Am I one of these guys? I'm going to restore it someday

[733404]

Your not one of those guys, you've just been busy. at least that what i tell to myself and anyone that asks.

mine has been in the garage since 82, actually is was under a tarp the first couple of years but once it got in the garage it stayed there, been a few different garages. it always been well next year i'll start, well i'm finally working on it and it feels good.

hang on to it, store it well and she will be ready when you are.

[69bronzeT5]

   I suppose looking at those sites is what got me fired up to begin with www.forgotten-mopars.piczo.com.

Thats my site

[69bronzeT5]

   So I guess I'm not the only one who has a car thats been sitting for years. . I have gathered parts over the years and actually have most to put it back together.just don't have the ambition right now.

Like I said, my '69 Charger has been sitting since '98. Outside and in the garage. Ambition isnt the problem for me, its money wise

[Devil]

I know of enough stuff, and seen enough to be on both sides.  I know people with cars sitting in barns for decades, from what they said and that they will restore it someday.  Sometimes it is my interest in the car that pushes them to get something done, like the 70 Charger R/T I found a while back.

www.carsinbarns.blogspot.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hemipwr70/collections/72157600719194924/

Ryan

[common 27]

     as you can see I didn't have much to start with

[alphabuck]

having recently concluded a months long search for a project challenger i can say that in my travels i ran across plenty of folks who for whatever reason wouldnt sell me that basketcase sitting out next to the garage surrounded by 4 feet of grass and serving as a rodent home.  the reasons varied from " im going to fix that up " to " that was my first car im never going to sell it.  ive got one guy down the road from me with a 70 JH big block that bought the car 10 years ago literally for spite.  a perspective buyer of the car had wronged him so he bought this car and parked it out in the open for all to see while it rots away one day at a time.

people who have stuff like this and do nothing with it just because they can remind me somewhat of some of my classmates in grade school.  id be sitting there with my brown bag lunch that if i was lucky would have a couple of oreos in it.  the kid with the evil knevil lunch box wouldnt even be able to finish all his ho hos and fritos but got greater joy out of throwing them in the trash than in giving them to someone who would actually enjoy them. for some people the act of keeping brings far more joy than the act of giving.

when it comes to something like an irreplacable example of a classic car in my opinion if you dont have the means or the time or the inclination to fix it up yourself selling it is what you should do.  letting it sit there and rot or do nothing so it can be sold at an estate auction for a fraction of what a motivated buyer would pay for it is just shortsighted and selfish.  in the end. . . .  .you cant take it with you

[426HEMI]

Maybe not be able to take it with me but I sure wish I could so no one will fight over it or them which ever the case may be.  There are several reasons i have not done my car yet.  I will though and a big problem has been money over the last few years.  When I got it I had the money to get started then went through a divorce and that all changed.  When I have the time to do it I do not have the money to fix it.  I do not want to sell it because i may never be able to get another one.  I will start my new job soon.  After I get back the first thing I will do will be to restore my car.

[common 27]

   Ah you have hit the nail on the head"brings far more joy " to keep it!!! Why would you deprive me the "joy of keeping it" by making me give it to you? That also reminds me of a little bratty kid who sees another kid with a toy and takes it but doesn't want it just doesn't want the other kid to. Believe me my family knows what it is worth,my kids think I'm nuts for not selling it too.How ever my wife knows me well enough to know I enjoy keeping things. Will it ever get done by me,I doubt it,will it ever get done? someday some one will finish it for now I'm going to enjoy owning it

[scnolin]

I found a 'field car' close to me by chance and it was a '70 Barracuda that was hit ten years prior.  He was a good friend of mine and after 4 years decided to finally sell it to me at a fair price knowing that it WOULD see the road.  Well two years later it is fixed and about to be painted.  So he is very relieved I did not sell it but actually finished it.  We just can appreciate what the car is and would love to see it driving down the road instead of just sitting.  Thats all.  They WERE built to be driven after all.

