If you could go back to the day you got your car.......

[Aw4g63 0]

If you could go back to the day you got your car and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

 

 

I'd tell myself not to tear the car apart. Just do everything piece by piece.

 

What the fuck was I thinking? It's been something like 6 years and the amount of money and time is unimaginable and the car isn't nearly done. I hate this.

[RogerC 136]

Umm, almost 24 years. :whistling: Its survived 6 moves, changing family priorities and financial hardships. Worked on it for about 6 months straight in the early 90s only to have to stop before finishing it. Through the low priority years I did some extensive planning and about 2 - 2.5 years ago started executing my plan and have been steadily working on it even making progress on it while I was unemployed for 9+ months last year. Still need to buy some high dollar items but have plenty I can do till I can afford them.

 

On OT, start with a plan. Had no plan & no idea what direction I wanted to go with it.

[Fordrevhead 29]

I would tell myself, "it's a 70, you really want a 69."

 

Then I would ask myself, "why are you buying something that is in boxes with no drivetrain or interior anyway?"

[zach69grande 25]

hmmmm...i think i'd say..FLOOR IT.. DONT LOOK BACK! Quick before the wife changes her mind!!

i've done nothing but drive the car and start saving pennies and fixing little pieces so far.. i think after this season of cruising i'll park it and start tearing into the body..best purchase i've made so far.

[Aw4g63 0]

I would tell myself, "it's a 70, you really want a 69."

 

Then I would ask myself, "why are you buying something that is in boxes with no drivetrain or interior anyway?"

 

:clap: That's what I'm talking about! Hahaha. :thumbup:

[Wade 10]

I got the best advice on this forum. I wanted a car to restore. Some of my best memories have always been hanging out with my friends and working on our cars. We did things like put a V8 in a vega, swapped a corvette engine into a Jaguar, put a built 351C in a fox body... etc.. It was fun and we all would take turns helping each other out. But my wife did not want donor cars out in the drive and was afraid it would start to look a bit like a junkyard. And all those friends are too busy to be hanging out much anyway, we have all grown up and busy with families.

 

My wife and I talked about the process of a complete restoration, I wanted to know every part of the car, I wanted to rebuild the engine myself. But someone on here mentioned the fact that it would probably cost more to restore one than to buy one restored. AND if you get a second mortgage to buy a nice one, it is a completely tax deductible loan! The payments on a loan like that are far less than the money I would put out each month buying parts for it.

 

So it was a dilemma, I thought that I did not deserve the car unless I did it myself. Almost like when I used to do remote wilderness hiking and spend 3 weeks hiking and backpacking through the Denali wilderness to get to see some spectacular view. Then you see some folks will fly in to these remote areas hop out all nice and clean with their nice white tennis shoes to see the beauty, I would think that I earned the right to be there and they did not. It was if they cheated and I did all the work to get there. But for me it was very satisfying to go through the ordeal, the hard work was rewarded.

 

I viewed the car the same way, as if I was like those white tennis shoe wearing folks who didn't get dirty or break a sweat. Somehow I didn't deserve to own a car I didn't build. BUT I had to get over it and realize that I can enjoy something nice right now. The guy I bought the car from did an absolute top notch job, everything done very professionally. I bought it just before it was completed and there were enough small details for me to work on so that I get the satisfaction of doing some work.

 

that's my 2 cents.

[Legion 10]

Hmmm...it would probably be...

 

"You should have bid $100 dollars more on the '69 roller that was already block sanded and primed waiting for paint" :) -I would have been driving it by now, lol.

 

Honestly, wouldn't trade it for the world. Good days the work is fun, bad days...I can beat the shit out of the rusty metal.

[Max Power 74]

If I could do it over again, I might have chosen a car with more of a pedigree, as restoring those doesn't cost much more than a plain jane. 12 years ago it would have been borderline affordable. But on the bright side, by buying a plain jane, I was able to build a car as close to what I would have ordered new from the factory, without the guilt of "wrecking" a car that should be left stock due to collector value.

