What was your first car restoration project?

Question

Soon I will be purchasing my first project car. Right now I'm looking into getting a 1962 Chevy Bel Air a friend of my brother's is selling. I was just wondering what car did all of you start on, and how old were you when you bought it.
Pictures would be awesome, if available.

Answer 1

Triumph Spitfire
Great handling/ Pain in the a ss to upkeep !

Answer 2

A 1964 Chevy Impala that I bought for $600.00
It was a beater and after a mere $20,000+ it was allmost done. No matter how much you do you are never finished. You will see something on somebody elses car and think that would look good on mine. If you do your own work you will save money. The more you have done the more it costs. Chech the frame good brfore you buy it as they have rust problems. Then floor pans, trunk area etc. Crawl under the car or put it on a lift, takt a small pick and use that to check for rust on the floor pans. Take a refer. magnet and put it on thr sides of the car to test for body filler. If the magnet will not stick there is a area that needs work if and when you get that killer paint job.Haave sobebody you trust (shop) and have them check out the trans, engine, rear end. Restoring a car can be fun but deep pockets and lots of time is what you will need.

Answer 3

Have found posting wanted ad works well. People who have one not listed, would contact you. Many add SS to the car when it actually is not one. Would depend on what you actually want. If you want a matching car, the engine block must be correct. Right number and matched up to the VIN number. The other is title showing the car is SS. Would post on line wanted ad for the car you want. If you want a car of value, frame off rebuild is the ticket. Doing one your self is a big project and will not give the value of big name builder. You might be money ahead buying one built and let the builder loose the money and time invested. gets you driving so much faster. Friend runs a shop and this is all he does. He said the biggest mistake people make is buying parts cars with out matching numbers and paying matching numbers price. No way anyone can give you a price, will depend on the car matching or not and the builder.

Answer 4

There have been many.. technically first would have been a 1969 Dodge Suberbee.. there were earliers but they werent full restos.. I think my fav was a 1971 340 Wedge Plymouth Duster and a 73 Duster 340 later

there were several partial restos before and after.. first one would have been a 62 mecury Monterey.. but like most of em it was part resto and part Hi perf One of the most interesting was a 62 Pontiac tempest.. 200 CID engine (a 400 with one head missing literally) with a 2 speed powerglide transaxel.. weird car..

Answer 5

1969 mustang gt fastback. bought it from dads cousin when i was 14( that was in 1981)for $1500.00. that gave me 2 years to rebuild the engine( a 351w), rearend(9" with 3.25 gears), and front suspension. it would do zero to sixty in 3.8 sec. no digital pics back then so dont have any i can put online.glad to see anyone with the desire to fix up an old ride. i'd be glad to help any way i can. you can call me at the shop at 618-662-2366 during business hours or e-mail me at [e-mail] as long as the norton dont spam it out. dont care what brand you like, after a certain age they're all COOL!

Answer 6

1953 Mercury Monterey Station Wagon.
FLATHEADS FOREVER!