out with the old, in with the new

[proxieken]

I am setting here awaiting someone who is hopefully going to buy my old Pontiac.



I have owned it for over 20 years and it has some mods done to it. But it is still a car almost 50 that I rarely drive. Ever since the new Challengers were offered I have been longing for one, but the price was too high. Well the used ones are finally dropping to the point where I am hoping to sell car and turn it in to a newer style Challenger RT.

This Pontiac is a 400 bored .030 with a GTO cam and a Tremec 5-speed overdrive. My wife refuses to go away with me anymore due to her unreasonable fear of bodily injury. Hey, its got a lap belt for crying out loud. What more do you need?

In any event, I am hoping to be selling and buying all in one day. :banana-dance:

[BRP32]

I would keep the Firebird myself.

I had a '69 Firebird 400 years ago with dual quads and a 4 speed.

There isn't a day goes by I don't regret the day I sold it.

The Firebird has much more character and classic lines then the new Challengers

You may want to rethink selling so you don't do the same.

[2FER SLOTS]

Going through the same thing with my 1966 Charger. Rarely gets driven and it might be fun to have a toy you (both of you) will play with. I am sure there will be some regret,but I'm betting it will fade as you drive the modern powertrain,suspension and brakes.

[pastor bubba]

I prefer the older cars myself, but if you like the newer Challenger and your wife will join you then it does make sense to sell the one for the other. There will probably be regret because I regret getting rid of some cars too, but I enjoy what I currently have. Good luck on the selling and buying.

[TsgtRet]

I have had 40-some cars since I was 16 and regret selling about half of them. Unfortunately, circumstances didn't let me keep a "toy", what ever I had was the family "second car". While I will agree the Firebird has more "class", the Challenger will be more practical on a day-to-day basis (unless it's a Hellcat!). Good luck on the sale.

[dreinecke]

Nice Firebird. I've been there though - had a really nice Chevelle, wasn't driving it, wasn't as safe as a new car, and frankly, the new musclecars blow them out of the water for everything but soul.

Funny to hear you mention the new Challenger - it is on my list. So much so that I drove a Sublime Green R/T with the 6 Speed yesterday while having my daughter's Jeep serviced. I'd love a Hellcat, but after driving the R/T I think that is about perfect for my needs.

Good luck, and while it is tough getting rid of an old friend, your new one will be very nice.

[ChallengerGuy]

As an owner of a Challenger, I highly recommend you look into getting the R/T (no frills) six-speed. Mine was $27K plus tax out the door (30k). That was brand new in the box. LOL. Don't fall for the Shaker package unless you want to spend another $15-20K for a hole in the hood and some stripes with no change in HP. The secret is that the six speed manual comes with a different exhaust and the motor is tuned for ONLY premium gasoline. The automatic has a knock sensor which you can't really do on a stick in the same way. So, they advanced the timing some for the stick. hence the premium only requirement. Anyway, if you are serious about a Challenger, again, I recommend going new if you can stick with a base model R/T. Oh, and by 2012, a lot of the features that were optional on earlier models were standard by 2012. Lastly, they changed the suspension in 2011 so you really don't want a 2010 or earlier if given the choice.

Good luck!
Mike

PS - My car is here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/super8man ... 045683985/

[proxieken]

Thanks for the advice on the Challenger. Unfortunately the buyer was not familiar with a car with a carb. He stalled it and then flooded the motor. After that he seemed to lose interest. I tried to explain it is a very old car and not like a new fuel injected one. At least I got to smash him into the passenger seat on a test drive, which is always fun.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

In addition to this going wrong I broke my toe today and have to limp around.

And I am supposed to run the Carrera demo track at the fairgrounds all day Sunday. I am going to need a chair for that if I can even make it.

The morning started off so good and then seemed to fall apart.

[TsgtRet]

[Ember]

I'm a Classics fan. But it would be nice to have a toy car that could also be the daily driver.

I hope you have lots of photos of the Firebird.

[goosenapper]

Damn, Ken. I'm real sorry that your day turned out like that. Having the sale fall through would be a mood killer enough, but to break a toe- that just plain sucks.

I wish you and the guys the best tomorrow. That should be a lot of fun. I'm only sorry that I can't make it and that you have to deal with that toe. Just bring along a stool and a bucket of ice that you can shove your foot in, and you'll be fine!

[dge467]

Not selling that Firebird isn't such a bad thing! 8-)