Is your 4eye a classic?

[Anonymous]

I realize my 85 is not a 66 fastback blahblahblahblah.........

But its mine (all mine), and it runs great and is a great 10ftr for a 20yr old unrestored car thats been in michigan all its life.

I'm just getting sick of people (and mostly people that don't have any kind of older vehicle) dissing my car, because it doesn't fit their mold of what a classic should be. Exactly how many 20yr old anythings do you see on the road nowadays let alone one thats as clean as mine, and is used as a daily driver 7mths a year?

end rant.

On a lighter note - My wife and I are going to paint it up with the standard "class of 85" stuff for our 20yr highschool reunion this summer.

[sleepercoupe]

I know! People will realize soon enough that these cars are awesome and start wanting them. My car just qualified for a Classic License plate here in OK at 26 years old. Haha

[Clarko]

I think the Four-eyes are classics, too. They have sealed beams and most have carbs still. Who says it has to bea 65-73 to be a classic. Hell, I own a 65 and an 82 and I spend more time on this board than anything for the old one. A 65 was a classic in 85, wasn't it?

[Capri50]

this was discussed a little while ago. Some people will not recognize any 80's car as a classic, ever. To them, it is 60's and 70's only that hold that title.

maybe we are biased towards mustangs, but I would have a hard time ever calling any 80's camaro a 'classic'. It just didn't have the following that the Mustang/Capri crowd has. I would however, bestow that title on any of the Buick GN's or T-Types though since these were amazing vehicles for their time and still have a huge follow today considering it's been 18 years since the last one was available.

in pa, my 84 is tagged collectible for modified vehicles, and classic for the 86 convert. neither is subject to emissions, only safety inspection and special insurance rates with agreed value which is nice.

[tillman86]

In my opinion if its an 302 Mustang 84-86. Classic and what makes the Grand-nationals so unique. So, what they have turbos. I would not have one. Most are dogged out now days. Don't get me wrong in the 80's I was a kid and I just wanted one of those things so much. But, a dude name Steve in my neighborhood was the mustang king him and his bro and man did they have them things hot. I think as kid we worshiped those guys. I would just stop my bike to hear those pipes. any way. Ride on Pony ride on.... ;)

[85saleencoupe]

in pa, my 84 is tagged collectible for modified vehicles, and classic for the 86 convert. neither is subject to emissions, only safety inspection and special insurance rates with agreed value which is nice.[/quote]

thats sweet man i can get collector plates for mine but only if its original i cant get any kind of collector plate here in wi for a modded car,if i could fit a stock hood on i would do that and rip the wing off but still the cops know when a lumpy loud sounding car with collecter plates isnt right.

[Capri50]

it's interesting in PA.

The rules for Classic plate are 15 years out of production, fully original, no changes from factory. I had to send in 1/2 dozen photos to the state of the 86 to prove it's stock.

Then there is 'collectible vehicle' plate. These used to be easier to get, but they tightened the strings on this plate. It's basically a car that is 'highly modified in the drivetrain area'. That is a direct quote from the PA form. I had to send in a ton of photos, receipts, explaining the EFI conversion/Blower install, etc. You also have to get a PA Certified Mechanic to sign off that the car is 'highly modified'.

You get all the benefits of the classic, no emissions, classic agreed value insurance rates, etc.

bad part is, not all local cops know about this state issued plate. I got pulled over from a cruise night last year, and the cop thought it was a FAKE. Imagine that. Same cop that tried to give me a ticket for the rollbar and 5 point safety harness. He must have been a chevy lover.

[RichV]

They are getting there. I could't care less. But the values of the cars are slowly rising, faster on the rarer/performance models. Just like the trend for the 60s-70s stuff. Notice now that people are restoring and resto-modding 70-79 cars of all makes. They are cheap and plentyful. The Fox mustang is already 4 bodystyles old. Mine get constant looks and plenty of compliments.

Just a matter of time.

[75coug]

I feel your pain. None of my friends are car guys, and they tell me frequently that my various 1980s cars are noisy, rattling hunks of junk. I just remind them they they don't understand my interest in these cars any more than I can perceive how they can stand to drive five year old Camrys every day of their lives.

[ethangsmith]

Look at it this way- our cars still follow "old" ways of construction. They are for the most part carburetted. They have non-computer controlled transmissions. They use A LOT of metal in the construction. All the glass in the car is still butyl taped in. The cars use conventional light bulbs and square sealed-beam headlights. There is minimal use of aluminum on our cars. All steel and cast iron.

