[beebster]

Grandpa once told me. When buying a car or truck to restore,buy the most truck/car you can afford!
when i was in high school i bought a 71 chevelle. It needed qrtr.panels,trunk floor, rockers,had tons of bondo but it was only 300 bucks!
So for 300 bucks i figured i could buy all the stuff and do the labor myself, what a genius i though i was,and look at all the money i'd save.
Well, you probably know how this story turned out. After about a year i had done nothing but put a carb on the motor,sand the hood,etc. I became intimidated by the price of parts and realized i didn't have the skills to restore a muscle car. I knew i was in over my head!
It was then that my granpa told me that as long as there have been cars, there have been guys that made the same mistake.
His advice was save up and spend maybe 1500- 2000 (this was 1983), i could have gotten a solid car that didn't need so much work and i could have driven it while i was restoring it.
Best lesson i've ever learned,but i still see guys doing it all the time. Even older guys who you think would know better.
Grandpa's bottom line was Spend a little more for a solid vehicle and don't be afraid to walk away from what seems like "the deal of a lifetime". It always feels like "i'll never find a deal this good again"
grandpa's been gone since 1990, but i haven't forgotten his damm good advice.