WHY do you love Muscle Cars and HOW do you afford your hobby?

[DavidSL]

Hey all,

Thought I'd just start a discussion on here - I'm new so if this has been done before numerous times then I apologise and you can politely tell me to shut my yap. If it hasn't, however, or you just want to chime in, please do! 

So, as the question asks, really - why do you love muscle cars?

Personally, I'm pretty new to the scene. I just turned 27 at the end of July, and came home from a month in Australia a little lost with what to do. I need a new job and I need to sort out a long term plan for my life. But I came home and started thinking about other things, too, like hobbies and such. It started with an article about the new Triumph Thunderbird motorbike, and it was the site of that and the engine and all that chrome that got me started down the road. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realised my dream of owning a muscle car could become a reality if I worked hard and saved hard - and that's how I came to this forum.

Basically I've always loved old cars - but it's only ever been a, 'wow, that's nice!' kind of appreciation. I've never really known what's going on inside the car, nor understood how it all works. I've always wanted to, but I guess I've never had the motivation to - I've always thought that unless I was robbing banks I couldn't possibly ever come close to owning one, and that kept my interest at a distance. Then I read that buying one of these cars isn't so far-fetched, and my interest peaked. So here I am, eagerly eating up as much information on muscle cars and engines and anything else I can learn whilst I plan on just what it is I want.

Anyway, WHY I love muscle cars is because without realising it they are the only cars I've ever truly fallen for. My friend, when I was about 19, became heavily into cars, and when he passed his test he bought a yellow Citroen Saxo, and began to 'supe it up' into a plastic-covered, ridiculous loud, bass-thumping, cringe-inducing and badly driven piece of crap. I wasn't a fan, to say the least. I live in Essex, in the UK, and whilst that might not mean much to those of you in the US, let me sum it up for you – you won't find many muscle cars here. The cars that 'sound' a bit like muscle cars are more than likely smaller than Fiestas and driven by 17 year olds with no understanding of how to drive. White trash, basically. I'm generalising, of course – there are a lot of people here who LOVE cars and everything about them, but there are an awful lot of crappy little buzzy cars with exhausts designed to wake up our French neighbours.

I guess it's also the way muscle cars look – for me in particular my love affair with the Dodge muscle cars – the Charger and the Challenger comes from two different perspectives. The Charger just looks mean. It looks like a beast, and it looks like it could smash anything off the road. And it probably could. The Challenger is a little more subdued, I think. It doesn't have that 'mean' look to it – but once you start the engine then it roars like it's gonna rip you apart. I love both for what they are.

The other question I have for you all is this: how on Earth do you afford to buy and restore these cars?? I can understand the restoration bit – save, restore, save, restore. But I'm assuming that many of you are similar to me, I don't have thousands of pounds sitting about. Even after a year of saving I'm still going to be a bit short of what a lot of dealers are asking for a car in good condition. So where do I go, bank loan? Finance company? It's always been a curiosity of mine about this kind of hobby.

If you made it to the end without skipping, thanks.

If you just skipped to the end, go back, I mention naked college chicks!

Thanks all!

[tricky lugnuts]

Hey David - Welcome to the dark side!

I'm a younger guy like you. Guess I'm lucky and I got my Charger when I was 20. Saved up and bought the cleanest, most rust free, and close to running car I could. Back then that was only about $3,500, though it seems like there are some pretty good deals out there now, with the world on the brink of financial collapse for the past six months and all.

From there it was just a bit of money and some elbow grease before I was out cruising around. Been working on it and learning - and dreaming of all the things I could do if I was a professional millionaire - ever since. There's always something I need to do! Just be patient and stay motivated, that's my advice. Plans work for a reason!

Might be a bit different in the UK, though. It does seem like it would be an inherently more expensive hobby over there since all of the cars were produced and sold over here. I like my Charger for too many reasons to list. To me it just seems like what a car should be.

Best of luck!

