I used my first 1968 Firebird hardtop as a daily driver for 16 years. That is what killed it. When I got out of the Army I needed a car and this one was in great condition, it had the OHC-6, automatic, Aleutian Blue, black vinyl roof, deluxe interior, low miles. I took it every where. It had a rough life with me.

I am working on a '68 Firebird convertible right now. I am at a crossroads as to whether I should make it gorgeous, or not so much. I have several friends that have restored their Firebirds to museum quality. They hardly ever take them out of the garage. Even with classic car insurance, they are scared to death some rubberhead will smash into them. You have to admit, these days that is a distinct possibility.

The reason I used my first Firebird so casually, was because, after a while, it was not very nice looking. It was mechanically sound, but in primer most of the time. Worse, I worked in a shady neighborhood and had to park it there for long hours. No one messed with it the way it was.

I was just on an auction site and found a red '68 Firebird 400 convertible. It was beautiful, but had a bad engine fire that even started to melt the dash items. It was still valued at $41.000. I know what these cars are worth is mint condition.

I live in NYC, where car theft is an art form. If I parked it in my living room, someone would try to steal it. A friend that lived close by had his '68 Firebird painted,. They stole it the next day. That is the main reason I stayed in primer. I also had a woman ram into my driver side door. Again, fixed and re-primered. EZPZ.

Now that I am, retireded, no need to park it anywhere but my garage. I have a long driveway and can park several modern cars in front of the garage. I am a good mechanic, but I suck at body work and painting. It would need a professional paint job.

Maybe a MAACO cheapola paint job? Another guy I worked with did some body work on his car every lunch hour. When he was done he took it to MAACO and told them to 'do the body work' and paint it. He knew they would find things he missed. They did a great job- it looked brand new. I have no problem doing the grunt work.

I would like to know what you guys do? Anyone use it as a daily driver? Or is it in a vault?

I had a 79 Malibu that i did all the bodywork and brought it to a MACO in Farmingdale and they painted it. It looked decent for about a year then the paint started to get really dull. It wouldn't even buff out to a shine anymore. But for $299 at the time i couldn't complain.
On the other hand when i did my 68 i used all the best products and it was immaculate and i drove it quite a bit and raced it quite a bit. It actually got damaged in my garage when i dropped stuff on it and banged into it.
One day ill fix it but its not the end of the world.
Just do whatever makes you happy and drive it, you only live once on this stinking rock.

Are you sure that wasn't Earle Schieb? I'm showing my age. $299 is pretty inexpensive. My friend paid around $1800 and he also did all the prep work removing lenses and bumpers. He had a 1980 Malibu. That was over 20 years ago and it still looks pretty good. I am sure they have various quality levels and price ranges.

I have a 1983 Pontiac Bonneville wagon with an '81 LeMans nose. That is my knock-around parts chaser. It is always outdoors so I brush painted it with Interlux polyurethane which has UV blockers. It looks OK for Shitty City traffic and I can leave it anywhere.

I was thinking of making this Firebird much nicer but as I said, I don't want to be afraid to drive it.

PS- I got stuck in Wrong Island traffic the other morning. Smart move getting the 'ell out of here.

That $299 was back in 1995-1996 time frame.
The last time i went back to long island in June of 2020 me and a buddy had to drive upstate and it took 3 hours just to get off the island.

My wife had a doctor appointment in Merrick. I am right off the Cross Island at Jamaica Ave. Some rubberhead took a truck onto the Southbound Cross Island, smashed it at the LIRR overpass to Belmont, caused a huge fuel spill, and they shut it down completely. I had to get South and East right past where the clusterfuck was. Everyone from Northern Blvd down was bailing onto the side streets. Every street was bumper to bumper trying to get around Belmont. I wiggled South on some little used side streets to get past the LIRR, and made it to the Southern State. Which was bumper to bumper crawling all the way to the Meadowbrook. We left two hours early because of the closure, yet got there with minutes to spare. You wonder why I am not thrilled to drive a 1968 car in Wrong Island traffic? Sheesh.

I don't drive mine every day. It has no heater core, has a 461 with 3.73 gears, so I am good for about 9-11 mpg. My 67 is not factory, not museum, not perfect, but it does race, it does need a paint job and some rust remediation on the rear quarters. I think someone else said it.... It's your car, do what you want. But for me, I refuse to have a classic that I don't drive or I am afraid to drive. It's why we have them.

Amen.