[71chally416]

I had a 71 Barracuda before I got the Chally. I had done some work on it, but the time came for me to buy a house and the sale of it to a guy that would not leave me alone (he wanted it BAD) greatly helped me back in '98. I sold him the car complete with a PERFECT grille, two extra fenders and a boatload of E-body parts I had collected over the years. I also included a '70 440 engine & 727 out of a Chrysler station wagon I had. I called it the "Mega Wagon" cause it was huge and it totalled a S-10 truck that rear ended me without sustaining any noticeable damage, but that's another story for another day. 

Anyway, it really hurt me to part with it but I didn't see where I would have the time to work on it with the new house and my interest was waning. I picked it up in Philly for $900 sans grille with a totally restorable body, a completely trashed interior and a clear title. I had salvaged the almost new grille from a '71 Grand Coupe I had years before along with everything else that was good (the interior)and I put all the parts on it. I have no regrets because the guy that bought it totally redid it the RIGHT way. I will get some pics of it and post them up the next time I see him. It's got a 500 cube BB with ED heads & a 5 speed and it's just breathtaking to look at. 

[RabidScott]

After the 440 in my Challenger exploded a month after I got it mine sat for five years, being almost totally neglected until about six months ago when I decided to get it going again.  I rebuilt the suspension right after I pulled the 440 and before I got it going again I converted it over to a 4 speed, and now I'm enjoying the crap out of it again!!

[common 27]

  when I got this it HAD to have a shaker hood installed and if it gets done by me it will,also a factory high impact green-lime I guess you'd call it,no offence to any one but my second least favorite color. maybe someday       

[snowdog]

   I'm not into the leave it out side to rust away thing but what is wrong with owning a car for years and not wanting to sell it?  My Challenger convertible has sat in my garage ,disassembled, for 20 years.People are always finding out about it (somehow) and wanting to buy it. I don't want to sell and have turned down some good offers. Some people have complete cars that don't get driven much and enjoy just owning them. Most cars that are not for sale is because of the low offers that are given.Look in any magizine and you'll see some rare car someone is bragging they got for some low amount of $$. I guess what I'm saying is don't put every one in the same category.I'm going to restore it some day----yeah right.

Welcome to the club,  you can read my story in the link below in my signature.  It is rough trying to raise a family, build/maintain a house, work 10-12 hours a day and work on your mopar.

http://www.carsinbarns.com/Mopars%20In%20Barns/pg113mopar.htm

I hear ya,

Snowdoggie

[bb71challenger]

I think everyone knows a person who holds on to a car for all the wrong reasons and someone who holds on to a car because he just wants to. The fact is its that persons car even if we dont like how they might be treating it. My high school dream car was a 71 Challenger convertible FE5/white/white. 318 with air and 14" rallye wheels. power top. Really nice little cruiser that only needed a repaint and a top. I could not get the bank to loan me 1250 even with my 75 Cordoba as collatoral. My dad would not co-sign because it was a convertible. The guy ended up selling it to a lady for 600 bucks. Long story short is I bought my first 'Cuda from the guy in 87 which was a lime green 340 hockey stick car. To this day I stay in touch with him and he has let that car go to hell. 2 inches of dried MUD cover every inch of the interior. The last time I talked to him which was over a year ago he said he turned a guy down with 15k cash. He says the car is worth 40k as it sits. Well it might be to him but no one else. The thing that grates on you is when you know a guy gets a perverse pleasure out of the fact that you would do something with the car while he merely watches it rot. To date he has NEVER worked on any of his cars. He bought them and lets them rot outside. But sadly, they are his cars so who am I to judge him?  I let my car sit for about 8 years myself but actually gave a price for it to 2 guys who never came back. I told them I had over 5k in it and would not take anything less than 3500. I am so lucky that neither one ever came back. 

I see nothing wrong with you enjoying owning your car. You are working on a project so you are not a dead beat owner. Enjoy it, even if its just looking at it.

[wally426ci]

That was you Snowdog? i remember reading that.

Thats ok, my 69 Dart is sitting in my grandmothers field b/c ive been too busy and money is a little tight for the stuff i need for both cars. It sat there for a year, i pullled it in the garage and weleded the new firewall in it, then i pulled it back out. Im gonna try to get some more work done this winter.