Had you rather buy a completely restored car, or restore it yourself?

[A383Cuda]

To properly restore a car you will need a minimum of a 3 car garage devoted solely to the restoration of that car. The restoration may take as much as 3 years. In the meantime your devotion to th ecar and your excitement for it WILL be tested. I have known people that tried and never completed and even some that completed and then were afraid to drive the cars and had a heart attack with every little rock chip. The fun was no longer there and they sold off their cars. My advice with a wife that is not "mopar excited" is to buy a finished project and then enjoy it together. Otherwise you will go through the agony of "I told you not to buy that piece of crap" everytime you suffer a setback, and in a restoration, there will be setbacks. Good luck!

[71340RT]

I have restored 2 Challengers 1 Duster and now my 70 Cuda. I found it rewarding and challenging. You have to be ready for set backs and things that don't seem right so you do it all over again. I love being in my garage and my cars are a way of life for me. I have plenty of knowlege and know how so restoring cars is great for me as I find it relaxing. If money was no object I would buy one done and drive it but I would still need something to work on as I get bored easy.

[A383Cuda]

I agree with what a lot of you are saying about the fun of working on something and the pride when you actually finish it, but keep in mind that in order to do this, the wife needs to be committed as well. Many wives do not understand the need for "correct" parts and the hassles of hunting them down. If she gets fed up with her car being outside while the project is inside long term, she will undoubtedly make him move some of these parts. They will then be victims to the elements or worse yet, lost. It's hard enough completing a project when you're both onboard and have the space. Without these important factors, a project is more than likely doomed from the beginning. I am not saying this is your case, but rather, bringing the possibilities to your attention. Perhaps a driver in good condition would be in order. Let her get a feel for the car and events. She will have immediate appreciation for the sound and feel of the car. Then point out nicely restored cars to her at car shows. Once she agrees to wanting yours to be as nice, you are on the same page. Start the resto!

[EVIL72]

I agree with what a lot of you are saying about the fun of working on something and the pride when you actually finish it, but keep in mind that in order to do this, the wife needs to be committed as well. Many wives do not understand the need for "correct" parts and the hassles of hunting them down. If she gets fed up with her car being outside while the project is inside long term, she will undoubtedly make him move some of these parts. They will then be victims to the elements or worse yet, lost. It's hard enough completing a project when you're both onboard and have the space. Without these important factors, a project is more than likely doomed from the beginning. I am not saying this is your case, but rather, bringing the possibilities to your attention. Perhaps a driver in good condition would be in order. Let her get a feel for the car and events. She will have immediate appreciation for the sound and feel of the car. Then point out nicely restored cars to her at car shows. Once she agrees to wanting yours to be as nice, you are on the same page. Start the resto!

 
 Since your wife isn't keen on Mopars yet, and hasn't seen the light, or is that joined the dark side??  Oh well, whatever it's called... I say get a nice driver, once she starts enjoying all the attention the car gets, she will warm up to the idea of making it even better. Also show her how much these cars go for when totally restored.
 This will also open the door for future mopar puchases that might need alot more work than your first one.
 It sucks having a Mopar and not being able to at least drive it when you want to.
 

[Andrew]

Personally Id get an older resto/driver then change it to suit my tastes.

[Mopar73340]

I think one point may have been missed and that is there is no way a car is going to be restored for 10K. I have 2 that I have done over the past 10 years and I did all of the work myself except for the paint and bodywork. For the body and paint to be done correctly you can expect to probably pay anywhere between 5-10k, depending on the amount of bodywork needed. I am one who likes to "do it myself" so I don't mind tinkering. There were several times when I lost interest and left it alone for a brief time, but like said before it was worth the experience. I think next time I would buy one already completed. Just my $.02

[Blackcuda]

I have to buy a car restored, I would not know were to start. I did once restore the int. on my 71 Olds convertible, but it took me months.
 

[Challenger73318]

My choice of cars was based more on memories and wanting to recreate something that was important to both me and my father.  I bought a semi-functional driver.  Not having more than a mere smattering of previous mechanical knowledge, I took a deep breath and started doing daily driver maintenance items on the car.  My recommendation is read.  Read everything you can find about the parts, engines, suspension, etc.  Divide the car into sections (motor, transmission, rear, suspension, fuel system, electrical system, interior, body) and restoring it doesn't seem like such a big task.  Get some grease on your hands, it's more fun than DisneyWorld.

