Need some advise
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3
Need some advise
Ok, so right now im 15 and have about 4,500 saved up and am ready to buy. I'm looking to buy a 65 coupe for about 4 that comes with an pretty decent engine (v8) ok interior, straight body and what ever on the paint. I have a summer job that will earn me about 2 grand so after that, i will spend it on interior and misc. Then i will slowly work up enough to buy a new engine, tranny,suspension. How much will that cost? And i want a it all to be class A. Also what engine,tranny,suspension should i get? I want a manuel tranny. Then after that put a nice paint job on it. What do you think my estimate total cost is?
4th Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,195
From:
RE: Need some advise
best thing for you to do would probably be to buy one that is already restored. you can pick up a pretty good one for $7k. it'll be a lot more cost effective in the long run, then again where's the fun in that?
but if you plan on spending $4k on the car, interior is about $1k, motor and tranny can range from $1k-who knows what depending on what you want, suspension would probably be around another $1k if you do the granada disc brake swap too. then paint is around $3-5k for something decent...of course if you find one like i did that had a good engine and tranny, re upholster everything and paint it yourself its actually pretty cheap. i have around $6k into mine including purchase price so it can be done...its just that most of the time its cheaper to get one already restored.
but if you plan on spending $4k on the car, interior is about $1k, motor and tranny can range from $1k-who knows what depending on what you want, suspension would probably be around another $1k if you do the granada disc brake swap too. then paint is around $3-5k for something decent...of course if you find one like i did that had a good engine and tranny, re upholster everything and paint it yourself its actually pretty cheap. i have around $6k into mine including purchase price so it can be done...its just that most of the time its cheaper to get one already restored.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24
RE: Need some advise
You could spend any amount of money refitting your classic with an engine, tranny, interior, and suspension. It all depends on what you plan on using the car for and how big you want to go. A daily driver/street cruiser is a very differnt build then a drag car or track car. People on this forum have easily spent between 10k and 30k outfitting their cars with various levels of performance aftermarket parts.
1st Gear Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 138
RE: Need some advise
Welcome!
You will learn a lot more about the car by restoring - but understand it will spend less time on the road....
Let us know what you find! We can help assess if it is truly worth restoring for you (budget/skill-wise). I ma sure if you ask - someone local to the car you find could help you look at it (i know i would offer to help).
You will learn a lot more about the car by restoring - but understand it will spend less time on the road....
Let us know what you find! We can help assess if it is truly worth restoring for you (budget/skill-wise). I ma sure if you ask - someone local to the car you find could help you look at it (i know i would offer to help).
6th Gear Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5,736
From: MD/WV
RE: Need some advise
Jason, the best advice I can give is to NOT jump on the first stang offered to you for a decent amount of money. Weigh your options carefully, patience is a virtue.
I got my 67coupe as an xmas present when I was 15. It was a rolling chassis and the rolling part was shot. I am now 20 and little has been accomplished. Thus said, spend the extra money up front to get a nice running car. I'll be lucky to get it running on 20k more since EVERYTHING needs replaced.
I got my 67coupe as an xmas present when I was 15. It was a rolling chassis and the rolling part was shot. I am now 20 and little has been accomplished. Thus said, spend the extra money up front to get a nice running car. I'll be lucky to get it running on 20k more since EVERYTHING needs replaced.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 923
From: Colorado
RE: Need some advise
First off, welcome to the forum!
Like baddog671 said, be very patient and wait for the perfect car. It will be well worth it in the end. Be sure you have one that runs and drives well. It doesnt have to be restored, but it should be in pretty good shape. Rust is the biggest, most expensive issue you will run in to. I cannot stress enough: GET A CAR WITH LITTLE OR NO RUST. trust me, and others will agree, rust is the most expensive thing to fix and will be the hardest. Rust is not a good thing at all. Check the cowl, fenders, floorboards, etc for rust. Surface rust is not as bad, but anything rusted through is not good.
From there, if I were in your situation, I would fix up the important stuff first (brakes, suspension, steering, engine), and get it in good shape with some inexpensive upgrades like disc brakes, exhaust, intake, etc. Then do the whole interior. Do the whole thing, and do it right the first time, its not that expensive relative to other things.
Here is the problem, if you want the body to be perfect in the end, you have to start with the body. The only way to get a really good paint job is to strip down pretty much the whole car. That wont work very well for you cuz its expensive and time consuming and you will not be able to drive the car. If I were in your situation (which I was about 2 years ago, minus like 3 grand
) I would do what I said above, and then put a decent paint job on there (like a high end maaco job) and drive it like that till im out of college and whatnot and can afford to do it right.
Either way, just wait for the perfect car.
Like baddog671 said, be very patient and wait for the perfect car. It will be well worth it in the end. Be sure you have one that runs and drives well. It doesnt have to be restored, but it should be in pretty good shape. Rust is the biggest, most expensive issue you will run in to. I cannot stress enough: GET A CAR WITH LITTLE OR NO RUST. trust me, and others will agree, rust is the most expensive thing to fix and will be the hardest. Rust is not a good thing at all. Check the cowl, fenders, floorboards, etc for rust. Surface rust is not as bad, but anything rusted through is not good.
From there, if I were in your situation, I would fix up the important stuff first (brakes, suspension, steering, engine), and get it in good shape with some inexpensive upgrades like disc brakes, exhaust, intake, etc. Then do the whole interior. Do the whole thing, and do it right the first time, its not that expensive relative to other things.
Here is the problem, if you want the body to be perfect in the end, you have to start with the body. The only way to get a really good paint job is to strip down pretty much the whole car. That wont work very well for you cuz its expensive and time consuming and you will not be able to drive the car. If I were in your situation (which I was about 2 years ago, minus like 3 grand
) I would do what I said above, and then put a decent paint job on there (like a high end maaco job) and drive it like that till im out of college and whatnot and can afford to do it right.Either way, just wait for the perfect car.
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