It is hard to describe the excitement when I buy a new project car, the thrill of the hunt, the negotiation, the vision of what it will look like when its finished. But there is a reality to this to, there is hard work, there is expense and I guarantee you something completely unexpected will be found during the project that will through you for a loop… it’s just how it goes.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to discourage you. To the contrary I think you should do it; but I am trying to prepare you for the road you are about to travel.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a “fresh start” project or if you buy someone else’s project the challenges are the similar, I’ll give you an example. A customer of ours found a sweet looking 1970’s muscle car with a big block V8, lots of extra parts, a great body and interior. At a glance it looked like the previous owner was nearing the finish line of the project but in this case, he sadly passed away before it was complete and the widow decided to part with the car.
He listened intently with the widow’s story of the car rebuild and was certain it would be quick few hours and he would be cruising off into the sunset.
Soon he realizes that there is much more to be completed than originally thought… Confused and frustrated upon further inspection here’s part of what was found. The entire front suspension and been replaced with a modern aftermarket suspension and the installation was about 80% complete. The motor had never been ran with the new suspension, the stock steering column wasn’t connected and could not fit with the aftermarket suspension. The fuel in the gas tank had turned to varnish, the fuel pump was trashed, the aftermarket aluminum radiator was insufficient and not flowing and that this entire project had actually been sitting untouched for 9 years.
So now the buyer is now is in over their head and has no idea what to do.
Wishing to get it on the road sooner rather than have it sit for another 9 years he brought it into us to complete the restore. Lucky for him because it seemed with every turn of the wrench something new needing to be fixed popped up. Our skilled mechanics were able to turn this Frankenstein into a fast, sleek proud to drive muscle car again
Remember just like house projects when restoring a classic car, it will always take twice as long and cost twice as much money. If you love the work. Do it! There is nothing more satisfying then when the car is back on the road, looking sexy again and running better than it ever did before.