Well, I tried to pick nice sensible cars all this week. The trouble is, that’s just not in my nature. I love weird cars and old cars and unpopular cars, and I just can’t bear to look at another ad for something entirely practical. So I’ve found two very cool older cars that both run and drive well, so in theory you could actually use them as transportation. Is that cheating? I don’t care.
Yesterday’s hatchbacks generated more comments, and more votes, than I’ve seen in a long time. I guess you liked them. The Honda Fit in particular seemed to have a lot of fans in the comments, and that did translate to a win in the votes, but it was closer than you might think. I think the Chevy Sonic being half the age and having a bunch more options gained it some followers.
I really like that little Sonic, and I think it would be the more entertaining to drive of this pair, but I think the Fit would be the better car to own. Honda is still Honda, after all, and nobody knows more about building good small cars. I confess I’ve never driven a Fit with a manual, nor a second-generation one like this, but I can’t believe it’s anything but pleasant – if not quite as much fun as that turbocharged Sonic.
Yesterday’s cars demonstrate just how good modern cars are, and that’s also reflected in the fact that the average car on American roads is now damn near thirteen years old. I guess that makes me above average, because the average age of the cars in my household is over thirty. I clearly like my vehicles older, and I’m not afraid to put them to work, either. Yeah, things can and do break, but they’re also a lot easier to fix. The daily-driven old-car life isn’t for everyone, I realize, but if you think it might be for you, take a look at this pair.
1972 Chevrolet G20 Beauville – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Odometer reading: 52,000 miles (probably rolled over)
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Full-size vans have never been at the cutting edge of any automaker’s designs; after all, how many different ways can you style a box on wheels? But General Motors has been especially stubborn when it comes to designing new vans. Since 1971, there have only been two body styles of full-size Chevy van: the G series like this one, which lasted all the way until 1996, and the Express, which is still in production. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.
Of course, even though the basic body style stayed the same for years, there were dozens of configurations available. What we have here is a 3/4 ton van, in the medium 125-inch wheelbase, equipped with a 350 V8 and a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 transmission. It’s the Sportvan passenger-type van with windows, in the high-end Beauville trim, and it has such fancy options as power steering and air conditioning. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and it recently had the fuel pump and water pump replaced.
Although it was a pretty fancy van when it was new, it shows some age now. The vinyl upholstery is rough, and the headliner is completely absent. The seller calls it a “great starting point,” and I think that’s probably the best assessment. By the way, it also has what looks like a propane heater installed in the back, which is a good start towards a camper conversion.
It’s not too rusty outside; the only trouble areas the seller mentions are the drip rails around the roof. The paint is worn and faded, but it’s not unattractive, and the mustard-yellow color is perfect for the era. You could leave the exterior pretty much as it is and still turn heads.
1975 Dodge Dart Swinger – $4,900
Engine/drivetrain: 225 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Kent, WA
Odometer reading: ad says 100,000 miles, probably not correct
Operational status: Runs and drives well
If a van isn’t quite your style, but you still want something 70s, may I suggest a nice Dart? This two-door hardtop, equipped with the “Swinger” package, is about as 70s as it gets, with its brown paint, vinyl top, and Rallye wheels. These cars were absolutely everywhere even when I was in high school in the late 1980s; I had several friends with Darts and Valiants. But they’re getting thin on the ground these days, so seeing a decent one for a fair price like this is a treat.
Darts were available with some wild powerplants during the muscle car era, but the vast majority of them, even then, left the factory with the “Leaning Tower Of Power,” Chrysler’s famous Slant Six. This is the 225 cubic inch variant, backed by a Torqueflite three-speed automatic. It’s a combination known for reliability and durability, and the seller (a small dealership that appears to specialize in classics) says it fires right up and runs well.
It’s a little scruffy inside, but not terrible. The front seat needs reupholstering, and someone cut holes for speakers in the door panels. I don’t know what happened to the speakers, but I like to think they were Sparkomatics ordered from the Crutchfield catalog and were blown out sometime in 1986 by blasting Night Ranger. If you were planning to restore the whole car, you’d probably want to find replacement door panels, but it’s probably easier to just stick some speakers back in there.
It has some rust in the rear quarters, and the clear coat is failing, but I don’t see any rust peeping out from under the vinyl top, where so many cars this age rust out. The white-letter BF Goodrich tires are a nice touch, and the seller says they’re in good condition.
Yes, you’re absolutely right – life would be a great deal easier with a nice silver Camry than with either of these. They won’t be nearly as economical, safe, or comfortable. But if, like me, you just can’t bring yourself to do that, either one of these should be a reasonably reliable way to get around. Or, if you already have a boring everyday car, they’d make wonderful weekend toys without the daunting prospect of a full-on project car. Which one grabs your attention?
(Image credits: sellers)
I probably shouldn’t have voted Dart. But I did.
My first family car memory was of our 74 or 75 Dart (cut me some slack: we sold it when I was 7 or 8 years old…) I do remember it ate radiator hoses every single summer, and eventually became thoroughly unreliable at not even 90k miles. Also, terrible gas mileage, lousy range, and malaise gutless. But it was super comfortable and looked good in white with a green top and interior.
