Thread: Classic car father son project?

Ok guys, me and my dad have decided to do a project together, what car would you recommend that would be like under $8000? I know that may not be much but we can do a little better. Any ideas? And yesterday, we saw a 1966 chevelle with only 33k miles on it, a barn car for $3k, and then the carb flooded. Any ideas on a good car??? And any good sites for parts?? Thanks

Are you turned away because the carb flooded? If that's something large enough to turn you away, I'm worried about your approach to a 'project car'. If there isnt any rust on the body (or very little) a 66' Chevelle for 3k doesn't sound too shabby.
Beyond that, maybe a car each of you like. I know it can be hard to persistently work on a project, so whatever it is, make sure you're madly in love with it.

Get a rustbucket and make friends with someone at YearOne. I would get the 66' Chevelle who cares about the carb flooded. If its any kind of project car you will be replacing that engine or at the very least rebuilding. I wish I had a father son project but my dad can barely turn a screwdriver. I can't wait to have a kid (well actually I can) so I can do the project I never got to do

Mustangs make good restoration projects. There are so many different supports and reproduction parts.

They will fit almost any budget.

There is a lot of knowledge on forums about restoration of these cars.

I am in process of a 69 Mach 1

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I have a 1991 964 C4 Convertible sitting in CA at my friends place I'd sell for less than $8k. You can get tons of parts for it from Los Angeles Dismantler for Porsche 911, Boxster & Cayman

The interior is pretty torn up, but the body is in pretty good nick. The car was driven from NY to CA and then just wouldn't start. It overheated but we never got into why it wouldn't start and never repaired it. Car has about 60k miles on it.

PM me if you're interested.

You could get the basic factory five cobra kit for 12k. I know it's more than you're willing to spend but as a project I'd love to do one. And you'll have a new car.

Did this with my father a few years ago. There is a thread floating around here somewhere on it. We bought a 57 chevy belair and just finished it after years of restoration. My advice to you...restorations are extremely expensive. Spend more money on the car up front to get a car in decent shape. And then be ready to spend more money.

1965 Mustang is the worlds most customized car. Parts EVERYWHERE for them.

I'm currently restoring a 1957 Chevy Bel Air (thread can be found somewhere in here), and the condition car you pick is important. Any car that has no dents but rust, is perfect. Dents are very difficult to restore as you must cut out pieces and weld then get the tolerances but rust can simply be grinded, apply puddy or fiberglass, smoothen than primer. The "straightness" of the car is what really matters and can save you thousands. Also, if you see an intact frame with rust, don't be alarmed, simply get it sand blasted and touched for a few hundred dollars and it's like new.

Rechroming old pieces and paint are two big purchases aswell. Redoing the chrome can cost 4x more than buying the chrome piece. Why people choose to redo the chrome is because it gives a unique shine. Although, purchasing modern chrome pieces in my opinion give an almost identical look and save thousands aswell. I am planning to do the paint on my own but I looked for estimates and any credible painting garage will charge anywhere between 5-7k for labour alone.

Any car with an engine is fine. You will most likely be rebuilding anyways but if you do deside to get a car without an engine you may want to save by buying a used engine. New engines from factories can cost up to 17,000$ while rebuilding one will cost a few hundred and about 40 hours of work.

Overall, I wouldn't give you any specific model to restore but if you want to save on money go for a car with minimal chrome and high production numbers like a 67-69 Mustang, 55-57 Bel Air, 66-72 Chevelle. These cars were all mass produced so used pieces should be less difficult to find than others. I didn't mention Mopar since I'm not to familiar with them. Be ready to spend money though, a self restoration will only save you so much. Good luck and I hope to hear more about this soon!