[41husk]

I was born in 1961, so I was in my teens in the mid 70's.  These cars were every were.  School parking lots, churches, grocery stores, and used car lots.  It was not uncommon to see an elderly lady roll out of a Charger, Mustang or Camaro in those days.  my wife tells me, not having any of the cars I desired in my youth, is what makes me want to own so many now?
As far as affording them, Not sure, but I own some rental property and lets just say there are some months that income never makes it to the bank

[mauve66]

it sits in my garage for 10 years is how i afford it

[tan top]

why did i get a  charger !! because its the Badest!  meanest !best looking car of all time  &  along with the rest of the mopar muscle cars !! are the ultimate  
 can sit looking at my charger for hours still !! even with out driving it !! its shape & the look ! its perfect !! & when you get in & crank the motor !! Awww man      

had  mine for just over 20 years ,  , wanted one since i saw DMCL & bullet  in the late 70s  & then DOH  ,  how did i afford  to restore it  good question    well  my labour time was free  , done every thing my self except re chrome the bumpers & put the tires on the wheels  , stripped every nut bolt clip !!   been in the motor trade since i left school  , mechanic / body & paint  & anything else thats left in between    

[1969chargerrtse]

Something no one can really explain.  No different then why some people like to paint, hunt and fish,  or be a dancer or actor. My dad was into comic books and hero's as a teen.  In 69 big bad powerful cars were the thing and us old fellas just dream back to when we were kids and reinact it.  My kids like video games and have no interest in my interest as I had little in my dads, and on and on.

[bull]

If you're going to rob something don't rob a bank because it's a federal offence and they really throw the book at you. Try some sort of fraud instead.

How do I make the money for it? Well, I save a little at a time, usually $200 a month or so when I can. If and when there's overtime available at work I jump on it and squirrel that away. One two-week stint I worked enough to make almost three paychecks in one. When I can I just save up as much money as possible to use for the next big expense. I managed to save enough money last winter to pay for the engine, trans and front end rebuild which is taking place right now. Where I work we usually get more overtime in the winter if/when it snows so I'm hoping for lots of snow and ice this winter to put me over the top finally. I think I can probably get her road worthy with another $3k or so.

As to why I love the Charger? It's hard to explain and define love but the first time I saw a second gen Charger I knew I had to have one. The feelling hasn't subsided. It had fluctuated from time to time depending on how things are going at any given moment but I know it will be worth all the hassles in the end.

[Ghoste]

Why do I love them?  Wow, I've asked myself that so many times and it's usually connected tothe second part of your question.
I guess a lot of the reason is because my dad was into performance cars and even though I was too young to drive them when they were new, I was old enough to be aware of them and what they were.  When I started driving in the 70's, the oil embargo had just happened and nobody wanted musclecars.  You could buy them so unbelievably cheap and now, I just haven't found a hobby I like better.
I also grew up in small farming communities where there was not much else to do.  No movie theaters and limited sports.  I wasn't big enough to play things like football, too unathletic for baseball and we were too poor for me to get involved in hockey.  So outside of throw together games with my buddies, that left hunting and fishing which the government around here increasingly made tougher and music or cars.  I play a little guitar because my dad did that as well and got into the car thing.  I had to drive to get to that other thing that teenage boys love so much- teenage girls.  Remember the part about musclecars being super cheap when I started driving?
I really don't know how I afford it.  I don't smoke or do drugs and as much as I love beer I try to keep it in moderation.  That helps a LOT.  There are likely a bunch of other things I don't do that my non-car friends do so I guess I afford the way others do, you sacrifice the things you don't really want or need to save money for this.  It's just that some of us are able to do it at a faster rate than others.
Welcome to the hobby David but know that once it gets you, very few escape.

[oldrock]

I've got the simple answer to the first part... we love muscle cars because they are a nice way to remember what was cool about our history. A time when we didn't worry about emissions controls or good mileage. It was a time when we really wanted cars to look as good as they peroformed and used more steel than plastic. I love old muscle cars.

