427grips

A friend is selling a real Chevelle SS454 from 1970. To buy it I would have to sell my 89 Carerra. Heard a little about the Chevelle stuff but I am unfamiliar with them other than it looks real cool . What would you guys do? Any chevy guys here?

Raj

theasphaltgambler

I know muscle cars/ market well. It would depend on if the car was: 1)Numbers matching 2) Is it an LS-5 or LS-6? 3) What condition is it in? 4)How original is it??

emac

I would do it. I had a new 70 Hemi Cuda in 1970 and like a fool sold it when I got
married. Believe it or not I traded it for a Fiat 850 siider!!
To make a very long story short my cuda is worth well over 100k today. I seen one go in
Auburn IN. auction for 1MM but it was ALL original

84_Carrera

If you want a "cool" cruiser, there's nothing like a big block Musclecar. If you want Euro sophistication, stay with the 911, IMO.

Just like there's nothing like the 911, there's nothing like owning a classic musclecar, but the satisfaction it'll bring will be different than that of owning the Porsche.

Where I am now, the 911 would be preferred. Where I was 5 years ago, the Chevelle would have been my choice. Who knows what tomorrow brings? My advice - weigh the conditions of both cars, the financials, and most of all, what do you want from either car. Are you tired of the '89 & looking for a change? Is this an investment car? Not looking to corner & brake as well, but have back-breaking torque off the line? Hope fuel mileage isn't an issue for you.

Best of luck with your decision!

theasphaltgambler

Are you kidding?? That's like divorcing your rich, nympho, super model wife to marry the fat chick with three kids from the trailer park !!

Muscle cars are a great investment. Good rule of thumb: Anything with a big-block and or a 4-speed, covertibles with a big-block, highly optioned or highly deleted equipment, most any performance car from the '70 model year.

427grips

More info on the car>>>>>

it now has a new 502 engine and is an automatic. It's real nice and has been repainted and restored over 4 years ago.

Raj

creaturecat

holy gas guzzler- remember (having owned one) these things don't exactly handle like a Porsche. what is the price tag? (obviously the numbers do not match on the engine).If everything checks out it may very well be a reasonable investment - driving it - other than on the dragstrip - does not even compare to the P car( in terms of refinement).

emac

Raj
I was a kid of 19 at the time and Im now 55. Trust when I say I kicked myself in the *** many times through out the years. I am looking at a 69 roadrunner (383)

jet911

Yep, I was kid then as well (53 now) and holy moly, if I only had kept a couple of the cars I owned over those next 5 years (Austin Healy 100-6, two MGAs one was a 60 twin cam, a 70 Chevelle SS with a 396, and a new 73 Opel GT). One of my buds in '68 at a new Camaro SS with a 327, putting out something like 350 hp for about $3500. Man those were the days and those cars were fun.

However, the best all around car I have ever owned is my current '86 coupe. Learned my lesson - will keep her forever unless I upgrade to a 997 when they get to be ten years old....

Tough decision - good luck!

Edward

One is rare and one isn't. If the numbers and do dads are right on the Chevelle, the answer is simple if your passions sway in that direction. Besides, if the love ever wanes, you can get a greater percentage of your initial cost back given the car's exclusivity (again, only if the car is "correct"). OTOH, if you are truly not the musclecar aficianado, then this may be a very brief affair. Realize that you could end up hating the car if it's not in your blood. Also consider how much you have invested (dollar and sweat) into the Carrera. 1989 is a great car, kind of a "period marker," and if you perceive you'll miss it a lot, I wouldn't go there. Ahhh decisions decisions...

Edward

theasphaltgambler

Don't buy this car. If it does not have the OE basic driveline, stay away. You can find this type of muscle car all day long. we even have a few on the lot. What makes them (muscle cars) special is the OE package intact. There were less than @4500 454 equiped cars in '70. Of that number less than half were the ground-pounding LS-6.

If you want to get into muscle cars, and trade your 911 to get there make sure you are buying the real deal. Cars are easy to find. Good, unmolested, original cars are rare.

Dan Cobb

WAIT! Think about this.
I lost my '74 911 to an unfortunate accident in Dec. of 99. In Feb of 00 I bought a 66 Malibu convertible. I loved the car, the HP, the folding top, etc. I got "thumbsups" in it nearly every time I drove it and it was my daily driver for most of 5 years.
It was a pain in the *** to work on because many of the parts were now discontinued or hard to find OEM. This meant either scouring the swap meets and eBay, fixing/modifying them myself, buying an ill-fitting aftermarket part, or simply doing without.
I did somehting to almost every part of the car over the past 5 years, spending nearly $6K for upgraded brakes, electrical, exhaust, interior, engine components (external) and misc. trim etc.
I sold the car in far better condition than when i bought it for $1000 more than I paid for it.
Overall, not a great investment but certainly a fun car to drive.
I was active on the Chevelle list for nearly the entire time I owned the car and there are certainly no shortage of followers, information, etc.
I never got a ticket in the car and I drove it hard (I won't elaborate unless prompted).
for many reasons I recently sold it.
1- I was tired of always smelling like gas (either from working on it or filling the tank!)
2- I was not interested in the effort required to prevent rust from overtaking the car.
3- I was tired of the roof, windshield, doors, trunk, and windows leaking everytime I washed it or it rained (driven or not!).
4- I missed the 911 as if it were a severed limb.
5- Did I mention the incredible gas mileage that a 400HP small block Chevy gets?

Keep the Porsche, or I suspect that someday you might wish you had.
+++

427grips

Thank you for the help and your perspectives.

Raj

theasphaltgambler

Really what you should do is A) Keep the P-car. B) Take a second trust on your home, spouse, or kids and buy an original #3 condition '70 454 and then enjoy both your "investments" !!