Hey guys. I haven't been around here much in the last 6 years or so. I've been living/working for the Army, in Korea. After deploying to Afghanistan for a while and generally living without any vehicle to work on, it's finally time to come back to the States. Driving a $1,200 Korean hoopty has been rough, but not having two car payments combined with some deployment money has left my wife and I with a nice pot of money to finally get cars we actually want. She's got her heart set on a 68-72 Chevelle, not quite my (or the HAMB's) style, but I appreciate her enthusiasm. And I'm damned excited she's looking for a classic daily driver. I'm looking for a daily driver from the 60's. I'm not looking for a project, I've had a 51 Chieftain in storage for the last 10 years that I'm finally going to get a chance to get back on the road. I've got a budget about 20k for a driver. I've been after a 63-67 Riviera, but I'm starting to think I might be leaving out some good ideas. Maybe my focus has been too narrow. Are there any 60's era cruisers that I should be considering? I like the Rivi, comfortable, luxurious for the time, has some horsepower, understated. I like Caddy's in theory, but the reality is they're a little too much for me. Too big of an engine and sometimes, too cliche. What are some other makes/models I should consider along those lines? I apologize if this is outside of the realm of the forum. I haven't paid much attention to the 60's era. I've always been more focused on pre-55.
Go the Riviera, I had a baby seat in the back of mine and yes they are comfy, look for a fully loaded one and if you get a Dynaflow get it rebuilt properly.
Aww crap....i asked before searching thoroughly enough...i just found the lowriders thread. Ive got 68 pages of research ahead of me. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/lowriders.385632/
I ran this Lincoln sedan as a daily driver for 4 years. Great cars and the sedans are not overly pricey. This one was from Palm Springs and had 18,000 original miles. Only pain in the ass is the vacuum powered windows and door locks. Extremely complicated system to fix if there's a leak. My windows worked, but the door locks were dead. Also I had the rear leaf springs re arc-ed because these cars tend to become tail draggers over time. I think they look best sitting dead straight.
My 2¢, keep in mind for a daily, a Chevelle (or other '60s Chevy) as your honey suggests can be kept on the road with a crescent wrench and screwdriver, parts are everywhere and relatively cheap. I've always lusted after a Riviera, but having owned a '60s T-bird I'm familiar with all the foibles involved with the added luxuries, wiring, parts not in stock and what not. Just something to consider. And thanks for your service.
Welcome back,and thanks for your service.Get the poncho going maybe turn it for a chevelle then look for that Riviera or 60's mopar.or maybe 2 chevies.
Cant go wrong with a '64 or '65 Comet or Falcon. they can be purchased cheap, and with an inline six, can be very easy to maintain....
'65 T-Bird will give good comfort/style and first year for factory disc brakes. '61 Buick Invicta gives a classy look and luxury. of course, with the budget that you have can likely find many rides of various years/makes that have plenty of comfort upgrades.
I wouldn't get hung up on any model, keep an open mind and start looking to see what is for sale in the price range and make sure it is a sound car and buy what you find that looks good to you. Not what everyone will choose to do, but that would be my approach to it unless a certain make or model is either more appealing or not and that will make it easy to put that at the top of the list or eliminate it. Good luck with your search and it is great that you have the means to follow through on it and Thanks for your service to our great country.
Thank you for your service. I have a stepson{ but I call him my son} Who was over there. Took him a while to get back to normal but he doing well now. Hes not in to old cars like me.{he helps me work on mine though}He likes his dodge pick up .I have one too but this my baby. Thanks againfor your service.Bruce.
Couldn't agree more. I've had a bunch of them and simply put, love em. This was my last one, and im working on another now. I decided years ago that I can't be without an Impala!! Tony
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! Welcome back I dig the Rivs too but I'm found of the Olds Tornado's and early 60s 88s and 98s sport coupes. But hell any thing can be cool with the right wheel and tire combo!
'61-63 T-Bird... the 'Bulletbird'. Basically the car that caused GM to invent the Riviera (and all the other 'personal luxury' cars that came later). $20K should even get a you a convertible, although probably not a Roadster. A '63.5 or '64 Merc Marauder would be a great second choice...
64 Riviera- full custom right from the factory. Little bit of paint work and some nice wheels and tires, and you are in the groove, pardner!
64-65 Riviera is a good car. 63 looks similar but has the dynaslow trans, 64 was first year for the turbo 400, call super turbine 400 in the Buicks. Either 401 or 425 is a good engine. There area lot of other good options for mid 60's cruisers, as suggested by other posts.
Wow, thank you all so much for the suggestions and advice. Honestly I had forgotten the community spirit here. I halfway expected to get several "use the search" or "this isn't traditional enough." You all posted some really nice cars. And a few of you mentioned what I was worried about....with added "luxuries" and gadgets come problems. Seems like those clamshell lights on Rivi's never work...I'm assuming, like Joeyesmen's Continental, they're vacuum operated. I'd rather fix wiring than chase down vacuum leaks. Some of you mentioned the Turbine tranny...I seen several Riviera's that have been swapped to more standard transmissions. Must be a PITA to service the Turbine? I was also surprised some of you mentioned how nice of a car I could get for that budget. Sometimes it's hard car shopping online...so many of these high dollar sites and dealerships want crazy money for fairly common cars. I'm often wondering, why is this same car 13k from a seller and car that looks similar is 35k somewhere else? I was starting to think I was going to have to keep saving.
Tony and Moriarty mentioned Impalas....I, very briefly, had a '64 Biscayne with a 283/Powerglide. Nice car. The glass packs got me pulled over on more than one occasion. Those were my post Active Duty, long haired days....hard to believe small town cops still have a problem with shady looking guys in lowriders....
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