Brad, If you like the car enough to buy it, upgrading it to power steering and brakes isn't a big deal and can be as cheap or expensive as you're willing. If you do buy the car, manual steering and brakes aren't that hard to live with. Stock manual steering has a very loose ratio so turning at slow speeds isn't as bad as many people think. Manual (drum I assume) brakes can work pretty good if you take the time to make sure everything is in proper working order and the parts are dirt cheap at your local auto stores. Of course, manual brakes - regardless of how good you think they work - will never equal the stopping power of disc brakes. But again, that's an upgrade you can tackle down the road.
The primary concern is whether or not the car itself is worth buying. Good luck! Herb Lumpp http://users.adelphia.net/~hlump/index.htm -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Brad Olson Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 10:08 AM To: Chevelle-list@chevelles.net Subject: [Chevelle-list] Manual steering & brakes I'm going to look at a '65 4-door 300 Deluxe this weekend and the seller told me it has manual steering and brakes. Those of you who've dealt with this setup, does it make a car significantly less enjoyable and more demanding to drive for any length of time? I'll probably be able to take it for a short test drive (weather permitting) but I don't know if that'll be enough time to get a really good feel for it. Thanks! Brad