Looking to get into car restoring

[PoundinThunder]

hey everyone, i'm new to the site and the whole notion of restoring cars. i'm looking for a car to maybe start working on. i live in upstate ny. i really am looking for a mechanically sound car that doesnt need too much done with the engine seeing as i know nothing about them. im more into making the car look nice inside and out. something has always drawn me to making cars look nice. i dont know a lot about how the car works but i know a thing or two about making them look like they work

if no one has any offers, can someone maybe tell me how much i should be looking to initially spend on a decent, running car?

thanks

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Welcome aboard here.   


Just for starters, any particular car you are wanting? 70-71 Cuda's and Challenger's generally are the most expensive. The 72-74's somewhat less. Are you looking to get any Mopar? If so, then the early 70's Dodge Darts, or Plymouth Scamps might be easier on the wallet. Do you have a budget or price range?


  Mike

[PoundinThunder]

thanks for the reply

i dont know much about the car models and stuff. i will probably get hated on for this, but i am more drawn to the way a car looks than what it performs like. im not a racer or anything like that. i like the way the 70-71 cudas look but have not really looked that much into it. i dont have tons of money to start with, i dont care about the body too much, seeing as i can figure that out. but i would like it to at least run and not need too much done to it engine wise.

sorry for the lack of knowledge. i just like the way the cudas and challengers looks alpha and like they own the road

[72hemi]

Welcome aboard. What kind of budget are you looking at? unfortunately for you, you have expensive tastes. even in this economy a running 70 or 71 cuda will run probably between 15,000 and 20,000. And most likely that will be a plain jane 318 car. Projects that need everything still run close to 5-10k.

[PoundinThunder]

i know this is going to sound bad but i dont even know what a 318 car is. i planned on doing research once i found a car. but it doesnt need to be a 70-71, i just like the looks of those cars and am looking for something similar. i cant the car to look more badass than laid back if that makes sense.

as for performance, the only thing that would be nice is that i can kill my friends 1999 chrysler 300m lol. and i can almost do that with my moms car haha. only reason is that he is 100% obsessed with it. cleans it everyday, cleans it while we are at the gym... he thinks it is the best car ever and i want to show him whats up haha.

as far as budget goes, i dont have a lot for the initial start up but i think that might be the most expensive thing. i can buy parts and stuff in time. im in no rush to have it done, i just want to get something started.

[72hemi]

The 318 is the smallest V8 that was offered in the early 70's. There was also a 6 cylinder. If I were you, I would do a lot of research before jumping into a restoration especailly if you have never done one before. What kind of equipment do you have? If you are new to the hobby I would start with like a dart or something to get your feet wet and make sure that a classic car is something you really want. Not trying to discourage you, but all too often i come across deals on cars that are half restored and the owner just wants to get out of it, because they bit off way more than they could chew (and usually they can't sell them for anywhere near the money they have tied up with the car).

This site has a lot of knowledgable people who are more than willing to help and offer their knowledge. Finding this site is a great start if you are looking at getting into the hobby.

[PoundinThunder]

i understand where youre coming from. and i appreciate the fact that you are being honest. i have been looking around on here and have gotten a small feeling of "theres no way i can do this" but classic cars have always captured my attention. I dont have the money to buy a restored one straight up so the only way i can see having one is to do it myself. my grandfather builds race cars and has almost every tool known to man. and im sure he can help me with the more complicated engine and mechanical stuff. i figure that there is no better way to learn how a car works than to do this.

where i live, there arent too many older cars for sale from what i have seen. but i have time, im only 19 lol

[72hemi]

That's the only way i can afford to have them as well. I have restored all of my cars over the years because I can't afford to buy them done. It gives you a great appreciation for the car and a great sense of accomplishment for what you have built. www.cudaworld.com is a  online classified site for just cudas. I would recommend you go and get some books on these cars (there are several available) to familiarize yourself with some of the history about these cars as well general information about them (ie options, colors, drivetrains). Of course going through this forum will give you more information then any book that I have seen.

By the way I am 25 and bought my first Challenger (the blue one in my avatar) when i was 14 for $100 from my neighbor. Point is have faith and patience and it can pay off.

[PoundinThunder]

i wish i could have got one from my neighbor for 100$ haha  im looking at this kinda

http://binghamton.craigslist.org/cto/1080293403.html

any thoughts?

[72hemi]

It looks like it would make for a nice project, but seems a bit high on the price to me.

[Rare_T_A]

If you could get him down to like 5k for that car it looks like it would be great to start with. It sounds like it doesn't need to much heave work to make it a very nice car. GOOD LUCK!!!!

[71ChallengerSE]

Good Luck! I am like you and have very expensive tastes, I always wanted a '68 Charger. I am now knee deep in the restoration of my '71.
BTW I will be turning 17 on saturday

[HP2]

So you are good at making cars look nice. What does this mean? You can do paint and body work? Do you know how to weld? Do you know how to mix paint? Are you good at doing hog ring work on interiors? Do you know wiring and electronics? Do you have a place to work that can have car parts scattered all over for extended periods of time? Are you best at polishing and detailing?

Where you are at skill, tool, time, and money wise will determine what type of project you should look to tackle. There are basket case E bodies out there for a few grand, but they will require extensive body work. Extensive being the need to replace quarter panels, floors, roofs or more. These are skills that are pretty extensive and they don't even get into the drive line or engine mechanics.

Obviously you can learn all these items. But help us know what you can do now so we can provide suggestions on where best to go.

[RedMan]

Welcome to the site. Good luck with the hobby/job. I've been working on cars for about 4 years since I was 16. I just recently within the last 1 1/2 started working on classic cars. Good luck it's an expensive hobby, but has great payoffs.