tjm2070

Ok so here's the deal...

I currently have an 87 corvette. I love the car, but with a growing family, it just doesnt get used as much as i would like... I've had a few vettes of this generation and like thier balance of performance/ maintainance cost ( self work)/ mpg/reliability/ and handling.
I started looking at cars with 4 seats and am drawn to early 70's muscle. This is when I discovered the lines of the 71/72 cutlass / 442 which I love. Aggressive, long nose, wide rear stance, fastback, awesome front clip etc. I figure it should cost a little less to get into than a chevelle and be a bit more unique... for as rare as chevelles are it seems like there are tons of them at shows.. hey, at least its still GM right?

The usage I expect to get out of my car is fridays to work, ice-cream with the family, errands on the weekends and possibly a long trip in the summer for a family vacation here and there. (1000+ miles) Most likely is upstate NY to OBX NC. I'd prob also start attending some local weekly informal car shows.

I know this is a Corvette forum so I expect some bias ( NO!?!?!) but would this be a bad move? Am I going to be dissapointed with the maintanance needs, gas consumption and poor handling? Are the majority of people going to tell me I'm not gonna want to take my family 700 miles from home in a 40 y/o car? I imagine cars came a long way from 1970 to the 1987 vette I drove down there ( pre baby) THAT was a fun drive to the beach

Can anyone make a comparison for me?
I've searched on here, but it's hard to find anything relating to this comparison.

Thanks in advance, I'm looking foward to all of your opinions!

Tj

Frizlefrak

Well....as a guy getting ready to take a 1500 mile long weekend trip to Colorado in a 25 year old Fiero GT, I will tell you that you're nuts....but so am I, so it takes one to know one.

Buy whatever makes you happy. The early 70's Cutlass line were gorgeous cars. What you COULD do is a resto-mod....put a modern EFI drivetrain and O/D transmission into the 442. Now you'll have modern reliability in the drivetrain, good mileage, and driveability in various elevations etc. Painless makes the wiring harnesses....no reason not to have the best of both worlds. You can also have A/C, all the power goodies...sky is the limit.

Do it! Old muscle cars are unique and fun to drive. And if you decide to keep it old school, fixing one is child's play compared to the new stuff.

ZR-71

I liked those cars back in the 60's. Not sure about the 70's ones

Here's some info on all the 442's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_442

Like most cars from back then, the cool factor is nice and they typically run pretty well. Not much like today's creature comforts though. Parts shouldn't be a prob. Not sure how many of those are still around.If you like them, go ahead and get one. Like you say, the family won't fit in a Vette

George6488

I have had a 1967 GTO, 1968 GTO, 1969 Vette, 1971 Monte Carlo SS 454, and more recent a 1965 GTO that I restored and then sold. The old muscle cars are unique and getting very rare due to the years. The parts are available for restoration.

I will take a Vette anyday! The muscle cars had one primary function and that was to go fast in a straight line. They didn't corner in comparison with late model cars and they sure didn't like to STOP.

I am very happy to be back with a 1994 Vette but I understand your situation. Myself...I would not be buying a muscle car to take the family out for ice cream or on vacation. This is my personal opinion and your mileage may vary.

mike100

The Olds would be a fun cruiser, but I wouldn't put your whole family in one. Back in the day I didn't know better, but antique cars are just plain unsafe for anything more than cruising down to the car show imo.

RollaMo-LT4

That would make a great "Power Tour" car!
Lots of that stuff on tour.

1963SS

When I came back from overseas in 1969 I bought a Charger R/T. I loved it. My best friend had a 1970 4-4-2 with the W-31 engine and I will say that it is the best sounding stock cam I've ever heard. I loved his car.....but I did dust his doors off. I just looked up the idle that made me a car fanatic. W-31

http://youtu.be/LSOwraNGZDM

If you get the Olds you have to put that cam in it. The other killer cam from that era was the 30-30 cam in the 1969 302 Z28. My 440 cu in Charger could not catch that little mouse. 290 Horsepower my flaming butt.

pianoguy

I loved the '70-'72 4-4-2's, beeyootiful cars!

cv67

If you need 4 seats grab the 442 or Chevelle.
Neighbor up the street when I was a kid had 2 of them one I thouht they had better lines than the Chevelle too. BTw the 70-71s are a little more affordable than the 70s.'

You can get nice susp/brake upgrades for them so they can handle/stop like modern day cars. Quick ratio steer boxes etc.
Have a 67 A body that could handle with most of todays cars, goes around a corner very well.

RUU

Unless your family shares your enthusiasm for performance cars you will hear complaints about noise, lack of AC, ride quality, etc. And the first cars to leave the shows each week are always the ones containing the family with the irritated wife and bored kids who did not want to be "hanging around a parking lot" on a sunny day.