 

Really, If I could roll the clock back 20 years, I never should have sold my Cougar Eliminator or my 69 Acapulco Blue CJ Mach. In those days, we never knew haw valuable these cars would be.

[flight96 14]

If I could do it over again, I might have chosen a car with more of a pedigree, as restoring those doesn't cost much more than a plain jane. 12 years ago it would have been borderline affordable. But on the bright side, by buying a plain jane, I was able to build a car as close to what I would have ordered new from the factory, without the guilt of "wrecking" a car that should be left stock due to collector value.

 

Really, If I could roll the clock back 20 years, I never should have sold my Cougar Eliminator or my 69 Acapulco Blue CJ Mach. In those days, we never knew haw valuable these cars would be.

 

AMEN !! I wish I could go back to 1985 and stop myself from selling my '70 BOSS 302 !! What a MORON !!!

As for my current car, knowing what I know now, if I could go back to the day I bought it, I probably would have tried to get a better deal. It turned out to be a bigger job than I had originally hoped for. But you HAVE to expect that in this hobby.

[70Mach 10]

I'd go back 20 years and pat myself on the back. $4500. Not a bad investment for a 20 year old at the time. With minimal work on the car through the years.

[Max Power 74]

Here was my Eliminator:

 

[70mstang 11]

I wouldn't change a darn thing about the day I bought my car!

[ATTACH]7174[/ATTACH]

I got my car for $2500.00 in '86 after my baby Candy Apple Red '73 Mustang convertible was cracked in half by a Cadillac.

 

The test drive was AMAZING and scared the poor salesguy to death. We took the car out into rural Virginia route 29 and when he let me take the wheel I smoked first and 2nd getting sideways down the highway and hit third still smokin! I buried the speedometer before I knew it .. I fell in LOVE.

They change the brakes for me and I handed them cash!

 

I drove her daily till she couldn't drive any more, then I stored her away till I could afford to get some work done. 24 Years later and she's almost done!

 

Pic of my Mom & Dad bringing the car down to me after boot camp =)

Edited August 6, 2010 by 70mstang

[Truck 12]

If you could go back to the day you got your car and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

 

"Don't strip the paint until you're ready to repaint."

 

"Cleaning the cowl vents is a PITA!"

 

"Are those big plugs?"

 

"Check the floor for holes"

 

The list could go on....

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

"do you understand you won't be able to work on it for another 14 years????"

[69gmachine 15]

I'd have to say "you did good!"

 

I bought a basket case in '93. I worked on it for 4 years to get it on the road and it seemed like forever.

 

Using it as a daily driver made me decide I had to have better/more modern brakes steering and suspension. Fortunately I enjoy working on it almost as much as driving it, so the transformation was somewhat therapuetic.

 

Now however, I just want to drive it. When it's down for a mod period (like putting in a hydraulic throwout bearing) I go absolutely crazy if it sits for too long. But I also hate working in the hot weather, so I just have to suck it up and wait for fall.

[Pakrat 1,043]

I wouldn't change much about my purchase either, it went well with no surprises. I actually could have probably negotiated the price a little but the car was exactly as represented to me from online and out of state and the extremely honest seller was going thru some tough financial times so I was happy to pay the fair asking price.

 

Now, if I could go back and change the day it got totalled, boy is that the question. I am constantly at odds with having been down in restoration for almost 6 years now rebuilding it as my dream car vs. choosing to not have been driving the car at all that fated day or choosing to not be a good samaritan which put me in the wrong place at the wrong time. I like to believe Kharma wise things worked out in everyones best interest that was involved but I question it more and more frequently the longer it takes.

[brandon mitchell 10]

I would tell my self not to buy it! It sucks. Spent a lot of money on repairs and modifications.

[brandon mitchell 10]

I would tell my self not to buy it! It sucks. Spent a lot of money on repairs and modifications.