As for how to afford it... I think anyone can get a muscle car if they really want one. My son Josh is the perfect example. He grew up hearing me tell stories of my muslce car so decided he wanted his first car to be one too. We had to look pretty hard but found his 72 charger field fresh for a very reasonable price. We had to put some work to get it back running but did it over the summer and how he has a charger to drive. He has been paying for it over time and he only makes about $100/week mowing yards, etc.

Bottom line is if you want a muscle car bad enough and are willing to do alot of looking, they are still out there at good prices.  So go get ya one

[lisiecki1]

I think the biggest draw to WHY I love muscle cars would probably be the time I remember spending with my dad working on his 67 GTX and later working on my 73 Charger.  As far as affording....I was lucky....I bought my 73 charger in 1995 while I was in high school for $1500.00.....I'm also lucky in that it appears to be one of the "cleaner" starting points as opposed to some other projects on the site....but that's where the luck stops....when I decided to tear it down and rebuild it from the ground up I had high hopes to be done in 2 - 3 years, but life happens.  The car has been apart for 10 years now, and i'll be blessed to get it back together in the next 2.

[68X426]

How to make love to a muscle car? Is that the question? 

I'm just a 19 year old living in a 52 year old body. I get to do at 52 what I could not afford to do at 19.

Life is good, but remember it took me 52 years to get here. 

[PocketThunder]

1) In 1975 I rode home from the hospital when i was born in my Dads 1973 Road Runner, i was hooked ever since.

2) Get a good job, find a cheap place to rent, and dont get:
   A) Married
   B) Buy a house
   C) Have Kids
Otherwise you have to wait 10~15 years before you catch up to having spare car money again.   

Paul
(married with a mortgage and 3 kids)   

[GPULLER]

My family has always been Mopar. 
I bought my first '66 in '89 as high school senior for $100, wasn't my first choice for a Mopar but it was cheap.  Spent damn near every dime of my graduation money and the summer getting it running.  Mom was pissed!
Bought my current '66 few years later for $170, parts car for my first '66.  The "new" Charger was in far better shape so drive train was swapped.
It pretty much hasn't changed in 16 years, has had to sit in the shed for a bunch of those years because of no money to spend on it.  Just a driver to have fun with.
After fall farm work is done is when I have extra money to spend on my toys.
Being married, house payment, kids always seems there is other more important things to spend cash on.

Hey...I re-read that post, still don't see anything about college chicks....got pics?   

[Musicman]

I have always found that fixing up an old car and keeping it running, is a lot cheaper than buying a new one... and better still... when your done, you still have something to show for the money that you spent... something you can take pride in You won't turn any heads driving around town in your new Camry. Speaking of which... Another big bonus is the fact that it is also possible for you as the owner to work on your own vehicle

No car payments
Property taxes are a joke
Dirt cheap insurance
The list goes on...

Your just not part of the system anymore...

[Ponch ®]

I couldn't tell you why I love muscle cars. It's one of those abstract things, like "why do you like a nice set of DD's and firm ass on a 21 year old blonde"? One just does.

[41husk]

I couldn't tell you why I love muscle cars. It's one of those abstract things, like "why do you like a nice set of DD's and firm ass on a 21 year old blonde"? One just does.

[Brock Samson]

well David there have been a few or more posts on this,.. sorry,.. these very subjects,..
I, being nearly twice your age, have quite specific formulative year imprinting that made the Dodge Charger My Favorite Car...
I afforded it by working two good paying jobs that also allowed me to float my band as well, Music being my other great love in my life, besides getting laid of course... but the first two helped alot in pursuit of the third..

[Finn]

I couldn't tell you why I love muscle cars. It's one of those abstract things, like "why do you like a nice set of DD's and firm ass on a 21 year old blonde"? One just does.

[tricky lugnuts]

Agreed - well said Ponch! But there's more to life than blondes. Just read some of the other threads on this forum about redheads and brunettes!!!

