Your Daily Driver?

I am looking to get rid of this darn 93 Honda Prelude I have finally since gas prices are back down and get something older and faster. I am more of a "hot rod" kind of guy but am thinking that for my daily driver I want a muscle car. I am looking to buy something fairly cheap but something that needs very little work or none at all. I dont have $20,000 for one but about $6000 isn't bad. I am sure whatever I get will not handle like my little Honda but power will make up for it as well as room. I bought my 63 Chevy II Wagon for a daily but tore into it and found that it has a lot more rust than I was told so it's torn apart and awaiting the sand blasters.
Post up some oppinions and pictures and info of what you guys use as a daily driver that is muscle car material or hell just hot rods I dont care.
I also am looking for gas milage as well which I know is hard to ask for on an old car but I have seen people in the mid 20's with 350sbc and over drive tranny with the correct motor work and gearing.
One thing I was looking at too which doesn't have the looks but rides nice and can get decent power and A/C with power brakes and steering is a 79-81 or so Malibu. I can find them cheap and know a friend that had one with a mildly built 350, highway gearing and it looked nice, rode great and smooth and hauled butt!

FMX do you like the late 80's version of the Prelude? Hell of a car, and they made them with four wheel steering! I had a 89 and loved it. Used to get up and go, had some back seat space and nice standard features like a/c and sunroof on all models! You could parallel park asleep, and spin donuts until you got sick! Only scary thing was swerving to avoid being hit by a drunk who veared into my lane on the highway around 70 mph, The 4wheel steering reacted funny and got it up on two wheels for a second! :eek:

I have a 93 with the 2.3. It will haul butt but it does not have the 4 wheel steering. Has the cool dash on it that is all digital and goes into the door panels.
I am just getting tired of the car and there is no back seats to fit anyone (it has them but there is no foot space for a 2 year old.

There are several options out there......personally I have/had several over the years that I'll throw out for consideration. Most are not really muscle cars by strict definition but have good power to weight ratio and geared right got decent mileage. All were/are used as daily drivers at one time or another.

65-67 Chevy full size: I had a 65 Biscayne 2dr post car, 350 (started out with a single 4 BBL and ended up with dual quads), 4 speed, and 3.08 ten bolt. I added aftermarket AC. It got 23-4 MPG but that was back when the speed limit was 55 MPH.

73-81 Firebird: The 81 Firebird (TA Clone) I have has an earlier and quite stock 400 from a 76 Catalina in it with a TH350 and (believe it or not 2.42 gears in a Posi). Car will smoke the tires all day long and gets 22-3 MPG at 75 MPH. I should not that the stock later 400 motors do not run near as well or get as good of gas mileage.

68 El Camino: Back when this was running a small block it would get around 19-20 on the highway with a 4 speed and 3.08 gears. With the 402 big block and hotter than stock cam it’s down to 14-15.

V8 Pintos and Vegas: If your into nostalgia these weren’t too bad the light weight didn’t require a lot of gear to be quick (both of mine ran 3.25s most of the time and got low 20s for gas mileage.

The Mustang IIs and Monza’s of the era also be made decent cars and road a bit better than the cheaper Pintos and Vega’s. Some also came from the factory with V8s and AC. The stock smog motors left a good bit to be desired but responded very well to typical hop up tricks and would get decent gas mileage. The Red Cobra II managed right around 20 with a 302 and C4, and the white one with a mild 351 and OD 4 speed gets about 24.

Funny you should mention the Malibu, I currently have 2 El Camino projects going, an 84 and an 83. The 78-88 G bodies (Malibu’s, Monte Carlos, Regals, Cutlasses, and Grand Prix’s and El Caminos) make a good choice……provided they have the 350 rather than the 305. They also seem to be pretty well supported by the aftermarket. The 84 I’m working on received an LT1 350 from a wrecked 72 Corvette. It has a rebuilt TH250 and unknown gears. I really like the way it runs and rides and the few times I checked gas mileage it was in the mid 20s.

My 73 will be getting a 500 CI Caddy motor and TH400 with a 9” Ford rear (plans right now call for 2.75s although I may go a bit deeper). Discussions with the folks over on the Caddy engine board indicate I should be able to knock down mid to high teens for mileage with it, but with 500 Ft Lbs of torque at 22-2400 RPM it should be fun.

