Collectible Classic

Member's, which one would you like to have/own/drive ?
Read about our favorite classic cars. We'll tell you what cars to look for, why they are collectible now, and what to pay for these gems.







Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1981-1983 Chrysler Imperial

The Chairman’s chariot (deep) piles it on.
By Bob Merlis
| Aug 14, 2014

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1952-1955 Bentley R-type Sedan

Timeless elegance.
By Rusty Blackwell
| Jun 12, 2014

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1972-1976 Lincoln Continental Mark IV

Low, long, and - lovely?
By Joe Lorio
| May 19, 2014

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1991-2005 Acura NSX

Still desirable, still very drivable.
By Greg Migliore
| Mar 31, 2014

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1956-1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Sex appeal trumps speed
By Christopher Nelson
| Jan 22, 2014

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1955-1957 Chevrolet Nomad

The bow tie's Shooting brake
By Todd Lassa
| Dec 27, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1986-1995 Suzuki Samurai

Once maligned but landing on its feet.
By Ezra Dyer
| Nov 21, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1953-1962 Triumph TR2/ TR3

A classic British roadster from the heart of the era.
By Joe Lorio
| Oct 30, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1956-1960 Mercedes-Benz 220S/220SE

A personal luxury two-door with earthy roots.
By Michael Jordan
| Oct 11, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1966-1977 Ford Bronco

When SUVs were cool.
By David Zenlea
| Oct 03, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1990-1992 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

Lightweight, four-cylinder, sport sedan fun.
By Ezra Dyer
| Aug 01, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1968-1972 Buick Gran Sport

In the late 1960s, Buick had a reputation -- not unlike the one it's battling today -- as a maker of pleasant cars for dull people.
By Jake Holmes
| Jul 12, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1945-1953 ****** Jeep CJ-2A/3A

Finding work after the war.
By Rusty Blackwell
| Jun 07, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1970-1972 Honda 600

Start small.
By Bob Merlis
| May 10, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1936-1937 Cord 810/812

The timeless front-runner.
By Rusty Blackwell
| Apr 09, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1959 Edsel Corsair

If looks could kill.
By Eric Tingwall
| Mar 01, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1987-1991 Volvo 780

An unlikely combination.
By Bob Merlis
| Feb 26, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1963-1966 Studebaker Lark Wagonaire

A novel sliding roof couldn't stop Studebaker's slide.
By Evan McCausland
| Jan 31, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1963-1971 Mercedes-Benz SL

So lovely.
By Joe Lorio
| Jan 18, 2013

View Photo Gallery




Collectible Classic Collectible Classic: 1961-1963 Lincoln Continental

The car that put Lincoln on a path to glory
By Joe DeMatio
| Nov 01, 2012

View Photo Gallery

 

#1 would be a '55 Nomad (owned at one time) and a close second is the Buick GS. There are others listed that are more desirable to the serious collector, but the iron in my blood is pure GM.

 

Hi `Mike,
Thanks for being the first to post on this thread. You have great taste in automotive rolling `art. I bet you wish you still had your Nomad ? I'd just put on a surf rack (lol)...I love them.

Collectible Classic: 1955-1957 Chevrolet Nomad







Nineteen fifty-five was more to Chevrolet than the model year of its groundbreaking small-block V-8. It marked Chevy's transformation from a mere Ford/Plymouth competitor to a brand that offered a touch of Cadillac glamour for "low-priced three" money. With two-tone interior treatments added the prior year, the '55s got elegant styling with an egg-crate grille, a nicer interior, and its first optional air-conditioning.





