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

[common 27]

  I also read that awhile back,quite a story going back after all that time. I guess the reason I hold on to this car is because I always wanted one.Is it finished no is it drivable no is it rusting away no do I get any enjoyment out of it yes. I know guys who have cars that run and don't drive them 100 miles a year. I have a lot of other things in my life and am not obsessed with the fact that it is just sitting. Does it really make a difference if a car is done or drivable ? Every time I go into my garage I say Awesome....

[RabidScott]

Gary, is the car still in the same condition as in the picture?

We all want a perfect car, naturally, I'm just wondering if we couldn't just get it running again and then you could drive it around while fixing it up a little bit at a time, or waiting for the day you can totally restore it.  Drivetrains are pretty cheap, as long as you have most the expensive and hard to find parts, why not?

I don't understand some people's mentalities of needing to do a total resto on something that's a decent car to begin with.  Why spend all that time and money if all you want is a driver?

If you were closer I'd lend a hand getting it going again.

[NoMope Greg]

Gary, is the car still in the same condition as in the picture?

We all want a perfect car, naturally, I'm just wondering if we couldn't just get it running again and then you could drive it around while fixing it up a little bit at a time, or waiting for the day you can totally restore it.  Drivetrains are pretty cheap, as long as you have most the expensive and hard to find parts, why not?

I don't understand some people's mentalities of needing to do a total resto on something that's a decent car to begin with.  Why spend all that time and money if all you want is a driver?

If you were closer I'd lend a hand getting it going again.

   My car sat for the better part of 15 years without me working on it except in fits and spurts.  Now, I'm finally working on it and, although the process has been slow, I'm starting to see some progress.  My goal?  Just get the dang thing running so I can actually drive it out of the garage.  Could it use a full resto?  Sure - there's rust around the front and back windows, on the firewall, in the right rear quarter, the trunk has some rust both on the lid and the floor and the paint is original and is so thin that a piece of masking tape exposes primer.  But that can wait until I have the money to actually do it right - for now, I just want to drive.

Don't underestimate the power of the people on this site.  I think I'd still be in the same place, with garage art or I'd have sold the car, if it weren't for all the help and encouragement I've gotten along the way.     Pick something and get to it - we're with ya, whatever you decide to do. 

[Topcat]

Will I get mine done someday? Yeah. Am I slow?...yeah.

But you know what?....It is getting done sooner or later and maybe the pace isn't at certain others expectations of what they feel how fast it should be done. I do something every week end that I can. Not having a garage is what hurts me on progress the most.

[wally426ci]

this is the second post in 5 mins. i've read where someone asks and answers their own questions 




 

[common 27]

         Its just a way of explaining ourselfs with out you jumping to conclusions.The car is not  like its pictured.I totally took it apart to do a not total restoration but wanted to blast all the rusted spots behind the fenders and inside the doors etc. I have most of the parts to put it together much nicer then when I took it a apart.I have worked on it over the years but like they say time waits for no man

[ebodycrazy4ever]

I'm doing this totally different. Someday I want to purchase a 1972-74 Barracuda & restore it as a driver car, but to look good anyway. Not worried about what motor is in it, as long as it not a 3-spd car. I bought 4 things resently for the car already & the price was right. I got a ralley dash complete, AM/FM radio, overhead console with headliner & a complete Power Window set up. I got all 4 of these things for a song each. Offers to sell any of it are turned down, NO matter what. I had a Gran Coupe when I was 16 & kept it for years & then it was sold due to other things in life, you know what those are anyhow. But now at 43, I will be looking soon again for a ride. Don't everyone go & offer me a car right now, I'm am trting to refocus on life right now & I'm searching for a place to reside now. Its never to late to plan ahead, & I think the parts I found here were a great start. If a ralley dash is 500 now, what will it be in 10 years from now, who knows??

[360 'CUDA]

That's a pretty good strategy.  Get the hard parts cheap when you can..

One question though.  Why not a 3 speed?

[ebodycrazy4ever]

If I got a 3-speed car, out the 3-speed goes & either a 4-speed or automatic would go in its place. I'm not fund of 3-speeds. If someone else has one in their car, thats ok, I'm not a 3-speed person. The things I got for my future car were purchased all for under a grand. Not bragging here, but like I said, they will be even higher as time goes on.

[360 'CUDA]

That's cool

Just that getting a cheaper 3 speed car gets you a good head start on doing up a 4 or 5 speed.  (unless you want to keep it original)

[ebodycrazy4ever]

Yeah, I'd just retire the 3-spd. trany to the attic or something like that, just so the matching number stay together. I don't care if it is a 318 car, its still cool. remember all of us saying back in the 80's: Oh, its a G code 318 car, forget it!. But hey, someday my time will come for a car again, right now my situation is tight.

[rallyechall]

Mine has been apart for about 15 years. During this time, I have rebuilt most of the parts that will be going back on as well as gathering the parts that need to be replaced. all misc. painting will be finished before the body is ready for paint. The day it comes back from paint, I can start installing all the parts and I won't have any prep work to do to them before I put them back on. All replacement sheet metal has been purchased, and that process is about to start. You are not alone. I have had some offers, and my wife hassles me about it. I will sell her before the car.

[NoMope Greg]

You are not alone. I have had some offers, and my wife hassles me about it. I will sell her before the car.

  

[cudax34me]

I have had some offers, and my wife hassles me about it. I will sell her before the car.

i have never had this problem.i told my wife when i met her that if i didn't have a girl my cuda would be my girl.its my only vise.bills come first, she's had 4 new rides so she's got no complaint.i'm lucky to have her.i'll get my 3 done one day.and if not the little guy will.anybody asks if they are 4sale he answers "no they aren't. they are mine." that little boy makes me proud.
by the way i've got less than 2500 in all 3.cant replace 1 for that.

[bella beeze]

I utterly and completely enjoyed reading this whole thread. I can understand completely about ownership
and what it truly means.

I have recently wondered why have did not sell my car and have not sold it for the past 15 years, and why
I have never accepted the offers put infront of me for my car.It did not matter what the offer was -- It was
and is never enough to replace the presence of that car.

That car with its history and its history of ownership -- the first car my parents bought when they emigrated
from Australia to Canada in 1971 and decided on the brown A93 1971 dodge challenger over the pearl white
challenger with the powerful engine or this is at least how my mother recalls it. The brown A93 was better
(more reasonably priced, cheaper on gas, and the color brown happened to be our surname as well)
because it was not as powerful as the white one, easier to drive, and my parents did not have alot of money
when they first came to Canada!!

It was my first car that I bought from my parents for $1 at the age of 18. I drove on and off until I was in my mid
twenties and I guess I grew out of it. So I parked it in my parents driveway and there it sat for the next 15 years.
Always knowing it was there safe and sound and I could look at it any time. We all could look at it and recall its
history everytime we saw it -- everyday!! It just became apart of the scenry, apart of the family, apart of our family's history.

Now, 15 years later I still can not part with it -- i have just found out! I want to drive it again. Yes, it sat outside in its own little
microclimate for 15 years. But now I am getting it going - took it to the mechanic and got new brakes, tires and battery as well as
cleaning out the gas tank. It now hold gas and it starts up and hits all six cyclinders and I can drive it up and down my mom's driveway
as much as I want, which is about 60 feet long thank goodness, as it is not road worthy............yet. Maybe it will never be road worthy
.......I do not know, but at least I still got it and own it and I simply love owning it. It makes me smile everyday.

I understand just owning it and what it means to me.