Read through the thread. Read the title, "Classic" in quotes. My opinion of a "classic" may be different from others' idea of a classic. But that's okay.
Ever since I showed one of my auto-feeders (brought to you by Norinco) to a fellow and he handed it back to me, I've been careful what label I assign to a gun, especially someone else's. He was looking down his long, pointy nose and able to muster the most damning report using the fewest words he could be troubled to breathe- "cheap gun". I should have explained that I wasn't searching for an investment. In fact, it was my first firearm purchase in decades, getting back into the sport. What I bought, was an imported firearm that stood as a testament to the COMMItment of a foreign nation that has different views on social interaction than we have here. It has history, character and was in a caliber that I could afford/reload. Even if it was "cheap", I well got my money's worth.
So, (walking down from my borrowed soap box), a classic to me would well have to include a plum Ruger of some sort, perhaps a "Secret Service Special", brought to you mail-order by Frank Biffar out of the (ready for this) gun-friendly zone we all know as CHICAGO!!!! The irony makes this "cheap" little 38 S&W-firing gun a true classic.
There are so many "classics" and Classics that trying to pin it down to part numbers and manufacturers would be like chasing a thread in 1,000-count sheets. You lose the overall picture in the pursuit of minutiae. And, in the end, you're no warmer by clinging to that single strand. Besides, this is a forum for fun. We're here to share ideas and information, all of which this forum does quite well. Besides, Google-bots like it when there's a lot of discussion!