Are you looking to start playing with classic cars, but aren’t quite ready financially or otherwise to jump into a big, expensive project?  If you are that person, this 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle sedan for sale on Craigslist in Weldon Spring, Missouri may be the car for you.  You will have to overcome challenges like rust, fragrant rodent aromas, no title, and no keys, but the rewards you will receive in practical experience and the pride in doing a hard task yourself will be worth it.  With an asking price of $4,750, how can you go wrong?  Thanks to reader Henry R. for the tip!

Let’s say you have accumulated a little pocket change in this difficult economy and would like to pick up a collectible car to have fun with.  The problem is that you are pretty green when it comes to mechanical things, and you have never refurbished anything.  What should be your next step?  Perhaps a vintage American sedan like this 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu should be on your short list of possible candidates.  With the world’s most proven drivetrain, a plethora of both new and used parts, and the classic lines of an American icon, this Chevelle has a lot to offer from a practical standpoint.  It will also provide a low-cost opportunity to learn some necessary mechanical skills along with a place to practice refurbishing metal, paint, cloth, and plastic surfaces.  Maybe even some locksmithing and legal work too.

We all have to start somewhere in this hobby.  Beginning with oil changes and, eventually, building up to engine rebuilds, and paint jobs takes time and relies on trial and error.  Getting that first collector car is the start of buying tools, fixing problems as they creep up, and making that car what we wanted.  We are all somewhere on this journey.  By reading the comments for these write-ups, some have decades of incredible experience while others are working up the courage to take that first step.

It is for those folks that cars like this 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu exist.  By the late sixties, General Motors was at the height of its game.   The company was punching out everything from locomotives to solid, well-built family cars.  Many of those cars are still with us today.  In an interesting paradox, it is harder to find a four-door from this period than it is to find a more desirable two-door, special edition, muscle car, or sports car.  To add to that, the price of four-door cars is usually much lower, even if the condition is better.

The seller of this 1967 Chevelle Malibu seems to be one of the better ad writers out there and does a good job selling this car.  As someone who fancies himself as a mangler of the English language, I can recognize another professional when I see one.  The ad starts by describing the car as an all-original time machine, then gives us a description of the car’s history and issues in a most poetic way.  It was put into a barn in 1992 and recently pulled out by the grandchildren of the Three Stooges.  These folks managed to dent up the rear door on the driver’s side.  To add insult to injury, the quarter panel also received some damage.

It has a 283 cubic inch V-8 under the hood with a two-speed Powerglide automatic backing it up.  Other than those slight upgrades, the car is described as being devoid of options.  According to the seller, “grandma” didn’t need any fancy stuff like power windows, power brakes, air conditioning, or even an AM/FM radio.  Why it doesn’t have an inline six under the hood and a column shift manual transmission is a mystery.  The good news is that the car is relatively untouched by any modifications or enhancements.  It still has the original bias-ply spare resting in the trunk on the factory trunk mat.  The only obvious changes are that the muffler may have been replaced a few decades ago and the seller has thankfully slapped on a set of modern radials.

There are some issues.  The seller tells us that a horde of rodents set up housekeeping in this car for an extended time.  Many hours of remediation and, we assume, a waterfall of Febreze has been applied to get the car back to a presentable condition.  For reasons known only to God, the rodents decided to leave the wiring alone even though the plastic insulation is to them what the Chocolate Wonderfall at Golden Corral is to us.  The car also has a limited amount of rust in the fenders, quarter panels, and battery box.  It doesn’t run, it has no title, and there are no keys included with the sale.  While these are all obstacles in the next owner’s path, one can think of them as learning experiences on the road to a life of automotive bliss.

So, what do you think?  Is this a good starter car for someone wanting to get into the hobby?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments for discussion.