If you had to do again?

[lloyd3]

My four-year anniversary with the resto shop is coming up this November.  The fellow doing the work is as good an old soul as has ever swung a wrench and welded a paint gun, and it's soooo close to being done, but he's having health problems yet again.  My greatest fear (over the last few years) was having him vapour-lock with the car spread all through his garage, so with it now being almost done I'm not so concerned about such a catastrophic loss.  It down now to the matter of finishing touches (two surprisingly difficult bolts on the rebuilt vacuum booster, applying the stripe decal to the tail, and buffing out some of the paint).  The collector plates have a new 2012 sticker on them, my current registration is in the glove box, and the new insurance card is in there with it.

But God.....it's hard to wait.  He's done such a good job, and there hasn't been any corners cut.  New glass, new grill, completely refurbished trim, primed and painted to factory specs in the factory color, absolutely everything is old school and proper so I'll just continue to wait.  I think we both know it may very-well be his last project, so he wants to see it through to completion and I'm willing to support that.  The bad news about that is there are many classic Mopars sitting there (w/at least one hemi-car) that will likely never be reassembled.

[Charger_Dart]

I did one of each. The Charger was a project car from the start, but the 68 Dart was purchased as a done car. (well mostly done) Both are special cars to me and I love working on each of them. I might know every nut and bolt on the Charger and more then a few of them I know WAY too well, but that does not make the Dart any lesser of a car to me.

What has changed over the years is the cost to restore a car. I know I could not afford to start on my Charger today the way it was 22 years ago when I bought it. For me a good, solid, mostly done car is the best choice today.    

[chargerboy69]

Two years ago my 69 Bee was in 1000 pieces, today it is in 994 pieces.

My Charger I bought was clean but needed some attention under the hood and interior.  That kind of stuff is easy to do, and I like doing.  I am getting to old and fat to deal with a frame off restoration.

[Darkman]

I have always wanted to do a ground up build on a car. The Charger ticks this off the list. The next car I get will be a mostly done car that is a turn key car. I do not want to go through all this rebuilding process again.

As some have said, even a "done" car is never truly done, and there would be things that I would want to change, but they would be little things that can be started on a Saturday morning, and be done by a Sunday afternoon.

I wouldn't want to spend 30k+ on a car a know there are still things to FIX, however spending 30k+ on a car knowing there are things I would want to CHANGE is different and do-able

[Fred]

Usually, you can buy a restored car cheaper than building one, its the seller that always takes the hit.

That's a very true statement and having said I would build rather than buy, I know there are some good restos about and if and when I finally sell mine, the lucky buyer will be laughing all the way because I'll never get back what I poured into it but he will get the best of everything.

[Dans 68]

If I had a place to build up a car I would do that the third time around. While having a '73 and a '68 that can be driven all day without problems is a nice, I would really like a shop to actually build up a car my way. 

Dan

[Memphis Mopar]

Building your car or buying one done is depending on what you are looking for. With my build that I am doing I have a certain vision of what I want my car to look like and what I want my car to be in terms of drivetrain and handling and so forth. In the future if I were to ever buy a finished car there would have to be documentation of the "build" for me to be interested in buying it. The person selling you a finished car may say it is complete but you just may be buying his problems. just my 

[69bronzeT5]

I'm still trying to finish the project car....13 years so far

[Ghoste]

A finished car next time for me.

[h76]

I've had a number of 68's. All were project cars that just seemed to find me somehow. Every time I thought I was saving one for a resto, something would come up with personal life or interest would be lost. I am not a big numbers guy for correctness part of it and at this point in my life, the only car for resto purposes I would consider is a 68 4 speed car. I guess that probably explains why I lost interest in the project ones I had(all were auto non R/T).I would buy any decent driver 68 that may be not be perfect, but is drivable and I could enjoy as the years go on.

[Kern Dog]

I wouldn't change a thing. I bought a running driver and used it for work for a month while I was rebuilding the motor in the work truck. It was nice having the car mobile while restoring it.

[1969chargerrtse]

That's a hard call because the economy has cost some of us lots of money. My car put me through a lot because I bought it site unseen from a dishonest buyer. If the economy was as strong as it was in 2007 I would have no big regrets. Since my car value has dropped a lot, if I could do it over I wouldn't because the work I did and the value loss in today's market sucks.

[Ghoste]

Still haven't sold it then huh?  I was following the other thread and I knew there were some issues but I haven't kept up to date.

[Belgium R/T -68]

I loved almost every moment of building my Charger and it was also a rehab for getting my mind of the alcohol but never again. I started a second project which I sold of with a huge loss because it was already in pieces.
On the other hand I don't think I will buy a "finnished" car either because when you owned one you know every detail of I wouldn't trust it to be good enough, think I will keep mine. 

Per

[moparstuart]

I loved almost every moment of building my Charger and it was also a rehab for getting my mind of the alcohol but never again. I started a second project which I sold of with a huge loss because it was already in pieces.
On the other hand I don't think I will buy a "finnished" car either because when you owned one you know every detail of I wouldn't trust it to be good enough, think I will keep mine. 

Per

[FastbackJon]

Who really wants to take what someone else built to a car show? Lots of times too, you'll get these guys who build nice looking fancy cars but never drive them, so even though they look nice, they aren't in any way reliable as they have all sorts of electrical/mechanical gremlins that can only be found and worked out from lots of driving.

