Lower your sights a little and you may find your dream car...

I ran a post a while back saying "There is no used car factory". I ran this because I get so tired of listening to people lament that they can't find a car they want and they've been looking for five years,etc, etc. The bottom line is these people are too picky. If you read Hemmings Motor News, or AttaBuy, or go on the internet everyday there are hundreds of very cool musclecars out there in great condition at fair prices. However-the chance of you finding your exact dream car-with the engine, transmission, axle ratio,exterior color, interior color, wheels, etc-is almost nil. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning on the golf course. However-if you lower your sights a little-you can get something really cool that you can love for years to come. Here's a few examples-let's say a 1970 LS6 454 Chevelle is your dream car. Good luck with that-Since Chevrolet only built 4478 of them-even if you had an unlimited bankroll the problem would be finding one for sale at any price. By contrast Chevrolet built 49,826 SS396 models that year. They are the exact same car except for the engine. And stock or modified-do you really NEED more punch than a 396 has to offer? This isn't an isolated example. 1969 GTO Judge lights your fire? Same deal-of the 72,225 GTOs built in 1969 only 6,833 were Judge models. "Gotta Have" a Boss 302 Mustang? Ford only built 1,603 in 1969 and another 7113 in 1970. By contrast-Ford built over 70,000 fastback Mustangs in 1969 alone-most of them with 351W power-which is a much better street engine if you plan to drive the car at all. The point I'm making is by accepting less than the ultra-premium model-you've increased your chances of finding a car tenfold. And that's if your stuck on a one or two year model. Which brings up the next point. Consider different model years of the same car. If our Chevelle enthusiast would consider an 1968 or 1969 SS396-he just upped his chances by 58,000 ( 1968) and 86,000 ( 1969 ) more choices. Our GTO enthusiast if he would accept a '68 or a '70 model just upped his chances of finding a car by 87,000 ( 1968 ) and 40,149 ( 1970 ). 1970-73 Trans-Am is your dream car? Good luck as Pontiac only built about 10,000 in those four years. However-from 1974-1979 Pontiac built over 350,000 T/A's nearly all of them with 400 Pontiac power, and with very little work-an axle-ratio change and an intake manifold and dual exhaust-could easily equal or surpass the performance of the rarer and much more expensive earlier models. Again consider less than the premium model. Of the 243,000 Camaros sold in 1969, only 19,000 were Z/28 models. Fewer than that were SS396 models. That means there are about 200,000 '69 Camaros out there, nearly all of them with 350 V8 motivation-and you couldn't ask for a better base for a street machine. We all agree that a Formula 400 Firebird packs all the punch that a T/A does-without the bells and whistles. Some people actually like the cleaner styling of the Formulas better. Any Hemi powered Chrysler vehicle is priced in the stratosphere and 440 / Six-Packs are getting there. However-I see 383 and 440 4bbl 'Cudas, Challengers, Road Runners and Chargers all the time for sale at reasonable prices. And what about a 340 model?  340 'Cudas and Challengers are the best handling, best balanced E-Bodies if you ask me. From '71 on you could get a 340 in a Charger or Road Runner. And what about 400 models from '72-74? A 400 is just a bored out 383. Also consider "Sister" cars. A big-block was only available in the Camaro until 1972 and in very limited numbers. However you could get a 455 in a Firebird Formula or Trans-Am up until 1976, and the 400 was available until 1979. If you can't find a deal on a 400 Firebird you aren't looking past the end of your nose. 396 and 454 Monte Carlos built from 1970-75 are rare and priced accordingly. However, a Pontiac Gran Prix is to the Monte Carlo what the Firebird is to the Camaro. The better buy of the two. From 1969-76 400 power was standard all years, and a fair number of '70-76 "SJ" models had 455s!  My sister had a '72 GP in high school. It felt like a GTO. It had power everything, and she showed her taillights to many a shocked Camaro and Mustang driver. The Cougar is to the Mustang the same thing. From 1967-73-Cougars usually had upgraded interiors, larger engines, and cool options like factory A/C, disc brakes, guages, etc. In 1974 they went to the much heavier and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform and performance Cougars were gone. Even a pre-"Charlie's Angels" Farrah-Fawcett-Majors barefoot in a bikini in the ads couldn't sell them. Anyhow-be reasonable-I know a guy who wanted a '70-72 LT-1 powered Z/28 Camaro. He passed on an unrestored, but exceptionally well-maintained '70 model because it was an automatic. He passed up a 4-speed '72 model because it had Cragar mags on it and traction bars, and a 750 Holley double-pumper carb instead of the stock 780 3310. He also turned up his nose at a gorgeous low-mileage, 4-speed '73 model because it was an L82. ( The LT-1 had a solid-lifter cam and a 780 Holley on an aluminum intake. L82's had a hydraulic cam out of the 350 hp L46 and a Quadrajet on an iron manifold ). That was several years ago-and to this day he still hasn't found a Z/28 up to his standards!!  I knew another guy who wanted a '68-70 GTO with the 400 / 4-speed combo. He passed on a gorgeous '68 model because it didn't have the hood tach and front disc brakes. He passed up an awesome 455 powered '70 model because it was an automatic. When he turned up his nose at a gorgeous triple-white, 400,4-speed, '71 LeMans Sport Convertible done in full "Judge" regalia-because "Its a fake" I wanted to kill him. I told him I'd no longer look at cars with him, because he was completley unreasonable in his expectations. That too, was years ago-and he still doesn't own a GTO or any other musclecar. Idiot # 3. wanted a '68-70 Bullitt / Dukes of Hazzard / F&F  Charger. He passed up a nice '69 model that had a KILLER 440 in it and Cragar mags and brand-new T/A radials because the engine wasn't original. He passed up a one-owner, little old lady gem of a '68, because it had bench seats and a two-barrel carb on the 383. He also passed on a beautiful Torch Red '68 model with Center Line Wheels and a 383 / 4-speed powertrain because it had a little rust in the trunk. What '60's Mopar, or any other 50 year old car that hasn't had a frame-off resto doesn't???  Really?? A 50 year old car had a small amount of rust?  So when you hear some asshole whining about how hard it is to find a musclecar-it's because he's too picky. Don't fall into that trap. Mastermind