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Rookie Guide On How To Buy A Muscle Car: Determine How You Want To Use The Car

This portion of your muscle-car-to-be process is a critical one, as when it's all said and done…..what you end up doing with the car is almost the entire reason to purchase one!  Below are the six most common uses of muscle cars today:

* Weekend Funmobile
* Car Show Winner
* Pro-Touring Car (i.e. – a muscle car that can go, stop, and turn)
* Drag Racer
* Investment
* Drive Anywhere, Anytime

Now that we know what the common uses are, let's break those down a bit – and see which one if a fit for you!

Weekend Funmobile:
A  car that fits this category is one that you purchase simply for the please of driving it on nice days.  It's never going to see snow, and will only see rain if you can't beat the storm clouds home.  It need not have it's original engine, transmission, etc., nor does it need not have a $20K paint job.  It's only real goal is to be a reliably running, comfortable driving car that is likely in stock condition with the addition of a set of nice sounding mufflers.  Hop in and take the friends and family over to the Dairy Queen!

Car Show Winner:
A car that fits this category on a consistent basis will either be an all original numbers-matching car (meaning it has it's original engine and transmission) that is in meticulous condition, or is a modified car – also in meticulous condition.   As a general rule of thumb, the popular models (Camaro's, Charger's, etc.) are a good fit here.  If they are a modified car, the modification will need to be unique and really well done (it needs to look expensive).  This is a car that won't be driven all that much – perhaps only a few times a year.  It's main goal is to sit, look pretty, and win you some trophy's!

Pro-Touring Car:
A Pro-Touring car is a muscle car modified with some of the latest "go fast" suspension, wheels/tires, and braking components required to make a world-class handling cars.  It will likely have some engine mods done as well.  (View products from Heidts, Detroit Speed, Hotchkis, and Griggs to get a general idea of what I am referring to.)  You can purchase an existing car and bolt on the fun parts, or purchase a car that is already modified.  A numbers-matching car in this category is not overly important.  This is a car that you will take autocrossing or to open track events at road courses.  It's main goal is to give you the driving experience of a new Corvette with the classic lines of American muscle.  Gas-brake-gas-shift-go!

Drag Racer:
A drag racing car is one……that you will take drag racing!  This category is fairly straight forward, but is specific to cars that have been purposely modified to run the 1/4 mile.  (As a side note, you can take any car you own to the strip and run it, but a purpose built car will beat you ever time!)  This car will run free flowing exhaust, a hopped up engine and transmission, will have a sparse interior, and will (likely) have a roll cage.  It's not one for the faint of heart and DOES need a mechanically inclined owner.

Investment:
An investment car is one that you purchase strictly for it's potential growth in value.  You're buying it now to sell it later (hopefully) at a higher price.  We'll still assume that you want to like the car, but truthfully, an investment car simply needs to hit a few (or most) of these criteria: be a popular make/model, be a rare model, be all original, be meticulously kept, be well documented, and be in as close to original condition as possible (it should look like it just rolled off of the assembly line).  These are the reaaaaaly high dollar cars you may find at a Barrett-Jackson auction.  Think of cars like original COPO Camaro's, Plymouth Superbirds, and BOSS Mustangs.

Drive Anywhere, Anytime:
A drive anywhere, anytime car is one that you would (almost) treat just like a regular car, and is essentially a mix-match of the other 5 categories mentioned.  Want to run it to Wal Mart?  No problem.   Taking a road trip to New York?  Top off the tank and let's go.  Cars that fit this category need not be numbers matching, nor do they necessarily need to have terrific paint and body work.  On the flip side, if money is no object, it can have flawless paint work, a hot engine, great suspension, and still fit this category.  It may or may not be a car that goes to car shows, but it does need to run well, be reliable, and (above all else) be incredibly fun and enjoyable to drive.

Which category fits you best?  Put your thinking cap on.  The next section of our series will help whittle things down even further:  "Determine your price range and payment method."  Take your time through this process and give it a lot of thought.  Know this though – somewhere out there a muscle car, which is a perfect fit for you, is waiting on you!

About the Author

The MuscleCar Place aims to be the best place on the web that provides muscle car nuts a place to live and share everything related to our hobby.  Whether you're just buying your first old hot rod, restoring one, like them stock or modified, or your car has been in your family since Day 1 – this is the place for you.

Redcat Racing 7128 Roll Cage $21.63 Roll cage.

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Roll Cage $60.54 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles A roll cage is a specially constructed frame built in (or sometimes around) the cab of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured in an accident, particularly in the event of a rollover. Roll cages are used in nearly all purposebuilt racecars, and in most cars modified for racing. There are many different roll cage designs depending on the application, hence different racing organisations have differing specifications and regulations. They also help to stiffen the chassis, which is desirable in racing applications. A roll bar is a single bar behind the driver that provides moderate rollover protection. Due to the lack of a protective top, some modern convertibles utilize a strong windscreen frame acting as a roll bar. Also, a roll hoop may be placed behind both headrests (usually one on older cars), which is essentially a roll bar spanning the width of a passengers shoulders. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Timpledon, Miriam T./ Marseken, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 74 Publication Date: 2010/08/03 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.18 inches

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Fastback Roll Cage by GenRight for Jeep $1399.99 1997-06 TJ Wrangler;Fastback Roll Cage;Weld in.;Replaces Stock Cage;Designed for maximum visibility;Kit can be shipped to you in three boxes

Redcat Racing 50065 Roll Cage $27.83 Used with all: Rampage MT, Rampage TT, and Rampage Rally models Rampage Roll Cage.

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NCAA Hammer / Discus Cage $22108 All Gill hammer cages comply with, or exceed NCAA guidelines for hammer cage construction adapted to the 34.92 degree sector rule. Net poles are 4" OD, 7/32" wall, 6061-T6 rolled aluminum with a net offset of 40". Shock-absorbing hinged bars secure the net to the ground. 4.35 m width movable doors are made from the same material as the net poles and incorporate taught 1/4" galvanized steel cables to support nets at door ends. Vertical door hinge poles are fabricated from 4" OD, schedule 40 galvanized steel pipe. Doors roll on two 10" heavy duty fixed casters and are triple netted for maximum safety. Net and door poles are installed in 40" deep vertical ground sleeves constructed of galvanized steel. All cage netting is 765 lb. test, #84 knotted weather treated nylon. Main net is fully supported by a galvanized steel tube from the door pole to the first net pole at the specified height. Individual doubled door nets leave no gaps at the top of the doors.The NCAA Hammer / Discus Cage is designed for a single circle. Doors are 23' (7 m) tall (exceeding the 6.15 m height allowed by NCAA rules). Main cage net is at a 6.15 m height and is supported by six 21' tall rolled net poles. When utilizing a discus circle, a Hammer Conversion Circle is necessary for hammer competition.Please Note: This item CANNOT ship to P.O. Boxes, APO, or FPO Addresses. It CAN ONLY ship to a Street Address.