20 Affordable Project Cars

1960-1970 Ford Galaxie
The first-year Galaxie was adorned with the trim and style typical of the '50s. The following year, 1960, brought a complete redesign. Like the Impala, the Galaxie name was given to all of Ford's fullsize models. It later broke off into Galaxie 500 and XL. Midway through 1963, Ford decided to improve the car's aerodynamics to gain a better advantage in the NASCAR series. This new slope-back style was called the Sports Roof, or Scatback hardtop. Ford also introduced the 427 into the option list. They were very performance oriented. There were 212 special lightweight versions produced with next-to-no options and a lot of aluminum and fiberglass body parts. Later years would bring the 428 motor to the Galaxie and the styling would change significantly in 1968. It's clear the early to mid-'60s cars are more expensive than the rest. There is very little support in the way of aftermarket suspension components, but the car doesn't really need to go racing through the hills. A big 427, drag shocks, and a 9-inch rearend is all it needs to go fast.

We Found It
It's amazing what $2,800 can get you. This '64 Galaxie has got a newly rebuilt 390 (to 406 cubes), new transmission, and the factory 9-inch rearend. The car's body is wearing primer, but the whole thing has been jammed; it just needs the matching paint on the outside. The interior is trashed, but for the price, it's a good deal.

1975-1980 Chevy Monza
The Monza was derived from the Vega, which was produced two years into the Monza's lifespan. It's a four-seater subcompact car that was taking sales numbers away from the Vega, and ultimately replaced it. Unlike the Vega, the Monza came from the factory with a V-8. Naturally, this makes it easier to get high-performance parts for the car that otherwise might have been a guessing game. The Monza won Motor Trend's prestigious Car of the Year award in 1975. Another special car for '77-79 was the Mirage, built by GM-contracted aftermarket company, Michigan Auto Techniques. It's got a special striped paintjob and front and rear air dams. At only 4,097 produced, they are rare, but very desirable. All of the Monzas got a torque-arm rear suspension that was eventually incorporated into F-body cars. They've even got some race breeding in them, participating in the IMSA GT series. You'll see many of these with the Vegas at the dragstrip as well.

1967-1976 Plymouth Valiant
The first generation of the Valiant had a very bubbly look carried over from the '50s. The 1967 model year brought a huge redesign to this compact car, giving us the more boxy style more relevant to the '60s and '70s. The entire range of years have a very similar look. In 1973, the government pressed automakers to achieve higher safety ratings, ultimately bulking up the car quite a bit. If you can find an earlier model, they are lighter, and have the tighter-fitting bumpers. In 1974, the Valiant was basically a Dart with minor cosmetic differences including badging. This is a good thing when it comes to restoring because that means twice the parts are available. One of the most common models to be found at the car shows and dragstrips is the Valiant Scamp. It borrowed from the two-door hardtop '70 Dart Swinger. These later years made up almost half of Plymouth's sales, so they produced a lot of them. These cars have extremely clean lines, lending themselves to any style from Pro-Touring to Pro-Street.

We Found It
This '72 Scamp looks great in the main image but there is a lot of hidden damage. Lots of rust is bubbling through this fresh paintjob, hiding who-knows-how much damage. Aside from the rust, the car has a rebuilt 383, and some other upgrades, however, the problems scared any bidders from touching the car at $2,500.