See all 21 photos

General Motors showed a Corvette-based Nomad in January 1954 that retained the production sports car's bullet taillamps and distinctive rear fenders but with the greenhouse of a sleek two-door wagon and a raked tailgate with vertical chrome strakes. Render the top and tailgate in steel, enlarge it, and you have the production 1955 Chevy Nomad, based on the Bel Air. With American wood-bodied wagons a quickly fading memory, the Chevrolet division "decided to make the Nomad a last-minute addition to the '55 passenger-car line," says Consumer Guide's book, Chevrolet Chronicle.
The Bel Air was Chevy's nicest family car for '55, adding carpeting, extra chrome, and richer interior fabrics to a lineup also consisting of the One-Fifty and Two-Ten models. The Nomad was Chevy's most expensive model aside from the Corvette; at $2571 for the V-8, the Nomad's base price was $210 higher than a four-door Bel Air Beauville wagon and $266 more than the convertible. Among GM divisions, only Pontiac shared the raked two-door-wagon body style. Its $2962 Star Chief Custom Safari had a wheelbase seven inches longer than the Nomad's 115 inches. Both the Nomad and the Safari were built for three model years in this form.









See all 21 photos

Luke and Kathy Miller bought this India-ivory-and-regal-turquoise 1955 Nomad for $100 from Jake's Junkyard in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in 1968. Although the first brand-new car Luke could remember was his parents' '55 Chevy Two-Ten, his father, a United Methodist minister, asked, "What do you want that piece of scrap iron for?"
"The car was a daily driver for the first couple of years," Luke says, but not during the harsh winters. They joined the nascent National Nomad Club in the early '70s, becoming the 250th out of an eventual 2500 members, and drove their car to Colorado Springs in 1971 for the first club convention.
"It had a lot of work done at Washington High School [in Milwaukee]," Luke says, including a few engine and transmission swaps. He taught shop there and later at another Milwaukee school, Pulaski High. Luke retired in 2009, although he still teaches driver's ed.









See all 21 photos

"It's been part of our family since before we had children," says Kathy. The kids learned U.S. geography better from going to annual Nomad meets than from attending school, she asserts, showing off photos of her daughter, Jenni, aged fourteen months, sitting in the wagon in 1971, and Jenni's daughter, Avery, aged thirteen months, in the car in 2006.
The Millers' biggest cross-country challenge came when the car was twenty-seven years old, when they took their two kids and one of Luke's students to the annual summer meeting, this one in Sacramento. An original-spec 265-cubic-inch V-8 appeared unreliable, so at the last minute, Luke swapped in a 350 small-block from a '68 Camaro.
"We started about 8:30 a.m. and by 8 p.m., we had the engine back together," Luke says.
The Millers' ownership survived the demise of the National Nomad Club in 1988, moving on to the Chevrolet Nomad Association. They've also built up a small scuderia that includes a '56 Pontiac Safari.









See all 21 photos

The Chevy feels tall and narrow from behind the wheel, its jet/bird chrome hood ornament leading the way. With thin A-pillars and laminated rear side windows that slide open about eight inches, visibility is excellent. The 350 V-8 is strong and the clutch is light and progressive. A column-shifted three-speed manual with overdrive replaced the Hurst three-speed floor shifter that Luke swapped in for the car's original Powerglide automatic in the late '60s. The turquoise and cream waffle interior pattern (shared with '56 and '57 Corvettes) is like a Technicolor wonder, bright and optimistic. The car's manual steering is perfectly fine on these skinny tires, even with inches of play transmitted through the huge steering wheel. Mechanical drum brakes demand driver diligence. Rear-seat entry is tight, and there are no armrests. It feels taller than the front seat, "auditorium" style like many modern SUVs. Although it's comfortable, the back bench feels like an occasional seat, all the better to fold down and make room for surfboards.
The car looks and drives like new; a Wisconsin shop completed a frame-off restoration in 2012. This followed a generous inheritance from Luke's father.
"So the restoration for that old piece of scrap iron," Kathy says, "that's his money."
The Specs
Engines
3.9L (235 cu in) OHV I-6, 123–140 hp, 207–210 lb-ft
4.3L (265 cu in) OHV V-8, 162–225 hp, 257–270 lb-ft
4.6L (283 cu in) OHV V-8, 185–283 hp, 275–305 lb-ft
Transmissions
3-speed manual with optional overdrive
2-speed automatic
Drive Rear-wheel
Front suspension Control arms, coil springs
Rear suspension Live axle, leaf springs
Brakes Drums
Weight 3270-3470 lb
The Info
Years produced 1955–57
Number produced 22,375, including 8386 '55s, 7886 '56s, and 6103 '57s.
Original price $2571 (1955, V-8) Value today
$45,000–$60,000, but add at least $10,000 for Nomads originally fitted with higher-horsepower engines, of which there are many. Six-cylinder engines reduce values by about fifteen percent. The 283-hp, Corvette-engine, fuel-injected 1957 model can top $100,000.
Why Buy?
More so than the two-door hardtop and convertible, more than the '56–'57 four-door hardtop, the Nomad wagon embodies Chevrolet's transcendence from its place among "the low-priced three." The Nomad is the coolest of the tri-fives, a surfer's car from new and the most rare.

