I grew up on old cars. I am 41 years old, and I've been driving other people's
old cars almost for as long as I've been driving. If you can find a mid 60's
car in your area that is in decent condition (you should be able to negotiate
with the dealer or seller to allow you to have a safety inspection performed),
it's worth a try. In my experience (I had a '59 Studebaker for a while and
then a '67 Lincoln), a lot of repair facilities will NOT be willing or able to
help you when it comes to having parts replaced. I used to take my cars upto
the neighborhood gas stations (before I started doing my own maintenence), and
they used to be able to order the routine tune-up parts and so on, but while I
had those cars, they claimed that that can't order that stuff anymore. So as a
result, I would go to the auto parts stores (the older well-established ones
like Napa, for example) and they would supply me with my parts (I would have to
know exactly what I want when I go in there). Then I would stockpile some of
the routine replacement parts, and when it was time for maintenence, I would
take my parts along with the shop manual & owners manual upto the gas station,
and then they would do the work. I had that experience with shock absorbers
also. Speedy Muffler couldn't order them. I already had a mail order catalog
which contained all of that stuff for my Studebaker, but my Dad suggested that
the local stores should be able to order the stuff too. Well, nobody could,
and so I ended up having to get the parts by mail. You should invest in mail
order parts catalogs specifically for your car. Studebaker was easy, but I was
not able to find any such catalogs for the Lincoln that I had. I wanted to
have the brakes replaced, and the gas station was able to get the brake pads,
but nothing else. I had a parts store order the rebuilt calapers for me, but
they couldn't get the brake hoses. I ended up going through the yellow pages
phone book and seeing an add for Vintage Auto Parts in the state of Washington.
I live in Ohio, and here was an ad for Washington. Since absolutely no one
here could order the hoses for me, I called them. They had them and sold them
to me for about $200 for the pair. They had special fittings on the ends that
no one else could supply. My guess is that they must have bought the machines
from Ford when they stopped making them. Then, I had a 1970 Chevy Nova. I
didn't have much difficulty with that car. It seems as though the repair shops
were better able to get parts for a 1970 than for a 1967 or a 1959.
I really like the old cars, but I can't afford to gamble with my transportation
in such a way. I have to know that I can have a repair made and be on my way
to work, and to not be waiting for weeks while parts are being located,
shipped, and then installed.
Right now I own a 1993 GMC Safari Van and a 2003 Chevy S10 Pickup Truck. I've
decided to say with General Motors, and have had more sucess with GM products
over the years.

The only thing I can say to you is to do a lot of research, and when you find
the car of your choice, get your parts catalogs and repair manuals. Don't
rely on the shops to have the stuff, because they may not- you really never
know.
Dale Wein

TeleDale Key Service,
http://www.angelfire.com/wizard/teledale
1811 Saratoga Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44109 U.S.A.