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Hey I'm looking to pick up an "old school" muscle car, I don't want to spend anything over 20,000 but my question is, would you guys go with a car that's already been restored and fixed up, or would you go with something that's in decent shape and get it fixed up? Are older cars just money pits from you're experiences? Any feedback or info would be great since I really have zero experience with older cars, thanks.
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Procharged 10psi and lots of other goodies.
The more complete and solid the car is to begin with the better off you'll be. If your budget is 20k, the world is your oyster. Get a nice, solid original and do the nasty to it. You don't want to spend all your money on body work, you want to spend it on the fun stuff, suspension, engine, tranny & rear end etc.
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The rule of thumb for a classic is the more you spend on the purchase the less you spend overall. A 5k running 60's mustang will probably cost you as much as a nicely restored 15k car in a very short amount of time.
And all classics are money pits. Things break and go wrong all the time. Thats just part of the game. I will say that a non original modified vehicle will cost you less and you will probably enjoy it more unless you are looking for an investment or an original show car. A bad ass motor swapped/tranny swapped car will often go for less than an all original, but they can be so much more fun to drive.
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Current vehicles:
2008 Nissan Titan 1974 Corvette - 350 Crate motor, Edelbrock performer RPM intake, edelbrock carb, headman long tubes, Accel HEI setup, 460lb front lowering springs, kyb shocks, Muncie 4 speed, and lots of other goodies. Youtube vids
yes, buy something that you dont have to do much work on. i work in a classic car shop and we sell cars as well. Its amazing the money that people will drop into cars and they still arent worth that much. Especially at this time in the economy, people are trying to get rid of stuff. So the best advice would be to spend as much of the $20k up front instead of $5k on a car and $15k on restoration.
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1994 Mustang GT, just a few minor appearance mods, engine mostly stock (for now)
Yes ...spend as much as you can afford up front, both my Chevelles were "finished" when I bought them, and still I manage to put lot's of time & money into both of them....because finished to one...isn't always finished to another.
Also...if you don't know a lot about old cars....find someone that does and have them with you while your looking at the cars.
The only reason you should consider doing a full out restoration is if you have the time and will to do it. If you're just looking for 'x' classic car, then I would buy one that already has a straight body and go from there. Finding parts for old cars isn't difficult, it's finding the nice ones that makes it a long and expensive project.
I'm actually doing this very thing right now. I sold one of my cars simply because it would be cheaper to buy a roller and drop my other motor into it, than mess with my car with all the massive amounts of body work it needed, ontop of dropping the motor into that one. Just wasn't worth the effort, but that's MY opinion.
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88' Camaro (383)
88' Mustang GT (302)
89' Firebird GTA (427)
87' Monte Carlo SS (305)
98' Firebird Formula (346)
Yes ...spend as much as you can afford up front, both my Chevelles were "finished" when I bought them, and still I manage to put lot's of time & money into both of them....because finished to one...isn't always finished to another.
Also...if you don't know a lot about old cars....find someone that does and have them with you while your looking at the cars.
I would consider a 69 mach 1 or a fast back with a 390 in it a muscle car. Most people do. Chevelle's, nova's, the later 60's/early 70's mustangs, camaro's, chargers/challengers, etc. They all blend together between pony cars and muscle cars. Some people would consider a 68/69 L88 or LS4 corvette to be a muscle car but I tend to think of them more on the sports car side.
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Current vehicles:
2008 Nissan Titan 1974 Corvette - 350 Crate motor, Edelbrock performer RPM intake, edelbrock carb, headman long tubes, Accel HEI setup, 460lb front lowering springs, kyb shocks, Muncie 4 speed, and lots of other goodies. Youtube vids
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Classic car buy nice or fix up?
