Are Six Cylinder cars from the '50's and '60's Trending with Collectors?

[f.f.jones]

Recently there seems to be a noticeable increase the popularity and sales listings of a range of '50's and '60's cars equipped with factory six cylinder engines. Brands range from Falcons and Comets, including Valiant and Dart, to full size Plymouths, Dodges, Fords and Chevys, not just the base economy models, but also top of the line Impalas in hardtop and even convertible form.

For a long time, these cars were considered parts donors for the restoration of top line cars with bigger, more powerful engines or a platform for a V-8 installation.

Is this just a current anomaly or a new and interesting trend?

I own and drive a plain Jane "Custom series" '64 Ford 6 cylinder, stick sedan (full size Galaxie body) which attracts as much or more attention than my Buick convertible with a 455" V-8.

 

What are your thoughts/interests/experience concerning these cars?

 

 

This '64, 2-door sedan body was available throughout the line with a six cylinder engine, Galaxie 500, Custom 300, and Custom.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

I dont know if its the thing now but I would like to think so. My next project (if I ever get my TA finished) is a 66 chevelle. Its a 6. I really wanted to keep it that way just because its an oddball. I go to the east coast Chevelle show every summer and out of a couple of hundred cars there is usually 1 and maybe 2 that are 6's. AND only about a handfull that arent SS's!

[Steve_Mack_CT]

You won't win any drag races with it but I always thought a 6 cylinder stick shift 65 or 66 Mustang would be a cool little car and fun to drive.

 

One image that has stuck with me was a description by @Matt Harwood of aging late model Corvette guys taking their cars out and putting on over to the local burger joint/cruise night, then carefully putting back on home to wipe them off with a diaper before putting them away for another month or so.  

 

I fully get not leaving a $75k fully restored 66 Mustang GT convertible in a supermarket parking lot and not advocating reckless driving.  But if that is the very sheltered life of most muscle cars today why not see increasing popularity of their less valuable contemporaries that can be driven with less worries.

 

 

[Tom99]

Two weeks ago, I sold my 65 Corvette that just got to expensive to drive. I was getting between 10 and 12 mpg using premium gas, that is $1.00 or more per gallon above the price of regular. I've been looking at a replacement car that has either a four or a six cylinder engine. Dart, Falcon, Nova, Volkswagen or something similar.

I want an older car that I can take on a road trip, without breaking the bank.

[8E45E]

I have a 1965 Studebaker Cruiser I am currently restoring which is a 6-cylinder with 3-speed & overdrive transmission.    The Cruiser was the top of the line model Studebaker from 1961, and 1965 was the first year a 6-cylinder engine became available in the Cruiser.  Previously V8 was standard.

 

Craig

[alsancle]

I wouldn't mind a blown six banger Kaiser.   I drove a 49 Plymouth 2 door in HS and have always throught a bout a Wayfarer roadster but I think that is out of my system.

 

Definitely sign up for a Spring HO Pontiac with a four speed.

[gruberv8]

Yes I think the 6's and the economy cars in general are getting more attention now which is good. Its nice to see them at shows as they break up the endless rows of highly optioned muscle cars.   They are easy to work on and affordable for younger guys to buy.  For people that are nostalgic, these cars represent what every day people had in their driveway and on the street. 

Buyers were pretty thrifty back then, and a 6 was a good value at purchase time and to own.  Finally, these cars were less likely to have been raced and abused.  A lot of nice orginals exist today.

[rocketraider]

At this stage in life I could be very happy with a nice six-cylinder low-option car. The trouble is finding one, because of the cannibalism f.f. described.

 

Y'all have heard me say this before. "A nice old car is a nice old car." Who cares how many doors it has or what it's powered by?

[28 Chrysler]

I had a very rusty 6 cylinder 1970 Plymouth Satellite that I pulled the engine when the frame broke above the front left wheel.

I wouldn't mind picking up another, I think that was one of the best modern body styles.

[1912Staver]

Mustangs with a 6 ? When I was in high school that would be an instant target for ridicule. It meant your mother had bought a new Pinto or Vega and handed the previous grocery getter / mom's taxi on down to you.

 I still have a dislike for early Mustang 6's. Inferior to even a lowly C code in every way possible. Small brakes and 4 stud wheels even though they still have 98% of the weight of a V8 to deal with. A very weak 4 speed if that appealed to you. { the 3 speed was stronger , but only a 3 speed } And truly pathetic if an auto was chosen.

Much harder to work on rear end compared to the very robust 8 inch in a V8 car { or the even better 9 inch , but only on factory Hi-po's }

 Thanks but no, even a early 260 is a far better car.

