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What car?


Guest Dexter Ball

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Guest Dexter Ball

Dear Restorers,

I am new and young and have not had mechanical experience. I have had for a long time the desire to restore an old car. Several people have recomended restoring a late 90s Honda, Nissan, Toyota or a mid 60s VW beetle. What would be your suggestion? My desire of restoring an old car has aways been 60s - 80s cars like the 1978 fiat 124. But I am afraid my desire of a 60s-80s car is to hard and I should just stick with a 90s car. I am not so afraid of it being hard to find parts but more on it being too difficult to restore.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dexter Ball

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Guest Dexter Ball

The car I would like to get would have an engine and the body could be in bad shape dents and rust ect.… In other words a car in "okay" condition. I don't have any real timeframe since if I am working on a car I like I would be willing to work on it as long as it takes. For the budget I am not willing to spend more than 2000. I hope this helps.

My main problem is I don't know what car is too difficult and what car is right for me. If it helps the 1975 fiat 124 is the car I would like to restore, but again that might be to difficult to restore.

Thank you.

-Dexter

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You will have a better chance of finishing a car that you like. That said 60's very early 70s cars would be easier to restore than the later ones that have lots of electronics and extra safety components that may be hard to find replacements for if they are bad.

I assume the $2000 is the upfront price for the car, if it includes the restoration you might as well stop now. A 1975 Fiat 124 may be hard to find for that price unless you are talking the coupe not the Spider.

As I recall the 124 rusted really bad in the salt belt. Had a boss that had a Spider back in that time frame. He really liked it but said you needed a mechanic named Tony to keep it serviced and running. I took from that it was a complicated car to keep maintained. He said if you drove it like a economy car it got great milage, if you wound out the engine RPM it really had pep but mpg dropped way off.

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Where do you live and what's available? Around here it's easier to find 60's cars than 70's now because so many have been crushed. I've seen a lot of projects stall out and go up for sale or get crushed because somebody lost interest. If you check the craig's list, kigigi, ebay or whatever is popular for your area... newspaper want ads... you might find a good project that someone else has given up on for pennies on the dollar. Of course, you don't want to be the next guy losing interest in it...

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Guest Dexter Ball

Thank you for the advice.

That's to bad. I was hoping the fiat 124 wouldn't have such a bad name, since I found a 1978 fiat 124 for under 2000. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and I have found a lot of 60s cars mainly mustangs few under 2000 though. There were very few 70s cars. Is the Mustang a difficult car to restore?

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Maybe a simple car in the 60's like a Ford Falcon or Comet. Easy to work on and parts are available. Not alot of chrome and fancy stuff on them. I'm in Vail outside of Tucson and I see them all the time on Craigslist and priced fair. You won't have to deal with a lot of emissions and vacuum issues like the newer used cars. You won't have to do emissions on an older cars either. Just food for thought.

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Mustangs are among the easiest cars to restore. Every part of them is available, most of the time cheaper than those of other cars. They are very simple rugged cars that you will find all the information you need fairly easily. Probably one of the best cars to learn some restoration skills on. Still, like most old cars, buy the beat you can afford and be a little careful about what you try to do.

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Thank you for the advice.

That's to bad. I was hoping the fiat 124 wouldn't have such a bad name, since I found a 1978 fiat 124 for under 2000. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and I have found a lot of 60s cars mainly mustangs few under 2000 though. There were very few 70s cars. Is the Mustang a difficult car to restore?

If you took from my response that the 124 is a bad car I'm sorry. If you find a rust free one in AZ that takes care of all the bad part, the rest is just that it isn't a simple car to work on compared to a lot of cars. The Spider is a very neat car and could be a lot of fun. You may need some help with the mechanics to learn the ins and outs of how to keep it running the way it should.

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Check out the swap meet at the Arizona state fairgrounds Jan. 25-26. Make some contacts, talk to everyone you can and see every thing you can.

Then March 7-9 go to Scottsdale to the Good Guy's show and swap meet and do the same, think of a support group.

Try to find a mentor and get your hands dirty, (Free labor for some education)

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Maybe a simple car in the 60's like a Ford Falcon or Comet. Easy to work on and parts are available. Not alot of chrome and fancy stuff on them. I'm in Vail outside of Tucson and I see them all the time on Craigslist and priced fair. You won't have to deal with a lot of emissions and vacuum issues like the newer used cars. You won't have to do emissions on an older cars either. Just food for thought.

LOL...I almost suggested a 65 Falcon but I thought that might result in a lot of unhelpful comments. It's a good suggestion, and very mechanically similar to the Mustang, but if you can find rust free restorable V-8 Mustangs for under $3k, I'd say do it. Parts availability is good, and when you are done with it, market demand is much stronger than anything else you've mentioned, so your chance of getting some of your investment back is much better.

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Guest Dexter Ball

Thank you for the help! I will definitely check out the Falcon there seems to be a lot of pros for it. The mustang is a gorgeous car but the price of them are much higher, but then just as you said you can then sell it for much more. I will also give the fiat one last chance and see how bad the rust is.

Once I buy the right car I will start a restoration thread, since the more help I can get the better!

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When you say that you do not have any mechanical experience I have to ask why jump right into a restoration? I would take some time to go to some classes, or see if a shop needs a helper in exchange for training. There are lots of little tricks that go into building a car. It's not just a matter of unbolting parts, clean them up, and bolt them back in. Something as simple as not having the piston rings in the correct positions could end up being a disaster.

I hope you don't read this and think it's something not worth doing anymore. It can be some of the most fun you have ever had. There is nothing like the feeling of looking at a completed restoration project. I just think its a good idea to learn the basics before you jump off the deep end.

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Guest Dexter Ball

I am more looking for a car I can learn on. It may take a long time for me to restore the car since I would be learning along the way but I don't mind that so much.

Is it a bad idea to learn how to restore a car while restoring one?

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I am more looking for a car I can learn on. It may take a long time for me to restore the car since I would be learning along the way but I don't mind that so much.

Is it a bad idea to learn how to restore a car while restoring one?

No. That's the best way to learn to restore a car. Hands on experience. What I was trying to say is based on your statement of not having any mechanical experience I wouldn't jump into a restoration first. Learn the basics. Tune up, brakes, oil changes, trans flush, ect.

I should have started by asking what kind of work have you done on any car in the past?

Edited by dan@larescorp (see edit history)
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Guest Dexter Ball

Well, I have never restored a car. I think I have enough experience to be able to change the oil etc… But I see what you were saying. I should have a basic knowledge of cars and be able to do the simpler tasks.

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Yes thats all I was getting at. A basic understanding of how things on a car work is required to be able to assemble it correctly. Its a learning curve. Knowing the basics is the first step. Not trying to discourage you from taking on a project at all. I just believe learning from someone who knows what they are doing is an excellent way to prepare for taking on a project the size of a restoration. Always glad to hear of another person ready to save some old iron!:)

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  • 3 months later...

I have had a good deal of mechanical and electrical experience over the years, yet my 42 Ford is "teaching" me things along the way. Just have patience, take your time, and do enough research before you start each process so you fully understand what to expect/do as things show themselves. Make sure you have decent tools / eqipment too, not necessarily high dollar but decent quality.

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