[jaak]

I just love mopar muscle.
My main funding for my hobby is money I make on the side, buy something to flip, selling parts on ebay, etc. The only time I every really buy anything out of my paycheck is when I work alot of overtime.
One of my best flips was a real nice '99 S10 pickup....only 90k miles, had a bad tranny. Nice clean truck, I paid $500 for the truck, 900 for the trans rebuild, and about 80 bucks on misc. 1480 total, sold it for 3700. Needless to say the Charger got many presents  

Jason

[Magnumcharger]

OK....
I've been into Mopars ever since I was 14, when my big brother took me for a ride in his 1966 Monaco with a 383/4spd. I guess it was the power that hooked me, as well as the big chrome reversed mags on the back with 60 series tires.(Or maybe it was the fact that he unintentionally drove over a large Tonka toy laying in the road, without battling an eye...).
In his basement, he had an old 392 Hemi that he was fixing up (he was a mechanic in the Army at the time), and all he could talk about was how great Hemis were!
That would have been 1976 or so, which is funny, because there certainly were a fair amount of Hemi-cars roaming the streets back then.
Along around that time, my sister started dating another Mopar nut who drove a B5 1969 Roadrunner, and a 1970 Duster 340. And of course, he spent all of his time extolling the virtues of the almighty Hemis, as he tried to scare me to death by drifting his Duster around 90 degree corners at full speed!
I got my first car, a 1969 Barracuda Formula 'S' 340 in 1978. As I was in High School, I hung around with all of the "motorheads" in the shop class. Even though most of them were admittedly hardcore Chevy freaks, they all seemed to have an overwhelming respect for anything associated with a Hemi.
So I guess it was right about then I decided I had to find a way into a Hemi-car, either as a driver, or at the very least, a passenger.
Long story short: It's been 27 years since I graduated high school. (I still have all of my notebooks with the margins full of Mopar and Hemi doodling)! But I've yet to find myself in a Hemi-car of any description. In the meantime, I've owned and abused practically every other conceivable incarnation of Mopar power, but never the singular entity I've always considered to be the "ultimate Mopar Muscle engine".
I figure that someday, after my kids are out of my house and wallet, my '68 Charger R/T will be the host of the almighty 426 of my dreams.
I'm turned 47 this past August. It now seems kind of ridiculous that even after all of these years I'd still be pursuing that same fanciful dream I had as a skinny lad.
For my inspiration, I recall an article in an old issue of Motor Trend, I'm thinking it was the July of 1978 copy. The article was called "In search of the Good Ride", (Subtitled: A greenhorn on the loose...and looking for power).
If you ever find it, read it...it's the best article about musclecars and Mopars I've ever read!

As far as affording anything....I bought shitty cars that nobody else wanted...and fixed them up myself.
I also went to school to learn how to fix them, then went to school again to learn the skills needed to make the money to buy them!
So, as I tell my kids:
Get the education first - then the job - then the wife - then the family - then the toys.

[mally69]

I love them becuase they have badass looks and sound great and run just as good. Im only 24 i have a 69 r/t that i bought and built a few years ago and now i am working on my 68 that i have, I built a 512 wedge for it.

Part 2 of your question, how do i afford it. I got a decent job that pays the bills. I have nothing, other than my cars, extra parts my truck and a bunch of guns, and thats it.

[mauve66]

this thread will tell you alot about our influences, some of which aren't even possible in todays world for various reasons


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,55984.0.html

[Landonsrt]

Welcome David. I cant afford my project at the moment. As alot of us cant. Its not going to stop me . Just have to do it a little at a time.

[1969chargerrtse]

1) In 1975 I rode home from the hospital when i was born in my Dads 1973 Road Runner, i was hooked ever since.

2) Get a good job, find a cheap place to rent, and dont get:
   A) Married
   B) Buy a house
   C) Have Kids
Otherwise you have to wait 10~15 years before you catch up to having spare car money again.   

Paul
(married with a mortgage and 3 kids)   

I know a guy with 3 Wing cars, 2 being hemi powered.
I asked him, how do you afford cars like these?
He raised his hand, spread his fingers and said " All wings, no rings "  End of story.