[STEVE POLLARD]

 

My '69 Chevrolet Bel Air, 6 cylinder with "three on the tree"....great car, I sold it to a friend so I could make room in my garage for my truck. My friend loves it, keeping the drive train as is, but plans on repainting it. You just don't see these 6 cylinder, full size cars anymore...

 

Steve

 

 

[DavidinCA]

And that’s the type of late 60s full size that belongs on black walls.  It looks either like an undercover car or a fleet order.  Any idea of the history?

[rocketraider]

Kerry's comment on his six-cylinder Chevelle tickled me. One of my favorite things to do at cruise nights is to watch local knuckleheads' reaction to a six-cylinder or non-performance V8 Camaro, Chevelle or Mustang. Such a car will literally send them into foaming-at-the-mouth hysterics.

 

###

 

Steve, Is that the one that came from Oxford NC?

 

I can hear them now. "Why you wasting time and money on a FOUR DOOR?! with a SIX-CYLINDER?! That car ain't worth NOTHING!!"

 

To which the reply is: "Is it your car? No? Then sthu and leave me alone."

 

🙂

[STEVE POLLARD]

10 minutes ago, DavidinCA said:

And that’s the type of late 60s full size that belongs on black walls.  It looks either like an undercover car or a fleet order.  Any idea of the history?

Yes, I was third owner, original owner was a farmer in Oxford NC, he sold it to my friend, also in Oxford with 9000 miles at the time. Then I purchases it from the second owner a few years ago, I think it had 12,000 or 14,000 miles on it

5 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

Steve, Is that the one that came from Oxford NC?

Yes Glenn, that's the one from Oxford N.C.....my friend has it now in Ohio.... ( he's going to be painting my '69 SS Impala in a year or so.....)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

15 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

Mustangs with a 6 ? When I was in high school that would be an instant target for ridicule. It meant your mother had bought a new Pinto or Vega and handed the previous grocery getter / mom's taxi on down to you.

 

Tough to argue that as one of my HS pals had to endure the nickname "valvecover" due to his 6 cylinder 69 or 70 Nova. 

 

Ironically he has a mid 80s  6 cylinder manual MB 280 SL today - much less common than my V8 560 SL and a great looking DOHC engine. A better car?  Not sure.  Mine is supposedly more desirable but I might classify this like the Pontiac 6 - rather interesting, good performer and very cool to look at.

 

So many 6 cylinder 50s, 60s cars  ended up as unfinished V8 conversions.  Too bad.  But agree the mentality of most car oriented kids was better to have it off the road for a year while I drop in some used up V-8 than drive it with a 6.

 

But that was 40+ years ago for me.  More and more I appreciate the above sentiment that a nice old car is a nice old car.

[rocketraider]

1 hour ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Tough to argue that as one of my HS pals had to endure the nickname "valvecover" due to his 6 cylinder 69 or 70 Nova. 

😄 V8s had valvecovers too!

 

1 hour ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Pontiac 6 - rather interesting, good performer and very cool to look at.

Yup. That OHC 6 was a way cool engine especially in Sprint trim with its 4-barrel and split exhaust.

[Rusty_OToole]

Here in Canada six cylinder cars were far more common when new. We even got sixes not available in the US, like full size Pontiacs Dodges and Mercuries.

 

A lot of them survive. They make easy to own collector cars. They don't break the bank to buy, and upkeep is very reasonable as is gas mileage.

 

Compared to the newest performance cars, even the muscle cars of the sixties and seventies are slow. So why not take it easy with a six cylinder car you can drive to your heart's content?

 

3 out of 4 of my collector cars are sixes. 1942 Chevrolet, 1966 Dodge Coronet, 1974 Porsche 911, and the one V8, a 1980 Cadillac Eldorado.

[1912Staver]

A 1974 911 is slow and won't break the bank? A pricy machine in my area. If you carefully respect the built in design flaw { rearward weight bias } they can be quite quick. Just don't let one get away on you , you will learn real quick about handling quirk's .

Edited April 17 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

4 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

A 1974 911 is slow and won't break the bank. A pricy machine in my area. If you carefully respect the built in design flaw { rearward weight bias } they can be quite quick. Just don't let one get away on you , you will learn real quick about handling quirk's .

Ha ha ha 15 years ago if anyone wanted a 911 it was the early chrome bumper jobs, or the later high powered ones. The early seventies, 130HP models were a drug on the market. I bought mine for $2750. Yes it is slow, early smog era Porsches are the slowest but still fun to drive on a nice sunny day.

 

I cut my teeth on Corvairs and VW beetles, a rear engine Porsche doesn't scare me, unless it is one of the hot ones like a 930.

