A "Deal" isn't always a deal....especially if you can't find parts at any price...

I talk to so many people that buy weird stuff and then are frustrated because they can't get parts to fix it. And when I say weird-I'm not talking about some "moon rock". A good example-do you know that no one makes replacement grilles for 1972 Gran Torinos? So if you want to buy one and it has a smashed grille-What are you going to do? Drive around in an otherwise pristine car with no grille? And where are you going to find a used one 44 years later? This is why you should avoid cars with body damage unless their something REALLY popular. Yes, getting a 1/4 panel for a '69 Camaro is no problem. Getting fenders or doors for a '55-57 Chevy is no problem. But what about for a '69 Javelin AMX? Where are you going to get a fender for a '56 Oldsmobile?  # 2. Avoid cars with obsolete powertrains, unless your a mechanic and are planning an engine / transmission swap anyway. A 1964 Buick Skylark is a good-looking car and maybe a nice change from the Chevelle / GTOs that everyone fights with machetes for. There are zero parts available for the 300 Buick V8, and very little for the 2-speed ST300 ( read Powerglide ) tranny. The obvious thing would be to swap in a later model 350 / TH350 combo for a great prformance upgrade-but then the car's not original is it? And what if your not a mechanic? How are you going to get a 1968-77 350 Buick engine and matching tranny out of a junkyard, and since it came from a junkyard-chances are it needs rebuilding, so who's going to rebuild it, and put it in your car, and at what cost?  See what I'm saying? You may think a '68 Firebird with a 215 hp Overhead Cam Six-Cylinder engine is a neat car. It's certainly unique, but where in the hell are you going to get parts for a 1968 OHC Six? Not your local Napa or autozone store!! Not the Pontiac dealer-there are no more Pontiac dealers!!!  The engine was based on the 230 / 250 inch Chevy six that was in thousands of cars and trucks-the bottom end and block is pretty generic. But even Chevy dealers aren't going to stock the OHC specific stuff.  And what if it's got a cracked head? Or intake or exhaust manifold? Where in the hell are you going to find an OHC head for a car that was rare when new, and has been out of production for 48 years? I know Offenhauser made intakes for 6-cylinder engines and Hooker made headers for them back in the '70's-but who stocks them in 2016?  # 3. Unless you are a great mechanic whose very good at welding and fabrication- avoid cars with obsolete suspensions,rear ends and brakes. I talked to a guy who wanted to buy his elderly neighbor's Studebaker coupe and put a 472 Cadillac in it-a modern day "Studillac". Great Idea-in theory. I asked him-what motor mounts are you going to use? What transmission crossmember? Do you think the stock 4-wheel drum brakes will stop the car safely with a big power infusion? If so-where are you going to get brake shoes and hardware or maybe wheel cylinders or a master cylinder for a 1953 Studebaker??  If the brakes are bad or inadequate-what are you going to replace them with? Yes, Summitt and Jeg's are full of disc brake conversion kits for '55 Chevys and '60's Novas and Chevelles, A,B,and E-body Mopars, and popular full-sizes like Chevy Impalas and Ford Galaxies. If your restoring say-a '66 Olds 442-any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle will fit the Cutlass.  But who  makes one for '53-55 Studebakers??  No one!! Now you could just put a Camaro or Chevelle front clip on it and have modern disc brakes and power steering, but do you have the skill and the shop space to actually graft a subframe from one car to another?  Ditto for the rear axle-Where are you going to find a ring and pinion or bearings for a '53 Stude? If it needs replacing, what are you going to replace it with? Currie offers 9 inch Ford rears with GM mounting points if you had a Camaro or a GTO or a Buick Grand National, but nothing for Studebakers!! You could probably adapt a GM 10 or 12 bolt-but that would take a lot of measuring, cutting and welding. And are you going to run leaf or coil springs?  # 4. Avoid cars that were Turds when new that you can't improve without extensive modification. A perfect example would be an '80-81 Turbo Trans-Am or Formula Firebird. They were dogs when new because they couldn't manage the timing, fuel flow and boost with a 1980 distributor and Quadrajet carb. And the 301 is a lightweight "economy" motor that shares virtually nothing with the larger Pontiac engines. So going to fuel injection and turning up the boost or using a bigger Turbo isn't an option because the bottom end couldn't take it. It would blow up the first time you leaned on it. And there's no aftermarket parts to "beef" them up. So the way to more power is (A) Swap in a 400 or 455 Pontiac V8, ( B ) Swap in a small or big-block Chevy-this would require a tranny change as well as Chevy engines have a different bellhousing bolt-pattern than BOP engines, or ( C ) Find a wrecked Buick Riviera or Bonneville SSEI from the '90's and pirate the Supercharged 3.8 liter V6 and wiring. None of these options is easy or cheap. If you want a fast disco era T/A-then buy one with a 400 Pontiac or 403 Olds V8 and play with that. At least there's tons of Aftermarket parts available. Another would be the '79-84 carburated Buick Regal T-Types. They just didn't work for the same reason the Turbo T/A's didn't The Ignition and the Carburators were never right. When GM came out with Port Injection in 1985-that's when the Grand Nationals burst on the scene with their blistering performance. If you want an '85-88 GN then buckle down and pay the price for one-they command a King's Ransom.  But forget the '84 and earlier ones-there's no cost-effective way to make them run. So think hard before you buy something rare or obsolete-there's a reason for that!!