I've been seeing prices on the 1975-1981 era of cars going up lately and I seriously think people are out of their freakin' minds. Back in 1989, when the whole Musclecar thing was starting to really take off those cars were considered jokes, in my opinion they still are.
Most of the good cars (and those whose list price has gone over 20k) are GM products: the 1975 Hurst/Olds, the 1978 Trans Am, the 1977 Corvette L-48, the 1981 Camaro Z/28... all nice enough cars, but come onnnnnnnnnnn... Would you really pay 30 grand for that crap? For the same price you can get a very decent 1969 GTO or a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner.
I mean, I like those later cars, but only because I grew up with them and because I see them as a cheaper alternative to a 1964-74 musclecar. But given the choice between an identically priced 1979 Camaro and a 1969, guess which one is gonna win?
Not to mention that just AFTER the late seventies, starting around 1984 (with the Mustang GT and Buick Grand National) cars suddenly became a hell of a lot faster and cooler again. So that 1975-1983-ish era is just a lame duck of a time for cars.
I dunno... whatcha all think?
Anyone else notice the price increase?
agreed, i have a 79 formula with a big block, i would much prefer a 1st gen, i actually dont even consider the 80's - early mid 90's back to muscle, give or take a few cars. but now we are getting there.
maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
Its supply and demand. Muscle cars are in demand, as for the supply... they haven't been made in 40 years, there numbers can only go down which means there prices will always go up.
I don't know what is surprising or shocking about it?
Never really paid attention to the big price increases. All the cars you mentioned though have all recently been in Hemmings Classic cars and Muscle Machines magazine articles the past few years. I have noticed that a few months after they do an article on certain models that owners of said cars seem to raise the prices a few grand in the Hemmings classifieds. Doesn't help with all the idiots buying them for the Box, Donk and Bubble fad though. I've noticed the 80's Gbody Cutlasses go for a pretty penny even for rusted piles because they buy them to put giant wheels on them.
1975-81 was some of the worst cars ever made by any manf. case and point the 1979 Trans Am had a 400 cubic inch engine only making 200hp
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
anything after 72 , and before the early 90 , is not muscle
Darkstars wrote:Its supply and demand. Muscle cars are in demand, as for the supply... they haven't been made in 40 years, there numbers can only go down which means there prices will always go up.
I don't know what is surprising or shocking about it?
I don't think you understand what I meant Dark. I'm not at all bothered or confused as to why older 1964-74 musclecars are going up in price. I'm fine with that. But to see cars from the 1975-83 era that were almost universally loathed when they came out start going up in price is jaw droppingly ridiculous. Musclecars aren't worth money just because they look cool or whatnot. It's that they have pedigree to back them up. A 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T is worth a lot of money because it was rare, respected and fast as hell even in stock form; and on top of that you can restore it to new condition without altering anything except the valves so it'll run on unleaded. A 1980 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo, on the other hand, is a piece of crap. It's slow, unreliable and a base Chevrolet Cobalt will outrun and outhandle it in a heartbeat. Not to mention that it's not all that rare. The reason that it's the new "Hot Collector" thing is because there's so many of them still around in pristine shape and the reason for that was that it was one of the first "instant collectible" cars like the 1987 GNX or 1990 Corvette ZR1 or 1994 Viper. Cars that were bought and put into storage immediately so they'd be worth money later.
On top of that it can't possibly be restored to stock specifications because it ran a 17 second quarter mile and a 9.2 second 0-60 time. So the only way this thing can get out of it's own way is to modify the hell out of it and why would I pay big money for what's essentially a modified car? Might as well just buy a base 1979-81 Firebird and modify it myself for less money.
I get what you're saying though, the 1975-83 cars are getting rarer so their price is going up. But even so, that doesn't mean they're good cars. One of the reason they're so rare was because they would break down every 20,000 miles and/or rust into oblivion in the space of five years. So, except for cars like the Trans Am Turbo that people kept, not much of them are left. I mean, when's the last time anyone on this planet ever saw a 1977 Sunbird? But their rarity doesn't mean they're desirable, they're still ugly pieces of garbage for the most part.
Then again, I've always lusted after the 1977 AMC Hornet AMX and 1977 Plymouth Roadrunner 360, so maybe I'm overstating how bad the late 70's cars were.
1 word, Resto-mod. There are hundreds of engine combos that fix the problems of the smog era.
Nuff said.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, March 07, 2008 10:59 AM
KFLO wrote:1 word, Resto-mod. There are hundreds of engine combos that fix the problems of the smog era.
Nuff said.
Yes, but then the car isn't worth as much. If I'm paying top dollar I want the closest thing to a museum piece as possible. That's how car collecting works, it's the illusion of driving out of a showroom with a classic piece of Detroit iron that drives the prices. Modify the car and the price drops, because like I said earlier if you modify a Trans Am to make it faster, why don't I just buy a Firebird, put some Trans Am pieces on it and modify that myself? Same result, half the price. Collectors pay for a car's pedigree, it's just like horses. Bad pedigree, low price. Nobody wants the runt of the litter.
