About a $30K muscle car.

First of all, do some homework on studying VIN, RPO and transmission codes, rear end, paint, interior codes, etc – you don’t want to over pay for a car that is a clone. There’s a saying “numbers are correct” – this means your muscle car is still original and the same that came from factory and it will always be much more valuable than the one that has its drivetrain components mismatched. There is information available that shows the serial numbers of engine, transmission and other parts [the engine being the most important one].

Have enough money

If you’re trying to buy a muscle car that will need some [or a lot] of extra investment, be sure you’ll be able to get those missing or damaged parts – not only affording, but finding them as well.  Spend some time with equipment catalogs, replacement body panel catalogs, OEM and NOS sources ["original equipment manufacturer" and "new old stock"]. One of ways to start restoring your car may be getting a damaged but decent muscle car with matching numbers and use it as a donor car – it may have its body panels seriously damaged while all the powertrain parts will hopefully  be good enough to re-use. Mostly this way is cheaper than buying separate parts from different sources.

Watch for trouble

If you’re looking for the restored muscle car, be sure to check some trouble spots – the trunk under the carpet, previous accident marks under the car, leaking spots in the engine bay [a certain number of small oil leaks is almost guaranteed]. Check the suspension at each corner, the color of the oil inside the filler cap. If your potential muscle car has burning oil [blue smoke], loose manual or slow automatic gear change it may get expensive to fix. It is wise to hire a professional for this inspection – you may save a lot of money. He can evaluate the level of restoration and car’s value or even possible future investment into it.

Behave wisely

Don’t treat a classic or muscle car the way you might treat any other car. Even though it has simple mechanical and electrical features there are a lot of places that need oiling and greasing. Also remember to ask what maintenance has been carried out by the previous owner.
After you buy your muscle car, go to classic car insurance agencies. your muscle car has value that most agencies don’t want to take into account – choose wisely.

 

Mustang club of Spain provided photos of Mustang prototypes that Ford had already developed before the Intermeccanica wagon showed up in 1966. According to these prototype photos Ford developed not only the idea of Mustang wagon [1966], but sedan [1963] and even a 2-seater [1964]. Gary Witzenburg [“Mustang: The Complete History of America’s Pioneer Ponycar”] stated that Mustang concept reached fiberglass stage only and was rejected [obviously]. Sedan version would appeal to the parents of kids who bought 2-door ‘Stangs, but Witzenburg didn’t had much to comment about this version. 2-seater is logically explained to be cancelled because of its competition with Thunderbird.

There were some photos of Shelby GT350 Station Wagon submitted too, but Jeff Pearce from Utah, the man that is involved in Mustangs for 30 years, claims Ford never built Mustang wagons, so Shelby couldn’t do that either. Jeff built that red wagon in 1978 and still owns it.

 

The only wagon Mustang built for sure is the one made by Intermeccanica back in 1965. They built it for advertiser Barney Clark. That wagon was exposed in some books and “Car and Driver” magazine’s 1966 cover.

 

It is natural that Ford may want to build a 4-door sedan in order to compete with Dodge’s Charger and Chrysler’s 300C. Some say, that 2007 Interceptor concept was a serious intention [based on rear wheel drive Mustang platform], but still there’s no serious competitor for Charger and 300C from Ford…

 

There are quite a few speculations of how Mustang sedan and wagon could look like, but luckily Mustang remains pure-blooded 2-door coupe:

 

We introduce You the Top 10 list of muscle cars that have risen their value the most since year 2000. The original list was made for CNNMoney.com by Phil Skinner [collector car market editor at "Kelley Blue Book"], but we edited and rearranged the Top 10 by the value change in percent factor. The original Skinner’s listing is shown in brackets:

1. 1971 Plymouth “Hemi” ‘Cuda convertible [1.]

Because of an extra price tag and larger insurance rates only a few hundred of them were made during 1970-1971. They say only about a dozen of these convertible ‘Cudas had Hemi engines and none of them had the same trim, color or transmission package.
Price tag in 2000: $49.000
Today: around $2.000.000
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2. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-454/LS-6 convertible [4.]

Chevelles with LS-6 package, 4-speed transmission, Rally wheels and factory 8-track player are the most valuable ones.
Price tag in 2000: $28.000
Today: around $369.000
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3. 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 roadster [5.]

Even though these Cobras aren’t pure American cars, their are desired among collectors. One of 289s was sold for $1,6 million back in 2006 while the one of the kind Super Snake topped $5 million in 2007.
Price tag in 2000: $175.000
Today: around $330.000-$1.600.000
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4. 1969 Pontiac GTO “Judge” convertible [9.]

The Ram Air III equipped 400 cubic V8 boosted GTO’s power up to 366 HP. The Judge also had several luxury interior packages.
Price tag in 2000: $36.000
Today: around $205.000
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5. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28/SS coupe [3.]

Despite Corvette’s luck and popularity, Camaros were the no doubt the second most popular Chevrolet nameplate. The Z-28 package included 302 small block V8 [290 HP] and Muncie “4-on-the-floor” transmission.
Price tag in 2000: $18.000
Today: around $91.000
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6. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T-440 hardtop [2.]

Since the very begining Charger was one of the most favorite cars. Appearances in “The Bullit” movie or “Dukes of Hazzard” TV series helped it find the way to muscle car enthusiasts’ hearts. The 1969 R/T package with big block 440 cubic V8 that develops 375 HP is highly wanted among collectors. If the engine is Hemi V8 the price tag may increase even up to 4 times.
Price tag in 2000: $39.000
Today: around $170.000
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7. 1970 Oldsmobile 442/W-30 hardtop [10.]

442 stands for 4 barrel, 4-speed and dual exhaust. In 1970 the 442 had its power increased up to 365 HP and was given an option name – “W-30″.
Price tag in 2000: $21.000
Today: around $85.000
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8. 1968 Shelby GT 500KR convertible [6.]

These value tripping King of the Road GT 500 KR convertibles with 428 cubic V8s developed the advertised 360 HP.
Price tag in 2000: $64.000
Today: around $190.000
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9. 1970 Plymouth Superbird-440 hardtop [7.]

Some say its ugly some say its gorgeous.  The original aim of the body design was to get accepted into Nascar races. Superbird was based on the popular muscle car – the Roadrunner.  It was equipped with Magnum 440 cubic V8 [375 HP] and had to upgrade choices: “Six-Pack” [three 2-barrel carbs instead of stock 4-barrel] or the 425 HP 426 cubic Hemi V8 engine. Hemi equipped Superbird is the most valuable muscle car between these two options.
Price tag in 2000: $67.000
Today: around $107.000
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10. 1969 Ford Torino-Talladega hardtop [8.]

Talladega design was influence by the same reason as 440 Superbird – the Nascar races qualification.  Torino Talladega had unique front end design, grille and bumper, heavy duty suspensions and 428 Cobra Jet V8 under the hood.
Price tag in 2000: $24.000
Today: around $37.000

You can see Cadillac-like styling over the lightweight aluminum tube frame chassis. The rear 22-inch wheels are transmitted the power though an automatic transmission while the front 20s have electric system to handle better. All wheels are independently suspended on Air-Ride, stopped by 6-piston disc brakes As GM says themselves, this is a contemporary hand-sculpted body blended with Cadillac and hot rod styling from the past.

Interior is enriched with digital instrumentation, carbon fiber seat module with leather seats and custom dashboard. Even though this Caddy is certified as street legal by GM there are no intentions to have it in production.
No one expects this Cadillac VSR Hot Rod to hit the streets, but it is good to know that GM still has some imagination left.