SkinnyGoomba
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2008
- Messages
- 12,895
- Reaction score
- 2,402
You could take a 60's car and update it to modern standards, but it will probably cost about the same as a new Mercedes when you are finished, if you do all of the work yourself maybe the same as a new BMW 3 series.
Updating a 40's car is tougher because the majority of aftermarket parts require a lot of time in fabrication to adapt them to the older frames.
If you pick a 60's mustang or Camaro you have a good platform to start. You would need to update the brakes to factory discs a bare minimum or aftermarket disc brakes. The suspensions built in those days were not built to handle well, but a few small modifications can put those on par with many of today's cars. The biggest issue is called 'bump steer' which is a really easy fix, but it's not inexpensive. There are other mods to increase camber gain which also helps in handling.
There are modified versions of these cars in street legal trim capable of cornering at over 1G and many of them are outfitted with fuel injected engines and overdrive transmissions.
Paint and bodywork on older cars is not inexpensive.
I used to drive a 67' Camaro daily, switched to a 2003 caddy. I like driving my caddy better, however when it comes to repairing it I cringe every time i check out what the parts cost.
Also, good luck finding insurance for a daily driven classic car.
Updating a 40's car is tougher because the majority of aftermarket parts require a lot of time in fabrication to adapt them to the older frames.
If you pick a 60's mustang or Camaro you have a good platform to start. You would need to update the brakes to factory discs a bare minimum or aftermarket disc brakes. The suspensions built in those days were not built to handle well, but a few small modifications can put those on par with many of today's cars. The biggest issue is called 'bump steer' which is a really easy fix, but it's not inexpensive. There are other mods to increase camber gain which also helps in handling.
There are modified versions of these cars in street legal trim capable of cornering at over 1G and many of them are outfitted with fuel injected engines and overdrive transmissions.
Paint and bodywork on older cars is not inexpensive.
I used to drive a 67' Camaro daily, switched to a 2003 caddy. I like driving my caddy better, however when it comes to repairing it I cringe every time i check out what the parts cost.
Also, good luck finding insurance for a daily driven classic car.
