What is the coolest most economical car for a daily driver?

to hell with new cars they aren't nothing besides recycled beer cans,old cars are made of real steel.
great idea putting her in a old car my first car was a 63 chevy II i got it when i was 11 years old and me and my dad built it from the ground up. that is the way to do it because if she ever breaks down away from home she can fix it enogh to get home or at least off of the side of the road. i would stick with a small car or truck for easy parrellel parking and visability. i have a 53 chevy pickup for sale if your interested. or if you are looking for a 54 chevy i have a buddy that has one that needs alot of work for $750

 

Ummm...what she needs is a 49-54 Chevy with a 2.8 Chevy V6 in it!

No, REALLY!!! It fits perfect, parts are dime a dozen or free, they're reliable as an anvil, will give ya 18 miles to a gallon on a BAD day...and you won't have to worry about her collecting tickets with the thing!

Laugh if ya must, but it would have more power than a Stovebolt, it'd be cheap to drive and maintain, and won't get her into trouble! There ya go...the search is over!

 

Mustangs hands down are the cheapest to restore.
There's just so many repo parts available for them.
Mustangs are popular so when its time to sell money will be made.
My daughter now is 31 yrs old.
Here's the mustang (6 cyl) I did for her when she was 16.
She still has it.

 

ya mike your rite. Id say 49-54 chevys. They are fairly cheap, should be good on gas, and alot of parts and chevys 6s are good motors to work on and they never die.

 

What about a nice Dart, early Barracuda or Valiant. Not seen every day, /6 lasts forever and cool. 63-66 are easy to find parts for too.

 

One more little side note. At the age of 10 she probably has no real idea of what she will want when she is 16. That is more than half of her life so far away!

 

I'm guessing this would have a lot of appeal to a 10-year-old girl -- and Studes aren't that expensive.

 

I can see her in a 37 38 39 Chevy coupe........

Remember- Root' it's got to appeal to HER.....not us....show her one- they are an easy build ,and kinda small and "personal sized" and can look however you imagine a cool car should look ,[in several styles].
If you can snag a body to start with chassis the peripheral parts are at swaps [and can be done on a budget ][if not a real complete and sharp one] to start with....you know -scrounge scrounge-, help from hamb buddies.... etc etc!!

 

Short story, I had a '72 Buick "Duece and a Quarter" 2dr HT for a couple years. Called it the road warrior. One day a friend calls and says his daughter is turning sixteen and needs a car. Sold it to her for $750 and she drove it all through high school. My buddy told me kids would fight to ride in it. I would hold six or seven kids (not counting the trunk) and was big enough to come out on the long end of any crash with anything smaller than a Peterbuilt.
There you go, the perfect teenagers first car.

 

Went through this with my kids, and again just a few years ago with my nephew. It takes time to find your way (through trial and error) to what you want. I'm not much on "what ifs" (hey, what if your aunt had balls? She'd be your uncle!), but IF IT WERE ME, I'd probably get her going on an early mini-truck, and at the same time, put her on the crew of the Drag-n-fly, with the option to drive it (part-time) when/if she's ready. This approach worked wonders for getting my youngest son focused and showed him the discipline required to achieve goals, etc. (Then it kinda went haywire from there, once he got a taste of speed, but that was more bad parenting skills on my part, probably).....All I know is, she's lucky to have a dad who cares about such things...Good luck.......

 

Root, you're right, 55-57 Chevies, regardless of body style, are not cheap in the OKC area. I lived in that area for a LONG time. Your best bet for price & availability is definitely an early 50's Chevy or Ford pickup, in OK. 2nd would be a '46-'48 tudor. For whatever reason, the 50's stuff is higher.

 

When I was a wee lass of 13, I got my first builder.....a 1967 Mustang Coupe with an inline 6. It was bright red, with black interior....chrome wheels and tinted windows. Ahhhh I loved that car!! When I got big enough, I upgraded the front suspension to Shelby stuff, changed the rear end out for one out of an 8cyl car (from 4 to 5 lug) and dropped a 302 in her. I still love that lil car!!
xxx
Brandy

 

Rocky, when my daughter turned 16 I had her driving a 65 chevy Suburban. Cheap to purchase and very low upkeep. I bought mine for $3000, as a runner. Haven't had any trouble yet. Shes almost 18 now.


jerry

 

oooooohhhh. my bad. i misunderstood.

except for the part about boones' and bob k's cars. neither one of them would be cheap to buy in their current condition, but those are goals, not what to start with. there are starts out there everywhere and you've got 6 years to work on it. the fastback version could be really cool (did they still call them fleetlines after '48?). fat hack's prolly correct about the late model injected V-6 also. dependable; inexpensive to buy and run; easy fit; etc.

petejoe's mustang idea is right on, too. parts everywhere. nothing complicated about them. and she'll be ULTRA cool in the eyes of her peers (of course that's gonna be true for any old car).

OR.... how's about a late 40's or early 50's big mopar 4-door. chizzler or dodge. last i heard parts aren't hard to find. pretty good bodies are still out there and not that expensive. bulletproof, too. and if she's having a hard time learning how to start from dead stopped in it she can just put it in "4th" and push on the gas pedal.

 

oh, yeah. not ALL 16 year olds crash. my beard is gray now, but i've never scratched a car.

excepting, of course, the two head-on's i've had, but both of them came over into my lane and i had nowhere to go. use that as a testimony for seatbelts/shoulder harnesses. i've had my share of high speed driving awards, but never wrecked a vehicle.

if your daughter pays attention she won't either.

 

Might think about a swb pickup. 1968 and newer Chevrolets have worked for me.

