We read all over the internet, kids these days dont want cars, but were pretty sure its not a lack of desire, but simply a lack of cash that keeps the classic car market in a mostly retirement age bracket. It only takes a few minutes of watching televised classic car auctions for anyone to think that a classic car is far beyond financial reach. However, we think that there are a multitude of classic car options if you think a bit outside the 1969 Camaro-shaped box and dont mind driving your project car around in less-than-pristine condition. Here are eightrelatively obscure but very cool pre-1980 cars that with somesummer saving, you could buy and drive to that concert, on that date, or to your office. Then tear em down and rebuild em over the winter with your Christmas bonus money. Weve aimed for somewhere between $2,000 and $4,000 based on classified ads for non-basketcase vehicles with a fewwarts that otherwise (allegedly) run and drive. 19541966 Pontiac Star Chief Well start as far as back as we dare go, and while the Star Chief runs toward the high end of our price range, you can find a running car for under $4,000. The full-size Ponchos entire production run neatly straddles the automotive transition from round, no-frills post-war designs to Jet Age fins and ornamentation before spendingits final years with classic early 60s Pontiac design language.A first-year Star Chief will get you a flathead Straight-8, but the V-8 options are solid for subsequent years with displacementand horsepowergrowing rapidly every year until 1960 when the ubiquitous 389 was available to scoot the big Poncho Sedan at a good clip. Low end of price range for running car: $3,800   19551961 ChryslerWindsor and New Yorker As with Star Chief, the Chryslers of the late 1950s crossed the threshold of auto design into the Jet Age. If youre not picky about looks, you can find a running Windsor or New Yorkerforwell within a summer-job budget. Later cars have some dang-impressive wings so if that Space Race design trips your trigger,set your search sights on a 61. The V-8 offerings were bountiful in these cars and they provide a relatively easy way to find an early Hemi or Big Block Mopar. Low end of price range for running car: $2,500   19631966 Dodge Dart This really could apply to any of a number of early 1960s compact cars since the market has not yet gone completely berserk for the Ford Falcons and Dodge Darts like it has for their later muscle-car cousins. However, those first-generation Darts are fine representatives of that timeless three-box era of American design. If youre patient, you can find a V-8 car in many parts of the country for under $4,000 and six-cylinder cars typically go for cheaper still. Low end of price range for running car: $2,400   19591964 Studebaker Lark The Lark is a strange bird, and is typically the long-forgotten also-ran in the same compact market with the Dart, Falcon, and Chevy II/Nova. In the Larks short run from 1959 to 1964, Studebaker gave it two makeovers with the first two generations styling really standing out in the segment. Interestingly, the Lark was the first of its contemporaries offered with the V-8, which was a 259 cubic-inch engine while the base engine was a flathead 170 cubic-inch straight-six. Either way, its a great conversation piece, and theres basically no market for these cars, meaning you can buy one in remarkably good shape for just a couple thousand dollars. Sure, getting parts might be a bit of a challenge, but that's part of the fun. Low end of price range for running car: $3,000 19651967 AMC Rambler Marlin The Plymouth Barracuda gets all the glory for its fastback design, but the Rambler (and later AMC) Marlin hit the market before the Cuda with its enormous fastback glass. A good number of them have had engine swaps from the original ubiquitous AMC straight-six or assorted small-block AMC V-8 engines, but whatever you put under the sprawling hood, we think theres something cool about the oddball Marlin. Like the cars mentioned above, there just isnt a huge collector market for them so you wont find a lot of I KNO WHUT I HAV!!!11! in the Marlin classified ads you come across. Low end of price range for running car: $3,500 19681992 Jaguar XJ If youre reading this, youre probably familiar with Roadkill's Draguar, and you could get your very own plush British luxury car for dirt cheap. If youre lucky, you might find one that has already had the straight-six or even the complicated V-12 replaced with the commonly swapped Small-Block Chevy V-8. Whatevers under the hood, expect typical British problems like mystifying electrical gremlins when tinkering with the plethora of Thatcher-era gizmos on the real-wood dash. Some might say that kind of stuff makes this idea silly, but dont listen because we all know that real character-building comes from lying on your back roadside under the XJs sleek lines in a driving rainstorm and whacking the starter solenoid firmly with the Anger Wrench. Low end of price range for running car: $2,500 almost categorically with a Chevy V8 swap   19751978 Datsun 280Z Were obviously big fans of the Rotsun Roadkills ratty and unreliable 1971 Datsun 240Zand Datsuns curvy Z-cars offer a great chance for some low-dollar fun. The market has recentlystarted to make the240Z and 260Z harder to obtain for cheap, but the more-abundant and later 280Z can still be found in running shape for a reasonable wad of cash. Many still have the2.8-liter straight-six. The typical trend among Datsun ownership is that even the slightest bit of involved engine maintenance is cause enough to throw a Small-Block Chevyor, of course, a 4.3-liter V-6 with a honking-big turbo on itin the big engine bay. Low end of price range for running car: $2,500 --> 19681973 Opel GT Opels miniscule two-seater really does look like a three-quarter-scale Chevy Corvette , but theres a lot of cool in these little beasts. While not nearly as refined, the power-to-weight ratio is awfully similar to a first-generation Miata and the mechanically operated roll-over (not truly pop-up) headlights are super cool. Theyre certainly not roomy, but the GT is an eye-catcher everywhere you go with one. These seldom bring a pile of money, but if youre going to buy one, give it a thorough look-over for structural rust. Low end of price range for running car: $2,900 Cheap Classic Cars Under $5,000 19541966 Pontiac Star Chief 19551961 ChryslerWindsor and New Yorker 19631966 Dodge Dart 19591964 Studebaker Lark 19651967 AMC Rambler Marlin 19681992 Jaguar XJ 19751978 Datsun 280Z 19681973 Opel GT This article was originally published on Roadkill.com and has been adapted slightly. The post Cheap Classic Cars Under $5,000: Vintage Rides With Style on a Budget appeared first on MotorTrend .