Customs Various Classic car driving & ownership experience

Be sure the auto trans has been rebuilt, or upgraded if it's an auto. It's difficult when your in the middle of nowhere and your 60 year old trans fails

 

Why do I see Fred McMurray (My Three Sons) when I look at the front of that Pontiac?

 

I still miss my '64 Lemans, 326 AT. Great cruiser. And also my '64 Buick Special 2 door HT. Both great cars. Only sold cuz I thought I needed a 4 spd.

 

One of the "nicer" cars I ever had was a near new '62 Grand Prix, white with black interior, base 389 with 4 speed. Pretty to look at, fun to drive, dependable, comfortable. I think they are $$$ now though.

NOT MY CAR.

 

I’ll vote for the tri-five Chev. sedan. Drove a 55 for several years and loved it. The next would be an early Chevelle. My 64 was a great car. If you’re more budget minded the early Mopars are some good dependable cars with great engines and suspension.

 

I've also been pleasantly surprised with the driving quality of my '56 Vette. I've had a C2 for many years, and always heard what tanks the C1s were, kingpin suspension, solid axle, etc.. The C2 is a nicer ride I guess but it's not night and day imo. The C2 is much roomier, but it doesn't have a trunk. And the IRS is more complicated than the solid axle.

Also had several Chevelles, I love 'em. Uncomplicated, easy to work on and drive, roomy.

Depends if you want a 'sports' car or a 4 seater.

 

Hello,

We grew up as teenagers in a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, modified it as much as the teenage budget could afford and it was a fast one of a kind cruiser/hot rod. It had the most modifications done to a stock Chevy sedan of our whole teenage group. We even installed a 4 speed for a one time custom performance addition. It was the only 57 Chevy in the whole Bixby Knolls/Long Beach area. It was on a lowered rake, plus it was fast.
a similar look and style...
It was not just a hot rod/cruiser/drag race sedan, but used for a variety of odd jobs. For two Christmas seasons, it was a primary Christmas tree delivery vehicle. We worked in a Christmas tree lot in Bixby Knolls and it was the most fun December days and nights to earn some extra cash. Both of us were very creative in selling Christmas trees of all kinds, from a cut off free, tree topper for little kids that wanted their own tree to tall family trees sprayed white.
old Friday Art
During the Christmas season 1960-62
The motor was a 283 SBC, Hedman Headers, Traction Master Bars, a single 4 barrel changed over to a dual quad system from a Corvette, 4:11 to 4:56 Positraction gearing when it was necessary for those teenage encounters. And to give it some attitude, a lowered rake to clear the headers and mufflers.

Jnaki

As much fun as it was driving around in that cool 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, the last thing needed then and now would be A/C. When it was extremely hot in the summer times, we borrowed my friend’s dad’s 4 door Pontiac hardtop family cruiser. It was big, super quiet and even though it had a huge opening with all of the windows down, it had A/C for summer time cruising. Ha!

The weekend my friend and I switched cars, we had a heck of a great time. I loved driving the 4 speed 57 Chevy all over our cruising area. The only complaint was that the 4 speed curved stick had to be in gear and moved near the dash. The curved lever was always in the way, while “watching a movie” at the
drive-in theater. But, shifting “all 4 gears…” from the stop lights was the most fun of all.

But, as we all know, A/C robs the motor of valuable horsepower and as teenagers, we could not have that and give an advantage to the other side of the street lanes on those Cherry Avenue Drags encounters.
For coolness/instant identification by all those that see any 1957 Chevy, the two door hardtop is a classic and made a name for itself from all of those early teenagers modifying them to no end.

A 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop vs. a 1960 Corvette? Not even close. (Then and even today...) The Chevy Bel Air Sedan had it in spades over the Corvette for comfort, less noise, more horsepower and built like a rock. The Corvette? A little "tinny" in build quality, cramped inside, no head room, and felt like it was coming apart when acceleration was necessary... but...YRMV

 

Of your choices listed, I'd go with early Chevelle, or Tri-Five Chev (I've used both as daily drivers in the past).

 

Hello,

During the time, as teenagers in 1957-65, we had access to Chevy sedans and a couple of cars on your list. The 57 Chevy being the most used and modified. But, we drove around in a 1960 Corvette with dual quads and it was a fun experience. My friend was 6 feet 2 inches tall. He had a heck of a time driving the thin body Corvette as he was tall and took up a lot of space. I was nearly 6 feet 1 inch tall and both of us looked stuffed inside of that Corvette when cruising around, testing the driving qualities of the dual quads, stick shift and a little sporty car power.

The one thing was that is/was very cool and we got all kinds of looks from others, especially teenage girls. But, it is a two person car and not much room inside. Plus, for us, the thin wall fiberglass was not the most sturdy of safety items like our big hot rod sedans. When the Corvette was on full acceleration mode going through the gears, it was extremely loud, it felt like the doors would come off and the whole car was fast. But, going down the long Cherry Avenue Drags location, a whirlwind of a speedster, inches off of the ground, felt fast but a little shaky compared to our larger sedans.

Jnaki

Again, if we owned one today, definitely with the enclosed hardtop, A/C is a necessity. The heat insulation was not the best sitting inside of that small two seater. But for sheer excitement and fun, there was that… too.

We also owned and drove a new, 1965 El Camino 327 powered from late 1964 to late 1976. It was one of the most reliable cars we had ever owned. 125 miles of trouble free cruising, hauling in any kind of weather or situation. At 120k, I had to replace the water pump was the only thing, other than the normal wear and tear on tires, brakes, etc. My original choice was a 396, 4 speed, bucket seats, A/C, and Positraction. Upon arguing with the dealer(s) for a week, I ended up with a 327 4 barrel, automatic, Positraction and no A/C.

At the time, all of the power stuff /bucket seating was available in a Super Sport Chevelle sedan in 1965, but for some unknown stupid reason, not available in any El Camino, despite it being a Chevelle station wagon cut off with an open bed.

If I had waited one year, my friend ordered my version of his 1966 El Camino and he got the 4 speed, A/C, 396, Positraction and it was a fabulous hauler, and very fast cruiser.

The Nomad of its time slot…

If one is to consider a 1965 Chevelle, it would have to be a two door station wagon with all of the above additions, including A/C. The hardtop design was the new two door cruiser version, since the larger Impalas grew so much that they went overboard and looked like big battleships rolling down the street. The Chevelles took up the sporty end and power to weight components for Chevrolet during these times.

Plus, we know the length of the bed is good for stretching out during camping road trips. But, an enclosed similar area in the two door station wagon is good for security and convenience when it gets moist/wet with the morning dew in all areas of our road trips, then and now.

The 65 El Camino was very handy and timely for us. But, these days, the two door Chevelle Station Wagon would be our choice for daily driving and those long road trips we took prior to the pandemic...YRMV