Grandpa's BEST advice!

[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.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I've often wondered walking around the big swap meets, watching all sorts of different people carrying around a vast assortment of different parts, if those parts will ever even get put on the car. Just something I've thought about.

Your grandpa is 100% correct. If I could, I wouldn't even be working on a 67 Firebird, I'd be driving one, but alas, one in the condition I want it in would be $12,000. No way the wife would ever go for that. However, with my car and the low low purchase price of free (dad's old car), I can spend a couple/few grand a year until it's done and she'll never be the wiser of the total cost

[beebster]

Those free or almost free situations we can't pass up. ha ha. We almost have "nothing to lose"

I got my '71 longhorn by trading in a 5.0 mustang motor i had sitting around. The guy didn't know why the longhorn bed was 6 inches longer and just wanted the "junk" off his lot.
If i was looking for a truck to restore, this wouldn't be it.

Also now that i'm older i know how to weld,rebuild the motor,etc.
I still wouldn't take a total basket case vehicle, i do know my mechanical ability/limits.
I also won't fall for the "limited time offer" Or "today only price" that some guys try to pull LOL

[Otsa580]

Great advice. But I'm not sure I will ever learn. Maybe one of these days.

[Shyguy]

Very good advice your Grandpa gave you.

I have a '67 swb stepper that I will probably never finish, it has about as much rust as good metal.

I will work on it as long as I can because my son and I assembled it from spare parts we had laying around a few years ago.

I am one of the lucky ones though, it is roadworthy and I drive it from time to time.

I am at the age I realize the journey is more important than the destination.

[knsmodels]

I agree with your Grandpa's advice to a degree.....but back in 84 I paid $500 for my Chevelle and followed it through to completion and still have it.....paid $1000 for my truck and restored that a few yrs back and still have it......depends on your drive really......

[beebster]

Originally Posted by Shyguy

Very good advice your Grandpa gave you.

I have a '67 swb stepper that I will probably never finish, it has about as much rust as good metal.

I will work on it as long as I can because my son and I assembled it from spare parts we had laying around a few years ago.

I am one of the lucky ones though, it is roadworthy and I drive it from time to time.

I am at the age I realize the journey is more important than the destination.

I'm not exactly a spring chicken either (45) but remember, my grandpa gave me that advice AFTER i learned the hard way. Ha ha.

Yes, the journey is more important than the destination, there's almost a sadness that came over me the first time i restored and finished a vehicle. Like "what now?".
Me and my son are now restoring his '78 2 door caprice and i'm having as much fun spending time with him as i am fixing the car.
I also agree that if you have the drive, anything is possible. But i was in way over my head when i first learned the lesson. I had the drive but not the knowledge .
Nowadays i could do a ground-up resto but probably wouldn't have the determination. ha ha.

[leddzepp]

Your Grandpa is 100% correct. Nothing is more demotivating than a rusty pile of junk.

I would also add to that to break the project down into steps. Focus on one thing at a time until the task is complete before moving on to something else. Buy only the parts you need for the job at hand. I can't tell you how many dudes I see trying to "stock up" the parts they need before even starting the project. Lets face it, you ain't gonna finish it in a day/week/month, so what's the point of buying now in the hopes of installing later? Later never comes and you end up selling those parts for 1/2 what you paid for them.

One other thing: try to do one thing a day to your project, no matter how small. It keeps you motivated and before long you will see progress which only motivates you even more.

[beebster]

good advice leddzepp!
sounds like you been around the block and down the street a time or two. ha ha!

[70cst]

You are spot on beebster... I bought my BB 70cst back in 2000 for about
$2400. I will pick the "Circuit Rider" up in about one week I hope. After a 2 1/2 yr restoration I will have much much more than $2400 into her. But my logic was instead of buying a new truck...I put my money into my 70 C10. Will it be as fuel efficient as a new truck? Absolutlely not! Will it be as practicle as a new truck? No! But it will have a factor that new trucks will never have.
beebster ... your Grandpa spoke words of wisdom then and they are words of wisdom today. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a very special Grandpa!!!

[C20-67_N_MO]

Very wise advise for sure.

It's almost like that one saying goes..."You can pay a little now or a lot later down the road."

As that's the case for my truck build. Yes it only cost me $700 to buy it but it's costing me a TON of money to get rid of all the rot and rust to get to the good metal.

But almost 2 years doing the restore, I know it will be done right! And looking back I wish I would have saved up and bought one that did not require as much work as this one. And yet I know it will be something I will be very proud to own and drive once completed.

[big_al_71]

As I would not have any interest anymore about doing a car/truck from the frame up again I would be inclined to buy something that may need some work specially powertrain I just HATE dealing with body shops..

[68Stepbed]

That sounds like my uncle. He gets excited about a $300 pile of junk rather than pay $6-10K for a nice driver. My dad constantly tries to tell him the POJ project will cost more in the long run than the driver, but he can only see the instant $$ signs.

We were at a swap meet once and we came across a fully restored 1940 Chevrolet sedan. It had been restored back original. It wasn't super nice, but would've made a great car to take to a few small shows and cruise-ins and probably take home a few trophies. The guy was asking $10K for it. My uncle was appalled at the price and said he wouldn't pay that for a car, but got excited about a rusted out Model T shell sitting on a trailer for $300. My dad told him the Model T was more money in the long run.

[beebster]

Originally Posted by 68Stepbed

The guy was asking $10K for it. My uncle was appalled at the price and said he wouldn't pay that for a car, but got excited about a rusted out Model T shell sitting on a trailer for $300. My dad told him the Model T was more money in the long run.

That is EXACTLY what i'm talkin about!
In the long run it might cost your uncle more than 10 grand. Pay the 10 grand now and here might be a vehicle you can enjoy, show it,needs very little work and all the headaches have been taken care of for one flat price.

Yea, i learned my lesson. No more 200 dollar clunkers that need "everything"

[DavidB]

In the drag race scene always heard "cheaper to buy em than to build em" same thing with old cars. People think with the free labor of doing it them selves it will be cheap till they do it.