[Pfeil]

The June 2024 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine has the story of the OHC Pontiac six 1966-1969. This is the engine that GM should have used through to the end of the 70's instead of the Gen3 Chevrolet 250.

Royal Pontiac and Knafel Pontiac along with 421 Catalinas, and 389 GTO's also fielded drag racing teams for the OHC six LeMans. Originally a 230cu. in. with 206HP the 68-69 versions were 250 cu. in. @ 230HP @ 6,500 RPM in the sprint versions. These cars ran (206HP) in the mid 14's at just over 90MPH.   In a Motor Trend Magazine performance test a Royal Bobcat prepared ‘66 Tempest “Sprint” with 4-speed, ran a high 14-second quarter mile at 91 mph.  

In the fall of 1965 John DeLorean called Bill Knafel and asked him to help him convince the Hierarchy at General Motors that the new rubber and fiberglass timing belt developed for the new OHC 6, could stand up to heavy duty use. Mister Knafel ordered this 1966 LeMans convertible with the Sprint 6 and raced it at the NASCAR Winternationls and won its class. It also competed on NHRA J/S and frequently won its class.

 

 

[pkhammer]

When talking about post-war cars, the sixes do seem to be getting more popular just as the four door cars have. As the two door, V8 models get harder to find and more and more expensive, buyers will sooner or later gravitate to what is more readily available in the marketplace. 20 or more years ago, I considered most any post war four door a "parts car". That view has softened a lot, I even really dig some four door cars, especially station wagons. As for engine choice, it is still hard for me to give up the sound and power of a V8. Some things just make the driving experience more enjoyable and everybody is different in that regard. I might buy a four door car, but for me it'll still need to have a V8 under the hood.

[Pfeil]

7 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Kerry's comment on his six-cylinder Chevelle tickled me. One of my favorite things to do at cruise nights is to watch local knuckleheads' reaction to a six-cylinder or non-performance V8 Camaro, Chevelle or Mustang. Such a car will literally send them into foaming-at-the-mouth hysterics.

 

###

 

Steve, Is that the one that came from Oxford NC?

 

I can hear them now. "Why you wasting time and money on a FOUR DOOR?! with a SIX-CYLINDER?! That car ain't worth NOTHING!!"

 

To which the reply is: "Is it your car? No? Then sthu and leave me alone."

 

🙂

I know, I know.

 It will draw a crowd more than most though.

Edited April 16 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[LARRYCAROL]

Our 6 cyl Galaxie always drew attention at Hershey.  It has plenty of power and loves to cruise on interstate, held 65mph for hours with no problem 😎

[JACK M]

I've been playing with some slant sixes lately.

I scored a dual carb set up and some headers that I would like to play with someday.

But the two runners run so dependably I don't see reason to make any changes.

I do have a couple of non running parts cars that I could hop up.

Thinking I should sell the Valiant, stick six.

 

Edited April 16 by JACK M (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

21 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

I know, I know.

 It will a crowd more than most though.

 

I bet you hear "that ain't even a real Nova neither!" a lot too!

 

As me Aunt Tillie would have said to them after living in Baltimore more than forty years "aw yiz is ignert!" (all of you are ignorant!).

 

Mmph. From a Southern Vajenya Piedmont accent to full-blown Bawlmerese. She was the first lady cabbie in Baltimore. Started driving in WW2 when all the guys went to war. Probably driving a 6-cylinder Checker or DeSoto.

[8E45E]

4 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

I bet you hear "that ain't even a real Nova neither!" a lot too!

'Nova' in reverse, It's an AVON!

 

(Apollo, Ventura, Omega, Nova)

 

Craig

Edited April 16 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[edinmass]

 

Drive what you like.....FTW!

 

I have no issues with a four or six in a car..........as long as it's POST WAR.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Well sixes are my favorite and both my old cars are sixes. One three speed manual and one torqueflite.  I loved big eights in my youth but now they are ok as long as I don’t have to pay the costs involved.

[Dave Wells]

4 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Nova' in reverse, It's an AVON!

Nova in Spanish is "not going"---(no-go).

GM didn't sell a lot of Novas in South America.

[Twisted Shifter]

3 hours ago, edinmass said:

Drive what you like.....FTW!

Did you mean WTF or FTW? Either way, welcome to the 21st century.

[Larry Schramm]

13 hours ago, Tom99 said:

Two weeks ago, I sold my 65 Corvette that just got to expensive to drive. I was getting between 10 and 12 mpg using premium gas, that is $1.00 or more per gallon above the price of regular. I've been looking at a replacement car that has either a four or a six cylinder engine. Dart, Falcon, Nova, Volkswagen or something similar.

I want an older car that I can take on a road trip, without breaking the bank.

