A Driver And A Project? (Need some advice guys...)

[Mopar440+6]

Those of you that have been hanging around this site long enough know my situation, but for those of you that don't here is a little background. Shortly before I graduated from high school in 2004 I made the decision that I wanted a 68 Charger. After graduation and a few months of searching I finally found a package deal on three of them. One 383 car and two 318 parts cars, none of them drivable. The nicest one of them (the green 383 car) had severe cancer and a lot of missing panels but I still got out the wallet and made the deal. This was a big day for me; one of my long-term goals had just come true. Once I got them home I decided that I wanted to do a full out resto-mod on the green car, so I completely stripped it down to the bare shell over the next few months. I also completely tore apart the parts car that had been wrecked, there was no saving it.

This brings me to my current situation. June 19th will make two years that I have owned these cars. I've been struggling with this issue for quite a while now. I am a college student and like most college kids, I have very limited funds. I haven't made much if any progress with the Charger since the day I bought it. I have a garage with a bare shell of a car, tons of parts and a parts car that might be salvageable. As much as I love working on cars and even though I have come to terms with the fact that I will never manage to finish the green car while I am still in college, I am still dying to have a Charger that I can drive.

Thus my question: Should I put a hold on the resto-mod of the green car and build a driver out of the parts car? I have a fair amount of money in savings, two – three cars worth of parts including a working drive train, tools, a garage, three or four friends that are willing to sling wrenches and I will have plenty of free time over the summer. I can do almost all of the work myself. Is this a good idea or am I completely insane? Is it possible to get a car from project to road worthy in one summer? I know doing this WILL ultimately add 3-4 years to the resto of my green car but having a driver will hold me over through college until I can actually afford to go all out with the green car.

Sorry for being so longwinded but I needed to get some thoughts in print. Here are some pics just for reference. Anyway, I trust your advice guys. Thanks in advance...

Green car when I bought it:


Green car in its current state:


The parts car in question:

[Blown70]

I say build the driver, You can always do the resto mod thing later if you want.  Then you may have a better financial situation.  Just my thought.  Esp if you have most of the drivline and parts to do it.

Tom

[Charger1973]

If you build the parts car into a driver, it will probably never be a parts car again.  Not that thats a bad thing, but you will be looking for parts again. 

[Telvis]

Go with the driver. You can always finish the other car when you get out of school.

[rare69]

do what you think is best for you! if your dream is a full on show car save your money and build it, if your dream is a charger to sit behind the wheel and enjoy, then do that, the answer to your question is completely up to you. but don't wast the time and money on a close but not quite dream if it isn't what you really want.

[jaak]

build the parts car, sometimes I wish I could run across a rusty charger, patch it up throw a motor in and drive it around while working on my resto-rod rt. good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Jason

[General_01]

I would use your extra money to take as many summer courses as possible and finish college. Leave the cars. They ain't going anywhere and will be there when you have some disposable income after you start your career. Just my two cents.

P.S.- if you can't tell, I am a dad.

[greenpigs]

Do the parts car as the green one needs ALOT of work to finish it. Then you have a ride and can sell it later to help finish the resto.

[nh_mopar_fan]

 

[Charger_Fan]

Do the parts car as the green one needs ALOT of work to finish it. Then you have a ride and can sell it later to help finish the resto.

Exactly what I was gonna say.
If you can make a driver out of the other car, drive it for a while, to help satisfy the Charger desire, then sell it for a profit after school & use those proceeds to make the green one into the Charger you really want...I'd say that's the way I'd go.

Your parents are ok with you leaving that shell sitting there for a few years, right?

[Mopar2Ya]

Make the parts car a driver. You will learn more about the car as you build it that you can transfer to the dream car later. The nice thing about building the driver is you wont have as much stress & wont have as much $$ into it. You can make a driver look very good w/some enamel for little $$. Example check out there kits: http://www.smartshoppersinc.com/  . If you have a driver to keep you happy then you can take your time on the dream car, you wont feel like rushing it together just to drive it.

[69charger2002]

that "parts car" needs tons of work too though doesn't it? i mean you may be able to slap it together faster.. but wasn't it pretty shot? better make sure you really want to go down that road before you DUMP a lot of money into a car that won't necessarily make you happy.. you were practically giving that car away a couple months ago. so i know you have no ties to it. all in all it's up to you. but bringing a "parts car" to driver status will mean almost everything you are doing to your other green car, minus sheetmetal of course. you still have motor, trans, gas tank/fuel lines, brakes, wheel cylinders, electrical, LOT of money and work. let us know what you decide and good luck!
trav

[TruckDriver]

Go with the driver. You can always finish the other car when you get out of school.