Thanks for the info! I actually found a local 59 ElCamino close by for only $4000. The guy doesn't know anything about it and said he never tried to start it and knows that it has some rust and bondo. Looks a bit rough in the pictures but man what I would do to have a 59 Elcamino.
That way I figure it is this... My little Honda is tiny, fast for a 4 cylinder, handles VERY great and looks pretty sporty but it just doesn't fit me (everyone said I look weird driving it because I've always driven old cars and trucks) and it's just lacking room. I can barely fit my fire gear in the trunk, the back seats are there for insurance reasons so it isn't classed as a sports car but I can't even fit my 9 year old brother back there and the thing sit lower than a Vette. I like sitting low like that and it handles great but I dont know it just seems that I am sacraficing for all that and the thing only gets (I am guessing) 23-25 MPG from what everyone says about these cars. That isn't too great for such a small car and a 4 cylinder when I can get a much bigger car with much more power and get around 20-23 MPG and sacrafice a little bit. Or hell I have been looking into the Chevy II's with an inline 6 and an overdrive tranny and getting in the mid 20's and some even mentioning high 20's!
I dont have to have a V8 or anything, those little 6 cylinders are great and when fixed up a bit they are torquey (sp) and will haul some butt.

Even though it's not my favorite "looking" car... http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/1117757605.html
How are these cars? I am not interested in THAT car but just that kind of car in general. There are some pretty decent 80 and 81 Malibu's for sale with new 350/350 combos and they are going for about $4000. Then there is one with Centerline wheels and beefed up rear end with 4:11 gears (not what I would use or want) but the body seems in great shape and it's only $800. I do have an extra 350 engine here and can get a 350 tranny for a decent price.

nice deal for a low milage engine and tranny, clean car too!

The dash alone would be worth quite a bit. 59 el camino would be Good choice for a daily driver. Plus the price keeps going up, that's your best choice IMO.

Richard

Mike P, You had some nice cars, I like the el camino's also. I like the 65 that reminded me of one a guy had when I was in the army plain body small hubcaps. Unassuming car until someone try to show him up, I know he had a 4speed, and I think it was a 396 not sure though.

Richard

This is what I drove through the winter, and had the most fun driving it, than any other car I'v driven... 5spd stick with just enough power to get into trouble with, and is a bit quicker than it looks.. don't look like much at all, and it really isn't ( has 202,000 miles and parts from 3 other trucks ) and it got me 18 MPG consistantly, but really fun to drive..

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/406cb0a91c.jpg

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/c398f7708b.jpg


Now I drive a 1998 Ranger 2WD, 4cyl 5spd ( no pics ), bright red and it really stands out, and even tho it's a 2.5 4cyl, it's no dog, it will still go pretty good and is still fun to drive.. I'm getting 30 MPG with it... it was a toss up between it and a 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass with a 350 that needed a little work but was pretty decent for the $900 asking price... but 12-15 MPG isn't enough for me, and I looked on, and later found the '98 Ranger which I did get...

B4 the brown Ranger, I had the '65 Rambler, which definitely was different, it got thumbs up and questions everywhere, I definitely do miss it sometimes, but, it was a dog, it took some seafoam and marvle mystery oil down the carb every couple weeks to keep it running good enough to drive ( valves were bad ).. even with only 58,000 original miles, the engine needed a re ring and a valve job.. it got approx 19 MPG, which really was not bad being it was probably running 80% of what it should have been... I sold it at a very slight profit... I was really considering getting another older car for a DD, but I couldn't justify it

Oh, and Mike, as far as posi in the 70's T/A, they all came standard with them, but they were all really Tall gears like the 2.42's

I drive old junk for a daily driver.... Afraid if I were to drive something nice and one of these cell phone yapping yuppies who don't pay a dang bit of attention to their driving won't run into something of mine that's nice, and then I won't have to put lumps on their head!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL: Then there's also the deal of having something nice in the parking lot at work. Seems to be a parking magnet for the idiots who always seem to have to bang their car door into whatever is parked next to them.... Then there's the grocery store/mall episode where the shopping cart somehow manages to hit your quarter panel.... Oh, and of course the jealous types who get some perverse pleasure out of running their key the length of your car all the way down the side.....

----IMO, just ain't worth the hassle....

I just retired my 69 chevelle nomad, it only got 11-16 MPG and I just needed something which did better.. LOTS better. So, I picked up a 87 chevelle off of craigslist. It gets over 30 MPG. Isn't it crazy that today's new cars only do that well? Very few of them can boast significantly over 30... Seems like they would have improved more in two decades.

