so far my plans are:

1. body work and drivetrain
2. paint
3. interior
4. insurance and antitheft
5. mods to get good HP and alright gas mileage
6. beat my dad in a drag race
7. drive it for the rest of my life

 

there you go. you have it set here. this is the area you would probably spend the most money.

good luck with your project!

 

Yes and no. While it is possible to have it torn down indefinately. As with any project you have to make sure you keep the motivation and momentum going. Biggest mistake that people do is tear a car down without a clear plan or funds to put it back together. If the car is a running and driving car, don't mess with that. Make changes that allow you to keep driving it, because it will keep you motivated to stay on it.

People watch Overhauling or Pimp My Ride or even magazine articles and see all the frame off this and that. The money involved is crazy if you are just an average person paying for this and not for a TV show.

Get the car in decent driving condition. Make it safe then work on stuff that will make the car look better. Each time you do something that makes it look great you will get more excited about doing more.

Motivation and momentum. Keep them high and it will come together. Let them slip and it will become that hunk of metal that you look at for the next 4 yrs but do nothing with.

 

um, most of those times it's a noob who doesn't have a clue what goes into resto. i know a lot of average joes who have done frame off restos and gotten a beautiful end result. you just have to have your head in it and never lose sight of the big picture.

 

mine have usually started out as drivers, then something breaks and they are replaced with another driver. Some become drag cars, others sit for 20 years untill I am done racing and can mess with them. I pulled my Cougar out yesterday and the plate says Augst 87, so its been sittin a while. I guess its headed to the shop now.

Originally I wanted it fast, now I just want to drive it. I have other cars that are fast, but I didnt when I was 17. Times change and I really want to drive it again. So its getting the 289 rebuilt or replaced with something slightly larger, it will be rodded but not a race car. Maybe a race car by Glens standards but not mine. I rarely make a list other than to see roughly how much its gonna cost. Also I have never been able to get real paint on one of my cars, so that is a goal.. lol..

The 71 is a nightmare project and I need something else for when I am burnt out on the fastback, so the COugar is the perfect sideline, its still Ford so I dont have to switch mindsets and work on a GM. Alot of the parts are the same, so there is some flexability. Might drop a 4V Cleveland in the Cougar just forfun, dont know yet. Its all fluid and changes from day to day, month to month. I only know when its driveable or done as to what direction it will take. But the Fords will be drivers and more along the lines of pro touring.

 

driveability is becoming a big thing with me too. i am planning on just fixing the head off of my 200 cube and having the tranny checked (or converting back to the three speed) and working on the body from there. i really don't see why i can't take the car down for a few days, rip the qtrs off and weld the new ones off. the hard part will be when it comes to the floor pans. than i will gut the car completely and totally upgrade the motor/trans ect.

 

[:@] I was just about to make progress on my car until I was reading the classifieds and found someone selling a 351W for $200. In addition to that he's selling a 9" rear end for $150 and a C4 for $90. I called the guy and he said that it ran fine when he pulled it from his '72 Torino two weeks ago. The C4 is attached to the 351. We're going to look at it tomorrow evening. What do you guys think? Should I go with it?

 

sounds good as long as you plan on taking things apart and checking every seal and bearing.