 

my 10 year old has a 53 chev project. But if posible any thing like a model a or orphan make with a ford 4 cyl and 5 speed would be kool and you can use it when you want. The progitive of the parent.

 

Move her up one model change from the Falcon, show her a Maverick Grabber.

If that dont Grab'er remember that a mid 80's Mustang GT will be a certified antique by the time she can drive. Grab one now before the prices go thru the roof.

Another model just starting to take off is the mid 70's Dodge Darts. A friend just drove a cherry 74 HT from CA. Pulled the 6 and put in a hot 360/727.

I was hoping to get my son (almost 18) into a Fox body TBird but he opted for a 83 F150. Just got thru yanking the 300 I6 and installing a 351W and 4spd.

 

I would agree that an early Mustang would be a good first car, tons of parts, and pretty cheap. Late 40s-50s pickups can be cheap too, and lots of aftermarket stuff out there.


I wish I got a old car to drive when I was 16. I got a hand-me-down 78' Fairmont with an orange vinyl top...

 

Get her a '64 -'67 GM A-body car. Rugged full-frame, easy disc brake swaps, parts easily available on the shelf at your local Kragen or wherever. I can't think of any car that has more parts interchangeability, practically any '64 -'72 chassis/brake/tranny/engine bolts on any of them using factory (junkyard) parts.

The Chevy six and nearly any '60s/'70s GM V8 bolts right in so you have your choice of what you want to run in it. Drop one of your 'wee 283s' and a 'glide in one, of if you go Pontiac a 326 or 350 makes a nice torquey economical powerplant.

You don't need to find a factory A/C car, just install Vintage Air as the one main luxury/comfort item. I have been running around for years in these things, neat cars that are reliable and easy to work on.

This '64 Tempest came with a 215-inch six that is identical to a Chevy other than the cubic inch size. It got 20 MPG before I dropped a 455 in there. The '64 -'67 Tempest/Lemans cars can be had considerably cheaper than the popular/pricey Chevelles of the same year, I'd bet the styling of one of these Ponchos would please the young lady. Better styling than the Olds or Buick A-body cars of that era in my opinion.

It's not super old, but it's old enough to be different. Damn, I love the front-end styling on this '64.

 

My younger brother's first car was a 65 Falcon sedan, we put a 250 six in it with a Granada donor, also the trans, rear axle and front discs, got really good MPG, was lowered and had some nice sounding pipes, at 18 he just finished his 302 swap, built the engine himself and is getting into drag racing. Thats a great first car in my opinion.

My first car was a 71 Torino, that was 8 years ago, great first car at the time, had a gutless 302 that sipped gas, was built like a tank.... Had a lot of fun with the car, wouldn't trade those days for anything. It was too damn big for me though, a PITA to park!

I think an older car is ok for a young driver, depending where you live. I don't live in LA, the traffic really isn't the bad, I live 10 min away from everything I need, there are no 6 lane highways, road rage is unheard of. A classic is a pretty suitable daily at least 7 months out of the year. If I have to take a long trip I take the new car just so I don't have to worry.

 

Bumpstick is right. AIR BAGS!! I built my daughter a '62 Falcon for high school But put in a 4 point cage and side bars slanted for easy entry plus a 3 point harness. She got hit . No injury. But save the good car and money for later.

 

beetle haha

 

I was thinking Cal style bug when I first saw this,too.

Well, About accidents and 16 year olds all I can say is if you build what she wants and cares about, She won't take chances that will risk the iron. I know because I wanted a '62-'65 Chevy II since I was 12. Got one at 15, my dad and I went through it and at 26 it's my family car, 3.5 inch chop and all. Anyway, If she respects what she's in it will be safe IMLO.

 

being a VW bus fan, I would say an early bus, 64 w/ 40 hp motor. I took my 66 w/ a 40hp motor from San Bernardino to Lake Havasu and only used 16 gal. of fuel...round trip total usage.

 

Anything with Chevy running gear is a good way to go. SBC's have been swapped into everything under the sun, so my vote is for anything with a small block. All you have to do is start with a complete car other wise and you're golden. Something '55-'62, either a wagon or a 4 door would be ideal, as they're big enough for all your friends and can still haul around all of your shit, but not so sacred they can't sit in a high school parking lot.

My first car was a 4 dr '57 Bel Air, I learned how to drive on that car. I laugh at grown men that can't parallel park their Z3s. The most important thing you can do is let her drive when she has her permit. So many people I know can't drive well because their parents never let them drive when they had their permit, then they got their license and were just thrust out onto the road without enough experience. You'll have a whole year to sit shotgun and instruct, use that time to teach her the proper way to conduct herself on the road. Fear and indecisiveness are often more dangerous than speed.

 

No 16 year old girl is gonna want a wagon no matter how much we all like em. Chicks always dig mustangs. I say grab those books like the Cars of the 50's or 60's and give it to her to go through and see what she seems to gravitate torwards. Remember girls are visual if you show them an old rusty car they usualy don't see the potential. Show her finished car pics. IMHO. Your in OK. right shit you can find pretty much anything between there and texas.

 

A van.......not a chance. That's coming from DAD. She'll be lucky if there's a back seat...

 

My first car was a 57 VW bus after knowing what went on back there definantly not somthing I'd get for my daughter(but If I had a son though)
"sigh" Good Times

Drew

 

that I agree with.... How about an early pre-67 VW bug. they are economical, reliable (usually) and small. There is so much that can be done with them.

If she wants a early american car, then I would say a 49-54 chevy but you are going to put alot of money into it to make it nice and have creature comforts.. I also agree with the 62-65 Nova 4 banger or striaght 6