Understandibly the cars of the 50s to the 70s are the stereotypical "classic cars" I believe that ours will too be classics. Even the 4 and 6 cylinder cars.

[s8filmaker]

Good discussion here...a good point is to be sure you are doing it for yourself since we all know the 4 eyes are the bridesmaids compared tothe later late 80's and 90s stangs...

As for others, I have to tell you, my 1980 Camaro Z28 was the best handling car I ever had...it was a real drivers car...and very very comfortable on the road. I miss that car a lot. I then fell in love with the early 80's 4-eyed camaros...still one of the best looking cars out there. Unfortunately, 99% on the road are from the wrong part of town and beat to heck...sure wish I saw more examples of clean ones...the best sight EVER was two BRAND NEW convertible 4-eyed camaros driving around in North Van. THey were red and look awesome. Later Camaros paled by comparison.

The Grand National with the Hurst badge is also a real keeper. Another 4eyed car too. I think you get my trend...I just love all quad headlight cars for the most part...and of course, the mustang is tops in my book too.

Hey, my 20th is this year too...hope they get it together!

And yes, it is a kick driving my stang on the road as an example to others that it is possible.

Of course, here in California, the state has an stated agenda to only have people drive NEW cars. Yes, it is in fact a matter of GOVERNMENT POLICY to get all Californians into NEW cars...hence the crushing programs, the 1000 minimum price paid on cars that fail smog, etc. All in an attempt to get us into computer controlled devices that will not last due to planned obsolescence...that's a shame. You guys are lucky out east with those special plate programs. They would not see the light of day here in "old cars are smog makers" crazy land. That's a shame.

later,
mike

[LTDScott]

I think a lot of it is that cars up to the 1970s were not expected to last more than 10 years or 100,000 miles before going to the crusher. So to see an pre-80s car on the road today is a rarity, and shows that the car has probably been taken care of.

I think starting in the 80s, cars started lasting longer due to advances in technology, so seeing an 80s car on the road isn't such a big thing. Because of this, I think a lot of people can't see any 80s car as a classic. That will probably change in another 20 years, though. Hemmings Motor News has a list of sleeper collectibles (future collectibles) every year and 80s cars have increasingly been showing up on the list.

Low production 80s cars such as the turbo GMs (Buick/Trans Am), Shelby Dodges, SVO Stangs, etc. will probably be considered classics by most people before "common" cars like the 4-eye Stangs because of their rarity.

But rarity doesn't always mean popularity. My LTD LX is one of 3260 built from mid 84 to 85, but there is only a small fan base for these cars. So hardly any people have heard of them, let alone would call them classics.

[anthonydalrymple]

It really doesn't matter to me personally if my car ever is considered a classic or not. I think as long as YOU are a proud owner, consider it a timeless classic, & enjoy it.... It is exactly that!

[twister]

My 86 here in CA gets 2 looks...one is from people like us, that look at what it is and what has been done (at least that is growing) and the other look at me wondering why the hell a guy in a designer suit is driving an old car. People that know me now why I drive it, it does thing that new cars cant, and it actually fits my personality, modern yet old fashioned, more up to date than it should be and flashy while being subtle.

As for the plate thing, I will NOT give up the black plate on my 57 or the blue plate on the 86

I am absolutely convinced that the FOXes are going to turn into the 55-57 Chevy of the 80's-90's, I show up to car shows, and classic guys understand it, and modern car guys get it too, it is almost the melting pot of cars, and as more guys realize that, the more it is kool. Four Eyed Pride is one of TWO sites that I can think of that even has a section dedicated to these cars (mine is the other, but no where near as successful). As the children of the 70's-80's grow older, and remember how cool the cars that we grew up on and we remember in the back of our heads, the ones that we got second hand to drive in high school.... It is really a matter of time, just like the second generation Camaro's and Firebirds got popular 10 years ago.... It will happen, and we are the forerunners of this soon to be trend. We have already seen low mileage original four eyes going for the price of a classic coupe (fully restored). The quality of cars that half of us own show what can be done with them, and the other half of us want to do the same thing to their cars. I am willing to bet that prices will rise, 50Resto will have a larger catalog, and we will get more respect soon.

[f4fntm]

this was discussed a little while ago.
This topic has been gone over a half-dozen times in the past year or so. I'm gonna start copying and pasting my usual comments... ;)