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Once you’ve decided that you’re
ready to buy and restore an older car, the next decision
is which car would be the best restoration project for
you. This is not the easy conclusion one might think,
especially if you’ve never fully restored a car
before. A quick and hasty purchase without proper research
is not advisable for novice or expert. We suggest that
you put pencil to paper and ask yourself these questions
before you pull out the pen and check book.
What Are the Top Five Cars You Would Like to Own?
We always suggest that you have at least five makes/models
of cars that could be a possible restoration project
because as you go through the following questions, you’d
be surprised how quickly the desirability factor of
a car can diminish under close scrutiny. Whether it’s
the initial cost, availability of parts or the difficulty
level of the particular car, your research may have
you thinking that your dream car would be a nightmare
restoration.
Your best education about a variety
of marques is available at car shows and auctions. Talk
to owners about their car’s design flaws and what
they did to remedy them. Ask how easy or difficult the
car is to maintain and find parts for. Look at all the
cars very closely, and you may find yourself admiring
a marque that you wouldn’t have considered before.
Just be sure that you have actually driven the cars
you place on your top five. What may look like a really
cool car while parked in your garage could be a real
wrestling match for you to drive. Remember that older
cars don’t handle or brake like newer cars. And
if you keep them as they were originally produced, they
will not have the creature comforts you have come to
enjoy. Why take all the time to restore a car that you
won’t have fun driving.
What do You Plan to do With Your Restored Car?
Restoring a car for investment purposes will play a
big role in deciding your purchase. You need to find
a car that is as close to original as possible, especially
one that has matching numbers on the engine, body, frame
and transmission. Restoring the car’s original
parts will retain the cars value much more than sourcing
parts from similar makes and models.
But if you’re looking to restore an older car to
be a regular driver that will used more for fun than
turning a buck, a solid car would be the better criteria.
A solid car that has little rust, a straight and accident
free body, and decent bright work will save a lot of
time and money in a restoration project.
How Much of the Restoration Can You do Yourself?
If you are not handy around the house and have never
changed the oil on your car, then be realistic about
finding accomplished professionals to do the heavy work
for you. This will make a very expensive restoration
compared to buying an already finished car. Even the
home mechanic can be intimidated with the mechanics
found in vehicles produced in the 60’s and 70’s.
First timers may want to look at the more straight forward
40’s and 50’s engines and electronics.
The key factors on the affordability
scale are then driven from your ability to do the work,
and what you think you should pay for the jobs that
you have done, the availability of quality shops for
specialized work at a reasonable cost and of course,
the availability of parts or spares at reasonable prices.
The reasonable price criteria is directly related to
the numbers of cars built of the model you have chosen
and the network of clubs from which you can gain intelligence
for their sourcing.
How Much Money is in the Budget?
Only 30% of restoration projects get back out on the
road, mostly due to the lack of funds for completion.
It is a rare occasion that we find a restoration project
costs us less than expected even when we generously
pad the budget for unexpected repairs or part replacements.
Once you have made a complete inspection of the car,
make a list of all the repairs or replacement items
necessary and the tools you will have to buy to do these
repairs. If the engine doesn’t start, don’t
assume that it ever will and put that repair on the
list. Source parts and get quotes from professionals
to complete the restoration before you make an offer
on a car. The inconvenient truth behind automotive restoration
is that the car you buy for $5000 can cost you $25,000
to restore only to find that the resale value is $21,000…even
if you do a high end restoration.
Where Will You do the Work on the Car?
If you think you can just put your main transportation
outside and restore your classic in its parking space,
think again. Once you start taking the project car apart,
you will find that it takes up much more room than your
main ride did.
Parts that come off need be stored in an organized and
documented fashion. Before you know it you’ll have
boxes, body parts and bright work with no place to put
them. This can cause damage and loss to parts of the
car you didn’t have in the budget.
If space is limited, consider a smaller car like an
MG, BMW Isetta or VW Bug. These cars can offer some
very thrifty thrills.
Why Do You Want to Restore a Car?
If you think this is a silly question to ask, you obviously
have never fully restored an old car. Restoring an older
automobile with the goal to get it back to its former
glory and on the road again, is truly a labor of love
and can be great fun. Every time you come up against
a nut that won’t budge or find that apart needs
to be fabricated, you need to remind yourself of this.
We suggest you make the reasons for restoring this car
a mantra to be repeated constantly when aligning your
newly painted doors back onto its hinges and trying
to get them to close properly. This helps curb the obligatory
profanity usually used during this part of the restoration.
We’re not trying to scare you away from restoring
a car, we just want you to understand that there are
frustrating moments in the process. It’s similar
to golf…when you shank the ball left into no man’s
land, you have to remember that this is a game and you’re
supposed to be having fun.
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