Where were you in '85?

[77Z28]

In 1985 I was a junior in H.S. and was in the process of taking a tired, but all original, 1974 Nova Custom, 2 door, 350 auto car into the street hot rod car you see in attachment a year later. Bought the car on Christmas Eve of 85 for $1,200. Was originally pea green color with tan vinyl top.

One of the neat things I found after I bought it was the rally rims you see in picture under the full cover factory hubcaps.

After graduation from H.S. that Summer we were scheduled to move to Atlanta. Before moving,Dad said the metro area where we would be living had emissions checks on cars up to 15 years old and my car would not pass and I had to sell it. So reluctantly, I sold it and soon once in Atlanta we found out the emmissions checks were only for cars 10 years old. I still give my Dad crap occasionally about him screwing that detail up.

Todd

[Supergas990]

In November of 1985 I was a sophmore in HS and bought my 1967 Malibu (30 days before I could even get my license). My mom and I went to look at it and bought it on the spot without even driving it.

When we told my dad he was suprised, but not as suprised as when he drove it home for me. He told me that there's no way in H*LL I would've gotten the car if he'd have driven it before we bought it! (Guess it was all those years of AMCs and Renaults that lulled him into his slow car mode)

$2,600 looked like a ton of money back then, but that car was my life. Lucky for me I opted to keep it, even though it needs some love to get back it's former glory it's still in the stable. Hopefully, my son will want to drive it one day!!!

Now I can't wait to get my father to drive the L78 Chevelle I just bought. It ought to be another eye opener!!!

Blair

[77Z28]

Regarding that musclecar price index I remember a guy that graduated with my sister roughly 3 years older than me buying in 1985 a 1969 GTO Convertable, triple black for $6,000. The car was all original, low miles most everyone thought he was crazy for paying that much.

Not such a bad price compared to today's prices.

Todd

[StealthBird]

Here's where I was in 1985. Original paint, tri-power, drove it on nice days to college, and to cruise nights.

[StealthBird]

This wasn't 1985, but around 1993, here's some shots of what my friends and I called "The Class of 1969". It was fun driving to cruise nights together.

[68z302]

Wow,
Nice lineup Mike!

[scuncio]

I was in 3rd grade. Remember riding my bike past this old lady's house who had a Cortez Silver '69 Camaro, 307 car with the black hockey-stick stripes. I wanted it so bad! The next few years I watched it rot into the ground...these cars were still on the road then, even through the Milwaukee winters!

[Leonard]

In 1985, started restoration on a wrecked 69 X77 Z28 that i purchaced Christmas Day in 84. My first 69 Z28. NOM 327, munci 4 spd, 12 bolt 3:73s. It was wrecked in the right front. Replaced the right front fender, inner fender, core support, Bumper, Header and valance panel. Installed intake and carb. Got to drive it for the first time in June of 85. I made the mistake of not mounting the Accell Super Coil. It was laying loose on the intake between the distributor and excellerator rod linkage. Does anyone see the PROBLEM here? Well, with a 2 day old paint job, (hugger orange) Me shifting thru the gears in a Church parking lot adjacent to my parents house, the excellerator stuck wide open while i was doing a reverse burnout. I was in panic. A few seconds later, i was pulling myself up from the broken seat back, car was not running and i could still here things that sould like the were falling off a wall. I looked around and noticed that about a 3rd of my camaro was sitting inside my parents house. Bit of advise, Bolt those coils down! Needless to say, i stripped the car and junked it.

[427TJ]

Hey MikeNoun, man do I miss cruise nights. Remember when everyone drove such cars as those in your photo and you could actually cruise some boulevard in some town and the cops wouldn't immediately shut it down? How about Car Craft's "Cruisin' USA" monthly series on where to find the best "Mains." In the San Francisco Bay Area (East Bay) we usually went out to Pinole on Friday nights unless there was a bigger "Main" happening somehwere else. People would make flyers and post them at all of the local auto parts stores and speed shops and cars would come from all over Northern California. North Main street in Walnut Creek was legendary in the late 1970s until the lowlifes found it. Once it was 'discovered' it was all over in a few months. Vandalism, gang fights, etc., caused the local merchants to jump on the police to put a stop to the whole thing. Then on to Pinole, Petaluma, San Rafael, Napa, and the same thing happened. Coincidentally, all of the Bay Area "mains" were dead by 1985. Now if the cops see a car making more than one pass down the avenue on a weekend night they'll pull you over and ticket you. Another wonderful pastime lost.


I also miss the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals West at Cal Expo in Sacramento. That event also resulted in a huge cruise in downtown Sacramento on Saturday night. Not anymore. You might look at someone the wrong way and get shot.

[StealthBird]

I think the Golden Age of Cruising was really the early to mid 80's. At that time, new Musclecars were running 15's, and old Musclecars became THE hottest thing around. The old Musclecars were myths to some newbie car fans. The guys that hot-rodded their hand-me-down 305 Camaros or 301 Firebirds, or maybe put headers on their V6 Monza, just could not believe what the old Musclecars could do in stock trim. To them, their new 185 hp Camaro or Firebird seemed peppy, but seeing a factory 400 hp Musclecar was like seeing a demon from hell. Old Musclecars ruled the streets, and most of them at that time were still all original.

All that changed around 1987, when the Mustang 5.0 and GNX really came into their own. This was a turning point, when magazines began running head-to-head battles between old and new Musclecars, something that would have been laughable just a couple years earlier.

Nowadays, we have 12 second showroom cars in the Corvette and Viper, and a whole plethora (I just had to use that word today ) of solid 13 second cars, from recent Ram Air Trans Am's to Z/28's, from Cobras to Mach 1's. Old Musclecars still have their mystique, but part of that mystique has been lost because the "fear factor" of riding in a 13 second car is gone. Now soccer moms driving an SUV, or a Lexus, can take out some of the old Musclecars at a stoplight. Strange...