estimate. The bogans have only just moved on from VC/VH's to VN/VPs, so it'll be a little while yet before people separate in their mind that it's not bogan transport anymore but a true aussie classic. It won the round australia trials, it won bathurst, it won the ATCC, the early chrome-bumpered commodores will be remembered.

But not yet. It is still not rare enough.

[302 XC]

alot of the "yesterday"cars of the 70s and 80s people are snapping up to maybe reminise(spelling)of a simple time
then again alot of people like myself remember a certain car that sticks in your head or you remember,(early child hood years ??) and now you finally buy one
the main cars my parents had when i was young were,
gtr xu1(when i was a bub)
p5 ltd 351 got t boned (not a good memory)
ht premier c/w formula 5000 v8 (road car very very fast)dont like holdens
xc cobra (for a 10 year old i thought i was king)
xc fairmont gxl
so i finally got the xc fairmont,other than the holden they are now collector only cars and with each passing year they get rarer and rarer,but do also remember that 20 years ago the xcs were worth about as much as a xf is nowadays (bugger all)
so it was the purist or the battlers thats kept them goin

[big_landau]

valiants are very popular nowadays.i drive one everday and people love it from young to old.if you do a seach on some of the stuff you can buy for valiants now its incredible.i have a few nice fords but theres nothing wrong with a good val,they go very well,handle and drive realy good and well worth looking at if your after a classic.
i think any falcon from xr to xc is probably the pick and you cant go wrong with any of these.
holdens im not realy into but i like the look of hk to hz models,if i was into holdens id have to say id own a torana.

[302 XC]

i think with the valiants,they stand out a little more because u just dont see many anymore
years ago most people wouldnt be caught dead in one
people couldnt give em to you with a full tank of gas
its the old supply and demand unfortunately, people are starting to realise the rarity of ANY old car for that fact and its helping push up the prices

[The Yeti]

Most 60's 70's cars coups or other have seen a resergance in pupulariy in recent years and they all have their followers so I would say yes classics

[XR_Strider_GuY]

My 2c's,

We all have seen how the HK Monaro and the GTHO Phase 3 have gone sky high in prices. I suspect there are a fair few people that are speculating what the next big hit in classic cars will be. Talks around the classic car scene about the 1978-81 Chrylser CM Valiant and Chargers as well as 1976-1979 Ford LTD being on the cards.

Latest Unique Cars has a 36 page write up on a buyers guide on classics. My punt I reckon the HSV GTS's of the 90's will be the one to watch despite being very common now. Finding one in near concourse condition is nigh impossible simply for the fact that many owners have modified these things by now.

As a car enthusiast I think one should buy a car they have loved to own rather than buying something to pre-empt an investment. Having said that anything that is rare and in fairly original clean condition will certainly not drop in value as there will always be a market.

[big_landau]

Originally Posted by nerida67

i think with the valiants,they stand out a little more because u just dont see many anymore
years ago most people wouldnt be caught dead in one
people couldnt give em to you with a full tank of gas
its the old supply and demand unfortunately, people are starting to realise the rarity of ANY old car for that fact and its helping push up the prices

valiants have always been a good car and i have know plenty of people who have owned them for years,if you dont listen to wackers and follow the sheep they are an enjoyable car to own,always have been and one thing you can gaunantee is a valiant owner isnt worried about keeping up with the jones's etc etc.infact most valiant owners are very nice people,then you get typical aussie wacker attitudes like the show kingswood country and thats how things get mixed up,infact thats probably where the saying wog box came from,a really reliable source lol.

[pottery beige]

Righto who's bloody Valiant bashing????....lol...







There is some really cool Valiant's out there....

[big_landau]

that vg pacer is the sister car to mine,minus the turbo.mine also is a a84 car

[big_landau]

this is my daily driver and i always get positive comments about it,i love driving it everywhere

[big_landau]

sorry double post

[pottery beige]

Awesome ride big landau... that rear quarter shot show's just how much style those old Val's have and are now being appreciated for.

[302 XC]

im not valiant bashing,not at all
when i was a tad younger (and probably my stupid)i used to hang crap on my brother in laws charger (245)UNTIL i drove it
the charger running on 5 pots beat my warm 186
i was a little embarrased ,
stopped bagging him after that
a motor magazine road test years ago,put a 245 centura against a 253 lh torana and a 250 cortina
lets say the centura beat both
a stock 6 cm valiant has 1 horsepower less than a stock 302 xc
e49 did apparently give a phase 3 a good battle down the quarter
they are a great car , but as above the WACKER ATTITUDE did help people look the other way
some start a post with val pics

