Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's cool!!

There's a reason that the popular muscle cars bring premium prices now, just like they did when they were new.  The reasons are they had awesome, unique styling, cool options, and performance to back up the image. Yet I see and talk to a lot of people who have no clue what is or isn't cool, and spend money restoring some undesirable car, and then try to explain to everyone else why it's cool. ( When they really aren't )  Some rampant examples- # 1 4-door 55-57 Chevys. The only people that wanted these new, were taxicab companies and people with lots of kids. The only thing their good for now is parts cars for people restoring 2 doors!!  Didn't any of you people see "American Graffiti?" The badass '55 driven by Harrison Ford was a 2 dr!!!  I don't care how fast it is, your still a dork in a 4 door Tri-5 Chevy, just like you would have been in say, 1959.  # 2  A 1965 Mustang is just as cool today as it was in 1965, maybe cooler. A 1965 Falcon is also exactly what it was in 1965. An ugly, ill-handling econobox that your grandfather would buy because it was cheap. They made good drag racers back in the day, because they were light, and you could swap in a 289 pretty easily. But if you want a cheap, light Ford drag racer, go buy a Fox-bodied 5.0 '80s or 90's Mustang for a couple grand and play with that. Because no one cares about them and haven't for 45 years, there's no parts available, so restoring a Falcon ( Why?!!! ) would cost almost as much as restoring a Mustang, yet the Mustang would have about 25 times the resale value, either junk or restored!!  # 3 Don't try to sell me on a "Wrong" year car, even a base model!! There's a reason that there so much cheaper than their more popular brothers.  Examples- a 1963 Pontiac Tempest, even to Die-hard Pontiac collectors is not worth anywhere near what a 1964 is.  A 1958 Ford Thunderbird is worth nowhere near what the 55-57's are! A 1973 Chevelle, be it small or big-block is not worth what the 1968-72 models are!  # 4 The 1968-74 Javelin/AMX is the only valuable musclecar produced by American Motors. The rest are just old "Ramblers". Sorry, Hurst/SC Rambler, and "Rebel Machine" owners, I don't set nationwide vintage car values, the buying public does, and the cold,hard fact is your cars aren't the equivalent of a Hurst/Olds or an LS6 Chevelle!!  # 5 There are no "Area 51" cars!!! By this I mean cars that idiots that don't know anything say exist, but no one has ever found one, and no factory rep has ever authenticated one!  A few Examples- There never was a GTO Station Wagon. In 1971-72, you could get the LeMans "Sport" endura front end on a wagon, and of course 400 and 455 engines were available. If you see one with GTO emblems or a Hood tach, it's because some moron installed them.  There were only 295 SD-455 Pontiac engines built in 1973, and they were all installed in Firebirds. 252 in Trans-Ams, and another 43 in Formulas. Early 1973 sales literature listed the engine as optional in the GTO, Gran Prix, Grand Am, and LeMans, as well, but emission and production problems limited them to being certified only in the F-bodys. Your 455 powered GP or Grand Am may be fast, but it has the L75 "station wagon" motor. Trust me. The Rallye 350 1970 Cutlass was not "Almost the 1970 Hurst/Olds". Hurst performance had nothing to do with their development, beyond the fact that 4-speed models may have had Hurst shifters. They are also not a "442" in any way, shape or form. All 1970 442s had 455 V8s standard. The W30 455 was an option. The "Rallye 350s" were built as an "Insurance Beater" on the base model Cutlass, just like the T-37 Pontiac Tempest is not a GTO. All 3,527 models had the generic 310hp 350 4bbl that was available in any Olds model. No one has ever documented one having the vaunted "W-31" 350. All of those were in installed F85 or Cutlass "S" models. The "Boss 351" Mustang was a one-year only package in 1971. They had solid-lifter cams, 11.3:1 compression, and were grossly under-rated at 330hp, and were only available with a 4-speed. In 1972 and 73, the top engine option was called either 351HO or 351CJ, ( meaning "High Output" or "Cobra-Jet") but they had 8:1 compression ratios, hydraulic cams, were rated at 266hp and could be had with a stick or automatic. There were no Hemi Cars built after 1971!! And I'm 99.9% sure that the same goes for 440 Six-Packs. The 440/Six-pack option was listed in early 1972 sales literature, but was ultimately cancelled because of problems passing emissions. I have heard rumors that a few very early productions Road Runners and Chargers ( less than 20 ) "Slipped" through, but I have never seen one, or seen one documented by a magazine or former Chrysler engineer.  Just had to vent. Mastermind