Wow I didnt see the replies this thing has gotten since I didnt get them in my email. Hmm.. Anyways I wish I could afford $4000 for that 59 ElCamino that is all rusted even though the dash and inside looked VERY nice. I just cant afford to have another project no matter how good the deal is and how rare it is and how bad I want it. Remember my 48 Chevy coupe with the 79 Z28 Camaro front end on it and the ONLY rust was in the floors that was VERY simple to fix in probably 4 days? Well I came home the other day and my father actually GAVE it away! I have been VERY upset over this and the fact that I paid around $1500 for it and could have sold it for much more than that ($4000). It had extra RUST and dent free hoods, dashes, suspension parts, wheels, glass, headlights and trim, etc. He GAVE it away!!! He wont tell me to who because I will go back and steal it and he also wont give me any money out of it. I am angry because I need the money and could use it to get my detailing business going or fix some things on my Honda like new tires, timing belt change, etc. Hell he did the same thing to my 85 C10 truck after I bought my Honda car to save gas, I came home from work the next day and he gave it away. The truck still had the factory semi gloss paint on the chassis with NO rust and a very good drivetrain, brakes and tires. All it needed was a freshened up paint job and it was like new again.
Anyways I found a 79 Malibu on Craigslist.org for $1500 or best offer... I am thinking about taking a look at it as long as it has a 350 in it with a 350 or overdrive tranny.
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/1122519575.html
Tell me what you think. I can buy it, sell my Honda Prelude for around $4000 and use the money left over for the little things the car may need and I also have an extra 350 in the garage with pretty much no miles on it that I can have for a backup engine. After that I may even have money still left over. I emailed the guy but going to call him now and see if it has rust, interior shape, engine and tranny type, etc. If it sounds good I will go take a look at it and make an offer depending on how it drive and is...
Any info on these Malibus would be great. Not sure why but I kind of like them for a plain square almost ugly car. I think with rally wheels and a 2 inch cowl hood they look decent. My friend had a early 80's one and like I mentioned before it handled ok and had plenty of power. I want a car that will handle great and have great power but at the same time good on gas (I am not looking for a strip/track car).

Oh by the way, I am hoping they are junk like the new Malibu's are. :)

If you still have the titles I would think you'd have some legal recourse.

Thats the thing, he gave him the title and the title is still in original owners name and the last guy I got it from signed it to transfer it from the original owner to him and then from him to me. I could never get ahold of the guy to get the title fixed and last I heard, the guy wanted to buy the car back from me. Either way that was a stupid mistake to buy it with the title like that but then again, I look at the old car as an investment. I bought it for cheap, it sat with the doors and fenders, hood, chassis, etc under the house with vents and such to keep moisture out that ran all the time and stayed dry and over the years it gained value. And now I wont doubt the guys are laughing their asses off and going out to part the extra hoods and sell the car to someone else for a few grand.

Craigslist(or any trader mag) is your friend. In the past 3weeks I have found 3 great deals on a car, truck & van for myself and a buddy, all for less then $1400 each & all were a steal.
I found a 88 Buick Estate Wagon :eek::rolleyes::LOL: Yes a stationwagon.

My car less the wood grain....

http://aswoa.com/main/wp-content/upl...uick_small.jpg

Hell I couldn't beat the deal(&& I needed something to drive) its was saved from being a Demolition Derby car. 75% of the interior had to be put back together along w/the outside trim but 99% of everything was there. 90,000 on the body & 40,000 on the motor(seen the repair bill), brake system completely rebuilt, along w/the shocks, belts, hoses, and about 10,000miles on the set of tires.
All for the price of $500 :D
My buddy got a late 80's Chevy shorty van w/perfect interior and 99% rust free for $1400 & a rust free 85 Chevy 1/2ton(Arizona Truck) for $850 both run great w/about 100,000 on each of them..

You just have to find the right ones that make you say.........

MMMMMMMM, yeah I could drive that &&&&&&&&&&&&&& "LIKE IT"............

My daily driver for now is a Subaru Outback Limited. 135,000 miles and still going strong. I was in a 4 car collision last week and luckily was the front car. No damage to the car at all (wife got a little beat up, but not the Subie :eek::D)

I would love to use an old car as a daily, but having to drive about 100 miles a day in my commute to and from work would take a real toll on an oldie including this oldie. :LOL::LOL:

So I will keep doing what I am doing until retirement and then the Subie goes into the garage and the 34 or the 57 becomes the daily driver. I'll have more time then to have fun.:D

My truck i got listed on here is my daily driver, but I only go a total of 24 miles a day. Call me crazy but it'll have to work till I get a beater small pick-up.

I found a S10 with the V6 in it (1990 I believe) for about $950 and then also a 84 C10 longbed with the 6 cylinder and 4 speed and the A/C still works, the guys wants $950 for it. I am going on Thursday to look at it because if it's in the shape he said it's in then I am going to get it. He said no rust through anywhere, just a little bit of surface rust on the bottom of the tailgate and a few other spots but it's very light surface rust. No power steering but hell as long as it has a big steering wheel I am fine. I think if it drives nice, A/C works good, etc I will put some money into it to look good and run great and then use it for this summer for work and then turn around and sell it. I'd rather have a 350 with an overdrive tranny but I figured for $950 and the A/C still works and no rust, that is a great deal. I just got word on the 79 Malibu I just posted and it is the V6 3.3L and everything works but only thing it needs is a water pump. If it had the 305 or 350 I'd get it but I know nothing about the V6 and really want a 350 if I get anything like a bit Malibu.