I'm thinking of buying a classic car...

I don't personally have one but my 72 year-old neighbor has a flawless '65 red Corvette convertible. He tinkers with it in his garage, which is cleaner than the inside of my house. I salivate every time I see it on his driveway. I also hear it on Sunday mornings when he takes it out for a spin.

He decided to treat himself recently and bought a brand new, mid-engine Corvette. It is red as well. He has a vanity plate that is an abbreviation of "Dream Car". He uses an SUV for everyday driving, so these are his "toys". He has a nice life.
 
C50 said:
I don't currently have one but if old and ugly is what you're after here's a couple of my favorites.

Top one is a Jeepster and bottom is a Volkswagen Thing. Both are ugly enough that they're very cool, and both are a bit more affordable than muscle cars.
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LOL, my buddy in high school used to have an orange Volkswagen Thing. We used to take it to the beach and he would just hose the sand out afterward. It was slow as heck though!
 

Born_To_Lose said:
I don’t think he’s looking to do a complete restoration. Going out and finding a barn car or truck could easily cost anyone up to $40,000 or more to do a complete makeover. I know a fellow that just bought a small block ‘350 crate engine and it cost him over 2 grand, plus shipping. Depending on how mechanical you are, it may cost less to rebuild the old motor.

I have built a couple of cars in my younger days, but back then, I never got all my money out of them compared to what I spent, but I had a lot of fun building the cars, except doing the interiors. This is one my son bought to restore. He has 2 other guys that help him. I never did see the end result.

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Ah... what a great car.
Yes, I'm not looking for something to restore to show quality. In fact, I'd rather have something that looks its age but is mechanically sound, an everyday driver. There's nothing wrong with a few dents, a little rust and patina. Just clear coat it and let it be what it is.
 
I don't own one but I do have a question. Since my thoughts are still on women and not classic cars, does that mean I can still consider myself as a young man ? This post made my day :)

With that being said, if someone were to offer me a classic car to own, how could I refuse ?


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MarkinPhx said:
I don't own one but I do have a question. Since my thoughts are still on women and not classic cars, does that mean I can still consider myself as a young man ? This post made my day :)

With that being said, if someone were to offer me a classic car to own, how could I refuse ?


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You have the wrong idea. The only way to get a restored car is to build it yourself. I see you have a picture of a Mustang. If you’re looking to restore a car that won’t break the bank, probably a Mustang would be a good choice. Get one with a ‘289 in it or buy a ‘289 and rebuild it. I have been to a few hundred car shows and have always noticed Mustang parts, especially knock-offs are really reasonable. (That’s a nice way of saying cheaper than most others.)

If you watch the car auctions on TV like Mecum or Barrett-Jackson, I think the older trucks bring a better price compared to how much you have to put into them. Way back when, my buddy and I restored a ‘39 Chevy Deluxe. That was one of the most popular cars back in that era. In fact, Chevy outsold Ford hands down. We even rebuilt the engine, which was a 216, I think.
 
@VisualBrian

Do you live near to a place that has car auctions?

My husband was a collector and got most of his old classics from a car auction about 30 miles from our house. Not all of the cars sold at these auctions are pristine. Many of them are dinged up or have rusty spots, panels from a same model car but different color, etc.etc, but they do run and are street-ready, and sell for thousands less than the pristine ones.
 
_Apple_ said:
Do you live near to a place that has car auctions?

My husband was a collector and got most of his old classics from a car auction about 30 miles from our house. Not all of the cars sold at these auctions are pristine. Many of them are dinged up or have rusty spots, panels from a same model car but different color, etc.etc, but they do run and are street-ready, and sell for thousands less than the pristine ones.
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I wish I did live near a car auction, but I'm in the boonies. Yes, the ones with dings and rust are exactly what I'm looking for, something to work on. I check on craigslist but nothing good so far.
 
VisualBrian said:
I wish I did live near a car auction, but I'm in the boonies. Yes, the ones with dings and rust are exactly what I'm looking for, something to work on. I check on craigslist but nothing good so far.
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I hope you are lucky, Ben!

Lots of car scams on craig'slist and facebook marketplace, so do be careful.
 
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