Seeing as i'm a look ahead/big picture type guy, and am too cheap to waste money, i've been chewing on this one for a couple years now. I'm at a point where i could just sell my 70 Challenger plus all the amassed parts i've collected for it for enough to make a big dent in a new car purchase, and make up the difference. So yeah... i've been doing a lot ov thinking. So far the 70 is still sitting untouched, ready to get built... or sell.
Thing is... just like building a car, buying a car can give you an acute case ov the 'might as wells' too. Assuming i DONT want forced-induction (i dont)... The top new car pick (that i can theoretically afford)? used Boss 302 Mustang. I'm seeing them less than 30K already. But... if no-BS speed (road car) is my goal, then why not look around? For the same coin i can get into a 2000 Cobra R (okay, maybe i just like Mustangs), arguably on the same level as the Boss. For a few K more... a WAY faster car... a 2006-up Z06 Vette... with the 505HP 7-liter LS. Not not NOT a Chevy guy... but that is a LOT ov speed and well... everything... for 40K. Maybe i save up a few more months (as the price comes down). Or... i could buy an already 90% built 96-01 4.6 4V Cobra... full suspension, built engine, built everything... and save a pile ov dough for likely far more speed than the Boss. Hell... i could just buy a nice 99 Cobra for 10K, sink 20K into it and do battle with that Boss and have a simpler car, WITH all the new car tricks, and without a lot ov the very-new car BS i dont like. Hell, a few months ago i saw a HIGHLY modified ZR1 Vette (95) that would roast a NEW Zr1 like a dumptruck... still less than the new Boss.
(maybe someone here could tell i'm a BIG fan ov N/A DOHC V8's...)
Or... i could put 30K into my 70. But as others have said, when shooting for these levels... you dont get much for 30K... and i mean when all is said and done. Sure, you get the fun parts, all bolted up, but the real drivers/builders here know it goes a LOT further than that. Mitch might not have the most technically stunning car here, but its bloody sorted... and i bet it cost a biiiiiit more than say, 25K in parts, labor and such to get there. Thats assuming you can still get a decent E-body for 5K, which you can. Even going with certain 'kits' dont detail many hidden costs, and even after tacking on those hidden items, and driving it you start to notice other very weak points in the whole... and yeah... it adds up.
I think i have a better chance ov pulling off the old car vs new car win here than most... simply because i am less willing to compromise. One thing that can definitely be said about Moparts is that people here looooove their comfort, and their polishers... and that will suck up a LOT ov that budget. My car wont be getting painted, and it wont be getting AC, stereo (whats the point?), rear seats, power anything. My car is light... simple as a rock in a bucket, a solid starting point, and in my opinion, as close to perfect for this endeavor as possible without being a 70 Barracuda instead (2" shorter, maybe 50lbs lighter... i'll deal).
I'm still heavily leaning towards the 70, but seeing as i have to drive it every day as well (have no use for a 'weekend' car) it cant get 15MPG. I'd rather it didn't even stop at 20. So i'm at odds now with what to use for an engine, and i hate to admit so far most ov my math ends up pointing in blasphemous directions...
