A Small Package Before the Dodge Dart
became an A-Body, Plymouth delivered a small car that many don't even realize could be considered a musclecar. These early Plymouth Valiants were small, nimble, and available with a 273 V-8. Considered only as daily transportation, these cars were usually driven until they fell apart and were tossed aside.
Pros
It's a small car that had an available V-8, and either a manual transmission or a push-button- shifted automatic transmission. Since they came with a 273 V-8 as an option, any small-block will fit.
Cons
They were never considered a musclecar, so they were used and abused, and tossed aside. Some soft parts are still not available.
Late-Bloomer B
Ok, we've shown some A-, B-, and even C-Bodies, but how many of you have considered a B-Body that was built after 1970? Like everything else Ma Mopar made after 1970, the '71 to '74 B-Bodies are an often overlooked ride. Why, we're not sure, but it may be because of their bulkiness or lack of horsepower as compared to earlier models.
Pros
Since they are often overlooked by people wanting to get into a project car, they are cheaper than you would expect. Also, the plain-Jane satellite versions accept all the Road Runner parts, making it easy to build a clone. They came with V-8s, and either manual or automatic transmissions.
Cons
These cars are heavy, and the aftermarket has yet to offer many restoration parts for them. The cars were never well built from the factory, and many are not left.
Sure, there are a lot of other cars out there that could be had for less than $3,500 that we missed on our list, but we would frankly run out of pages if we tried to cover all of them. we wanted to give you a basic outline of some cars to think about that you may not have considered in the past. Whatever you decide, just remember to build something you want, but be honest with yourself about what you want, and then enjoy the hell out of whatever you build.