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Jamesbo · 06-30-2008, 06:05 AM

At the risk of boring the board to tears, I thought it might be helpful to some of the younger members to try to shed some light on how things were when the wondeful cars were made and how us "kids" viewed them in the sixties.

As is true today, Money was a problem even when gas was cheap. Oldsmobiles we a high end car and Very expensive. The list price for my 69 442 convertible with a/c was over $4,000. Mustangs were very popular IMHO because the base price was around 2K.

Unlike today,when you went to the dealership, most Everything was an option, am/fm, 8- track, a/c, posi, tires, buckets etc.[I believe 69 was the first year a stereo radio was avaliable in a car.]

Some factory options were not considered the "Gold" they are today. Many of us would select to personalize our cars rather than pay for and accept the factory options. In those years even a/c could be added [although with a few potential problems]

In my crowd no self respecting "cool dude" would have a Tic toc Tach and rally pac. We all wanted a big ole, Sun tach strapped to the steering column and a set of S&W gagues handing from under the dash.

I would imagine thousands of sets of SS I, II and III wheels were tossed in favor of the then popular American mags. Once again, Hurst Wheels were around but very expensive. A Hurst 4 speed shifter of course was a necessity in teenage 60's opinions.

Insted of getting a factory 8 Track we'd save up and get some aftermarkert [Like Lear] and install it ourselves and of course cut holes in the kick pannels for speakers.Then you could [bag some more groceries]save up again and purchase a F/M Cartridge that turned your 8 track into an F/M radio.

Mufflers, Why bother when you could go to a hardware store and by a short piece of pipe with a screw on cap and weld a set of "cut outs" into the exhaust before it ever neared the muffler to reduce noise. Drive home nice and quiet, leave home, crawl under car with pipe wrench and Voila LOUD exhaust.

Why waste money on a 69 3 spoke deluxe steering wheel [which today are worth a fortune.] We'd simply buy the leather wrap kits and lace them on our exisitng steering wheels or buy some custom Wood steering Wheel from J.C Whitney.

The long awaited point to this tome is this. When ya buy one of these wondeful cars, it comes with a history that somone [or perhaps many people ] have chosen to make it the way they wanted it to be. Now, it's your turn to either a] return it to origional or b] Do it the way you want to do it. It's your car and your time/money. I won't pass judgement on your purple ersatz H/O as long as you enjoy it.[ at least it's not a "Stang"]

Did we do stupid stuff? Of course, but we had fun with our cars. And I am glad to see the world now has forums like this one to share information and help [the old guys like me] and the younger gents.

Many thanks to all who participate.

06-30-2008, 06:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jamesbo Moderator Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 729	Growing up in the 60's At the risk of boring the board to tears, I thought it might be helpful to some of the younger members to try to shed some light on how things were when the wondeful cars were made and how us "kids" viewed them in the sixties. As is true today, Money was a problem even when gas was cheap. Oldsmobiles we a high end car and Very expensive. The list price for my 69 442 convertible with a/c was over $4,000. Mustangs were very popular IMHO because the base price was around 2K. Unlike today,when you went to the dealership, most Everything was an option, am/fm, 8- track, a/c, posi, tires, buckets etc.[I believe 69 was the first year a stereo radio was avaliable in a car.] Some factory options were not considered the "Gold" they are today. Many of us would select to personalize our cars rather than pay for and accept the factory options. In those years even a/c could be added [although with a few potential problems] In my crowd no self respecting "cool dude" would have a Tic toc Tach and rally pac. We all wanted a big ole, Sun tach strapped to the steering column and a set of S&W gagues handing from under the dash. I would imagine thousands of sets of SS I, II and III wheels were tossed in favor of the then popular American mags. Once again, Hurst Wheels were around but very expensive. A Hurst 4 speed shifter of course was a necessity in teenage 60's opinions. Insted of getting a factory 8 Track we'd save up and get some aftermarkert [Like Lear] and install it ourselves and of course cut holes in the kick pannels for speakers.Then you could [bag some more groceries]save up again and purchase a F/M Cartridge that turned your 8 track into an F/M radio. Mufflers, Why bother when you could go to a hardware store and by a short piece of pipe with a screw on cap and weld a set of "cut outs" into the exhaust before it ever neared the muffler to reduce noise. Drive home nice and quiet, leave home, crawl under car with pipe wrench and Voila LOUD exhaust. Why waste money on a 69 3 spoke deluxe steering wheel [which today are worth a fortune.] We'd simply buy the leather wrap kits and lace them on our exisitng steering wheels or buy some custom Wood steering Wheel from J.C Whitney. The long awaited point to this tome is this. When ya buy one of these wondeful cars, it comes with a history that somone [or perhaps many people ] have chosen to make it the way they wanted it to be. Now, it's your turn to either a] return it to origional or b] Do it the way you want to do it. It's your car and your time/money. I won't pass judgement on your purple ersatz H/O as long as you enjoy it.[ at least it's not a "Stang"] Did we do stupid stuff? Of course, but we had fun with our cars. And I am glad to see the world now has forums like this one to share information and help [the old guys like me] and the younger gents. Many thanks to all who participate. __________________ 69 H/O 69 442 convertible 69 Vista Cruiser 69 442 hardtop "Growing old is mandatory,Growing up is optional"