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then and were even coveted by the late 1950s and
early ’60s. They were also popular because of their
simplicity and durability, and because they were
cheap cars to drive on a daily basis.
Today, the Model A is too slow to be
practical except for trips around town on surface
streets, but 50
years ago, speed
wasn’t as much of
a problem. These
days, a 1960s
Rambler, Chevy
II, Tempest, or
Valiant would
be great for
inexpensive
transportation,
and you could
take pride in
not being one of
the flock of sheep who pay a premium to have a
current flashy electronic nightmare that can only
be fixed by a factory-trained technician.
Do you need air conditioning? There are
plenty of aftermarket kits available if your car
doesn’t have it, but if you are patient you can still
find early ’60s compacts so equipped. How about
GPS, you say? Well, your mobile phone is great for
that, and if you want a GPS to mount on the dash,
they are available, inexpensive, and will run off of
your Falcon or Dart’s cigarette lighter.
Need Bluetooth for your phone? There are
aftermarket in-dash radios that will give you AM
and FM as well as Bluetooth. And as for CD players
and the like, there are plenty of them available that
you can mount in your glovebox, if you want to
keep the car looking original.
If you want to drive a sportier classic, may I
recommend a mid-’60s Mustang with a straight-six?
Unlike the V-8-powered offerings, the six-cylinder
models’ parts are cheap and plentiful, and the cars
are economical to own. But best of all, you can find
anice driver for not much money, because most
collectors want a V-8.
The little six-cylinder is not a hot rod, but
you won’t be holding up traffic either. In fact, you
could literally build a new, ’60s Mustang today
using only aftermarket components.
When I see Jason drive by in his Comet,
Iget the urge to find a ’60s compact for myself.
Icould dust off the old pork pie hat that I still
have from the days when they were called stingy
brims, and I could start listening to alternative
music. I would stop at the ring in my ear and the
tattoos, though.M
y hipster neighbor Jason, who is in his
early 20s, came over to show me his
newly acquired 1961 Comet a few days
ago. It is a black four-door sedan with
the 144-cu.in. Thrift Power Six and a standard three-
speed. It’s a nice driver, and that is why Jason wanted
it. And to be sure,
it fits his image as
an unconventional,
alternative, hip guy.
But that wasn’t the
main reason he
grabbed it.
You see, as it
turns out, he grew
up working on cars
with his father, and
he knows full well
that his new ride
will cost much less
to own and operate than any modern car. He is
aware, for example, that if his fuel pump gives
out, he can call a local auto supply that I have
been going to since I was his age, and it will have
a rebuilt pump waiting for him the next day for
about $35. And he knows he can install it in half
an hour with a couple of combination wrenches.
Consider how that problem might be if he
had a modern car. Yes, the store would have the
pump he needed, but it would cost much more,
and most likely it would be located in the gas tank,
which would have to be drained and dropped in
order to get the old pump out. On the other hand,
even if Jason had to remove the fuel tank in his
Comet, it doubles as the floor of the trunk, so there
is nothing to it.
On top of that, Jason’s Comet will get
20-plus miles to the gallon all day long. So, he
gets a cool car for a few thousand dollars that is
easy and inexpensive to maintain, is economical,
and is comfortable and dependable. Sure, a 1961
Comet four-door with the little six-cylinder is not
everybody’s dream car, but it won’t go down in
value if he takes care of it.
And as it turns out, Jason is not unique. I
visited a friend’s auto repair shop recently, and in
his lube bay was a 1964 Dart. There was an early
’60s Falcon waiting for service, too. My friend
told me that savvy young people are seeking out
Sixties-era compacts for the same reasons Jason
did. They want affordable, dependable, and cool
transportation, and these cars fit the bill.
In my youth, I remember a couple of guys
who drove Model A Fords back and forth to school
and work. Such cars were already being restored byOld and Simple
These days, a
1960s Rambler,
Chevy II, Tempest,
or Valiant would
be great for
inexpensive
transportation...
104 HEMMINGS CLASSIC CAR OCTOBER 2019 I Hemmings.com