1960
 

I was thinking of the old days and had I been of age in the 1960's, what would have I bought. I imagine there are others who have thought the same thing in here.

If people go along, I'd like to start a thread for each year starting in 1960 until prob 1972.

So, if we start with 1960, within the average buy's budget or a little higher, what car would you have bought and how would have you ordered/optioned it?

I was 15 in 1960, so the 1960's were the best of times for me. There wasn't much of what one would consider a "muscle car" at that time. A Corvette was out of the price range for most. Not sure what I would have bought if it were a new car, but it would have been GM. At that time most of my friends that were old enough to own a car opted for a used 55-57 Chevy, Ford, or Pontiac, better used than something new in 1960.

1962 is when it started getting interesting for me !!

Good thread Mark.

Not that I could have afforded some of these cars, so the early ones are a bit of a fantasy.
1960 Chrysler 300F 4 speed. i did own an automatic version from 2000 to 2016
1961 Pontiac Catalina 389 4 speed
1962 Pontiac Grand Prix
1963 Corvette Stingray SWC, 327 4 speed
1964 Plymouth Sport Fury 426 Wedge 4 speed.
1965 Shelby Cobra CSX3010
1966 442 W30 ,I did own one from 2008-2016
1967 Shelby Mustang GT500
1968 Dodge Charger 426, Tripple Black
1969 Camaro ZLI Silver with RS package
1970 Olds 442 W30 Convertible
1971 Dodge Challenger 426.
1972 Hurst Olds Convertible, Owned one from 1997 to 2015

Thanks Vern, and good idea Canuck to do it that way; probably much more efficient, and I love efficiency.

If I had the cash in 1960, I'd have ordered a 335 horsepower 348 inch El Camino like the ones in the Roger Huntington articles in Hot Rod. Gasser performance was possible from a factory stocker in 1959 and 60.

I was a teen through most of the '60s so grew up during the super car era. I of course couldn't afford any of the cars I dreamed about or even a plain jane car. Here's my list anyway with the stipulation that these are the cars I would have bought looking back if I could have afforded them.

1960-1961: one of the Chrysler 300 "letter" cars
1962: Ferrari GTO
1963: Chevrolet Bel Air with a 409 and 4-speed
1964: Plymouth max wedge 4-speed
1965: Dodge Coronet max wedge 4-speed
1966-1967: Plymouth Belvedere with a hemi and 4-speed in Petty blue
1968: Dodge Charger with the 440 and auto
1969: Plymouth Roadrunner with a hemi and auto
1970: Plymouth Superbird with a hemi and auto
1971: Dodge Challenger with a hemi and auto
1972: Pantera

To add a little clarification: I first was a Mopar buff as was my dad. I didn't become bitten by the Camaro bug until rather late, 1975. I also have Italian heritage on my dad's side thus the Italian super car love. These are the cars I would have bought new in the respective years based on my love and emotions at that time for all automotive.

I was lucky, in 1960 I was 12 years old and my Dad had a 60 fuelly Corvette with 2 tops 4 speed 411 gears. He's first Corvette. We lived on a farm, every Saturday when the weather was good I would wash the Corvette and drive it up and down the 1/4 mile long driveway. On Sunday afternoon my Dad and I would go for a nice ride. In later years when my parents came to visit I would take him out for a drive in one of my Corvettes.

1960- 352/360 Ford Starliner
1961- 348/350 Impala
1962- 406/405 Ford Custom
1963- 426 MW Plymouth Savoy
1964- 389 Tri Power GTO
1965- Shelby GT350
1966- Chevelle SS396 L78
1967- R/A I GTO
1968- Hemi Road Runner
1969- Boss 302
1970- Hemi Road Runner
1971- Boss 351
1972- Firebird Formula 455

Obviously I could do several for each year, but this is a realistic list of what I'd have bought back in the day if I had a reasonable amount of cash or had a current collection and enough money:

1960 - Cadillac Eldorado black, mist green, burgundy, or almost any color
1961 - Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider in burgundy or red
1962 - Impala SS black/black
1963 - Corvette Coupe in silver
1964 - Ferrari 275 GTB in black
1965 - GTO 389 Tri Power in burgundy
1966 - GTO 389 Tri Power Convertible in medium blue with white top
1967 - Chevelle SS with the dealer installed SS427 package in Bolero red or black
1968 - Plymouth GTX in brown or burnt orange
1969 - Camaro SS396 L78/L89 (reasonable budget)
1970 - Chevelle SS454 LS-6 in Cranberry red over black
1971 - Cuda 440 six pack in black
1972 - Monte Carlo with a 402 in burnt orange

Mark, nice to see you included some Ferraris in there.