Regardless of how many seats it's got, it will still end up being your toy & you will likely ride solo in it 90%+ of it's miles.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Frizlefrak

Kmcoldcars

I used to have a 1971 Buick Gran Sport Stage 1 convertible, which was 1 of 81 made that year. It was basically the same car as the 442. It was a great driving car for the open road. It was comfortable, had a nice ride, and A/C was available. It was fast , for its time, in a straight line. However, in the twisties it had a lot of body roll and just was not that fast around the corners. Compared to a Corvette it was gigantic.
A car from that era can be very reliable, safe and comfortable. A/C, disk brakes, AM/FM radio with tape player were all available. If the Corvette no longer fills your needs then go ahead and get an Olds Cutlass or 442. Just be aware it is entirely different from a Corvette, but can be a very reliable, comfortable driving car for 4 people.
Those who say it would be unsafe or unreliable, IMHO, are dead wrong. I have had the 1971 Buick, a 1967 Pontiac LeMans, a 1968 AMC with a 390, and a 1971 Javelin with a 401. All were reliable, would go fast and stopped well with disk brakes.

oldalaskaman

I've owned 3 442's, and one vette, they are completely different cars

carguy604

I say, if the Vette no longer fits your needs, go find an early 70's Buick Grand Sport and kick some Olds/Chev/Pontiac butt! (Of course, I'm a bit biased since I've also got three 1962 Buick Skylarks - 2 Coupes and a Convertible - each with the 198 HP/215 C.I. aluminum V-8. Certainly, they're not muscle cars, but they're still pretty amazing those 215's!)

And as far as old cars are concerned, they're perfectly safe when driven as they were supposed to be driven - which doesn't mean that you drive them like you would a more modern car. Maintain them properly and treat them with a certain amount of respect and they'll get you to/from wherever you want to go without any problems.

I've been driving "old" cars for over 30 years and haven't had any significant bad experiences. The Vette makes me grin every time I drive it, but my restored red/white 62 Skylark coupe always gets the comments, the honks and the thumbs-up! I enjoy them both for what they are.

HlhnEast

I owned a 71 Cutlass vert that I put a 100K mi '72 350 drivetrain in it and drove it for 8 years as a DD. The car NEVER let me down. Most reliable car I have ever owned. Finally gave it to my 17 year old to kill.

Definitely two different cars. I love my vette but if I could have my old Cutlass back it would be a tough decision which one to drive.

Steve85

I battle with the exact same predicament. I know I'll miss the vette if I let it go for for a 60-70s convertible with a back seat, but the reality is, the vette sits...a lot.

I agree with the safety concerns, and would definitely be more careful, one thing missing from these cars is shoulder belts in the rear for the kiddies. You also have to understand that if a modern car hits it, the modern car will win.

I would also want a resto-mod type car. A driver quality car with typical LS1 dropped in.

A friend of mine just finished this car and it really has me chompin at the bit - AKA - on ebay everyday searching cars!






I keep asking myself if I'll really miss something that barely gets used...

RollaMo-LT4

Although this is a Chevelle, any GM A body could be transformed into something really cool.
I would give up my Corvette for this any day.
These are the only two pictures I have of this car though.

navy_vette

Becareful with the old cars.
Old vs new
Granted, this car is quite a bit older, but it's still scary.

mjn76

for an unsolicited opinion, if you have never have owned a car that old you may miss all of the creature comforts(little things like power windows, a/c, cruise control, power steering, power brakes, brakes that work, a car that turns, a suspension that suspends,ec,ect,ect.) but you might not.
having owned a couple of 60's muscle cars I can tell you that they are very labor intensive. but if you can handle it and it's what you want, go for it. I would suggest a nice compromise in a mid 80's gm g-body
(monte carlo, grand national, 442) tons of cool status, most have decent power and are easily upgradable, room for the family, modern conviences,welcome at any cruise night and nice buy in price

cv67

Steve85 I battled the same thing as you...keep the ZR1 which was done other than some engine mods I Wanted to do and sell off my then in-a-million pieces project or keep the old schooler, spend more on it and sell the Z which I knew in my heart once modded wouldnt be quick enough.
If I was lazy and cheap woulda kept the Z, it cost a whole bunch to finish the other.

Your predicament I imagine could be tougher as your car is so damn fast!

Let the Z go and although I still admire the cars I honestly do not miss it.

no electronics
no smog
no obsolete parts or corvette tax
anything can be fixed in minutes with a screwdriver or cheapie wrench set.
In fact assembled the entire car with not much more than that.
no regrets

There are enough aftermarket parts out there to make most old cars handle like they are on rails, go fast and upholster any way you want. 1g on stock suspension believe that!

And the stuff has no corvette tax either.

Just a point of view from this side. Good luck.