I see what you mean, I guess I didn't fully comprehend what you were getting at...
However, when most of those cars from that era have been run to hell, rusted out, and beat up in general the ones that are still actually nice - which we don't see much of anymore will gain some status.
dont get me wrong though a 1979 Trans am with the screaming fire chicken is one of the most sexy cars ever, motor just isnt great
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
its just like the prices on j-bods are going up....... bought mine for 2500 2 years ago and the blue book was 300 but when i sold it for 3500 the blue book was 3700
Hot Rodding has been around since the 1930s during the time of prohibition, thats how the NHRA and Nascar were even started
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
Other than the fact that post 1971 cars are a little more plentiful than period 60's cars... they're also pretty good to start a retro-mod car from. On top of that, Aren't the Trans Am's with the 455 SD and 10th anniversary fairly desirable?
Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:Knoxfire wrote:Back in 1989, when the whole Musclecar thing was starting to really take off t
I meant the musclecar COLLECTING thing. My bad.
As for the 455 Super Duty Trans Ams, they were 1973 and 1974 models and yes I agree that they were incredible. They're the last of the old school musclecars who can live up to the legend. The 1979 10th anniversary Trans Am though? Meh, it's a car with a badge. Would you get excited over the 20th or 25th anniversary Mustangs?
However, I'm totally willing to accept that my mentality is still stuck in 1989 when the later 70's cars were considered garbage. (In fact, anything after 1971 was considered "bad". Guys would actually sneer at a 1973 Cuda 340 because it wasn't a real Cuda and yes, even the Super Duty T/As were worth about ten cents. Took a while for people to warm up to the 1972-74 smog era muscle.) I mean, back then people would have laughed at FWD racing cars or anything with a four banger. Hell, you guys don't remember this, but a lot of people didn't like the Buick Grand National's because they had a V6 and it sounded "cheap". I'm old old school, I know.
But I still think I have a point on the issue of collectability. I mean, if you don't care about a car's pedigree then by all means buy those cars and have fun! How can you not? They're RWD and will take any engine you can think of putting in them; but a real collector shouldn't bother with those things because if you do take it out for a sunday drive and have kept it in immaculate museum shape it's gonna be about as pleasurable as having tooth decay to drive.
Rodimus Prime wrote:1975-81 was some of the worst cars ever made by any manf. case and point the 1979 Trans Am had a 400 cubic inch engine only making 200hp
yea but they were some of the best looking ones
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
When you look at how high prices are going on 60's and early 70's muscle cars. Early TransAms, Camaro Z28's, any Mopar hemi car, and the list goes on. The late 70 thru mid 80's big three performance cars (not muscle) are bargains at $15 to $20K in comparision. I own a 16,000 mile 86' Dodge Shelby Charger that is in showroom condition that while not a muscle car it's still a very nice looking car in it's own right.
New Yeller
Rice is nice,but where's the BEEF!
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The 1973 SD455 Trans Am, other than an LS1 era was the most powerful of all of the fbods
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
its kinda funny 79 had no power what so ever for f-bodys yet that was the biggest selling year for t/a's, over 200 thousand. i have notices that the 90's sports cars are going up in value.
maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:Rodimus Prime wrote:1975-81 was some of the worst cars ever made by any manf. case and point the 1979 Trans Am had a 400 cubic inch engine only making 200hp
yea but they were some of the best looking ones
i hope you are joking, those were some of the ugliest cars ever made
themarin8r wrote:Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:Rodimus Prime wrote:1975-81 was some of the worst cars ever made by any manf. case and point the 1979 Trans Am had a 400 cubic inch engine only making 200hp
yea but they were some of the best looking ones
i hope you are joking, those were some of the ugliest cars ever made
How dare you say such things
Someone buy my 77 Camaro....I wanna get another sportbike.
Meh. I'd rather have a newer car that can handle corners rather than something that can go straight, straight or straight. It's really too bad circuit racing isn't bigger in NA, or I'd have a lot more fun with my car.
2010 Honda Fit LX
Nostalgia is relative to when a person grew up. For me, I was born in 1979 so I remember AMC Pacer X's, Ford Mustang II Cobras, Monte Carlo SS's, Dodge Aspen R/T's and Trans Ams with 301's in them.
I thought (and still do) that those were really neat cars. Would I sink thousands into buying and restoring one? No. But I still have a soft spot for them when I see them at a show. Besides the 60's and 70's cars have all been snatched up by retired doctors and asshats that have no intention of enjoying them, but have instead shelled out big money hoping they KEEP GOING UP in value. I can have just as much fun in a 79 Mustang Pace Car for a lot less cash.
Just because they weren't as powerful or rare as their previous model years from the 'glory days' of the muscle car doesn't make them lame IMO.
