Choose the right car to begin with....And you won't get disgusted and give up later...

I see so many half-finished or not even started projects that are often sold at a loss because their owners bit off more than they could chew. Here's some good advice on how to avoid this problem and make your project a success that you can enjoy. # 1. Be honest about your own abilties. Unless you are a bodyman or  mechanic by trade-It might behoove you to buy an already finished car-or one that only requires minimal work. Here's why- most professional restoration shops charge upwards of $100 per hour. And it's real easy to rack up 100 or 200 hours-especially if a car needs major body work or the engine or transmission rebuilt. Instead of spending 10-20 grand or more on a clunker that needs a major overhaul-you could have used that money to just buy a better car to begin with. # 2. Avoid "Problem Children". Even if you are a mechanic or bodyman by trade-I would avoid cars with major rust issues, frame damage, or fire or flood damage. It's a lot harder to restore a "basket case" than people think. Again-even if your an Ace Mechanic 99% of the time your better off just looking for a better car to start with. Which brings up the next point. # 3. The cheapest car isn't always the best deal. This should be a no-brainer, but people fall into this trap all the time. Here's a couple of examples-# 1. This guy wanted a 1970-73 Firebird to build a Trans-Am clone out of. I went with him to look at two candidates. The first one was 1970 Formula 400 that the guy was asking only $500 for. My friend was very excited. However-although the body was straight and rust-free-that's all it was-a body. I mean this was an engineless, transmissionless,radiatorless, gas tankless, interiorless hulk. The second one was a 1973 Firebird Esprit that the guy was asking $2,500 for. The vinyl top was peeling off, and the front seats needed to be re-covered, but the headliner and the rest of the interior was intact, the body was straight and rust-free, and it had a 400 with a 2bbl carb, backed by a TH400 trans. It started and ran like a champ,didn't smoke or leak oil, the tranny shifted good,the brakes didn't squeak, it was a solid car. I told him to buy it. He started in about the $500 one. "Look-I said." It'll cost you $10,000 to get other one in the shape that this one is for $2,500." This one is a screaming deal." How do you figure? he asked, dead serious. "Okay." I said. "This is a complete running car." "It already has a 400 V8 and a TH400." "All you really need to do is buy the spoilers and scoops, and the aluminum dash panel". And a 4bbl carb and intake." "The other one-you'd have find an engine and transmission, and crossmember and driveshaft,plus a radiator, a gas tank,the starter, alternator, fuel pump,power steering pump, all the brackets, the brake booster and master cylinder,the wiring harness,all the lights and bulbs, all the upholstery and little attatching clips etc. Just to get it in "driver" condition-which this one already is." "I guarantee it'll cost you $25,000 to build that other car the way you want-when you could do this one for 10, including the $2,500 purchase price." Don't be a moron. Luckily, he agreed-even though the '73 was five times the initial cost of the '70, in the long run it was the much better deal-going to save him thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work. # 2. This guy wanted a "Vanishing Point" Challenger. He knew he couldn't afford an original 1970 440 R/T model-but he figured maybe he could get a 318 version and swap in a 360 or maybe even a big-block. Not a bad idea, entirely feasible. Except he gor fixated on his neighbor's car. The neighbor had a pristine 1970 Challenger-it was even Alpine white-but it was a slant-six model with an automatic, and 4-wheel drum brakes. I located a '73 model with a 340 and Torqueflite, that had front disc brakes,an 8/34 rear end and the Rallye suspension-i.e.