What is a 'classic'?

Interesting thought I had this morning. Back in 1972, my stepfather had a

1956 Thunderbird, with the two tops, portholes, AT 283, Continental kit. It had about 70,000 miles on it, about 2/3 through it's life span. It needed an engine rebuild, a complete going over with a spray gun, tranny work, but had almost NO rust. It was an OK car; obviously the best part was the top-down cruising. Other than that, it was rode hard and put away wet! The paint was cracked and crazed, the chrome was pitted, the ragtop was rotted, the headliner was falling out of the HT, along with the back glass. So, you leave the tops off and cruise in nice weather. Everyone went Ga-Ga nonetheless. 16,450 were made for 1956. The car was 17 years old.

In my garage now I have an '88 Supra. The engine is good, the tranny has some issues but I have one available for $100. The paint is good, the interior is almost excellent; there is one rip in the driver's side bolster (surprise...). It has leather seating and the "Sport" (targa) roof. Rust is minimal. It has about 170,000 miles, or about 2/3 of it's life span. There were ~16,500 of them made. It's 17 years old.

So why was one considered a classic and the other simply a 'used car'? The Supra will certainly outhandle the T-Bird and is about equal in performance.

Reply to
hachiroku
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One's a '56 and one's an '88. I equate this latest classic car discussion to antiques... generally, the older they are, the more valuable.

Give the Japanese imports time. They too, will be considered collectible when they reach an older age.

How many cars are now considered "collectible" from the late '70's early '80s?

Reply to
ravelation

hachiroku wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ae86.gts:

Officially, a classic is any vehicle 20 years old or older.

Valuation of a classic is entirely dependent on desirability, rarity, history, condition, (lack of) mileage, and a few other more minor factors.

Desirability (or demand) is probably the most important of all. Japanese cars generally are not hotly sought-after no matter how rare or special, so prices remain low.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

One possible exception to your axiom:

Try to find a good RWD Corolla GT AE-86 on the cheap. Not easy, for sure.

------------------------------------------------ The DNC - Building a bridge to the 20th Century.

Reply to
Eric Dreher

We sold the T-Bird in '75. We had it from '69 till then. It was 17.

The Supra is 17...

Monte Carlo? Grand National?

Reply to
hachiroku

Um, I have a Not-So-Good '85 "86". Rusty, high miles, not for sale...

Actually, except for the rust and the mileage, it has been well cared for and ran great until last summer. The alternator seized and I can'tget the damn thing off!

Reply to
hachiroku

Actually, it was a 292 ;D

Reply to
Liberals=Angry Losers!

I think collectible is 10 years, classic is 20 and antique is 30 years. In my state, if your rig is 31 years old, you get the collector plate, permanant registration. I have it on a 1973 Honda CT90 (yes, a Japanese antique!)

Reply to
Liberals=Angry Losers!

a classic = Camaro

Reply to
I'm Right

Um, yup! That it was!

Reply to
hachiroku

Classic: 60's era Mustang Not Classic: 70's era Maverick

;-)

(...I was going to make fun of the Rambler, but I'm sure that there are people who consider *it* a classic ...)

...

Reply to
noneyabusiness

I have 3 Toyota Classsic vechicles... 1980 Celica GT, 1980 Cressida, and a

Reply to
Dave Kraus

The AMC/Jeep/Eagle/Toyota dealer I used to call on in North Adams, MA in the

80's had a mint 4 door Matador ("hey Matador") that he took as a demo and never let go. It looked like it just rolled out of the factory. To me, the car was ugly as sin.
Reply to
Ray O

Scrap is at an all-time high!!

Kidding, kidding. Nice cars all; I remember them well. What I would like (um, as if I don't have ENOUGH now!!!) is an '80-83 Corolla SR-5 Coupe, and I know where there's one about 3 miles from here! But I just can't take on any more 'projects'...

Reply to
hachiroku

I thought I had you plonked already. Figures you'd come out with something like a Dime-a-Dozen car...

But you can get all the parts you want at Wal-Mart!!!!

Reply to
hachiroku

Actually, the Maverick IS becoming a classic, if it has the Grabber pkg. And Ramblers make it just because of their sheer ugliness!

Reply to
hachiroku

Heck, AMC Rambler had models called "Classic", ie the Classic 330 etc.

Reply to
Liberals=Angry Losers!

Actually, that was one of their PRETTIER cars! Had a Fat Ass, thought. Boy!

North Adams? I thought you were a Toyota guy...sure you weren't thinking of Petrin's?

Reply to
hachiroku

K&M Motors. The sales dept and parts/service dept were in 2 different buildings.

Reply to
Ray O

The Rambler was more of a classic than the '70's Monza. (The 60's Corvair Monza is a whole 'nother story.)

Also, the 1956 T-Bird was unusual in its day. The Supra was not that far away from the Japanese pack. People expected cars to handle like that by then.

It's sort of like the Chicago Bulls. With Michael Jordan, the game got a lot sharper, so everyone else had to get better just to play the Bulls, let alone win. The 70's Japanese invasion lifted the expectancy for all cars. The stats you quoted for the '56 wouldn't be acceptable in a new car any more.

Charles of Kankakee

Reply to
n5hsr

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