 

Buy a Corvair.  Reasonable price, and parts are still fairly available and reasonable in price.  We had a '64 Monza with a 4 speed.  Fun car with a lot of memories.

Edited April 17 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

6 hours ago, JACK M said:

've been playing with some slant sixes lately.

I scored a dual carb set up and some headers that I would like to play with someday.

But the two runners run so dependably I don't see reason to make any changes.

I do have a couple of non running parts cars that I could hop up.

Thinking I should sell the Valiant, stick six.

Smokey Yunick said the slant six Valiant responded to a few simple hop up tricks, more than any other motor he ever saw. He was referring to the Hyperpak kit that took the 170 cu in engine from 101 to 148HP. Nearly a 50% increase from a 4 barrel carb, intake, dual exhaust, cam and kit, and heavy duty clutch.

 

If you have a spare slant six and a light car to put it in (like a Valiant, Dart or early Barracuda) you could have a lot of fun with the parts you already have plus a reground cam and one more forgotten speed secret, a shaved  flywheel for whippier acceleration

[Frank DuVal]

1 hour ago, Larry Schramm said:

Buy a Corvair.  Reasonable price, and parts are still fairly available and reasonable in price.  We had a '64 Monza with a 4 speed.  Fun car with a lot of memories.

Larry, Sussh! You are going to raise the prices on these wonderful cars!😮🚓🚒🚕🚗

 

Seen the prices on Rampsides and wagons recently? ❓

[Larry Schramm]

9 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Larry, Sussh! You are going to raise the prices on these wonderful cars!😮🚓🚒🚕🚗

 

Seen the prices on Rampsides and wagons recently? ❓

 

Rampsides I have heard of the increased interest.  I had two wagons that "ran when parked" but eventually became parts cars because of time and being parked outside.  Tried to sell them for the price of scrap, $250 each and had no takers.  Had one person offer $100.  My decision was easy, they are probably now toasters from China.  One of the wagons had the tinted glass all around in good condition.

[ted sweet]

i have a 6 cylinder 66 mustang

[EmTee]

I remember driving a customer's 6-cylinder, 3-speed '65 Mustang when working at my buddy's father's gas station.  My recollection of the experience is that the stick made it actually quite fun to drive.

[54Coupe]

Just after I got my wife's '40 Hudson two door sedan on the road with the hopped up Hornet engine (four barrel carb, long tube headers, Chevy 700r4 trans) we went to a local cruise night and parked next to a just finished 32 Ford roadster ( a very nicely done car, but very typically done with off the shelf or catalog parts) , and opened our hood. In just a few minutes, there was quite a group of people crowded around asking my wife and I lots of questions. After about thirty minutes, the roadster moved to the other side of the parking lot so people would pay attention to his car as well. I kinda felt bad for him, and was quite surprised at how much interest out Hudson generated.

[carbking]

From our sales:

 

Chevy sixes are probably the hottest category we have right now. Rarely a day goes by that we don't get at least one call, generally more. Most have already upgraded, or wanted to upgrade to a Carter, and get rid of the horrible Rochester model B. Lots of multiple carb requests, mostly 2 singles, when 3 singles work so much better.

 

For Ford sixes, we get an occasional request, maybe one every 2 months.

 

For MoPar sixes, we sell a kit for the 1963 with the Stromberg single barrel about once a year.

 

I realize there are others in the carb business, but this is our experience.

 

Jon

[Rusty_OToole]

4 minutes ago, carbking said:

Chevy sixes are probably the hottest category we have right now. Rarely a day goes by that we don't get at least one call, generally more. Most have already upgraded, or wanted to upgrade to a Carter, and get rid of the horrible Rochester model B. Lots of multiple carb requests, mostly 2 singles, when 3 singles work so much better.

Would be interested to know what you mean by 3 singles work so much better. Do you mean with a progressive linkage? Which carburetors would you recommend for a mildly hopped up 261 ( mild cam, dual exhaust)?

[carbking]

On a personal note, I don't want one!

 

In 1963, Dad bought me a 1959 Chevy Biscayne with 3 on the tree and a 6 cylinder. This car belonged to a widow of one of Dad's friends that passed before his time. It only has 7000 miles. I wasn't interested in speed (then), but this thing was cutting into my "date money" for gasoline! After recalibrating the odometer (which was about 25 percent fast, gets you out of warranty quicker), I averaged about 12 MPG at 65 MPH. When I told Dad, he told me I was driving too hard. I said OK, I trade it to you for a week for the Ford pickup. Well, he did improve my mileage.......from 12.3 to 12.5.

 

We traded the Chevy 6 for a Ford 8 in a Fairlane that got about 21.