Ours had the 318, and I probably still could find my way around it from years of handing my dad wrenches. (Did I mention how unreliable it was?)
Yeah, anyway, better shape than the van, and better looking, so Dart, I guess.
Dart, all day every day. I daily’ed a ‘68 from 2011 til 2018, and they are great cars. The slant 6 isn’t fast but it’s torquey and smooth. Genuinely an enjoyable car to drive.
Is that a coydog? And does it come with the van?
Until I have answers, I am voting for the Dodge.
I’ll have the Swinger. Panel dim, light drive, Jesus on the dashboard.
(I enjoy Fu Manchu’s cover of “Chevy Van” too, though.)
Whenever it feels right.
I love Dart Swingers and I have a healthy respect for the slant six. Motoring! It didn’t matter what it was up against.
I once owned a ’77 Chevy Van (292 straight-six/automatic) and a ’73 Plymouth Duster (225 slant-six/automatic) at the same time.
This article brought back memories. Thanks!
I love that Chevy van, but it is coming up short against my lifelong irrational love for the 70s Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant. I have wanted one since I was a little kid in the ’70s. And no, I absolutely could never explain to you why, LOL.
Although by now, as I have mentioned here before, I have a sick fantasy of dropping a murderous 392 Hemi in one, with all kinds of suspension and brake goodies hidden behind factory looking steelies and dog dish hubcaps, which I would drive while dressed in Grandma drag, to go trolling at stoplights. Basically turn one into a modernized take on the “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” approach, starring me as the little old lady.
I bought a 74 Valiant in 1981 ran okay interior was in fine shape paint looked good 35,000 miles for $2,000. No way paying more than twice the price
4900 today would have been about 1400 back in 1981.
Probably neither. How much for the dog pictured with the van?
When I was in early grade school, my parents had a Polaroid Swinger. Many years later, I started wondering whether they were into swapping pictures and/or partners.
My mom is 88 and I will never ask her about that.
It’s more than a camera, it’s almost alive
It’s only nineteen dollars, and ninety-five
Swing it up (yeah yeah)
It says yes (yeah yeah)
Take the shot (yeah yeah)
Count it down
Zip it off
I have never been able to rid my brain of that commercial.
I remember that after zipping it off, there was some weird gel applicator that they would use to wipe on it that would help prevent image decay or toxic stickiness. I was pretty young then and didn’t question the process. I remember it smelled like rubbing alcohol.
There was a “shake it like a Polaroid” song by OutKast but I think that was for color versions.
My grandfather had an SX-70 and there were warning that one need not/should not do that to the images that got vomited out of that camera. I inherited that camera and have already handed it off to my son. He was into that aesthetic while in undergraduate school. And there’s a company in the Netherlands that bought the patents and makes film/battery packs for them. I think it was originally named Impossible Project, but now when I search, it appears they took over Polaroid.com
It was a cool concept, and when I visited Eastman House in Rochester, NY, there was a significant amount of space dedicated to the SX-70. It’s a fascinating museum for anyone into photography.
There is another section dedicated to the evolution of digital photography that is pretty honest about how Kodak was so ahead of the game and then just lost it because they historically, made a lot of money on emulsion film. And in the early days of digital, the resolution wasn’t there. Now, digital out resolves any film.
I was a newspaper photographer and shot miles of Kodak Tri-X. Lateralled into TV news photography and shot miles of Ektachrome and High Speed Ektachrome.
Videotape, and then memory cards have eclipsed all that.
When I gave my son the SX-70, I told him that your iPhone is going to shoot better pictures (and video) than anything I used in my career. I advised to go that route and then play with software “filters” to get the look you want.
I also bought him a Canon A-1, which was my camera of choice in my newspaper days after my Nikon F2 kept getting its metering head/viewfinder coming uncalibrated with the slightest knock.
Sadly, it is getting harder and harder to buy 35mm film and get it processed.
But, I’m retired from all of that. I have a couple of Canon digital bodies and lenses, but 95% of the pictures I take now are on my phone.
I like Chevy G-vans, and a Beauville version like that was probably originally used to tow a travel trailer or a boat on family vacations, but in its successive lives it’s harder to tell where all it’s been and what all has gone in inside it. And something about the blurry pictures just makes it look a little too skeevy somehow. I keep imagining the aroma of wet dog and whatever moldy boxes and stuff were probably stored in it as it sat in somebody’s back yard or behind the garage for a couple of decades.
The Dart, on the other hand, seems reasonably well kept, if well-used. But a slant-six Dart is largely unkillable short of running over it with a truck, and parts availability for repairs or upgrades is good. Plenty of opportunity for it to be a simple, fun car that will make people who remember them smile. The Dart wins this one.
Yeah, I like both of these but on this I gotta go Dart SWINGER! It’s so awesome w/ a great name and has the Slant 6…Mopar rules. I still like the V8 in the VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER! (and the dog)
Great choices today Mark!
No honking way am I touching a ’70s Mopar product. The Chevy, by contrast, has some promise as a starting point for something big, dumb, and fun.
70’s vans are cool, and this one has great patina, and the Dart, well, its a Dart.