new member here, a few questions

[Hulman100]

me and my father are looking in to doing a project car this summer, and we are looking closely into doing a 1970 383 Roadrunner. we have found a few leads on the internet to cars, and most of them seem to be former failed projects. I found a car with the body work pretty much all done, but no interior, bumpers etc. neither my dad nor I are experienced mechanics, both of us are simply looking to have a fun summer project. would a car in this shape be too ambitious? should i spend the extra money on a runner? i dont want to buy a car that is finished either. any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[tpodwdog]

altho these cars are relatively simple, theres a certain amount of mechanical ability you must have....along with tools and a place to do this. i will tell you that the 3 classic cars i have...all of them were electrical nightmares....so a knowledge of how electrical stuff works is a plus ! stuff for these cars are expensive, so if you dont have a good amount put away dedicated for this project,,,it may never get done, and your interest may diminish due to lack of funds and slow moving progress. i have a 70 Road Runner 383 and myself and alot of guys here are more than willing to help you. best of luck to ya!

 

[Hulman100]

altho these cars are relatively simple, theres a certain amount of mechanical ability you must have....along with tools and a place to do this. i will tell you that the 3 classic cars i have...all of them were electrical nightmares....so a knowledge of how electrical stuff works is a plus ! stuff for these cars are expensive, so if you dont have a good amount put away dedicated for this project,,,it may never get done, and your interest may diminish due to lack of funds and slow moving progress. i have a 70 Road Runner 383 and myself and alot of guys here are more than willing to help you. best of luck to ya!

thanks! i do have a place to work, and plenty of tools. the only thing i am really worried about is the electrical stuff. i have zero experience with that. if we do go through with this expect me to be around here a lot. it seems like a great community

 

[shag766]

hulman, dog is pretty much right on with his statement. i have bought a couple of father-son projects that petered out, cheap. i would suggest looking for something that is drive-able but needs lots of cosmetics and love. ie; needs interior re-done, maybe a patch panel or 2, brakes or maybe front end work but it is drive-able. do what you have to do to get it on the road, safely, and keep tinkering. you will be all over the car together and learning. there are a lot of cars around that just need to be finished, reasonably priced. if you's two have a mechanic friend take him with you, he should know how much work you are getting into. don't bite off more than you can chew. it usually leaves a sour taste.
x
also, suggestions are like a-holes. everybody has one.
good luck, oh, welcome aboard. you are in the right place, here, for help.

 

[twinscrew698]

me and my father are looking in to doing a project car this summer, and we are looking closely into doing a 1970 383 Roadrunner. we have found a few leads on the internet to cars, and most of them seem to be former failed projects. I found a car with the body work pretty much all done, but no interior, bumpers etc. neither my dad nor I are experienced mechanics, both of us are simply looking to have a fun summer project. would a car in this shape be too ambitious? should i spend the extra money on a runner? i dont want to buy a car that is finished either. any help would be greatly appreciated

Welcome to the site Hulman100..
You are so right on these year specific projects as some have good intentions of getting a project to put together then go to find out how much it cost to replace stuff that is missing and what is robbed or sold prior to finding out what it cost to replace the missing stuff!
Especially that year as a lot of the parts are being bought and used on Superbirds,GTX`s,ETC and hoarded for spare parts for they are not cheap to replace when needed.
That is why you find a lot of projects that are not complete to finish vs. Projects that are mostly complete.
Although some are not capable to complete to either Health or Finances to finish.
You will find plenty of good help on here and also find Friends as you go,which will help you on finding the stuff that you need or are looking for.
I like that you are willing to learn to do a car together with your Dad as something you can say we did it ourselves,and memories will last forever.
So that said good luck on your venture and project whatever you end up with.
And most of all have fun with your Dad while doing it.
Good luck to ya.

 

[jfreakofkorn]

Welcome to the Site ....

A bit more that you spend is the better that you can get, like in body, engine, transmission, interior, etc ....

If you spend less, you ll be be spending more in the long run than one that doesnt need as much work ...

 

[67 coronet]

if it is your first project i would recomend a car in one peice.you will learn alot about how stuff works by taking it apart.it will make reassembly much easyer if you already know how it was supposed to work and look like.just dont shoot for the moon out of the gate and build what you like.welcome to the site and HAVE FUN!feel free to ask any and all the questions you like,we are very helpfull here.

 

[WP29440SE]

way back when , i learned all about them by taking complete cars apart and putting them back together over and over. there was no internet , so i referenced and documented everything. it really helps when you know these cars inside and out and what belongs and what is missing, and how it all goes together. i would suggest you get a car that is as complete as possible, even if it all needs replaced or restored, this way you have a reference. i would take pics of everything you take apart . bag and label every bolt and fastener , and remember the order it all came apart. good luck , and enjoy !

 

[HT413]

I agree with some of the others, get something that drives but needs some love. spend time enjoying the car in the summer and working on some 'needs' during the winter. Then, if you decide you guys want a bigger challenge, go for it. A lot of the guys here are really talented and do crazy good work but if you take time to notice, they have tons of experience in welding, auto mechanics and body work and still spend a year or more on the projects, spending every spare moment.

