4 Door "Muscle" Cars...

[Dukeryder]

so watching a 4 door '70 Chevelle get crushed by a tank on BBC the other night, seeing a 4 door Galaxy 500 at the U-Haul place today, and mmitchell57's thread about the 4 door Fairlane has got me wondering; if, with the cost of classic 2 doors going through the roof over the last few years, will the 4 door versions of these cars start to become collectible?

You can pretty much get all the parts to rebuild these cars, and buying one is pretty cheap, shoot I imagine you could probably even get one for close to nothing if you tried hard enough.




(okay the Falcon never was a "muscle" car, but you could build a fast one by stuffing a 302 into one)

[bk brkr baker]

Gapp & Roush Tijuana Taxi, a four door Maverick made up as a NHRA Pro Stocker. I saw it at the Indy NHRA Nationals in '74.
Ugly , but fast and competitive.

[Crocodile Tears]

[Jurgen]

not muscle

But I've had a hankering for one of these:



Ford Cortina

[JeffS77]

one of my 4 door classics was a '64 Chrysler Newyorker hard top that had a 413 with a factory 4 barrel carb...it was a tank and it flew...had factory power windows, doors and seats...it has freaking everything..so of course i stripped it down and made a bomber circle track car out of it If I could find a clean one I would get one again

not my car





no before pics of mine..but what mine became

[JeffS77]

looking back now i guess i have had a thing for 4 doors...probably because they where less then half the price of their 2 door counter part.

i have also owned a '64 Plymouth Fury 4 door with a 361 2brl big block




as well as a '66 Dodge Coronet 440 with the odd ball Poly Head 318 aka "wide block" 318



and a '72 Torino 4 door with a 400 that looked just like this one.

[ttpete]

I had a 4 door 1963 big Ford. It was called a "Custom 300". Ex-cop car. It had the pursuit package: Heavy springs, big anti-roll bar, and gas shocks. 15 inch wheels and 3" wide station wagon brakes. I pulled the tired 390 out and built another one with 10-1/2:1 pistons, a 427 solid lifter cam, a set of 427 dual quads, and tube headers. With 3.89 gears, it was a bit of a sleeper with poverty hubcaps.

[erda]

Originally Posted by JeffS77

one of my 4 door classics was a '64 Chrysler Newyorker hard top that had a 413 with a factory 4 barrel carb...it was a tank and it flew...had factory power windows, doors and seats...it has freaking everything..so of course i stripped it down and made a bomber circle track car out of it If I could find a clean one I would get one again

not my car

Oh, man that brings back memories. Dad had a '64 Saratoga with a 383 4 barrel, and the good old push button automatic. That sucker would light em up when it shifted from second to third about about 70
Mum's old 2 door '63 Valiant is still parked in the old garage-less than 80000 on it! I keep thinking about restoring it...

[CheBolu]

[tony the tiger]

Mine was a '65 Chevy Impala 4-door w/396 4barrel carb and TH400 tranny... custom chrome and tilt wheel... I sold it for what I got it for - $1350.

[JeffS77]

Originally Posted by erda

Oh, man that brings back memories. Dad had a '64 Saratoga with a 383 4 barrel, and the good old push button automatic. That sucker would light em up when it shifted from second to third about about 70
Mum's old 2 door '63 Valiant is still parked in the old garage-less than 80000 on it! I keep thinking about restoring it...

threw me for a loop there for a second..Saratoga you must be north of the border....the saratoga was kind of an odd ball it had the 300 grill and letter series center console but had the standard push button if i remember.

[merickk]

[mmitchell57]

Originally Posted by tony the tiger

Mine was a '65 Chevy Impala 4-door w/396 4barrel carb and TH400 tranny... custom chrome and tilt wheel... I sold it for what I got it for - $1350.

I'm betting you are kicking your self in the ass ever since, hence the crying smiley. I've had quite a few cars i've done that with and hated myself for doing it. However, I've fixed that issue with the Ford Fairlane 500... It's only a 221 v8, but it will see much needed upgrades in the future to help living it up.

[tslewisz]

I'd love to have a '71 Galaxy 4 door w/ a big block and 4 speed, ala Gator McKlusky. (Yes, I know there's a tranny goof in "White Lightning".)

I had a '68 New Yorker w/ a 440. It would roll when you got it going, but the 2.76 posi didn't help it get there. And the ginormous drum brakes would fade in a heartbeat. That big Holley-fed 440 sure was smooth, though, even w/ 125,000 miles on her.

[ttpete]

Originally Posted by mmitchell57

I'm betting you are kicking your self in the ass ever since, hence the crying smiley. I've had quite a few cars i've done that with and hated myself for doing it. However, I've fixed that issue with the Ford Fairlane 500... It's only a 221 v8, but it will see much needed upgrades in the future to help living it up.

Just so you know, the bellhousing bolt pattern on the early small blocks changed somewhere around 1965, so if you have thoughts about an engine swap, you'll have to figure on a tranny change as well.