I am interested in buying a 70SS or well done clone. I need to limit my price to around $20,000. I realize this would probably eliminate a number matching car. My question is, would I be better off buying a genuine car with non matching numbers vs. a well done clone car. Prices are all over the place on these cars. What I would like is a really nice driver, local type show car. You guys are the experts, which way would you go. Is one any better investment than the other? Thanks!

Look at everything available in your price range, then buy the car you keep going back to look at again.

What Saturn said - when you find the car you want, you will know. Just don't be afraid to walk away from the ones that you don't want, and don't be so excited that you don't thoroughly check out the car you DO want.

I know a guy in Waverly NE that bought an original documented SS from a seller in Los Vegas for 22,000. 396 w/functional cowl 4 spd, bench seat, ect. (not sure if it was numbers matching) What I’m getting at is they are out there. I got too excited when I found one in my area and jumped on it without doing the through inspection that I should have. DON’T make that mistake. Bring a magnet & check for bondo, pop the trunk & look from inside at the lower corners around the back window. Drive it once, drive it again, and then drive it again. Don’t let the power of 70’s muscle cloud your vision. Take your time, you’ll thank yourself later.

a 20K budget for a 70 SS is very reasonable,and you should be able to find what you want.I would be more interested in the quality of the car over anything else.

Thanks for your opinions. I appreciate them and will try not to jump to quick. I've done that before and it usually ends up in disappointment.

One thing I'll add is to figure out what you intend to do with the car. You mentioned something about an investment.

- Do you plan to sell the car in 2-3-4 years?
- Do you want a keeper but just also want to know you'll get your money back out of it if you ever sell?
- Will you upgrade to a better car in the future, or will you pour money into this one at some point to upgrade the paint, drivetrain, etc?
- Do you plan to show it, or just drive and enjoy it?

The answers to these questions should help in deciding how important originality will be or in making the genuine/clone choice. Good luck!