but I get hung up on the idea that after 1971 cars were 'downgraded' due to emission laws. Then I read that Camaros don't produce as much power as other cars, and I'm, again, wanting more.
I wouldn't worry about that issue because the vast majority of those cars have had engine rebuilds and what not over the years, so many of these smog engine have benefited from aftermarket performance... It's a double edge sword though when it comes to getting a car that hasn;t been rebuilt. My '72 still has the original, unrebuilt engine. It's never been taken apart according to the original owner. It's cool to be able to say that and it's a testment to the durability of the engine but at the same time, I only have 240 smogged hp to play with...
As far as the '76 Camaro "Bumble Bee" car when I was at the World of Wheels in Boston last year or the year before and the Bumble Bee car was one of my favorite cars there. It looked like it was meant to be driven hard and used daily with it's primer patches and fat rear tires. Not my pic, but you get the gist...
As far as how I got into the muscle car hobby... I always loved cars as a kid. My first Hot Wheels car was a blue '68 Firebird convertible. I still remember as a little kid looking out the window of our Chrysler Town and Country wagon and seeing the wing of a Superbird Road Runner go by... We had a couple Trans Ams, nothing else too spectacular...
Starting small as you mentioned is a great way to get into this hobby. Yes, we would love to own our "halo" car, but to be able to afford what we want with little funds is tough. Think of houses. We would love to have a big house but we may start out buying a little house that's affordable then eventually trade up.
The deal is, no matter which brand you like, what car is your favorite, you have to be realistic and live by your means. If you like all types of V8 cars, this really broadens up the possibilities for you. The thing is that you just have to take that first jump to get your feet wet. Mustangs/Camaros/Firebirds are reasonably priced. The best thing is to find a good deal and learn on that car. Gain some knowledge and experience working on these cars. I'm not sure how much experience you have but there's always soomething to learn. I love looking at craigslist to see the local stuff. I found a '76 Fiormula Firebird that actually turned out to be a Trans Am with a Formula hood on it. Needed lots of work. I actually go the guy down to $200 (The rims alone were worth $200! They were WIDE turbine rims similar to the Dukes of Hazzard rims.) but alas the wife said no...
When I got my Challenger, I really didn't have that good an idea of what it was or the different styles/options of Challengers. After having 3 kids, the youngest just born, I picked up a want ad to peruse the selections. I had forgotten about the idea of owning a muscle car for years with a wife and kids but got an itch that day. One car stuck out. The ad was short and simple. 1972 Dodge Challenger, runs good, looks good. It was up in New Hampshire and as chance would have it, I was to visit my brother up in NH that weekend. Now the hard sell to the wife. It wan't that she wasn't into cars but was almost anti car. She never really enjoyed when I talked about them and such. I called here and told her that I saw a car for sale and it looked interesting. Thought I could check it out since I was visiting my brother in NH that weekend. Her reply was, "If you love it, buy it." I thought I was going to drop dead right that second!
I went to check it out, it was in a barn with 3 racing Mustangs. I thought it was a cool shade of light blue, sort of like Grabber Blue, but then I would eventually find out it's proper name was Super Blue, aka Petty Blue. I thought the tail panel blacked out was interesting. I later found out it denoted this was a Rallye model of the Challenger for that year. When I saw it I didn't even know how good a 340ci engine was, probably the best small block made by Mopar IMO. It ran poorly, unlike as the ad stated. The original owner had sold the car thinking that he blew the engine. Turns out the neck of the radiator fell off, I resoldered it back on no problem. The tranny felt like it was slipping, it had no power when the gas pedal was pressed, but something told me to get it.
It was November and cold. I rented a pick up/trailer to get the car. I also brought a 5 gallon bucket of soap water and a a bucket for clear water and some sponges to wash the car before the wife saw it. I pulled off the highway close to the house to wash it. I put the soap on the car and went to wash it off and the soap had frozen onto the car and it looked like crap! To top it off, the car wouldn't start when I was trying to back it off the trailer! Not a good way to impresss the wife...
After a tune up and a carb rebuild, the car ran great, able to spin up the tires no problem! The feel, sight and sound of getting on the gas, feeling the back end of the car haunch up like a cat ready to pounce and the tires trying to grab the pavement makes it all worth while. The rumble of the V8 engine going through true dual exhaust is music to the ears.
