Diego’s AutoHunter Picks | ClassicCars.com Magazine

there was a time There was a time when there was no respect for the flaws of age in the old car hobby, but today you get reviled for ruining the patina of an old car or whatnot. The archeology appreciated by experts and restorers does not always exist.

This week’s AutoHunter pick only has one vehicle with original paint, but it’s worth mentioning for those who pay attention to these things. There’s also a classic Mopar muscle car, a fun camper van and a lightly customized ’50s Ford. Which one would you buy for your winter projects?

1968 Plymouth GTX
Do you prefer the 1968 GTX or the 1969 GTX? I go back and forth on this issue. Of course, 1969 was a more refined year for marketing, equipment, and styling, but I really liked the stripes and nearly full-width taillights of 1968. 1968 was also the best-selling year for the GTX, with approximately 19,000 units sold.

This 1968 GTX is painted in the popular bright blue metallic with white lower body racing stripes, but the fender tags show up as blue (if I’m not mistaken). Since it was a bucket-seat car without a console, it had a tall four-speed shifter, adding to its performance appeal. Gears are 3.54 Sure-Grip. Other options on each fender tag include an AM radio with rear-seat speakers, a tachometer, a left-hand remote rearview mirror and a performance hood treatment.

1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza
I still want to drive the Corvair and see its mystique. Properly equipped, it is said to be a poor man’s Porsche, but I have been driving a 911 for 30 years. The interesting thing about Corvairs is that if you look at a lot of foreign cars from the same era, you can clearly see the Corvair influence. It’s an American glory that’s not often mentioned in our country.

This 1963 Corvair is a Monza model, which means it comes with bucket seats. In a sedan? Of course, why not? That’s what the Europeans did, and this car may be the originator of the trend that hit Detroit in the early 1960s. Best of all, this Monza has original paint and only 14,700 miles, so its next caretaker will love it.

1964 Ford Econoline Station Wagon
Like the Corvair above, I’d like to drive one of these forward-control wagons that seemed to be commonplace in the 1960s. Interestingly, we don’t know if the Ford Falcon, Chevy Chevy II, Dodge Dart or even the Corvair would still exist without them. I was wondering if I could convince my wife to buy a pickup truck for occasional hauling duties?

Or maybe I should focus on selling her this 1964 station wagon, which appears to be a Ford-approved conversion that allows buyers to outfit the Econoline with any number of camping essentials, including an aluminum pop-up top. I still wonder how slow this is for six people, but I have an urge to buy this and go to Joshua Tree State Park.

1952 Ford Crestline Victoria
While the low-priced three-cars of the early 1950s never interested me, it was the Fords that tended to appeal to me the most. Among them, the Crestline Victoria was the most stylish model in Ford’s product portfolio in 1952. The flathead V8 might be considered a Ford advantage, but its 110-horsepower rating was nine more than the Mileage Maker Six.

The front end of this 1952 Cresline Victoria has been customized to look like a British Consul from the late 1950s. The updated interior looks nice too, with its two-tone blue and white vinyl, but other than that, this Blue Oval looks pretty traditional and generic. If you were familiar with Fords from this era, how would you customize them further?