There is no "Used Car Factory" to order from....

I get so much mail of people whining that they can't find their dream car, that I want to vomit day-glo. Here's the reality-regardless of your bank account, the chance of you finding a 40 or 50 year old car with the exact engine, transmission, axle ratio, interior and exterior color, and other options is almost nil. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. Here's how to find a car you can love and live with at a reasonable price.  # 1. Lower your sights a little. Yes, we'd all love to have a Hemi ' Cuda, LS6 Chevelle, Boss 302 Mustang-etc, etc. For example- Chevrolet only built 4478 LS6 Chevelles in 1970-so the real problem is finding one for sale at any price. However-Chevrolet built 49,826 SS396 Chevelles that same year. Except for the engine, they are the exact same car. And honestly-do really "need" more punch than a 396 has to offer? This is not an isolated example. Boss 302 is your dream car? Good luck as Ford only built 1,603 in 1969 and another 7,113 in 1970. By constrast-Ford built over 70,000 fastback Mustangs in 1969 alone, and most of them have 351W motivation, which is a much better street engine, if your going to drive the car at all. '69 GTO Judge lights your fire? Of the 72,225 GTOs sold in 1969, only 6,833 were Judge models. Of the 243,000 Camaros sold in 1969, only 19,000 were Z/28 models. By considering the less-than ultimate model you just increased your chances of finding a car tenfold, and that's if you "Gotta" have a one-year model. Which brings up the next point. # 2. Consider different model years of the same car. If the Chevelle enthusiast could live with a '68-69 SS396 he just increased his chances by 58,000 '68 models and 86,000 '69 models. Our GTO buyer could choose from 87,000 '68 models and 40,149 '70 models. Pontiac only built a little over 10,000 Trans-Ams in 1970-73. However they built nearly 330,000 T/A's from 1974-79, nearly all of them with 400 Pontiac power which with very little work-intake, exhaust and an axle-ratio change-could easily equal or surpass the performance of the much higher-priced earlier models. # 3. Consider different options. For example-if you want a "Vanishing Point" Challenger would you pass up a 383 model because Kowalski's was a 440? Or if you want a "Bullitt" Mustang-would you turn your nose up at an automatic '67 390 GTA, because Steve McQueen drove a '68, 4-speed model? Could you live with a black "Smokey& The Bandit" '77-78 T/A if it didn't have T-Tops?  # 4. Consider a lesser model. Wouldn't a Formula 400 be as much fun as a T/A? Would a "regular" TPI '85 Z/28 be as good as an "IROC-Z?"  Almost all 1971-73 Mustangs have 351C motivation, so do you really "need" a Mach 1? There's a lot more small-block Novas out there than there are SS396 models. See what I'm saying?  So stop whining and find a car to play with. Mastermind