Looking for a Project

Where are you located and what is your price range?

You find one by describing what you are looking for. Be specific and you'll get better answers.

If by "project" you mean a rusted out '59 Edsel for $50, I can probably make you a deal. BTW, the car has no engine, trans or diferential. It also has four flat tires and no glass. It would make a GOOD "project". Interested?

SuperDave said:

You find one by describing what you are looking for. Be specific and you'll get better answers.

If by "project" you mean a rusted out '59 Edsel for $50, I can probably make you a deal. BTW, the car has no engine, trans or diferential. It also has four flat tires and no glass. It would make a GOOD "project". Interested?

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pics?

Squidget said:

pictures.

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You are still "skirting" my question. How about my Edsel idea? Only by clearly stating what you want will you get much of an answer. $2K for a minimal rust car is unrealistic. Don't mean to be a PITA but give as some paramters like what kind of car? etc.

Squidget said:

What do you want for the 66 *mustang* coupe? sorry, forgot to tell you guys what I'm looking for!

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Unfortunately, $2000 wouldn't get the stereo in my '66, but you should be able many suitable project cars in IL... Don't you have a "Trader" or "Thrifty Nickle" type of paper that comes out each week? There are tons of these cars over in Indianapolis.....

squidget: It would be pretty safe to say that any '65-'66 car you find in the mid-west will have major rust issues. Further, it would be reasonable to assume that you will probably need to look to regions where the weather and winter use of salt and chemical don't exact such a sacrifice from old cars. This explains my remark about $2K being "unrealistic" for a minimal rust cat. You'll need to travel and possibly ship at suitable candidate for your "project".

I've been in the Mustang hobby since the beginning (I still own the car in my avatar which is #2 of my 14 former early Mustangs) and have seen many people attempt "low-buck" projects. Unless you are mechanically talented, well-equipped with the proper tools AND have a suitable place to work (like a garage), a $2K car can become a HUGE project that can quickly become VERY expensive and discouraging. I'm not saying it can't be done; it's just not very likely. I'd up the ante and invest more in a solid beginning for your "project". You'd be ahead in every account.

Sigh.... The "Timeless Wisdoms" (below) say it all. I'll be quiet now. Good luck and let us know how your search turns out.

S/D,
Looks like you missed out on unloading that 59 Edsel... $50.00 was a bit pricey anyway, don't you think?

I can offer you some ideas an hopefully some words of encouragement, but you get to do the hard (but fun!) part. Your idea of scoping out some rust free cars while in Texas is a great idea, but you can stack the odds by searching www.collectorcartrader.com ahead of time and searching the area (zip code) you will be visiting. The cars you're after are extremely plentiful, so do not settle for a rusty car. Also, try to find a car that hasn't been modified too much, since at one time or another most early Mustangs were owned by high school-age people, and we all know how smart they are (and I was, too) about cars! Also, now would be a VERY good time to start to assemble a reasonable budget for the entire project. That is, do some reasearch to see what it'll take to bring your car up to your expectations. You may well find that buying a freshly restored, or at least partially finished car, is a bargain. Remember, when restoring your dream car, you need to buy every piece at full retail to build a car, and you'd be absolutley stunned to know how quickly all those parts add up. It's a great feeling to say, " I did it myself", but is it worth it to have a car you've put $20,000 over the years that's only worth $7,500? Trust me, that can happen very, very easily. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to discourage you in any way, just trying to let you know what you're in for ahead of time. My project was purchased with the intent of building a Shelby clone, and while it's been a very rewarding job so far, it's also cost over twice what I'd added up before strating (and what I told my wife it'd cost!) and I planned as carefully as I could. Also, figure in the time factor, can you devote enough time and energy to COMPLETE the car? If not be honest now, nothing is worse than taking a good running car apart, then running out of time, money or both and having to sell it for pennies on the dollar. That's why you see so many half finished cars with thousands of dollars in parts (usually still in boxes) for sale on ebay, and why finding such a project is like striking oil in your backyard. Someone else has already taken a huge hit to the wallet, and the buyer gets to reap the rewards! Anyway, owning and building a classic Mustang is a very rewarding, and very addicting hobby, but just like building a home, starting with a good foundation is the key to a great car, everything else will be that much easier. If you need any further encouragement, advice or questions answered, feel free to PM me or email me at jngzoo@aol.com and I'd be more than happy to help in anyway I can.

Originally posted by SD:

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This explains my remark about $2K being "unrealistic" for a minimal rust cat.

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SD, you are confusing me. You say for her to be specific about what she want's and then you start telling her how unrealistic 2K is for a Mercury Cougar? BTW, the same can also be said about the Mustang.

(just some of that good natured funnin' I know you love so much ole man)

Ditto what zoo said. I'll admit we weren't prepared for where our 73 has taken us, at least not entirely. We were talking about the toasted motor a few days ago, and how neither of us was actually surprised to find gouged cylinder walls. I think we kinda knew what a project she'd be, but neither of us wanted to admit it out loud. Especially since we probably over paid for the car. But, what are you going to do, we bought it, now we gotta fix it! It has given us a lot of learning experiances, and confidence to tear into (literally) a project like this. We NEVER would be ready to tackle the body work on our firebird if not for the mach.

The moral of that story=I think one important thing is to learn not to take it hard when you run into a setback. It's easy to get emotional about these projects, just don't let it get the better of you. I am staring at a gouged up piston right now, sitting on my table. It was just another problem to solve. That's part of the fun I guess. You have to have fun with it, or you'll get frustrated and have half a car for 10 years sitting under a tarp somewhere...

BTW, it's cool to have another woman around. There's a couple of us here, good to find another that's into Stangs!!

And, I think a 70's CAT could be had for @ $2,000 ....