I still miss my old '67 Chevy II, 350, 4-speed. It was a brute, and as unstable as could be on any wet surface. But, man, it ate up those miles running from CT to NC, or CT to OH, back in the '90s. Slow down in the rain. Defrost wasn't great, but it works well enough. Heat if I needed it. Too much heat in the summer.
It was a car.
Everyone seemed to like it. It got lots of smiles and waves, and plenty of dudes strode up like they were gonna sell me something, just to ask if it was a "big block" (Nope, there weren't none of them from the factory) or an L-79 (Nope again, but that was what I was shooting for in terms of power and throttle response).
I put disc brakes on the front of that car, front and rear sway bars, Goodyear Eagles. Lowered it with cut springs. It all helped. It was close to "neutral," handling wise. But it would not handle in any reasonable sense of that word. All this was 25-30 years ago. Things have changed.
You had to be careful with the Nova. But you could put a couple-three friends in it and hustle down to a concert in some New London dive. It did not require its passengers to sign a waiver.
A Speedster replica is something else. A bathtub on a skateboard, maybe with 150 horsepower. You like carbs? Weber carbs? You're in luck! They're right on there, two of them, clogging up their idle jets for no reason at all. Enjoy!
Unless you go Subaru. For $40k you can. You'll have a bathtub on a skateboard with 180 horses. Waaay more problematic than my 350(?) HP Nova.
You have one passenger seat and room for two overnight bags. Keep some spare parts in the frunk.
And keep a bunch of towels in the car in case of rain. Buy "How to Keep Your VW Alive" and learn every page. It's a way of life.
People will stop and stare. They'll roll film while hanging out the passenger windows of passing vehicles. They will accost you at fuel stops and convenience stores. They will have questions.
"What year is that?"
"Is that real?"
—This second query will never be directed to you in a '68 Chevelle.
What will you tell them?