Choosing the Right Project Car

It Doesn’t Take Long

It doesn’t take too long, if you love these old cars, before maybe, you want one for yourself? I’ll tell you one thing; you’re never alone in a classic car. You’ve always got friends; strangers approach you at the gas pumps. Teenagers ask, if they can take their picture in front of your car and people smile and wave when you drive by.

There are many logical and rational reasons for owning a classic car; the first, I’ve never lost money owning a classic car. The second, I’ve never made a great deal of money owning a classic car either. It’s a hobby with an investment involved, you are required to protect that investment, and in return, you can depend on your investment retaining its value. Valuations fluctuate with the market, but a split bumper Camaro or a 428 Cobra Jet Mustang will always gain in value, and besides, nobody wants to go out to the garage to see your stock portfolio.

The price on a 1965 Ford Fairlane hard top might not appreciate all that much, but that’s the beauty of this hobby. You can enter at any price level; you can trade sweat equity for money or cash money for sweat equity. You can write a check and have a concourse ready, classic car delivered right to your front door. But personally, I like idea of a tow truck backing up my driveway with a new project riding on top. Three tires flat, drive shaft in the backseat with weeds and grass hanging from the frame. The trunk is full of garbage and mud and the engine is… well, it’s too early to say for sure.

Or you can choose anywhere in between, as these vehicles are art works and those who restore them are artists. Whatever your desire, don’t settle for less than what you want.

Take your time; this is a hobby which requires patience and can take a great deal of time. You look at a project car as taking from years to forever. On the flip side, these cars are logical and easy to understand. They were assembled with bolts and sheet metal screws without enigmatic clips or sensors. Warning - If you have a spouse or significant other, you are about to try their patience. Keep that fact in mind at all times, and try to keep them on board. A project like this is like a big dog, they can make a big mess and if you promise to clean up after your project, then do so. Just remember who is parking outside, while you’re having fun messing up the garage.

Patience is a virtue, as soon as you gotten your baby off the truck there is a temptation to start turning wrenches and screwdrivers. The first job is clean, clean; clean. First, wash like any car, exempting special circumstances like missing windows. Carefully, empty the trunk, the glove box and under the seat. Except for trash, don’t throw anything away. That funny little metal rusted rod that looks useless, could be your carburetor choke rod, the list of missing and thrown away pieces is endless.

Ideally, if your baby is running or on a trailer, a do-it-yourself car wash can expedite matters. First load up with a double handful of quarters then jack up one side and using jack stands, then de-grease and repeat as necessary. When in doubt, wash it and then wash it again, because this is only the starting point. Maybe next week, when you get back to your project, you’ll find a fluid leak. On a clean vehicle, you’ll know what’s new and you can easily find the source of the leak and you will also find surprises. If you’re working on a car that’s thirty, forty or fifty years old, trust me, you’re gonna find surprises. The shifter linkage is missing, the emergency brake cable and pulley is long gone and I won’t even mention the “R” word here cause you’re gonna find some of that too. This is not a hobby for the feint of heart, this ain’t stamp collecting, you’re gonna get angry and dirty and you’re gonna get your knuckles busted and you’re fingers pinched.

Once twenty years of tree sap, garage gunk and general neglect is washed off, you’ll see your baby as she really is, for the first time. Take lots of pictures, and it may seem silly at first, but there is nothing better at a classic car show than a great car with a great baby book, with lots of “before” pictures. “And this is a picture of the field where we found her.”

Cleanliness is next to godliness, organization is now your religion. Having $30,000 worth of tools is great, but you know what else is great, a $3.00 roll of masking tape, a box of sealable plastic bags and a grease pencil. You’ll need storage boxes, when you remove a piece of chrome  or a carburetor put the nuts, screws or clips in a bag, mark it, store it and if you want to be really, really fancy keep a record of what box you put it in.

Devise a logical plan, fuel system, drive train, electrical system, I’ve seen many a nice new Holley carb suck up mouthful of forty year old gas tank muck and that’s probably why your new chrome fuel pump didn’t last. Make a realistic budget and just because its chrome, doesn’t mean that you have to buy it. Repress the urge to buy shiny and encourage the desire to do things right, because this is now your baby. This car will become a part of your life from now on. As the years go by, you’ll only come to lover her more and more like a member of the family.

At the end of busted knuckles, filthy garage and disgruntled spouse, you’ll have a classic car in your garage. You’ll own your own small piece of history. No matter what the condition, it’s still a 1949 Sedan Delivery or a 62 Bel Air, or a 1967 Dodge Polara and it’s all yours. These relics of the past are survivors to our current day, Ford or GM might have been cranking out hundreds of these cars an hour fifty years ago, but not anymore. These are the street survivors, part heart, part soul,  steel and glass and once that urge to own one, gets inside of you it tend to stays there.