Used Cars: Tips on buying older cars?, older cars, several thousand dollars

Question
Hi my name is Lawrence and I'm a college student with a strong attraction towards older cars. They have something about them that the cars these days don't. I'm especially interested in the '67 Chevy Impalas. Do you have any advice on how to find one and what the price range for one might be? I've been teaching myself how to maintain and repair cars, and have been wondering if cars manufactured from the 60s and 70s are easier or harder to maintain compared to more recent cars? And if maintained properly how reliable can one be? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Answer
Well I cant really give you much advice on finding one.  If you find one that is pretty much up and running, you are going to pay all it is worth.  The only way I have heard of people owning one cheap, is either cruising some back roads, and stumbling accross one in a field, that the owners dont know much about what it is worth, and they sell it cheap, or find somebody on hard times trying to get some quick cash.  Once you get one up and running properly, they are usually not that hard to maintain, everything was so much simpler back then, making it a lot easier to work on them, and funner.  If everything is done right, they can be extremely reliable.  To try and protect your investment, you might research what you find and just make sure that once you have invested several thousand dollars in one, you have a decent chance on getting most of it back.  Where people make mistakes is buying a "IMPALA" at a reasonable price to find out that the 2 doors are not worth as much as the 4 doors or vice versa.  In dealing with old cars it is simply what is a "supply and demand" type of car.  If you dont care about what you may get out of it someday, just buy what you like and have fun, that is really all it is about is building something like YOU want.  You do it right and somebody someday will find interest in it.  It can be a truly rewarding and fun experience, but there is nothing cheap about it.
Probably one of the most important things to realize when buying one is RUST....check floor pans on top and BOTTOM, around wheel wells, and in trunks.  Understand people are good at hiding it so check it well.  Getting rid of rust properly is time consuming and expensive, so watch out for that.  And understand when you begin this process, it is not going to go smooth, just expect the unexpected.