2nd Thoughts on Restorations

[rich4406bbl]

I have a 71 Charger RT that is in "driver" condition. It has some rot in the lower panels and had been re-painted sometime in the mid 90's. When I got it the car had been hopped up and I slowly put it back to "stock". I have also been collecting NOS parts for a restoration sometime in the future and will continue to do so. To be honest, I get more enjoyment out of driving it than taking it to shows. When I stop anywhere with it I still get the ooh's and ahh's. The question that I have for you all is have any of you ever regretted your decision to go all out on a big bucks restoration instead of just keeping it in running and driving condition?

[Long Island RT]

I'm sure everyone will have their own opinion/experience so for it's worth here's mine...

The fact you love to drive the car - why do you need a full out resto?  These cars get attention rust or no-rust and shiny paint doesn't change the way the car drives....
Money is always the other issue.  A compete tear down restoration is going to cost probably over 30K and a a couple of years out of service.  You can't fix the body and have an old beat-up interior - you're going to want to go all the way once you start.

I did go all the way but only because I wanted to.  Instead of looking at it like I had no car to drive - I relished in each step of the process, learning and working on things I never did before.  Now that my car is basically finished, I kinda miss the building phase.  Over a few years the money doesn't hit you as hard either.

If it was me - I'd continue collecting parts.  From new AMD panels to interior door handles and so forth.  Once you have everything you need, dig in.  Till then... keep on driving it. 

Oh - and by the way - just because you do an all out resto - doesn't mean you won't drive it when it's done.  I haven't taken my car to one show, not sure if I ever will.  I'm more interested in cruise nights and tire spinning 

[green69rt]

I was going to post the same as Long Island RT almost to the word.  Think of the other side of the coin, if you never do the full restoration will you always regret that.  Myself, if I had a driver that need work, I might try to take a piecemeal approach and fix things as I could but keep it drivable.  Sometimes that works but I can see that sometimes it won't. 

Be aware that things are always worse than expected in these old cars.  Paint, putty, and undercoating can cover up nightmares you didn't realize were there.

Having said al the above, the choice is yours.  Think hard before you go whole hog because, unless you have deep pockets or access to lots of cheap skilled labor, a full resoration can take years.  Just look at some of the treads on this site.  Mine has been ongoing for 3 years and I'm only about half done with sheet metal.

So when you've heard all the comments (maybe no straight up answers) let us know what the plan is!!

[The70RT]

I agree with the other guys. Mine had a rusty roof and was just getting worse so once that got done I would have wanted paint then like the others said a chain reaction. I could have just did what it needed and had it on the road by now but I figure I'm almost 50 so when mines done it shouldn't need much till I'm dirt. 

[rich4406bbl]

Guys, I'm 52 and this stuff is not new to me. I love the car "as is". I'm gathering the parts for a resto in case I decide to do it in the future. My question was did any of you have 2nd thoughts about taking your "driver" to the next level? Was the time, effort and expense "worth it" to you? I've had people talk to me about my car at a few local shows and more than a few have said that they wish they had kept their's as a "driver" because they are either afraid to drive them now or it's too much work to keep clean after a few short drives.  I spoke to one guy who has a GTO and he told me it takes him about a day to clean it top to bottom, in and out after going out to a show.

[charge69]

Well , it is just up to you as an entusiast how far you take it.  I would love to drive mine when I am finished and probably will just because that is what I want to do with it.  Probably will not see many shows and I just don't care what other people think as it is MY car, not theirs.

Take yours to whatever level you feel comfortable with and be happy with it.  If that means never restoring it , so be it and have fun with your ride.  By the way, it is much more work and money restoring an old car than you ever plan for.  Take my word for it!

[AKcharger]

Once that thing comes apart it will be a time and money pit! Drive it till you have time/parts money to get it done. I see SOOOO many people here cheat themselves out of the pleaseure of driving their car. I enjoied restoring my 2 cars (and will do it again here in a few years) but driving them is 100% more enjoyable!!