 

I think we all know what Classic Car I would choose

 

Hi `Mike,
I thought of your Camaro above when I posted this thread...
Yes, you are a lucky man that works hard to have & keep your many super automotive vehicles... Thanks for sharing for member's to enjoy the beauty of your Camaro!
=======================================

The Camaro was Chevrolet's ultimate answer toFord’s wildly successful Mustang, which debuted in 1964. The Mustang led the charge for a whole field of “pony cars”—reasonably priced and highly stylized compact cars with “muscle car” high-performance engines. Chevy’s first pony car, the Corvair, released for model year 1965, didn’t make a dent. But the Camaro, released for model year 1967, had legs.
This zippy pony car, employing GM’s new F-body platform, was offered in a wide variety of six-cylinder and V-8 engines and as a convertible, and it quickly sold 220,000 units in a year. In a few short years, the Camaro overtook the Mustang as the sales leader.
Ironically, early Camaros were based on the less-exciting Chevy Nova body, chassis, and mechanical package. GM’s innovative design chief Bill Mitchell grumbled that he never cared for the first generation, saying they were “no damn good—too many people involved.”
Still, Mitchell gave the top-line late 1960s Camaros, which came with a powerful Z28 engine and suspension package, elegant curving fenders and a duck-tail rear spoiler. More than 96,000 Camaro SS (Super Sport) and more than 143,000 Camaro RS (Rallye Sport) models were made for the first generation, and they are among the most collectible cars today.
For the car's second generation, Mitchell got to design a Camaro to his exacting standards. Debuting mid-way through model year 1970, this Camaro was only released as a coupe, with a lean, curvaceous “Coke bottle” body and a dedicated chassis with monocoque construction. (GM’s Pontiac division produced a clone named the Firebird that had a different engine and front end.)
While even the Z28s were less powerful than the early '60s models, these second-generation Camaros was seen as perfection: The body remained unaltered—other than changes to the nose to meet new safety regulations—for 11 years, and GM sold nearly 2 million of them.
The third generation of Camaros arrived in 1982 with an updated hatchback body and fuel-injection. This angular and very American four-seater sports coupe was almost 500 pounds l...
▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Vintage Chevrolet Camaro Cars - Collector Information | Collectors Weekly

Click above link to view (Ebay links + lots more

 

 

With a 427, Muncie 4 speed and only 361 miles I wonder if that is a variation of the COPO. If it is a COPO $32K is no where near the value of that Camaro.

 

I like the Classic Car my Dad gave me.. 1969 Corvette...

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zjerry

I like the Classic Car my Dad gave me.. 1969 Corvette...

Hi Jerry,
Thanks for posting It's great seeing you online.
I never get tired of seeing your above pictures of your 69 Corvette that you got from your father...

How often do you drive it ?

Thanks for all your contributions & help on the MCF.

 

Hi `Mike, it does seem to good 2 `be true.
Don't shoot the messenger
They do have some nice Camaro's on that link...

Thanks for your post & comments