hey guys im wanting to get an old classic car, and ive been looking and looking but i cant really seem to narrow down the cars that fit some of the guidelines that im looking for and was wondering if yall could help me. since im a guy whos 6'5 325, yall recomended that i go with the 1950-1960s eras cars. right now im working with a realistic initial investment of 4500 in cash right now but i could sell another high end rifle or two and come up with $6k (hell you cant drive a gun and my collection is 40+ ), i know that number may be low to some of yall but thats what im comfortable spending right now. my last thing is that i live in a somewhat higher crime neighborhood and the garage would only be able to store a car that is 16 ft from bumper to bumper. ive been browsing craigslist and it seems that two cars that match the two first requirements are a 64 galaxie 2dr and a 1962 white belair 4dr and a 1964 ratrod belair 4dr but i have not been able to get over to see the vehicles and see they overall length of the cars (maybe hoping that some of yall may know the length offhand) is there any other cars that would fall under those guidelines. thanks again guys
Only smaller US cars i can think of are old 1960s Ramblers and Studebaker Larks. They,re cool cars too.
Under 16 feet... Maybe look at Falcon, Corvair, early Chevelle, AMC, Studebaker, Valiant, early 60s Dodge Lancer, in other words early 60s "compacts" or "mid-size" models. The full size cars of the 50s and 60s are often going to be pushing 17 or 18 feet. Some example sizes, 1958 AMC: American 178 inchess, Rambler, 191 inchess, Ambassador 200 inchess 1960 Ford: Falcon 181 inches, Galaxie 213 inches. 1964 Chevrolet: Corvair 180 inches, Chevy II 183 inches, Chevelle 194 inches, Impala 210 inches. 1962 Plymouth: Valiant 184 inches, Fury 202 inches. 1963 Studebaker: 2 door Larks 184 inches, Gran Turisimo 204 inches. (all numbers rounded off) Station wagons were often a few inches longer than other body styles.
at your size i would steer clear of 4 drs... you will want the longer doors of the 2dr. dont forget early falcons and Nova's (Chevy II)... im only 6'2" and was 280 at one time and i never felt cramped in either of those and im sure with some different seats (shorter and farther back you could make them work. good luck!
Finding something 16' & under, from the Big 3, will be a bear after 1957. Anything after that was about the time they really became Freeway Locomotives.
There's a neat looking '63 Corvair convertible for $3500 on the Orlando Craigslist, right now. It looks like it fits all your needs.
1961-63 Special/skylark. My Special is just over 15ft. They are pretty cool little cars and you don't see a lot of them. Also you can get one for way less than 4500
How about a pickup? Can't find actual measurements, by 50's short box Fords are pretty stubby. You can probably find a very respectable '57-60 F-100 for $4500-6k that needs nothing to be driven daily...just take your time and something will come along. That's a good price point to be looking. Be patient...
A 52 Chevy 2 door is about 198 inches long, a 52 Plymouth Cranbrook 2 door is about 188, and a 52 Plymouth Cambridge 2 door is about 193 inches long. Add or subtract some bumper guards and there may not be more or less difference. To the earlier comment about pickup trucks, my 61 F100 shortbox is 189 inches long w/o a rear bumper.
Ive got the perfect car for you. Theres a guy here in tallahassee that has a 52 chevy. He drives it every day and its in great condition. Its a yellowish white color. Might be factory. Its black vinal interior with a chevy 350 and its stick. I did a real quick walk around the other day because it was about to poor down and he was trying to park it before the rain. It was 6k but now he wants 5k. Cash talks. If your interested pm me or something and i'll try and get his number.
64 Fairlane, 2 door hdtp..........289/auto...running...over here in Frisco, Tx It's about 16 inches shorter than our 63 Galaxie. Mark
...or, how about a nice Crosley, Nash Metropolitan, Henry-J or early Olds f-85??? Remember, it's your garage and your wallet so, buy what you want because our opinions really don't count.
The early '60s Rambler Classic makes it under the wire. That or the Studebaker Lark would be roomy, fun cars to daily-drive. They would be my picks.
The 61-63 F-85 is basically the same as the Skylark mentioned above. I've got a 62 F-85 wagon. Cost me $1400 straight from the Nevada desert. The problem is that I'm only 6'2", 180 lb and the seat doesn't go back far enough for me. Of course, I can fix that (and will), it's just not the highest priority right now.
As a Ford guy, an early Falcon would be my nomination. Quite a few came down the assembly line, quite a few cool body styles, good interchange with later cars, adaptable to power upgrades (SBF?), and still available for reasonable money. Nash Metropolitans are cool, if a little quirky, and would fit in your garage. Studebaker Larks are also cool, with huge potential as a sleeper. Both of these would be more unusual than a Falcon, with the attending headache being that the hide-and-go-seek for parts is substantially harder.
I've got a friend who is 6'8' and he drove an early 60's Falcon Ranchero back when we were in trade school together in the mid 60's. He took the seat out and moved it back a bit and bolted it back in. The choice is up to you but personally I can't see mid 60's four doors as anywhere near interesting as far as having one as a rod or custom. Boring cars then and boring cars now. Settling for a less than desirable car because it is somewhat inexpensive isn't a satisfying way to come up with a hobby car in most cases. That little Chevy that Chevyshack mentioned is an interesting one that might be worth investigating.
get yerself a Volvo PV444 or PV544. they look good, you fit just fine, and if you feel like doing something fun you put a V8 instead of a straight 4 in it. on your budget you can get a driver if you search a bit
well i looked at the falcon, and it looks nice, but its a unibody, i know to some of yall a unibody may be fine but i dont prefer it becuase of not having a frame. im also researching the other vehicles yall mentioned and some are looking promising, one pickup that intrigued me was the black pickup that was in the movies the expendables with sylvester stalone, i looks like an old ford but not sure.
A bigger fella like you doesn't need to be squashed into all those tiny headroom boats of the late 50s. early 60s. The first generation Studebaker Larks had more headroom than any of the full-size boats of the era. And the 1949-52 Plymouths (rather presciently) had the "small on the outside/big on the inside" build that let guys keep on their hats.
Pontiac Tempest 1963 have 326cu.in. V8 (any Pontiac V-8 will swap right in) motor trend "car of the year" in 1962, ---444 or 544 Volvo (sorta looks like a 40' ford) small car with big insides!!
Kinda OT car but I've got a 1957 Peugeot 403, pretty rare but pretty cheap too. Here's a picture of one. The previous owner was about 6' 5" and he wasn't cramped or anything in it, plenty of room. They handle really nicely, could do with a bit more power though, it's a 1.5 litre hemi that makes a whopping 62HP It'l happily cruise all day at 70MPH though, does about 90 flat out. Thanks Hayden
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