American Muscle Car

American Muscle Car

Muscle Cars For Sale - How To Locate The Right Classic Cars For You

Every classic car lover loves American muscle cars, and they can be illusive when your looking for a certain car, their are people out there who will take advantage of a person who is just learning the muscle car ropes, but I hope to help you with your hunt.

I don't like to see anybody get taken advantage of when they buy a muscle car, hopefully my experiences will help you to have a good first experience when you buy a classic muscle car, it's easy to go out looking for your first one, and let the excitement take over.

It's OK to let the seller know that your excited to buy your muscle car, but you should also let them know that their car is not the last one on earth, don't let a hard sell ruin your day, if your looking for a certain car, it's always best to look at quite a few before you make your decision.

Allot of this process will depend on what you plan to do with the car, if you want to restore it to drive around town in, it will be much easier to locate your perfect muscle car, this of course will depend on your knowledge of the restoration process.

If this is to be your first restoration, you'll need to start with a car that is in good condition, what I mean by good condition is this, look at the body panels on the car, such as the trunk floor, rocker panels, floor boards, and quarter panels.

Ask the seller to put the car on a lift so you can inspect the under side of it, if you notice any of the things that I have mentioned here, it will severely complicate the process of the restoration on the car, so you might want to look farther and find a better car.

Body panels aren't the only thing that need attention, you should also inspect the engine for leaks around the valve covers, oil pan, and intake manifold, not to mention you should always hear the car run, so be sure to ask the seller to fire it up.

Listen for any strange noises, such as knocks, clicks, bumps, and rattles look for the car to smoke excessively at the tail pipe, beware that if your looking for a cheap car to start with, you will have to forgo being to picky about some of these things.

I will tell you up front, the lees you spend when you buy the car the more you'll spend to restore it, this is not meant to scare you off, it's the honest truth on the subject, plan to spend about $10,000 to start with if you want a good project car to start with.

At the end of this article I'll give you some links to dealers on the web that I have done the research on, and I find them to to be trustworthy to do right on your purchase, now let's talk a little about the cars that are easier to locate parts for, up front these are the Camaro, and the Mustang.

Most of the parts for either the Camaro, or the mustang are fairly easy to get, unless your dealing with a very rare version of either car, such as a Yenko camaraderie, or a GT350 mustang, these can get pretty hard to locate parts such as engines for them.

I'd love to see you find the right muscle car for you, no matter what you plan to do with it, it's my only desire to see that you get the car that you want in the end, so both you, and the seller feel like you have gotten a great deal in the end.

You should always check these dealers out through the BBB, and the local chamber of commerce in the area that their located, this is usually a good place to start, these agencies aren't always the perfect solution either, they both depend a lot on membership of the company in their service.

Take what they tell you with a grain of salt, and do some of your own research on the issue, by talking to past customers, and the owners of the company that you want to deal with, and don't take no for an answer on your questions.

Ask where the car came from, why it's for sale, ask about the condition of the car, and let your mechanic, or restoration shop take a look at the car, once you have gotten all of your questions answered, you should be able to do the deal, and feel good abut it.

About the Author

I've been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it's where my heart is.

Muscle Cars For Sale

Can you take a v-6 out of an american muscle car, and replace it with a v-8?

If so, how much hassle is involved in this process? And what all would it take to do?

Depends on the vehicle in question. On older cars its less involved, on newer vehicles alot more has to happen.

At the very least you will need to change out the entire drivetrain.

Rearend, driveshaft, transmission.

That isnt even getting into the computers and ignition elements. You could get these items from a junker, or get an aftermarket ignition system from a company like MDS.

You might need to change out the front suspension because it is not designed to handle the added weight of the larger motor.

You will need new motor mounts, this could be easy if the mounts are of bolt on type, because it is likely that if the car came with a v8 option the mount points will be there ready to go. Worst case they are welded on to the frame and you will need to get them properly placed and welded.

Newer vehicles are alot more complex and it probably wouldnt be worth it to do it. Like if you have a new v6 mustang or charger, and would like to stick a v8 in there, then you should have just bought it that way. It will end up costing you more then it would have just to buy it like you wanted it.

There is alot of information on the web about converting older cars to v8s. All "American Muscle Cars" had little brothers with smaller motors. These verions can be aquired in good shape for a decent price, and once converted, are every bit (and then some due to technology) as "Muscle" as the originals.

AMERICAN MUSCLE CARS