Anyone rebuild muscle cars?

I'm thinking of buying a money pit. I'd love to get a late 60's early 70's charger r/t and rebuild it.

Just curious who else wants to do this, has done it, or is currently building something.

 

no way i was just looking at a 68 charger yesterday to rebuild

 

I just know that those Chargers are soo freaking expensive now.

Me and my dad were gonna start small. Like a Buick Regal GNX

 

I worked on a 67 Thunderbird in high school...It was my buddies so it cost me nothing...=)

I want to get a 'Cuda. Find the shaker hood maybe...

 

I'm rebuilding a 76 TA with a 4 spd 455.

 

My co worker has about $40,000 into his 70 Chevelle. It was his brother's car so everything will be restored to original with all matching numbers. Car will probably be worth about $80,000 when his is done.

 

Check out this site. go to the blue box on the left to find your dream car. I gotta warn you though they are already restored and VERY EXPENSIVE



http://www.cars-on-line.com/

 

My first car was a 67 T-Bird!

 

So, where does one find these one of these cars? I was thinking about searching local salvage yards, but figure they'll mostly be picked apart. Is there a good source online to find bodies and what not? Searched a bit on autotrader and on ebay, but didn't know if there was a better source.

 

I rebuilt a 68 Cuda a long time ago. It was a basket case when I bought it. Found it in a barn near Hayes, KS. You'll need to look around locally or search Ebay. Occasionally one will pop up to fix. We have a body shop here that does nothing but old Mopars. I found mine that way.

 

If your looking for mopars in Texas I believe these are the guys to talk to. I cant tell you how many wrecks i almost got in driving past their shop. They have restored and project cars. I believe they might also help you find a project car. Cant hurt to call them.

http://www.texastoybox.com/

 

i would say http://www.autotraderclassics.com/

towards the end of the search results youll find the ones needing restoration

 

I rebuilt a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am, 6.6 L (403 olds) engine. Was a SUPER bad ass ride. Now that Pontiac is history, I wish I had kept it. I have close to $10K in it. Did a frame up restoration.

 

I have an old car myself- a 1955 Mercury Monterey so I have some experience with old cars. First of all, muscle cars are super expensive right now because the old guys that drove them in their youth are in their financial prime and are totally fine shelling out craploads of money for them. In my opinion, Chryslers ( Chargers, etc) are well-engineered and reliable for that era, but the bodies on them are AWFUL. They tend to have major rust issues. So if you find a good one, they tend to be pricey. Secondly, in my opinion, most muscle cars are kind of boring because when you go to a car show, all you see are the same damned cars over, and over, and over again. If you've seen one Charger/Mustang/Belair/Camero/Corvette... then you've seen them all.

If you want a steal, look for late 70's, pre-84 model ( there was no 83') model Vettes. These at least for now are cheap. I can find them for as little as $2,500 out here in the Bay Area. The reason is because due to all the emission restrictions at that time, the stock performance is awful. But if you live in a state that doesn't have inspections, you can rip out all that junk and stuff in a new engine and have yourself a lighteight, well-handling machine cheap. That and that vintage of vette looks awesome.

As for my own experience, I actually have pretty good luck with mine. These old engines are easy to work on, easy to get parts for, and generally reliable if you keep up the maintenance. I spent about a year fixing mine up, and for the last 6 years its basically just run and been a good car. Then again, I just restored it to be a good driver, so most of it is bone stock parts. But you can easily blow loads of money on stuff like billet water pumps, chrome, ect etc. So you should set a max budget first and stick with it.

Lastly- keep in mind that if you do like a lot of guys do and turn their cars into trailer queens, spending 10's of thousands of dollars on them only to get bored with it, you will NEVER get what you spent on it back. So in that regard, they are true money pits. Keep that in mind.

 

I would not trailer it. I'd drive the snot out of it. If I am going to put int he wrench time, there is no way I wouldn't drive it like I stole it.