Look for a 67 galaxie with a 289 still has the cool factor of a 8 ..sound nice set of duals..lol but to move that monster well lets just say no fear of drag racer..lol and will drive over most liitle dinky crap out there pretty safe that was my first car will always have a spot in my heart for that ole girl
Late 60s early 70s truck. Why? They are full frame, even when lowered they still set higher than most cars, alot of them came with 6cyl and three on the tree, and they are still a decent price. But most of all, they can only fit two people.(yes I know they have a bed, but we had the rule "if I find out anyone was riding in the bed, the truck goes by by.) As far as working for it, I agree that school is there job. My kids had to maintain a high B just to be aloud to drive. (my boys still worked, because they wanted to buy parts for there rides.) I also keep them in my name. That way if they got out of line, they were walking.
Why not an El Camino... It doesn't carry a lot of passengers, they can be souped up and look cool, they can take a hit if the worst happens, and he load it up and haul stuff like parts for your projects.
An early-mid '60's VW beetle, and let's face it, they can be damn cool...easy to drive, easy to work on, appreciating in value, and most young chicks dig 'em....which is a big reason a young man needs one....haha
Forgot to mention any early stuff you do buy do him an you a favor upgrade to disc brakes up front an a dual master easy enough to do an worth every penny
I have a 62 Skylark that My son and I are going to start on for his first car. It has 215 auto and those transmissions are weak. Our plans are to drop in a later 231 V6 and an AOD which should make it dependable and Ok on gas. The older cars are heaver and other than the lack of air bags pretty safe, I think??
How about an early 70's van? Maybe a big graphic on the side that says "Love Machine". His girlfriend's dad should love that. Seriously though, as said before, the more he puts his own time and money into it, the more he'll appreciate it.
73-77 El Camino. Still cheap, can be fixed up to look good and a big car. Only holds 2, maybe 3 if bench seat. Insurance won't be as high of cost compared to a more hot rod type car. Even has some utility value for hauling stuff. They are SBC/T350, disc brakes, easy to get parts for cheaply. Depending on where you live the 73-74 may be smog exempt. Not as cool as an older El Camino or 2 door Chevelle, but a lot better than a 4 door sedan. I also think an S-10 or late 60's-early 70's full size truck is a good idea. All of these can be a cool driver with easy repair costs and fairly low insurance. 16 yr old males pay lots for insurance, this is a factor.
The most common truck on earth, 47 2nd-55 1st Chevy/GMC, with 230-250 Chevy six/powerglide or 200R4 and open drive later rearend. Reliable, visible, fairly economical especially with OD transmission. I'll also second the early Falcon/Comet, Valiant/Dart idea, and the Maverick/Comet early 70s too. Seatbelts in all. I gave my son the 57 Chevy BelAir 2door post car for his high school daily. I explained the difference between cool and gas mileage at 15 and everyday midget car and gas mileage at 25-30. He chose the 57 and loved it. So did his friends and he got a full page in the yearbook his senior year 2003.