I have a '68 R/T that I inherited from my dad that we bought as-is already built. I don't really take pride in it since I didn't build it. I also have a '66 Charger that I've poured my own effort and money into and it's much more enjoyable because not only have I learned how to fix things by working on it, but I know exactly what's right and wrong with it, and I've also driven it enough to have it break down on me enough so that now it's reliable. Just keep fixing what breaks and when it breaks make it better.

My biggest enjoyment is taking the cars that have been off of the road and unlicensed for 20-30 years and putting them back together and putting them back on the road.

So if I had to do it over, I'd still build it.

[1969chargerrtse]

Still haven't sold it then huh?  I was following the other thread and I knew there were some issues but I haven't kept up to date.

Working with one eBay buyer, if it doesn't sell, I may re list.

[69 OUR/TEA]

I myself rather have a resto project,you get to see it from inside out,know what you have when your done,and for myself,being that I can do the major cost of the resto,the paint/body,it gets me ahead of the game right from the start.NTM,and I think I can speak for most of the quality body/paint guys here,when you do paint/body,it would be hard pressed to be satisfied with someone elses bodywork/paint.
I still enjoy doing the resto,from the bodywork,painting,restoring assemblies,doing the assembly,and best of all,when you are done and enjoying it, the gratitude that comes when you get some compliments on it.
I have seen some cars for sale for some pretty steep amounts,and on just about all of them,I can find items that either were'nt done correctly,or to a nice caliber.IMO,few and far between cars come along for sale that I can honestly say WOW,and if they do,the price tag,also WOW !!!!
BUT,and I say BUT,if you are not determined to have a show stopper for a car,and you think about buying a project,and driver/cruise night quality will satisfy you,just drop the ,and this is a wide spectrum I'm covering,$20-$35k and get in it and turn the key and enjoy life now.If you don't have the money,go get a collector car loan,because you WILL be dumping $500 ++++++ monthly into it,buying parts,materials,tools,etc.

[gschmidt211]

I am working on my project now.  At this time, I guess I would prefer to have bought something more complete and drivable.  I miss driving a car to the shows.  However, the cars of the past have been okay drivers.  Not really show quality.  With that being said, I know that when I am done, I will be so glad that I kept at it and finished it. 

At the beginning of the year, I came within $150 of selling everything I had to find a nice driver.  As I spend nights after work scrapping underbody off of the car, I realize how nice it will be to know every inch of the car when I am done.  As I get through the underbody I know how solid this car is.  It has also been fantastic that my 6 year old son has been able to come in the garage and put on his safety glasses and ear protection and grab the pneumatic scrapper and get to work.  Sure he doesn't really remove a lot of coating, but this experience of building a car could never be replaced by just buying something. 

There are a lot of cars out there I would love to have, but money is an object so the route I am going with a build makes the most since for me if I want to have a fairly nice car when I am done.  My 318 Satellite was nice, but it will be no comparison to my Rallye when it is done. 

Good luck with your project and keep at it.

[c00nhunterjoe]

It brings a whole new level of respect when you talk to the guy at a show that did his car himself from the ground up vs the guy that just bought a finished car and the only details he can give you are the color and size of the tires........ 

[Cooter]

It brings a whole new level of respect when you talk to the guy at a show that did his car himself from the ground up vs the guy that just bought a finished car and the only details he can give you are the color and size of the tires........ 

AMEN bro. My thoughts exactly. Not everybody CAN do their own, but I wasn't born with a Filler spreader and a welder in my hand either.

[c00nhunterjoe]

It brings a whole new level of respect when you talk to the guy at a show that did his car himself from the ground up vs the guy that just bought a finished car and the only details he can give you are the color and size of the tires........ 

AMEN bro. My thoughts exactly. Not everybody CAN do their own, but I wasn't born with a Filler spreader and a welder in my hand either.

The only way you will learn is by doing it.

"If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0"

[Cooter]

It brings a whole new level of respect when you talk to the guy at a show that did his car himself from the ground up vs the guy that just bought a finished car and the only details he can give you are the color and size of the tires........ 

AMEN bro. My thoughts exactly. Not everybody CAN do their own, but I wasn't born with a Filler spreader and a welder in my hand either.

The only way you will learn is by doing it.

"If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0"

Dang Coonhunter, you's my kinda guy...Excellent! 

[c00nhunterjoe]

It brings a whole new level of respect when you talk to the guy at a show that did his car himself from the ground up vs the guy that just bought a finished car and the only details he can give you are the color and size of the tires........ 

AMEN bro. My thoughts exactly. Not everybody CAN do their own, but I wasn't born with a Filler spreader and a welder in my hand either.

The only way you will learn is by doing it.

"If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0"

Dang Coonhunter, you's my kinda guy...Excellent! 

That's the basic approach I took to my body work. I hve no garage. I did all the work in the driveway. The right side 1\4 is 100% handmade out of 24x24 squares of sheetmetal. It resembles a 1\4 but that's about all I can say for it..... version 1.0.   I found that jcwhitney sells skins for less money then I had in the square sheets so I bought a pair and did the left side with the skin. Its better, but far from perfect. Version 2.0..... lol.  I've never done bodywork before and it looks pretty good 6 feet away.  If I can wrestle bodywork, in my driveway, inbetween thunderstorms and high humidity then anybody can!

[Cooter]

That's what I'm talking bout!