[Charger440RDN]

Well if its unrestored you don't have to be as careful when you drive it. When you go to Wal Mart you can squeeze in anywhere and have peace of mind while in the store.

I'm sure people in primer black unrestored Chargers have the most fun.

[Brock Lee]

I am in the same boat. My buddies have their cars in pieces being full restored and I have never taken mine off the road. I dedicate time here and there to rust removal on the underside and will have to have some patching done..but I doubt I will ever strip it down bare and do it. It is worth enjoying the car on the road than having it tied up for years being gone through is just not for me.

[Belgium R/T -68]

The reason I chosed to do a full resto on my fully drivable charger was that I needed a full
time activity to keep me from the alcohol in which I was deeply into. Do I regret it? No, but
indeed the drivingpleasure is different because you are afraid of dents, scratches, dirt etc.
Secondly as already pointed out, the money that flies into a full resto is really painful. Once
you start you calculate on using 50% of the old parts but at the end you bought almost evrything new. your own standards raise during the way. Another positive feeling is if you are a firsttimer
like me, you grow as a person. You will do things you thought you couldn't and that gives one a
good feeling.
For my second project, I would have done it differently but it's to late now. The challenger was a
nice looking car with a very tired 318 and bodyissues nobody saw. I took it fully apart like with the
charger with the big difference, the money isn't there so I'm stucked with it like it's sitting now instead of collecting parts when money is available and enjoying driving a convertible when the wheather allows it and do the rest during a shorter timeperiod.


Per

[Charger RT]

I think I know how you feel. I had/have the same issue. I bought my 68 in 85 from my brother. He last drove it in 82. I collected good used parts from 85 untill 2000. In 2000 I had the money to either restore it or move. The decision was made to move. So I spent a little money and put it together. So now I have a 68 driver in OEM paint. The problem was driving it in Philly was hard. In 82 it was just a car in 2000 it was worth more then my daily drivers and could be worth more restored. I was afraid to drive it because the 3 car crashes I was in there in 22 years I had no control over 2 of them and I didn't want my Charger took away. I am now in Florida and can enjoy driving the car on a regular basis. Its still a driver and I have started a little patch work but I can enjoy it year round. So I will drive mine for a while longer but still do want to restore it one day. My son (15) receintly told my he wants to go to school to learn how to do body work. Since I'm a mechanic and he wants to do body work it is a good reason for me too wait and enjoy it.
Tim

[Arigmaster]

Looking back then and all... I have to say yes. I originally built the car with every intention of giving it to my Daughter as a graduation present so she could have something very special that her dad made. I did everything the right way and customized the car to both our liking.

Unfortunately... When you divorce there are some dreams that others will make sure will never be realized and they also want a piece of anything you have even if it means lying to get it. I sold the car at a loss and they got their piece out of it regardless of if it was right or wrong. My daughter ended up with "nothing."    

[SFRT]

don't blow it apart until you have EVERY SINGLE part you will need on hand and organized, a comprehensive plan and 20 grand in cash for the metalwork and paint.

drive it until then.

when you take it apart dont stop AT ALL until its all put together again...have your outside labor sourced and ready. Pretend your planning for D DAY...

I have a lot of friends that blew their cars apart with no plan, no cash reserve etc and like 15 years later the car is still in pieces.

[AKcharger]

Oh, one more tip, I'd save up money and ORIGINAL parts. Problem I had is I'd buy and store after market parts, then a year later go to install them and they didn't fit/defective, and I couln't return them because the time had past (or I forgot where I got them). I found from my Charger rebuilds about 10% of the "new" parts I got were not usable for one reason or another.

[Scaregrabber]

I've restored a bunch of cars and I have driven every car I own. As stated above if you do restore it, have absolutely every piece you need and try to get some subassemblies restored before you blow the whole car apart. Try to have it off the road and incomplete for the least amount of time possible. I used to restore my cars over 1 winter so I wouldn't lose any driving time with them. If I'm not driving them I lose lose interest in them.
And if it's restored, still drive it, please.

Sheldon