Don't bite off more than you can chew....

I talk to so many people who say they got a great "deal" on some car that they have grand plans for. Usually a year or two later, their totally disillusioned and disgusted and end up selling the car for less than what they paid for it or less than they have invested. There's two reasons for this. One is they picked the wrong kind of car. How can you pick the wrong kind of car?  For example-you can get anything you want for a '55-57 Chevy, up to and including a brand new whole body, authorized by GM. That's great if your restoring a '55 Chevy. But what if you have a '57 Pontiac Bonneville or a '55 Olds 88? Where are you going to find a 1/4 panel or a grille and front bumper for those?  If your restoring a Chevelle, GTO or 442, or a Camaro, Firebird or Mustang you can get anything you need. Dynacorn is selling all-new Mustang and Camaro bodies authorized by GM and Ford. But what if your restoring a '62 Pontiac Gran Prix? Or a '66 Riviera or a '69 T-Bird? Do you know that no one makes a replacement grille for a 1972 Gran Torino? So if you have one, or a same-year Ranchero-( Ford's version of the El Camino that was based on the Torino platform from 1968-76 ) with a broken grille, your shit out of luck-no matter how much money your willing to spend-because no one makes the parts!!  Where are you going to get a replacement rear glass for a '71-73 "Boat Tail" Riviera? The same goes for Mopars. If your restoring a '68-70 Charger or Road Runner or a '70-74 Challenger / Barracuda you can get pretty much anything you want-body parts, suspension and brake parts,interior trim pieces etc. But where are you going to find that big rear glass for a '65 Barracuda? Or a fender or 1/4 panel for a '64 Dodge 330?  What if you want to do a "Christine" tribute or the cop car from the "California Kid?" Where are you going to find anything for a '58 Fury? Or for that matter a '70 Sport Fury or a '75 Road Runner? ( The Road Runner was based on the Sport Fury platform for one year only, 1975 ). What about bigger "niche" cars that are still cool? Where are you going to find a rear door skin for a '61 Continental convertible with the "suicide" doors? Or a grille? Headlight doors for a '66 Toronado or a '67 Eldorado? A 1/4 panel for a '63 "Bullet Bird" Thunderbird?  God help you if your doing an AMC Javelin or Rebel Machine. So if your thinking of buying a car for a project-that's not a Camaro or Mustang or Chevelle, etc.-do some research and check parts availability. A trunk lid for a '70 Mustang is a no-brainer. A '72 Mercury Montego GT-that's some more "unobtanium". Not available at any price. The second mistake people make is they take on projects that are beyond their mechanical ability. If your a bodyman by trade, then something with minor or even major body damage may not faze you at all. You might whistle while you work. Someone who is not a bodyman would be better off passing up that car and just spending more money and getting a better car to start with. Ditto for running gear. If your a professional mechanic-something with a blown engine, or even missing the engine and tranny may not be a big deal to you. You may have say-a 403 Olds V8 and a TH350 that you took out of a wrecked Trans-Am on your garage floor that will bolt right into that engineless '71 Cutlass you just bought. But for "Joe Average" who has never replaced an engine or done any heavy-duty repairs-again it might behoove him to pass on this "deal" and get a running car. And choose running cars wisely. A '77 Firebird Formula with a 350 Pontiac and a 4-speed and T-Tops is a great find. 350 Pontiacs respond well to basic hot-rod tricks-headers, cam, carb and intake. You can make 325-350 hp and 400 lbs of torque pretty easy with bolt-on parts. Beyond that-you'll need a 400 or 455-which is a bolt-in swap. By contrast a '77 Firebird with a 301 V8 is not a good deal no matter how cheap the price is. The reason is the 301 was a lightweight "economy" motor, and except for the tin and the motor mounts, virtually nothing interchanges with the "traditional"-i.e.-326-455 Pontiac engines. Further-there is zero aftermarket parts available for the 301. None. Zero. Now I know people are going to say "Hey just "Drop" in a 400." It's true that a 400 will bolt in place of a 301, but where are you going to find one that hasn't been snapped up by GTO and Firebird restorers?  The last 400 Pontiac rolled off the assembly line in November 1977. That's 41 years ago. ( L78 400's were stockpiled for '78-79 T/A's and Formulas ). Not many people are going to have an engine that's been out of production for 41 years "laying" around. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. If you have or want to buy say a '71 Charger or a '73 'Cuda with a 318, and want to infuse it with big power, then I suggest getting a 360 Magnum out of a '90's Dodge truck or Jeep Grand Cherokee. Edelbrock makes intakes so you can run a carburator. Or if your a little more bucks up-get a Mopar Performance 360 crate motor-they have 390 hp and 445 lbs of torque. But don't think you'll just "Drop" in a 440. 1st off-they've been out of production since 1978-40 years. Secondly-you'd need a big-block front crossmember, you'd need a new transmission-a 904 Torqueflite won't bolt up to or stand up to a 440, so you'll need a 727, you'll need big-block torsion bars so it'll handle properly, a big-block radiator, and if the engine is warmed over you'll probably need a 8 3/4 or Dana 60 rear end. In the long run-you'd be better off just warming up the 318-carb and intake, headers, mild cam. Or swapping in the 360. If you "Gotta Have" a big-block E-body or B-body-then bite the bullet and pay the price for one that has a 383, 400 or 440 from the factory. You'll save yourself a ton of money and grief. Fords are worse. Don't get me wrong-I'm not slamming Fords-I'm just stating an irrefutable fact. Fords have nowhere near the easy parts interchangeability that GM and some Chrysler stuff has. A 390 in a Mustang has a different oil pan,different water pump, different fuel pump,different alternator and power steering pump brackets,different exhaust manifolds and different motor mounts than a 390 in a F100 pickup, and their both different from a 390 in a T-Bird, which is different from a 390 in an LTD!!  A 289 / 302 has a different bellhousing bolt pattern than a 351C. A 390 has a different bellhousing bolt-pattern than a 429 / 460. So no easy engine or tranny swapping. A lot different than buying a TH350 or TH400 out of a Buick and putting it behind any Buick, Olds, Pontiac, or Cadillac V8 from 326 to 500 cubes!!  Or buying a Chevy TH350 or 400 and bolting it place behind anything from a 283 to a 454!!  If no one tells you this stuff-then you don't know. And with later-model stuff-'80's and '90's cars have way more electronic controls and crap on them than '60's and '70's cars had. So if you want an '80's IROC-Z with a 5-speed-keep looking until you find one. Don't buy an automatic and try to convert it to stick. If you want a "5.0" Mustang-there's millions of them out there-don't buy a 4-banger or V6 model and try to swap in a V8. You'll just committ hari-kari in your driveway before you get it done. I'm not trying to piss on anybody's dreams-I'm just saying be honest about your own mechanical capabilities and careful which projects you choose. It'll save you a ton of money and grief in the long run. Mastermind