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What's a good car to restore?

AgaBoogaBoo

AgaBoogaBoo

Lifer
I've been talking to my dad about restoring a car and how I'd like to do it in the summer between senior year and going off to college, and he started getting interested. Recently, maybe he forgot about after senior year, but he seems to be interested in doing it this summer. Me? I'm ready to do it anytime, and if we can get the mechanical side of all the things done this summer, I'm sure the body work and painting can be done whenever we feel it's right since that won't interfere with school.

Anyway, it would be him and me restoring it, he'd able to help after work and on weekends, I could work on it almost all day everyday of the summer, of course, I'm going to enjoy my break apart from restoring a car, but I think one summer break is enough time to do the mechanical side of things of a car, that is enough time, right?

My dad was an electrical engineer in college but still did lots of car related things including designing some parts years ago and tuning his own cars for gas mileage, not performance and some other things. He basically did all the work for his car back in India, so it won't be him and me with no clue working on stuff.

Now that I've said all that, what kind of car should we look at restoring and look good?

We discussed lightly rebuilding the engine, and that seems like something we want to avoid, so either we'd have some other company rebuild it for us, or buy a new or used engine to use.

We have ideas of an old Triumph since one of his co-workers did a Triumph, my idea of an old Corvette, what about an old Porsche? This would in no way be a daily driver if that matters. We need ideas of what car and what price range it would be for each car to restore, only including the cost of the used car. Other than painting it, how much money can you estimate we'll need for this car?

We're still in the discussion/brainstorming stage of this so we need all the advice possible. Is it cheaper to have someone rebuild our engine or to just buy a new crate engine or something of the sort?
 
My personal favorite.... Ford Mustang 65 GT ,67 - 69 Fastback...... or Camaro Z-28 of various vintages are cool. So is Barracuda or Challenger / Charger.... ymmv .... pun intended....
 
Other than painting it, how much money can you estimate we'll need for this car?
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Lots. Maybe, $10K to start. Again, though, this depends on the parts you need to buy. If you have to replace lots of body panels, suspension parts, etc. - that amount could go higher.
 
Any old import is gonna cost big $$ to restore, same with a muscle car for the most part.

I guess it all depends on how much dough you have to play around with as to what car to choose.

If it were ME, I'd do a AMX 😉

But we ALL have out favorites 🙂
 
I think $10k would be our limit, except paint.

I'm not really into old mustangs unless there's something special about a certain year. I'm thinking of an old porsche or corvette, but I need more ideas
 
Originally posted by: AgaBooga
I think $10k would be our limit, except paint.

I'm not really into old mustangs unless there's something special about a certain year. I'm thinking of an old porsche or corvette, but I need more ideas
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With a 10K ceiling you'll have limited choices. Porsche parts are too expensive and most restorable Vette's would be outside your price range. American cars will be your only realistic option. Late 60's muscle cars are doable since the parts are cheap and plentiful. If you don't like Mustangs try Camaros or Mopars. You couldn't do a Doge with a 426 in your price range, but a Challenger 340 could work out. If you want to avoid the whole muscle car area, try a late 50's or early 60's American convertible, back from the days when you could land a 747 on the hood. Those are pretty sweet when restored and you can find plenty of the lesser known models.

 
The $10k is just an idea, but since dad is paying for all this since he'll be doing it with me, I'm guessing he could go higher. Things like paint can come later, but the base car needs to be strong and something we can work with and turn into something very nice. What are some higher cost ones? What are some nice Porsches or Vettes?
 
I would personally do a camaro, chevelle, or a nova. 350's are plentiful and very common. A crate motor would be the way to go for you.
 
Take any time you'll think you'll need to restore the car and mulitply that by ten
Now take the amount of money you think it'll cost to restore the car, and multiply that by ten as well

😉

when you're learning, things take a long time with big projects like this. It might be fun at first, then it may become a chore, but don't let yourself get unmotivated about it, keep on it if you start it.
 
Well you would be more likely to lose interest if it isn't a car you really like.. so pick something you want to drive.

If it were me, I'd do an old british sports car, like a vintage triumph. http://www.vtr.org/buyers-guide/index.html A small car, easy to get parts for, still available for a reasonable cost.


Most anyone will tell you that the vehicle with the best body is the way to go. A car needing mechanical work is less money to restore than one with a basket case body.

I would look for something made prior to 72, they had much less smog crap on them, and are easier to work with.
 
Originally posted by: DanC
1957 Thunderbird comes to mind. 🙂
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Um....I have one of those and you couldn't even get started these days for 10K and they are not the best driving cars either.

I restore cars all the time and my advice is to first list all the cars that interest you. Then do some research on each car. Find out the average price range for a reasonable shape restorable vehicle by seaching your local classifieds and online auctions etc. Then investigate the aftermarket that supports each type of vehicle because if you can't get a lot of the parts in reproduction and at a reasonable price your project is going to turn into a long term garage potato. The support and prices of the parts vendors is what is going to make or break your project.

 
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