[HemmiGremmie]

Hello.
First I want to again thank everyone for there support with my recent hospital visit. Things are seeming to be looking up. :thumbup:

Next is I need a car. I want a roomy car thats semi decent on gas and can be worked on easily.

I think I found it. A 1970 Ford Galaxie 500! 98,000 original miles, auto, 4 door, super solid body and interior, all glass good, all lights work and bumpers n grill are very nice and it has a 302 in it.

I can nab it for like 1000 bucks. Any goods or bads to these? Gas mileage? Wifes going back to school, so I needsomething cheap. HG

 

[58Apache]

Opinion

Hey, I have seen just about everything, and don't see why this couldn't be a nice retro-grocery-getter. The 302 is the smoothest running engine I have ever seen. The C4 and C6 tranny is very reliable as well from what I have heard and they are so common that a rebuild on it would be cheap I would think.

You could make this a reliable transportation that you can work on and still cruise comfortably with the family of friends.

Why not? The 60's and early 70's were this country's greatest era for car design in the area of looks...in my opinion. With limited smog and tech issues, it would be an easy car to make work and work on as well.

I say go for it.

Steve

 

[trees]

My deceased Mother in Law had a 72 LTD 2 door HT with a 351 2barrel and auto that got about 20 mpg on the hwy and 17 around town with a light foot. When she could drive no more, she sold it to a needy person for cheap and the car is still going 10 years later. I see it about all the time. I don't see the 302 doing any better because it may be in a bit more strain since the two cars are right at the same weight and body design.

Trees

 

[matt167]

My deceased Mother in Law had a 72 LTD 2 door HT with a 351 2barrel and auto that got about 20 mpg on the hwy and 17 around town with a light foot. When she could drive no more, she sold it to a needy person for cheap and the car is still going 10 years later. I see it about all the time. I don't see the 302 doing any better because it may be in a bit more strain since the two cars are right at the same weight and body design.

Trees

that's excelent gas mialage for a car of that size tho, not to mention as with any old car, value goes up, not down with age.

 

[39 chev]

big old car ???

those late 60's early 70's fullsize fords had some serious frame rust problems,particularly the side rails at the cowel area and right in front of the rear trailing arm mounts. I have seen cars that appeared to have a solid body that were badly rusted on the frame rails. if you get much snow where you are,I would check that frame pretty closely.

 

[Hippie]

those late 60's early 70's fullsize fords had some serious frame rust problems,particularly the side rails at the cowel area and right in front of the rear trailing arm mounts. I have seen cars that appeared to have a solid body that were badly rusted on the frame rails. if you get much snow where you are,I would check that frame pretty closely.

I bought a cherry looking Mercury that vintage years ago, rust free body, beautiful white interior, a real cream puff. Took it out, test drove it and then paid my money. Started it up to leave, put it in gear and the frame broke right at the cowl. If the frame is solid go for it but check the frame REAL good!

 

[JohnBailey]

I think I found it. A 1970 Ford Galaxie 500! 98,000 original miles, auto, 4 door, super solid body and interior, all glass good, all lights work and bumpers n grill are very nice and it has a 302 in it.

I can nab it for like 1000 bucks. Any goods or bads to these? Gas mileage? Wifes going back to school, so I needsomething cheap. HG

Upside - If you decide to take it to Goodguys or the Pumpkin Run, it can get through the gates without any hassle.

 

[killerformula]

Hello.
First I want to again thank everyone for there support with my recent hospital visit. Things are seeming to be looking up. :thumbup:

Next is I need a car. I want a roomy car thats semi decent on gas and can be worked on easily.

I think I found it. A 1970 Ford Galaxie 500! 98,000 original miles, auto, 4 door, super solid body and interior, all glass good, all lights work and bumpers n grill are very nice and it has a 302 in it.

I can nab it for like 1000 bucks. Any goods or bads to these? Gas mileage? Wifes going back to school, so I needsomething cheap. HG

Well if you're not planning on rodding it, I'd just get something simple and fuel injected like a little honda or something. Get one with no power options (beside maybe rear defrost) and keep oil in it. It will run for as long as you maintain it! Your galaxy will probably be tough to start on cold days and top out about 16 or 17 mpg if you're lucky. You could get a little econo box to get you 30+!!