I bought my 1st mopar last June. It ran and drove but needed a bunch of details taken care of before it was street legal (missing deck lid, headlights didnt work, missing cooling fan, and a bunch of other minor stuff). So i put in a month or so of tinkering, registered it and spent the summer and fall driving the hell out of it and taking the kids out for ice cream. Now that it' winter, i have the front end apart with a disc brake swap and am addressing some of the other needs that i noticed as i got to know the car.

Just my $0.02.

 

[69a100]

One word of advice. Buy the most complete car you can for the $$. If it runs and drives the better. The problem with projects are that people get them and realize that they have bitten off more than they can chew and then bail on the project leaving the next guy to figure out the previous owners intensions were and to fix the problems they created as well. With a running/driving car, you can fix/restore as you go. and get the chance to enjoy your new toy with each improvement you do to it. JMHO Good Luck!

 

[6pktgo]

Welcome to the site Hulman100 . :hello2: Sounds like fun, what you`re gonna do. :headbang: Just my first thought, on whatever you decide. When you figure out what car you want & have pulled the trigger on the actual purchase, buy yourself a factory Service Manual for that specific vehicle. They are a wonderful source for information & instruction. :toothy6: My 2 cents

 

[super-bee_ski]

I would suggest:
Purchase a "running" car.
It will be a "Rideable, usable" investment...

 

[WP29440SE]

yes, a factory service manual set for your specific vehicle is invaluable

 

[egrand1508]

Welcome!

There is so much good advice given already, I would just be repeating it. My input is that I see a lot of people bite off more than they can chew, get disgusted, get rid of it, and then get turned off to this hobby forever. I think it is always better to start out easy and work your way up. Look at it this way, if you get a running car and you and your dad decide you really want to tackle a complete rebuild, pull the engine yourself and go from there. You'll learn a lot just from taking stuff apart.

My idea of a good plan would be year one work on the body and interior and get it running and driving good. Then you get an idea of how well you like the car and any mods you might want to make. Also, how well you and your dad work together and how well your shop is laid out. Then, year two, go for the bigger stuff.

 

[Hulman100]

Welcome!

There is so much good advice given already, I would just be repeating it. My input is that I see a lot of people bite off more than they can chew, get disgusted, get rid of it, and then get turned off to this hobby forever. I think it is always better to start out easy and work your way up. Look at it this way, if you get a running car and you and your dad decide you really want to tackle a complete rebuild, pull the engine yourself and go from there. You'll learn a lot just from taking stuff apart.

My idea of a good plan would be year one work on the body and interior and get it running and driving good. Then you get an idea of how well you like the car and any mods you might want to make. Also, how well you and your dad work together and how well your shop is laid out. Then, year two, go for the bigger stuff.

thank you everyone for the great advice in this thread! you guys are a heck of a lot more helpful then most of the guys i deal with in the vw community

egrand: last summer i got my hands dirty with my grandfathers 1956 thunderbird, basically fixing a misfire and doing some other basic maintenance. this year i have more tools, time, knowlege and resources, and am ready to tackle a more ambitious project. i was hoping to take the motor down to the block and rebuild it with forged internals, lightweight crank, cams etc. this would be the main focus of the build

heres a link to the car were most interested in for reference:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/3522142055.html

 

[Hulman100]

My idea of a good plan would be year one work on the body and interior and get it running and driving good. Then you get an idea of how well you like the car and any mods you might want to make. Also, how well you and your dad work together and how well your shop is laid out. Then, year two, go for the bigger stuff.

thanks to everyone for the great advice in this tread!

egrand: last summer i worked on my grandfathers 1956 thunderbird, mainly fixing a misfire and doing other maintenance stuff. this summer i have more tools, time, knowledge and resources and am ready to tackle a more ambitious project. i was hoping to take the engine apart and rebuild it with forged internals, crankshaft, cams etc. this would be the main focus of the build.

heres the link for the car were most interested in for reference
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/3522142055.html

 

[67 coronet]

thank you everyone for the great advice in this thread! you guys are a heck of a lot more helpful then most of the guys i deal with in the vw community

egrand: last summer i got my hands dirty with my grandfathers 1956 thunderbird, basically fixing a misfire and doing some other basic maintenance. this year i have more tools, time, knowlege and resources, and am ready to tackle a more ambitious project. i was hoping to take the motor down to the block and rebuild it with forged internals, lightweight crank, cams etc. this would be the main focus of the build

heres a link to the car were most interested in for reference:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/3522142055.html

price seems kinda high for a dissasembled car that your not sure if all the parts are there.the crazy misspelling in the description is a bit strange as well.be carefull.

 

[Hulman100]

contacted the seller, no title and the motor is hydrolocked. not really a problem since i was planning on rebuilding it anyway. seller says he will take care of the title issue

 

[tpodwdog]

id throw 5 G's out and see what he says. nice solid looking body

 

[wannadrag]

If its as solid in person as seen in the pics it seems like a decent price.