[Moparstud440]

Sell the parts car, sell most of your extra parts, go to carlisle, or just search the net for a running charger that only has some minor cancer fix and needs some minor tlc to be road worthy.  To get that "parts car" to road worthy, it'd be better to patch the green one back together.  But remember whatever you decide NO, I'm not selling you a 440 but if I can, I'll help ya do some wrench turning if you need some serious help

[41husk]

I am finaly making some progress on my Challenger project.  Itook that car apart about 1996.  I seem to have a little more time to work on it.  Both of my kids are now grown and out of the house.  I kept buying and selling Driveable projects and that always kept me from focusing on the project at hand.  If I had never had something to cruize in the Challenger would have been finished a long time ago.   Buying Mopars is a sickness that affects people of all ages and it sounds like you my friend have got it good luck what ever you decide to do

[RD]

work on what you can when you can.  none of these guys' resto's or resto mods happened overnight.

[4402tuff4u]

I'm gonna be the salmon on this one and go against the flow on this one. I would say keep on saving money for the Charger you really want and desire - dont settle for less just to be able to drive a Charger or for profit purposes. These restorations are allot of money and if you start getting involved in "another" project as getting a driver going, you are going to eat up that savings. I would concentrate on the Charger you really want and try to focus on that as your goal. I would get the drive train together and in good running order - stuff you can probably do and then have someone help you or have someone restore the body. Try to keep the parts Chargers for parts and keep them off the weather as best you can and the undercarriage away from grass if possible. Good luck...oh and don't forget about school - first priority.   Just my two cents.....

[kab69440]

Fix the green car, or fix the blue car. Do whatever suits your fancy, but for the love of all that's Holy...



   GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR AND DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Arigmaster]

I agree with 4402tuff on this one to a point.....

There is one thing I don't think anyone has mentioned though. So, let me just put my thoughts in for your consideration....

Your goal it to build the green car into something that would be a show quality car. First, you have to decide if you are going to even drive the car or if you are going to trailer it around to these shows. It sounds to me that at this point you don't have the means (with school) to do this in one summer. You have 2 parts cars and are thinking of going off track of what you ultimately want to accomplish with building the show car by putting a whole bunch of money and time into another in order to make it road worthy. This is time and money that could be spent on getting you closer to your goal on your show car.

This raises one question.... Do these "temporary wheels" have to be a Charger? or could you acomplish transportation with "any car?" You need to set some priorities and goals and stick to them and not allow yourself to get side tracked.

Not to preach or anything but....

Your first priority and goal should be to your schooling because a show charger will not get you through the rest of your life and earn you a living.

Your second priority and goal would probably be to getting your show car built. Why would you want to burn up all your resources just to make a driver? 

If it were me, (and it's not) I would assess your two parts cars and take the best parts of them off for your show project. (selecting the best part of the 3 cars) In doing this it will give you a better picture of where you stand on your project goal. For Example:

If the part you want isn't on any of the 3 or if all 3 are no good for show quality then this would be on your "pieces to get list."

If there are parts on the cars that you know you can't use on the show car but are okay for a driver then you need to decide how you want to handle the 2 parts cars. Is one the two able completed enough to make a good project car for someone? If so, what would it be worth with all your non-show quality parts that go with it to make a car that is as complete as possible? Then also look at what it left over on the one that cannot be saved. Is there anything left that would be useable on someones daily driver type? If so, keep the part and sell, it or even use it to trade for the parts on your "pieces to get list." Then get rid of the shell of the one that can't be saved.

This leaves you with one car that will become your dream show car and another that might be a rebuildable project for someone. Now you should assess your wheels situation.... You need a car to drive. So, if you sold the project car to someone complete with the parts (keeping in mind there isn't a single part you want or need from it) would you make enough to go out and buy something to drive around for school and maybe even have a few extra bucks to put toward your "pieces to get list"? The other thing to consider is.... Is what is left of the rebuildable car worth more selling it whole or parting it out? (which rout will get you a reliable driver for school and perhaps some extra bucks for your "main project?"

I have been working on my Charger going on four years now and "yes" I too become impatient because life gets in the way sometimes but, I would rather swallow my ego for just that little bit longer and get closer to accomplishing what I really want then splitting myself into other directions and end up with less.

Just my own opinion.... Good luck and keep your focus!

[BigBlockSam]

build the driver and save your money to build the green one exactly how you want it. for now your driving a charger. these cars were meant to be driven .