^ X2 , i HAD to learn to drive a stick before i could get my DL , per my dad . I think it should be required at your drivers test FINK
I started out in 1990 with a then 26 year old car, 1964 El Camino. My choice. I had help buying, but in order to get that and keep driving, I had to keep a B average. It wasn't particularly desirable, since there was never a big block available in it, and I like the square lines better than the later cars. It was relatively gutless, had a 2bbl 307, 4 speed, and a 3.08 1-legger. Everybody at school knew it was mine, there were a few other old cars also. Never had problems leaving it anywhere. 20 years later, I still have it. It now has a 427, 5 speed and a posi, but it's the same car. My kids will be on their own to buy transportation. I have 4 kids, too many to buy for. I can and will help with inspecting before purchase, and maint/repairs as long as they help. If it's broke and they won't work on it, it can sit. Devin
i dont know how its nowadays but when i got my licence the ranking of transportatinon was like this first there was 50s cars then bigblock cars, smalblockcars, volvo amazon, bicycle,valking,nothing,nothing, vw bug,fourdoorcars,nothing, take a ride with your mother, ramblers,saab....naah saab wasent on the list at all I think you should let him pick the car himself or let him think he did My girlfriends father thought he was nice an bougth her a orange saab v4 stationwagon when she got her licence she screamed I DONT WANT A FUCKING SAAB STATIONWAGON AND I HATE ORANGE we still laugh at it today I dont know if you can find a god amazon to a god price. But it a wery god first car god brakes a blindfolded fool car fix it with stuf you find besides the road god milage god handling. You can drive it like you hate it and it wont breake. Looks like an early fifties car. Seatbelts atleast in sweden
Get a 60's rambler: Cheap Most economical out there with a straight 6 Safe fully unitized with one main stamping on the side for no welds to break good in a T-bone situation. Did i say Cheap? oh and no one else has them
From someone who just got the liscense only four years ago I wish I never drove my hot rod to school everyday alls it did was get beat up by other high schoolers who didnt know how to drive. If I could do it again I would have my day to day beater with a heater and then have my project car for on weekends or drive every once in a while to school cause when high schoolers see a car nicer then theres they like to make it worse......... hope this helps
Hey this guy is a Cascade rambler club member and your asking what car to get? theres a 1963 550 cross country wagon with straight six 3 speed and overdrive on craigslist for $1800 right now. And i don't care what you guys say, long roofs are cool
S-10, new drivers shouldn't drive old cars. They have no crumple zones, no seat belts, airbags, decent brakes, handling etc. We all love old cars here, but they belong in the hands of experienced drivers. Besides, when he does wreck it, who cares if he destroys an S-10, but it would be a shame for him to wreck a classic. Then get him an old car to build, It'll keep him busy and out of trouble, and by the time it's done he'll have more experience driving and more respect for the old car.
X cop car. Pick them up at the city auction. Around here they turn them when they have 100 thousand on the clock. Can get them for around 1500 bucks. Shine em up, black up the windows a bit and they are pretty cool looking. You can add your own custom radio and interior to individual tastes. I worked for a commercial company that bought them all the time to use in a lift program. They got between 300 and 400 thousand miles on most of them and they were still running and driving when they sold them. They averaged 200 miles a day city driving.
I second that! My first car,that was actually mine,was a '67 Bug. I had 25 more,and became a VW mechanic,so I love them!!! He can learn to fix it himself really easy! There's a book out called "VW mechanics for dummies",or something like that. Just look for a pre-'70 Bug. I had 16 67's. I'd buy another one too! It would have to be another Notchback though...
My first car back in 88 was a 65 Mustang with 200 six and an automatic, it was a great car and a hand me down from my older brother who started driving in 84. it was in good shape and we both had to keep our grades up and maintain a part time job to be able to use it. I thought about it and I think in the 8 years we had that car between the both of us we put about 50,000 miles on it and never had a problem other then a couple starters, a thermostat and water pump and a carb rebuild. Now a Mustang these days is not a cheap option but any Ford, Chevy, Dodge with a 6 in it would be a cool ride. Jon
im glad you say hes got to work for it. when you buy kids their cars, they dont respect them. i recon he should buy what he likes as any accident can be bad no matter what the car is, its just diffrent circumstances. if your worried about thay sort of thing, id spring for a driver training course. education is the key here. not so much the car. it takes a little time to become a good driver and it dont matter how good you are when the accident is the other persons fault.
something a little beat up already and a stick shift. That away he will be able to drive anything and see if he is interested in fixing it up.
i started driing about a year ago.i must say my 89 s10 has neer let me dow,gets 22 miles to the gallon,and looks cool doin it...oh yeah and i bought it for 100 dollars...yeah get him an s dime
Falcon six. My nephew's doing a cherry stock '36 ute with 302, C4, 9" as his first car. And he's making all the calls on driveline, paint etc..
If you're going to get a VW beetle, I suggest a '67 or later. The '66 and earlier ones had 6 volt electrics.
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