K

 

[pasadenahotrod]

There is nothing wrong with a pre-gas crisis big car except in the fuel economy department. The figures are, in the real world, more like 16-18 Highway and 12-14 City for most any large car regardless of powertrain.
Parts are fairly easy to find for Fords Chevys and Mopars but get more difficult in any of the luxury lines Buick Cadillac Lincoln Imperial. It is always advisable to purchase the most complete and best condition car you can find when looking for a car of this era. Drivetrain parts are easy to find, by and large, but body and trim pieces can be almost impossible especially for very popular models like convertibles and 2door hardtops.
There are still plenty of nice cars around from this period, most will be 4doors, 2door sedans, and the occassional wagon. Find the best one around, clean it up, keep it stock, change the oil, trans fluid, filters, flush and bleed the brakes, add new radials & shocks, belts and hoses, a good thorough tune-up(if necessary), and you will have a dependable, comfortable, and "unique" transport for many many years...the best part is you'll probably be able to recover a nice profit when you decide to sell. An unmodified "cherry" always has a buyer, right now.

 

[78novaman]

$1000 old Ford
12,000mi @ 15mpg = 800gal fuel
800gal @ $2.50/gal = $2000

Total $3000 in first year.




$3000 for econo Honda
12,000mi @ 30mpg = 400gal
400gal @ $2.50/gal = $1000

Total $4000 in first year.



It's actually 33% more expensive to run a car twice as fuel efficient. Then add on higher insurance for the newer car plus the fact if it does break hemmi will have a hard time fixing it and the econobox is definitely a lose-lose deal. Not too mention hemmi isn't going to be comfortable in any econo car!

 

[killerformula]

well there are clearly other options. My old man bought a 97 chevy cavalier for 1500 bucks. Interior is perfect, outside is pretty much flawless too. 120k on it, pretty much everything works. Not a flashy car, but there are a ton of them out there and they're cheap to maintain. He gets about 30mpg with that.

Also, econo boxes are getting more and more prized as gas prices go up. The above calculation only really serves you if you assume your econobox is going to cost 3 times as much, that both cars are going to be worth zero dollars when you sell them and that you're only keeping them for 12 months. I got rid of my honda (like I said in an earlier post) earlier this year. Paid 2900 for it and sold it with a bad throw out bearing a year and 20k later for 2300 bucks. So you'll likely be able to get your money back out of an econo box even if you pay a few hundred more from the get-go.

K

 

[MAUSS]

I got a '68 Mercury Monterey from a friend for free once (like in 1980)... the car looked beautiful and ran great, but the frame was rusted and broken just in front of one of the back wheels... I looked around for a new frame for it and couldn't find anything that was in better shape.

 

[1982 SS]

I had a '75 Buick I paid $750 for and I planned to go through it and make it run right again. It had 32,000 original miles and was really clean. It came to me running but the carb was a mess (primary rods stuck down, ran lean and pinged like crazy under any load). It turned out that the head gaskets had gone bad just sitting for all those years. It made for a good Auto shop project, and my teacher was familiar with the big cars of the mid 70's and had no problem with it. went together smooth and ran like a dream. That car was like driving your couch around, big, squishy and smooth. That 455 ran like a top and put down 18 mpg on the highway due to 7.9:1 compression, no real cam to speak of, and 2.41 rear gears. I sold it for $2300 and put less than 1000 miles on it start to finish. I think the early to mid 70's made som real comfy cruisers, with some nice potential for mild customs.

 

[1ownerT]

Late 80's early 90's GM H body, Le Sabre, Bonneville, Delta 88, 3.8 run 200,000+ miles get 30 mpg hwy, plenty of room, modern amenities(cruise,power windows,seats,air,tilt,rear defrost,better tunes) will drive much better, safer, liability ins. is cheep.
My .02

 

[MAUSS]

I'd look at '94 to '96 GM B body cars... Chevy Caprice and Buick Roadmaster with a LT1. The LT1 will do well over 200K without major attention. These cars are solid, comfortable, safe and easy to work on. Nice examples can be had in the $2500 to $3500 price range.