Which $5,000-or-Less Car From the 1970s Would You Choose for Your Dream Garage?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Me? The Pacer wagon, totally.

Which $5,000-or-Less Car From the 1970s Would You Choose for Your Dream Garage?

By Matt Litwin on Nov 24th, 2021 at 9:00 am

It's time once again to window shop for your dream garage, and once again our selections will put those basic mechanical skills to good use and keep a decent piece of our automotive past on the road and in daily service. Check out the latest edition of This or That, where we're presenting four Driveable Dreams (a feature title borrowed from Hemmings Classic Car) produced during the 1970s, each with an asking price under $5,000 and currently available in the Hemmings classifieds. We suspect a few of our dedicated commentators will consider turning one or two of these steeds into sleepers along the way, or perhaps follow the path of our Road to Improvement program. Opportunity is knocking!

{snip}

[House of Roberts]

1. It would have to be $6000 or less.

I'd have an original 1970 Porsche 914-6.

[doc03]

2. Two VW Beatles. nt

[Haggard Celine]

3. I'd pick the Cougar.

I like big cars and like Mercurys. I've had a few Grand Marquis, and they were good cars. If I bought the car, it would be a daily driver, and the Cougar would be much easier to find parts for. I'm really impressed with the one shown. It's kind of an ugly color, but that was kind of common back then. I'm tempted to look them up and go get it.

[Sherman A1]

4. My Plymouth Duster

I believe it was a 1974 Jet Black with white stripes running the length of the body on each side.

[Walleye]

15. We had a purple Duster

[LakeArenal]

5. 1960's Corvair convertible. Turbo with AC

Started at about $2600 up.

PS Screw Ralph Nader.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

7. It does say 70's car :) but nice choice (nt)

[LakeArenal]

11. I thought that. But 1960s car were still available in 70s

Used it would have been under $5000.

[LakeArenal]

12. I did have a 1970s Olds 442. But it was more than $5000

[patphil]

8. My sister had a 1964 Corvair Monza coupe.

It had the 4 speed transmission, and was a heck of a lot of fun to drive.
It was an excellent handling car that demanded a bit more from the driver than the typical front engine/rear drive car.
It's definitely high on my list of favorite cars from that era.

[cloudbase]

6. Chevy C-10 pickup.

Straight 6, manual transmission.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

9. Preferably a 1970 Chevelle, but I'd settle for a 1970 Firebird or Camaro ...

A Challenger or Mustang would do nicely as well

[rsdsharp]

18. We had a '69 with a 307. They didn't offer it in a 327,

and my mother thought a 350 V8 was too much for her. God, I hated the positraction on ice. Touch the brakes and the car would just dive to the right.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

21. LS5 or LS6 :thumbsup: n/t

[SarasotaDem]

10. 1974 23 window VW bus

[sanatanadharma]

14. Oh, yah! That is nice looking

In college I took advantage of a VW dealer offer and skipped classes to drive a new VW type 2 around for full day.
Later I owned an older 23-windowed model with sunroof. It never looked this good.

MY 1969 Toyota Corolla was $1888 and got me through the gas crisis of the early '70s.

Both took me beyond many a state border.

[bahboo]

19. that is a beauty!

[Best_man23]

25. These command serious $$$ at auction

A 23 Window Alpine in A+ condition can easily fetch six figures at auction.

[DURHAM D]

13. 1973 Levi Gremlin. nt

[Retired Engineer Bob]

22. My dad had a school bus yellow Gremlin-X with the Levi seats

Not his car, but close



Not trying to be mean, but the car was a POS in my opinion. Horrible handling and underpowered, 28 mpg. He sold it at 75,000 miles to my brother, poor Hank. Issues when sold:

Rust, especially wheel wells. When it rained water would spray up through holes in the front fender.

Levi seats, especially the drivers was torn due to wear.

Dad’s replacement car, a Chevy Citation was a big improvement.

When I hear folks say “they don’t make cars like they used to”, I say thank goodness.

[DURHAM D]

23. I had no problems with my Gremlin.

Sold it to my brother for his son to drive. He put about 50K on it and then my brother sold it to my sister for her daughter to drive. The daughter put another 30K on it but then it was stolen. The thief ran it down into a ditch and abandoned it. The insurance company totaled it and paid up.

When I found out I tried to buy it for salvage. Unfortunately it was too late. They sold the seats, that were in perfect condition, for more than the insurance value.

To this day my entire family is still looking for a 1973 Levi Gremlin to buy.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

24. Sorry, POS was too strong

The Gremlin did serve its purpose as a transportation appliance. My brother did put another 50k miles on it, and his price was right. All cars of the period had rust issues. Personally, it would not be my cup of tea, but to each his own.

I poked around the net looking for a used model, did not find anything. Good luck on your search.

[FoxNewsSucks]

16. Probably the Cougar

although the Pacer V8 would be fun also.

I also always liked the Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon, with the V6

[Auggie]

17. This one:

Opel GT. It's not on the list but it was one heck of a car. So fun to drive. Mine was white.

[MichMan]

20. The Hemmings story was referring to 70s cars that are currently valued at under $5000

Not those that sold for under $5000 when they were new

[Best_man23]

26. I would take the Pacer Wagon

Then do a complete restomod on it (new paint, interior) and then drop in the Eluminator electric powerplant from Ford Performance.



The Pacer wagon would be lean, mean, and green!