[js27]

It depends on YOU !!!!!
How much can you do yourself---do you have the time and will power to follow it through. Many many well wishers and high hope dream car restorations get to the half way mark and then the good intentions fall bay the way side and years go by with the project collecting dust. I have restored 6 cars in the last 16 years and now that I am older and lazier I would not restore another one unless it was something very special.
True it is fun doing it yourself and yes you know just what you have when you are done but just know what you are getting into before you start. the price of parts and body and paint today is insane. If you can find a nice car done for a reasonable price you will be ahead of the game. Also remember the longer it takes the more it will cost you because the price of parts keeps going up. Where as a finish car is worth the price when you bye it and hopefully it's price will go up without you putting any more money into it!!!
Good Luck,
JS27

[whitesatinmopar]

A lot of good solid advice here, and every point has it's own validity. Our Charger and Chally were good solid cars, rust issues were very slight. As I do not have the tools, space, or proper skills they both went to a shop for body and paint work. But we stripped them to a shell before they went and we did the interrior work and reassembly ourselves, and both are nice cars, but to some they would be considered nice canadates for restoration, 

The Roadrunner (clone) was a rolling shell, but the guy had done the body and paint work already, but there was absolutely nothing else, there wasn't even a sterring wheel, we kicked the tires to "steer" and pushed the girl into the garage. We did everything to build the car from the undercarrage to the interrior to building the engine, but had the tranny rebuilt at a shop. Three years later we have finally put about 100 miles on her in the last month. Each has been fun and frustrating at the same time for different reasons.

I guess it just depends on you, like so many have advised...........if you got the tools, the room, and the know how you can do it all yourself, but it will be a slow process. Another advantage to doing as much as possible yourself is that you can work around a budget, you don't have to come up with all the $$$$$$ at one time. The ultimate answer for you is this..........buy a turn key car you like, and enjoy it NOW ! Then buy a project car and understand what most of us have been through.  Either way, both ways, you'll have a blast in the end. Good Luck 

[Choppintime]

I think both options have there pluses and minuses. Getting close to finishing my Cuda I bought a year ago, good thing about the car was the body was perfect and rust free. Paint is also awesome and while I wouldn't paint a car this scheme I wouldn't change this car for anything. This car has been apart for close to 30 years so finding/restoring the different pieces that were there and the one's that were missing has been a process. Good to know that what has been done to the car has had no corners cut. If you buy a car 'done' then you don't know 100% what your getting. Safe to say that after this car is done I doubt I'll be looking for another "project" but I'm sure my dumb a#$ will forget all about the headaches I've had along the way this past year and do it again.

Guess I'm on the downhill part of this resto but still have to put the drivetrain in and I'm sure I'll experience some setbacks along the way. Shooting for Carlisle but not sure that will happen.

[71fish]

Chopin'.. more pics dude!! My gawd whadda beautiful azz on that 71!!

My take is I'd love to have a driver off the line.. all done etc. However, I take a lot of pride in what I do. I'm certain that when it's all said and done, I'll be glad that I did it myself. We already rebuilt and pulled the engine multiple times.. and after the fact I'm glad we did it and not paid someone else.

Answer is.....












I's rather do it myself!

71fish

[willhaven]

I think oldschool hit it on the head, I myself if I had the time I would find a viper drivetrain and a 70-71 donor and go to town

A man after my own heart. I plan to buy a solid starter car (a driver) that has either been totally restored, or is a slightly older restoration that won't require a ton of body work. Something that isn't numbers matching so I won't feel bad about what I do next.

Upgraded suspension engine and drivetrain. Viper setup? Maybe. 6.1L Hemi with some sort of power adder? Possibly that instead.

I'd also think that starting with a running car will give you a chance to drive it and get a feel for it before dumping even more money into it than you're ready to just to get it running. I want something I can drive (even with a /6 in it) while I collect all the mechanical parts I would use for my custom setup.

If you get the car that runs and gather necessary parts and funds to have it restored, then you can wait till you're ready to not touch the thing for months. I know I'd go nuts getting a car that didn't run if I had to wait for ages to get it all fixed.

[chevyconvert]

my  

Buy a "finished" car that's been around for a while with a solid body.
Avoid buying a car with a fresh new paint job.

And then you'll have something to drive AND work on !

These older cars always need something tweeked !
If you want to insure you'll have something to play with...

get a SIX-PACK !!

[A383Cuda]

A lot of first time restorers buy a project with great intentions, then because they've never had any seat time and "bonded" with the car, they lose interest in the project. Take a look at this thread and don't let yourself be the "previous owner".

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=21091.0