Here's my list off the top of my head. Probably a few others:
1960 Porsche 356B cabriolet 1961 Porsche 356B coupe 1962 MGA 1963 Mini-Cooper 998 1964 Triumph TR4 1965 Mini-Cooper S 1071 1965 Ford Galaxie 1966 MGB 1966 Sunbeam Tiger 1967 Mini-Cooper S 1275 1968 Triumph Spitfire 1968 Pontiac LeMans 1970 MG Midget 1971 Datsun B210 1983 VW Rabbit GTI 1986 Dodge Shelby Turbo
Current cars are two 1980 TR8 convertibles plus a TR8 coupe vintage racer that is being built up.
Do they have to be "classic" at the time of ownership?
I'm old enough that some of the cars I had when young(er) were just used cars back then but considered classics now.
The Opel GT I currently have was just a used car when my dad bought it and even just a used car when he gave it to me. I drove a 65 Chevelle in high school, just a 8 year old used car at the time. Learned to drive in a 69 Datsun 510 Wagon, just a 5 year old used car at the time.
Forgot about the 1980 Yamaha XS650 in the corner of my garage. Bought it cheap and rode it a lot when I first got it in 1994. Still have it but haven't rode it in about 18 years. And should mention the 65 Chevelle was a 4-door, 6-cyl, Powerglide, no power steering or brakes and the brakes were drum front & rear and had some rust issues. First wife and I had a 63 Rambler when we got married in 76. Her car. Sold in 78. It had rust issues also. Not to mention a couple Pinto's I owned. The first one the first wife kept. The last one I bought for $200, put $300 in parts on it and drove it a year then sold it for $800. The only car I made money on.
Good Lord, it makes the head swim.
Model A 2dr.& Pickup, '53 Starliner Coupe, '53 TD, '53 Chevy w/a '54 truck engine (great "stock" sleeper/cheater at a 1/8th mile drag,) several TR-3s in various stages of operation, competition, and/or need of repair, Tr-4,'56 Crown Vic, '57 Bel Air, '61 Corvair, '62 Impala SS, '64 E-Type, '66 Mark X Jag, '66 Tempest Sprint (terribly under-rated in my opinion), '66 Catalina 2+2 Tri-power 421, '69 Road Runner 440 6-pk, '70 El Camino SS, '70 240Z,'71 240Z, '71 911S (brand new but bought at a steal because it had a cracked windshield and body damage from a hail storm,) '73 X-19, several PL-510s in various stock to full race form, HL-510, 200SX, 240SX, '85CRX Si (1st Si year), '78 1st year model Honda Accord (it was a 2-dr, & probably one of the only '78 cars to pass the C.A.R.B. tests with no cat. & running on leaded gas,) '02 Miata, a ton of various Triumphs, Harleys, 2 Matchlesses, Norton Isle Of Mann single & a couple of Commanders, a couple of Royal Enfield Interceptors, BMW R-60s & R-75s.
I tried to put years on those rides where I specifically remember the year. I was in the Marine Corps and was single in the '60s & early '70s when many "classics" as we call them today were either new or cheap used cars. And I was stationed in Southern California, when I wasn't deployed. Where before C.A.R.B. there was a speed shop seemingly everywhere you looked. So a ton of rides were bought and sold or on occasion won or lost while street racing during that era. Yes, the title was actually a pink slip & street racing was sometimes "For Pinks."
This is just a short list of those I specifically remember. Are they all classic? Define classic. These are ones which stick out in my mind as classic. Your experience & opinions will vary.
I started with bikes:
Yamaha Trail 80
Suzuki T-100
Honda CB-350
Suzuki TS-250
Suzuki T-350
Then cars, in the order that I bought them:
'71 Fiat 850 Spider
'71 Fiat 124 Spider
'74 AMC Gremlin X 304
'59 Corvette
'69 Ford Ranchero
'67 Chevelle SS 396
'76(?) Chevy Monza GT 350 (complete pig, not a classic)
'64 VW Bus
'84 Renault Encore
'66 Volvo 122S (still have it)
'68 VW Bus
'67 Volvo 1800S
'79 Westfalia Camper
'84 Volvo DL wagon (with flame paint job)
Yeah, I won't list them all as there are a bunch, but a few of my notables (at least in terms that I liked them) are:
'71 240Z
'67 TR4A
'61 Fiat 600D
'74 Fiat X1/9
'73 Alfa GTV
'78 Alfa Sprint Veloce
'84 Alfa GTV6
many Alfa Spiders
'80 TR7
'67 Cougar XR7-GT
'70 Boss 302
'65 Mustang GT
'67 Jeepster Commando
don't know if my '86 944 Turbo fits in here, but man I loved that car. Next to the Alfa GTV, it ranks as one of my favorites.
