Quote:
Stay away from that body style of Camaro / Trans Am. I had a T/A. Biggest P.O.S. I've ever owned. Worse than Bose, Skullcandy, etc. How is that for comparing Apples & Oranges? |
If you want a hobby car that also works as secondary daily driver, whats wrong with 3rd Gen F-body cars? They have quite good handling (atleast the one I drove had, with WS6 suspension) for '80s american car, quite roomy on drivers seat, some horsepower (though still less than engine is capable of, it still suffers from the effects of Energy and HP-Tax Crisis) and strong torque if you get the one with TPI fuel injection, and parts should be relatively easy to come by. Especially in engine you can fit in Corvette parts for healthy power increase. Gas mileage is also acceptable in TPI engine versions.
My first choice would be Dodge Charger, or any 60-70s Mopar, but they are EXPENSIVE. Also old Muscle Cars are something you need to work on. Though technology is quite simple so its not too hard to repair if you know your way around cars, and aftermarket replacement and tuning parts should be easy to come buy. (just by any muscle car magazine, in this case Mopar Muscle and 60% of the content are comercials for parts to Mopar muscle cars
) But still they are mainly hobby cars nowadays, and mileage is... well... large. But they also deliver fun that is unequaled, sense of raw power and noise. Especially if you manage to get one with either very tightly tuned small block or big crushing big block engine.
My second choice is Firebird/Trans Am and a car I WILL be getting in a year or two to be my hobby car. Mostly because they are very cheap, and some reasons I mentioned above already. Plus they are BEAUTIFUL on the outside. Almost perfection in my eyes, better looking than any car produced after that IMHO. Interior is ugly though.
If you decide to get Firebird/Trans Am, be sure to get one with Tuned Port Injection, shortly TPI, as its fuel injection mechanism or you will be gravely dissapointed. TBI engines suck. They are weak, powerless and lazy. Prime example of Energy Crisis aftermath engine. Drinks fuel like mad like they used to in 60-70s, but still only delivers 145 to 165 horsepower (UNLIKE in the 60-70s). All this on 5.0/5.7 liter V8, What!? You step on pedal and only thing that rises are noise and fuel consumption, but car still accelerates about as fast as with pressing gas pedal lightly. Very sporty indeed, old Datsuns with their puny engines are much faster than those POS's.
With TPI you get atleast around 200 horsepower (215 on 350cid/5.7l with stock cast-iron cylinder heads, 240Hp with C4 Corvettes aluminum heads) and a hefty torque boost which truly matters, and noticeable drop in fuel consumption.