Don’t Fear The Four Door

In the days of yore, long preceding the electronically fuel injected pod mobiles that frequent our great nation’s mall parking lots, cars had personality to burn (no wait; "burn" and "cars" shouldn’t be in the same sentence—I stand corrected). One could be assured that each year a manufacturer released a new car it would be either original or more bulbous (sometimes both). Each year was distinguishable from the next, mainly because the Big Three shuffled trim and rounded squares annually.

And because of this great epiphany in automotive style, those concerned with image could pick and choose. If the swingin’ bachelor wanted the chicks to dig his car, man, why he put $99 down on a two-door with a big V8. Family men, unfortunately, were relegated to the side of the showroom displaying the four doors and the wagons. Sure, he still got the big V8; that camping trip was coming up and the Airstream was a-waitin’ Well, you all know where these cars ended up: the two-door ended up wrapped around a phone pole, and the four-door ended up wrapped in a cocoon of a garage—only to be sold 30 years later with 45,000 miles and paint shiny enough to redirect boats in fog.

Four doors have long lived as the "tolerated" alternative to the two door. Their lines, at least in the Sixties and Seventies, tended to be more conservative and mainstream than their twice doored contemporaries. Given that, most Rodders and gearheads have walked away from perfectly good four doors (me included), because the lines weren’t right, or chicks didn’t dig `em. It’s true, there have been a few who have taken four doors to the slack jawed extreme by jacking them way into space with air shocks and making them try to be something they aren’t. On the other end, there have been people who have taken four doors and made them into some of the most beautiful street rods and some of the fastest "sleepers" on the street. I know this from experience, as I have been slaughtered in street races with at least two four doors—a 401-powered AMC Matador, and `61 Falcon (yeah, I know; I had bad reflexes and he had a good first gear).

Here’s some background on a few four doors that are worthy of our discussion:

1. `62 Chev Impala Hardtop; a former neighbor owned this four door while going to Seattle’s Lincoln High School in the late sixties. As soon as he bought it, he pulled the 283 and dropped in a 350-horse 327 purchased directly from a Chevy dealer. That Corvette motor was backed by a 3-speed manual transmission that he could fix in a matter of minutes (because he had fixed it so many times). He told me that there were only a few cars who could really match him when the car was in its prime. He spent some time drag racing down by Shilshole Bay when the police used to turn the other cheek to street racing. When someone got in a head-on accident with a racer, he and the `62 moved on to the working world.
2. `74 AMC 401 Matador - We raced. He won. I cried. My friends laughed. I went looking for a 429.
3. Any Police car from the Seventies; There is something ethereal about driving a car that powerful and that heavy duty. The mid-Seventies Chevy Nova was a fairly small car with huge front and rear sway bars, and a Z28 motor under the hood. How cool is that? My personal fave is the `78 440-powered Dodge Coronet. The last big-block pursuit vehicle, this bad boy would clock you all day and then bring the badge home for grits every night. There’s still a few of these Jurassic Justicemobiles around. Most are strapped with ailing cooling systems and weak motors from years of thrashing, but they are still a piece of American History that hold their value better than most four doors. Did you know that Oldsmobile's 4-4-2 was a police package that meant "four door, four barrel, dual exhaust? There’s justice for you!
4. My `65 Chev Impala; this four door hardtop is only worthy of discussion because of its incessant undependability. An ex-rental car, it was a beater with only 66,000 miles. As soon as I fixed the lumpy idle, the radiator gave out. As soon as I replaced the radiator, the fuel pump took a dive. As soon as I repaired the fuel pump (and was pulling it out of the driveway), the car dropped a u-joint in the street. As soon as I fixed that, the transmission started making crummy noises. After I replaced that, the "NEW" transmission also started making crummy noises. The radio never worked, the front suspension was shot, the power steering took more effort with than without a belt on the pump, the windshield looked like it had been sandblasted (direct sunlight? Forget it; just pull over and wait for the clouds—or hang a head out the window). The parts replacement didn't end until I replaced the whole car with an even older pickup.
5. 1940 Chev Special Deluxe; just try to find an affordable two door `40. Go on; I dare ya.

Number 5 reminds that a huge advantage to choosing a four door as a Classic project is PRICE. Four doors, in many cases, cost half as much as two doors. Case in point--a friend once purchased a `70 Plymouth Satellite four door with 78,000 miles and beautiful Buttercup Yellow paint. The previous owner had maintained it as a stock and factory-correct sedan and it showed. A two door version of this car would go for over $7000 currently; this car was purchased for less than $2000. My friend still gets his fair share of thumbs up when he's cruising around, and gets 18mpg to boot! And think about this: with four door hardtops, the styling and the lines are clean enough to make high school cheerleaders wish their boyfriends had one. Four doors also make great sleepers. Trust me; I know from experience. Big motors fit under the hood of a four door Chevelle just like a two door. With quiet exhaust and generic wheels with black wall tires, this car could rule the roost and still look like it belongs to Aunt Percy.

So, in closing, don’t fear the four door. The result of building one often is the same as a two door; you end up with all that wonderful styling and plenty of room. Also, your car will be much more admirable than current four doors, which look like faceless nameless little beans. Fear beans; fear beans very much.

Kurt Clark

Originally written February 25, 2000 Edited and updated for this blog