-front and rear sway bars-and full guages. It had a little rust in the trunk-( What '70's Mopar doesn't? ) but nothing major and the body was in good shape-and the 340 ran STRONG. It would spin the tires as long as you wanted to stay on the throttle. It was red with white interior and a white vinyl top. The vinyl top was peeling off, but that's and easy fix-and the seats needed to be re-done. The guy was asking about the same amount of money as the neighbor was for the '70 model. Of course my pal was leaning toward the '70 model. I convinced him to buy the '73. I told him-"First off-the '70 is a six-cylinder model." Your going to need a V8 crossmember." "You going to need a new radiator-the slant-six radiator won't cool a 318, much less a 440." "Whether you use a small-block or a big block-you have to find an engine and all the brackets and accessories." "You'll need a new tranny-if you want to convert it to a four-speed you'll need the clutch linkage and pedals, the bellhousing, the shifter, everything." "Even if you want to leave it an automatic-the six-cylinder 904 tranny won't hold up to a hot 340,360,383 or 440." "The 8 1/4 rear end that came with the six won't hold up either." "The 4-wheel drum brakes won't stop it worth a shit either." "Not more than once." "Now-the '73 model already has a 340 and a 727-if you decide to drop in a 408 stroker-you've already got all the tin, all the brackets, and the proper tranny." It's already got an 8 3/4 rear-bulletproof." It's already got front disc brakes." "For god's sake, remove the vinyl top, fix the seats, paint it white and live out your Kowalski fantasies." It'll save you a ton of money and hassle in the long run." Luckily-he came to his senses and bought the '73. # 4. An ultra-rare car missing a key component is not a deal at any price. The obvious examples-a Chrysler Hemi car missing the Hemi engine, or a Boss 302 or Boss 429 Mustang missing the "Boss" engine. The cost of finding a numbers-matching or even-same-year engine and purchasing it and chasing all the parts would be so prohibitive that even if you had Donald Trump's bank account-you'd be ahead of the game and save many thousands by just anteing up for a complete car. # 5. Don't be a dumb-ass and fixate on one piece of equipment or go to insane lengths to get it. A couple examples-A Mustang enthusiast-who dreamed of a red-and-black '71-73 Mach 1 with the red-and-black interior passed on a pristine example because it had a two-barrel carb on the 351C!! I literally wanted to kill him. This car was beautiful and priced exceptionally low at $5995!! He kept looking, and paid $8995 for another one that a 4bbl on it!!!  "Are you insane??" I asked. You can buy an Edelbrock intake and 4bbl carb or like $600!!." "You just payed another 3 grand for the same car, because of a carb and intake??" "At least this one's original" "Yeah but an Autolite 4300 is the worst carb in existence, bar none!!" "The freaking two-barrel would ran better and been more reliable!" Another idiot passed up a prsitine, rust-free, one-owner '68 Charger because it had a two-barrel carb on the 383. He payed $5,000 more for one that wasn't nearly as nice-and here's the real kicker-this one had a non-original 440 in it with a Thermo-Quad!!! ( 1968-70 383 and 440 4bbl engines used Carter AVS carbs from the factory). The one that takes the cake was the two idiots who both had 1970 Firebirds. One was a Formula 400 with a 4-speed, the other one was an Esprit with a 400 and a TH400. They were both blue with blue interiors-the same color!!. These geniuses decided to swap transmissions. All of their friends said-"For god"s sake, just trade cars!!" "Their even the same color!!  No, these idiots spent two whole weekends swapping the trannys. Now neither car is original. How dumb is that? # 6. Don't be a moron about "Originality". Especially if the car isn't worth anything in the first place. If your restoring a Hemi 'Cuda-yes you want everything right. But a friend of mine who bought a '64 Buick Skylark convertible is much happier with his "restification" than he would be it it was "Just as it left the factory". He swapped the obsolete with no parts availablity 300 inch V8 and two-speed ST300 ( Read Powerglide ) tranny for a later model 350 V8 and TH350 tranny. This was a bolt-in swap, and the car has way more power and get's better gas mileage and has better drivability. He also put the spindles, front disc brakes,calipers, and master cylinder and booster out of a '72 Monte Carlo. ( '64-72 GM "A" body stuff is very interchangeable.) Now it's a helluva nice car that his wife loves as a unique daily driver. And honestly-he "compromised" the value of the car how? It's not a Z16 Chevelle that he swapped an LS motor into! Think rationally and you'll avoid these pitfalls. Mastermind