I will separate them into cars that where classic and ones that were just old when but are now classic:
Classics.
1965 Baja Bug 1969 Beach Fomula Vee 1972 Datsun 1200 1971 Datsun 510 1976 Datsun B210 1971 Volvo 142E 1972 Volvo 144 1968 F100 1974 F350 1965 Ford Galaxie 1973 Plymouth Valiant 1962 Honda C200 (90cc) 1968 Puch 250 1971 Yamaha DT250 1976 Yamaha YZ125C 1978 Yamaha SR500 1977 Honda Elsinore CR125 1978 Honda XR75
Now classic
1972 Datsun 1200 (owned since 1984) 1973 Plymouth Scamp 1973 Yamaha RD350 1969 Yamaha DT-1 1972 Ford Pinto
Tom
23 Fiats, most of which were 124 Coupes and Spiders though a 850 did slip in there along with a 1500 OSCA cabrio.
4 Mk1 Ford Fiestas
'72 Capri V6
'79 Austin Mini 850
'71 Jeep Commando
'70-something BMW 2002 Challenge car
'86 Audi Coupe GT
'67 Fiat Dino coupe
'65 Buick Skylark convertible
'67 CJ-5
'76 Ford Courier
Two different '65 F100s and a '66 C-20
Had a number of cars that came and went I never even drove/ran including a few air cooled VWs.
From what I recall:
1965 Mustang GT 289/4 speed
1967 Mustang GTA 390/C6
1968 Dodge Charger 383 4bbl, Torqueflight
1968 GTO 400/TH400
1969 Chevrolet Corvette 350 350hp, 4 speed
1970 Formula Firebird 400/TH400
1970 Kawasaki H1 500 Triple
1971 Ford Bronco 302/4speed
1972 Kawasaki H1 500 Triple
1972 GTO 400/4 Speed
1972 Nova SS 350/4speed (current resto project)
1973 Dodge Duster Sport 340 4bbl, Torqueflight
1975 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
1975 Trans Am 400/4speed
1975 Triumph Spitfire
1979 Toyota Corolla SR5
I have a recurring dream that I never sold any of these cars and they are in a climate controlled warehouse waiting for me
My first car (in contrast to my first vehicle which was a '67 Dodge van) was a 1960 Sunbeam Alpine, purchased back in 1975. There's been something old (classic?) and English in the garage ever since.
A few air-cooled Beetles. Most are gone, but I still have an unfinished 1961 Baja project that I started 20 years ago.
1970 Type 3 Squareback. Daily summer driver for 3 years until the motor gave up. Just sold it, should be gone this weekend.
1967 Mercedes (W110) 230. Unfinished 15 year project, needs carbs rebuilt...or ITBs and megasquirt...
1993 GMC Typhoon. Probably more of a future classic. Popped a head gasket and traded for...
1974 Nova with a crazy built 383 that was probably worth more than the rest of the car. Would have kept it, but it had 4 wheel drum brakes, 3.08 rear end, missing almost everything on the interior, and I really disliked the shaved door handles.
Here's the Nova after I spray bombed and stenciled it.
Most of the other ones have just been beaters. Actually, most of the classics were or started out that way when I got them, too...
In reply to vwfreek: I like your Nova's looks better than from the factory in the '70s. And you're probably right about the value of the motor. I'd love to hear the details.
In reply to Rupert:
Yeah. If it would have been a couple years older, I probably would have sourced some non-shaved doors and kept it. I'm not sure about all the details on the engine, it had headers, no exhaust, aluminum intake, Edelbrock 750 carb, Dart heads, HEI, etc. One of the fastest revving V8's I've driven. The guy said it made 400hp...I'd say it was pretty close to that.
My list isn't as extensive as most:
Fiat 124 Spyder as a DD, great fun but the rockers rusted through within about 2 years of new.
Capri 2600 V-6 as a DD, super, loved it. Sold it for an early Jetta, which began my descent into generic appliance cars for DD duty.
Sunbeam Tiger as a toy. Had it before the Capri went, and still have it.
The appliance list includes a 1978 Mercury Marquis wagon (Enterprise class, 400 cube gas sucker, but it was a gift from my uncle), LTD wagon, Jeep Cherokee (the squarish one) and Explorer. I won't begin to list my wife's collection of grocery/kid haulers...
Stu
Classics that were not classics at the time, just old cars, '68 Volvos 122s,144s,145s, 1800s. then later in life '1972 Volvo 142s... Now, 1983 Alfa Spider tweaked a bit and a 1980 Maserati Merak SS (for the last 13 years)
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