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by nerida67

im not valiant bashing,not at all
when i was a tad younger (and probably my stupid)i used to hang crap on my brother in laws charger (245)UNTIL i drove it
the charger running on 5 pots beat my warm 186
i was a little embarrased ,
stopped bagging him after that
a motor magazine road test years ago,put a 245 centura against a 253 lh torana and a 250 cortina
lets say the centura beat both
a stock 6 cm valiant has 1 horsepower less than a stock 302 xc
e49 did apparently give a phase 3 a good battle down the quarter
they are a great car , but as above the WACKER ATTITUDE did help people look the other way
some start a post with val pics

Notice the... lol.. in my post... it was a light hearted share of some very cool Valiant's i have come across... and we all know how much we love seeing pic's...................... ;)

[Melz]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Notice the... lol.. in my post... it was a light hearted share of some very cool Valiant's i have come across... and we all know how much we love seeing pic's...................... ;)

Yeah but you didn't inclue any Galants... how rude... :

[302 XC]

good one melz,
straight to the top of the class for u

[Mr Hardware]

When i was young valiants were a joke, only weird povos had them.
Nowadays I'd give my left nut for a nice old Super Valo...

[Melz]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

When i was young valiants were a joke, only weird povos had them.
Nowadays I'd give my left nut for a nice old Super Valo...

There seems to be a lot of blokes willing to trade their manhood in on cars this week...

Originally Posted by ESP

I'd still trade my left nut for one though.

[Mr X]

I don't know how old some of you blokes are-but I owned quite a few of these cars when they were new or near new.

A lot of them definitely weren't special and a few were just cr@p.(VL Commo easily the worst I owned and I still have a problem with Holden releasing the 307 Brougham with drum brakes and a banjo diff..........)

Personally I think the high end coupes ie Falcons,Monaros, Chargers,Toranas and 4 door GT's are the real jewels.. the big limos ie LTD/Fairlane 351,Statesman 350,Chrysler by C 360.and not forgetting the performance utes ie Sandman,Falcon GS as well.

The rest I wouldn't miss .

[91'dSpecEB]

Interesting post. Gota love the Vals especially VC Regals and VE Regals, been a few in my family. Second only to Ford they are ;)

Jphanna in your Avatar your car looks exactly like mine and is interesting your in adelaide too :P hehe

[castellan]

My dad had a LTD and a lot of my school mates parents had fairlane's and we use to bag them brougham's as big ars and thought they were a GMH joke.
But now i like to see them brougham's on the road.
And i owned and liked the look of the HG premier's.
I like the EH but not any thing holden made before then or the HD, HR they are rubbish.
Valiant were always rubbish, unless it had a 2 barrel carby with slant or hemi then it could perform ok. i like the RV1 & SV1. VG pacer & R/T charger.
The truth is FORDS ARE THE BEST!

[Saraco]

Originally Posted by castellan

My dad had a LTD and a lot of my school mates parents had fairlane's and we use to bag them brougham's as big ars and thought they were a GMH joke.
But now i like to see them brougham's on the road.
And i owned and liked the look of the HG premier's.
I like the EH but not any thing holden made before then or the HD, HR they are rubbish.
Valiant were always rubbish, unless it had a 2 barrel carby with slant or hemi then it could perform ok. i like the RV1 & SV1. VG pacer & R/T charger.
The truth is FORDS ARE THE BEST!

Dare me to post this up on the CHRYSLER forums?! YA BETTER START DUCKING FOR COVER!!

[Kamshaaft]

I have thought, for many years, that Valiants are pure sex. Unfortunately for me everybody else seemed to reach this conclusion around about the same time I scraped up enough cash for one.

[Kamshaaft]

Here's a couple of Vals of choice I saw about mid last year:





-







Couldn't get enough of this Pacer. I was choking down drool, trying to prevent it from landing on the billet trumpets.











I'm fairly certain that's a Lexus V8 in the Centura, anybody know for sure?
Odd route to take, sure they sound very nice if a tiny bit tinny but what's wrong with the old 360 stroked out to 408ci with a Jeep crank? wouldn't need the blower then.





Some Vals were done very tastefully.









And some..

..not so much.




Bloke named Keith from Marysville (from memory) drove around roadblocks to his shed in the face of an approaching firestorm to save this AP!

[Kamshaaft]

This was the only time I saw a broken down Valiant.





There was an 'Oval Oddity or two present too.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Kamshaaft

]

I'm fairly certain that's a Lexus V8 in the Centura, anybody know for sure?

Toyota 1UZFE V8, the first gen model has really thick conrods and is good for a lot of HP stock.

[Saraco]

Great cars. I heard CHRYSLERS ON THE MURRAY is MASSIVE, that 70/71 cobra jet ranchero squire is GOLD! I would give my left AND right one for that!