5 Great Ways

I’ve seen a lot of articles lately about how to attract younger people to the hobby. Most folks seem to be concerned with young kids, and how to turn them on to older cars. I don’t think that’s the right place to shop for future hobbyists. I think the young people the hobby really needs are the guys like me who are in their mid-30s, have some disposable income and some free time (ha!), and are looking for something to do other than watch TV and coach soccer games with their kids. I can’t wait to finish my car and get busy enjoying the hobby, and I’ll wager that I’m going to be among the youngest guys in the group anywhere I go. I'd like that to change.

There have also been hundreds of articles written about cheap “hobby” cars you can buy for next-to-nothing. Sure, who doesn’t want a Dodge Dart with a slant-6 or a Gremlin? I have a problem with cheap for the sake of cheap—we aren’t going to attract younger hobbyists with crappy cars, no matter how cheap or "interesting" they may be. This hobby is about passion. A Ford Maverick, even in "Grabber Green," definitely isn’t passion on wheels.

I have a friend at work who knows quite a bit about old cars, is very fond of Packards, and dreams of owning a big, powerful pre-war car someday. I’ve bounced a lot of ideas off of him, because I really want an old car buddy to hang with. He inspired this editorial. I hope that by the time my Buick is finished, Joe will have his first old car, too and we can enjoy them together.

So, with all this in mind, I’ve compiled my own list of really awesome ways of getting into this hobby for not a lot of cash. I used five simple criteria in making my selections:

With these criteria, I thought it would be easy to find 10 cars and make a typical Top-10 list. Guess again. The gap between garden-variety cars and 6-figure Classics is pretty wide, populated by a lot of really ordinary cars, some oddballs, and only a tiny handful of really cool, accessible, desirable cars. Ultimately, I settled on a Top-5 list, with an honorable mention at the end. I’ve also included some classified ads I’ve located on the Internet, just to prove that these are legitimate options and not pie-in-the-sky dream cars (you can easily find all these ads yourself if you're interested in buying one of them).

So without further ado and in no particular order, here are my choices for 5 great pre-war drivers that are reliable, powerful and don’t require a huge pile of scratch:

1935-1939 Packard 120. A “junior” Packard is still a Packard. And the 120 has everything the V12s have, just in smaller quantities. Same Packard workmanship, same traditional Packard styling (including the distinctive Packard grille), and the same great driving experience. The 110 and 115 series had 6-cylinders that worked just fine, but the 120s were still straight-8s with 110 horsepower, and that makes all the difference. You’re not going to get a convertible for under $30K, but you can easily get a great-looking business coupe with sidemounts or a roomy, comfortable 4-door sedan for your growing family to enjoy with you.

PACKARD: 1937 120C sedan, older restoration, recent engine overhaul, www, very solid, good driver, needs minor cosmetics to show, $18,900. 540-xxx-xxxx, VA.

1938-1941 Cadillac “60 Special.” Now this is a great looking car. When it hit the streets in 1938, it was dramatically different from the rest of GM’s sedan line-up, with restrained chrome, sleek body lines and beautiful interiors. Some 60 Specials were even outfitted as mini limousines, complete with roll-up divider windows (quite rare). The ubiquitous 346 cubic-inch Cadillac flathead V8 is virtually indestructible and provides adequate umph! to keep the 60 Special cruising comfortably at modern highway speeds. 1941 and later models are available with fully automatic Hydra-Matic transmissions to make them even friendlier to newcomers not familiar with “3-on-the-tree” shifting.

CADILLAC: 1938 60 Special 4-door sedan, 95% restored, $20,000 or best offer. 203-xxx-xxxx, CT

1936-1942 Buick 90 Series. Pound for pound, you probably can’t buy more car for your buck than a big Buick. The 90 Series Buicks are massive, beautifully built and finished cars that actually move down the road pretty well. They’re also full Classics recognized by the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA), which affords them some exclusive status in some circles. The 320 cubic-inch Buick straight-8 makes good power and great torque, moving these behemoths without tripping over itself. The 1937-38 Limiteds are probably the most valuable of the bunch, but nice ’41 Limiteds can be had for chump change and be great touring cars capable of hauling an entire little league team out to Dairy Queen after the game.

BUICK: 1940 90 Limited 8-pass sedan, older restoration, good tour car, runs well. $17,500 Contact: 970-xxx-xxxx, xxxxxxx@mesanetworks.net, CO

1936-1942 Lincoln Zephyr. This was a borderline car because they’re appreciating rapidly every year, especially now that the hot-rodders have caught on to the trick art-deco shape of the Zephyr. Coupes are already pushing past my arbitrary $25,000 limit, but there are some still out there in drivable condition. This is also the only car on my list that’s not an 8-cylinder. It’s a V12! Twelve cylinders puts you in some pretty elite company in terms of pre-war cars. The early Zephyrs are beautifully detailed and have a unique shape unlike anything else of the era. Edsel Ford broke out of Lincoln’s traditional (and stodgy) styling with the Zephyr, perhaps only surpassed by the ill-fated Chrysler/DeSoto Airflows for audacity and brilliant design. Many of the parts on the V12 are similar to those used on the Ford flathead, so replacements are relatively easy to find. The Lincoln Zephyr Owner’s Club is one of the best, too!

LINCOLN: 1938 Zephyr 4-dr sedan, an amazing unrestored original example in show condition, this low mileage beauty runs and drives very well, 3 owner history from new, priced fairly at $24,900 obo; transportation arranged. Gary, 503-xxx-xxxx, OR; or xxxxxx@msn.com

1930-1942 Studebaker Commander Eight. As I was compiling this list, I noticed that all the cars on it skewed towards the late ‘30s. In desperation, I searched high and low to include some even older vehicles to give newcomers an idea of what is out there. However, the older the car is, the rarer it becomes, the more difficult parts become to locate and prices go up. Many affordable early-30s cars are usually powered by lowly 4- or 6-cylinder engines, disqualifying them from my list. But the Studebaker Commander Eight fits the bill perfectly. Reasonably powerful, not extremely rare and still affordable. The Studebaker name may scare off newcomers, however, which is why it didn’t make the Top-5 list. But in the ‘30s, Studebaker built some really cool cars that looked amazing, especially the Land Cruiser shown below. It wasn’t until much later that they became the butt of jokes for their peculiar styling. In doing research for this article, I found out a lot about Studebaker that I didn’t know, and I was more than a little impressed. In fact, some Studebaker Presidents are full Classics. No wonder they’re so beloved by their owners.

1941 STUDEBAKER Commander, all original, fully restored, Senior award at the National Meet in Hershey, PA, in family since 1946, engine rebuilt, I would like someone to have this car that can appreciate it for the classic that it is, $25,000, negotiable. 717-xxx-xxxx, PA.

See? Getting into the hobby is neither expensive nor must you settle for an average car. Go get something amazing and start enjoying this, the most enjoyable hobby in the world. Encourage your friends (and even your enemies) to look at this list and imagine themselves hammering down the road in one of these impressive machines on a cool fall day. I guarantee nobody will regret owning any of them.

(And thanks to all of you dropping your change in the tip cup and shopping at Eastwood! It definitely makes a difference. In fact, I just got my first check from Eastwood. Though it probably wouldn't even buy me a tank of gas in the Buick, every little bit helps. Thank you!)

Five Really Great Ways to Break Into the Old Car Hobby