That's right. Next summer I get to restore an old muscle car, and I've been thinking about what to get.

Anyone who knows me well will know that I instantly thought of a C3 shark, but It's a bit out of my budget. I have a budget of 5,000 dollars, give or take a few hundred.

I suppose, though a stroke of luck, I could pick up a C3 in fair condition for around 3000, and use the last 2k fixing it up. It's not unheard of, I saw one in pretty good condition for around 3.5k, but it needed about 2k of doing up.

I don't want to go for anything older than, say, 1980. Yes, I know the C3 is older than that, but that's one of the very few pre-1980's muscle cars that I find good looking. I'm more into things like the 1980 Camero and Firebird.

I'm leaning towards the Firebird because they're essentially the same car, but I can have the Trans-Am bird on my hood, which would be fucking epic.

I would like t-tops, but NOT a convertible. I can't stand the look of soft-top convertibles, but I love the look of T-tops.

Any other suggestions?

Also, this car would be worked on/very seldom driven until I get some good experience under my belt.

EDIT: Found this:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cto/861271162.html

This is kinda what I'm looking for, 1k for a shell and a tranny, and another 3 for the motor, and 1k for miscellaneous work on the car.

Standard Vanguard!

Standard Vanguard!

Haha, nice, but I'm looking for more of the old late 70s to early 80s look

Just what the World needs; another "bad ass" driving a Firebird...:rolleyes:

That's right. Next summer I get to restore an old muscle car, and I've been thinking about what to get.

Anyone who knows me well will know that I instantly thought of a C3 shark, but It's a bit out of my budget. I have a budget of 5,000 dollars, give or take a few hundred.

I suppose, though a stroke of luck, I could pick up a C3 in fair condition for around 3000, and use the last 2k fixing it up. It's not unheard of, I saw one in pretty good condition for around 3.5k, but it needed about 2k of doing up.

I don't want to go for anything older than, say, 1980. Yes, I know the C3 is older than that, but that's one of the very few pre-1980's muscle cars that I find good looking. I'm more into things like the 1980 Camero and Firebird.

I'm leaning towards the Firebird because they're essentially the same car, but I can have the Trans-Am bird on my hood, which would be fucking epic.

I would like t-tops, but NOT a convertible. I can't stand the look of soft-top convertibles, but I love the look of T-tops.

Any other suggestions?

Also, this car would be worked on/very seldom driven until I get some good experience under my belt.

EDIT: Found this:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cto/861271162.html

This is kinda what I'm looking for, 1k for a shell and a tranny, and another 3 for the motor, and 1k for miscellaneous work on the car.

That looks like the interior of my car, but I have white leather seats and white door panels. Mine is an 80 Firebird Esprit. Firebirds are pretty awesome cars, and they're fun to drive. You just can't think you're a hard ass because you have one, so does everyone else.

if you end up with a firebird and need any parts let me know i'm only an hour and a half away and have a 77 trans am that was in a garage fire. it was being restored and only thing left was to do the paint the panels don't look warped so there's a lot of good metal that could be used in another one. i also have a complete black interior that wasn't in the car when the fire happened.

Beetle hot rod! Beetle hot rod! Beetle hot rod!

Fuck Camaros, Fuck Firebirds/Trans-Ams, Fuck Novas, and Fuck Mustangs. Be different for once in your life and get a Mopar, that way when you go to a car show you don't park in a line of identical cars.

I here old ford falcons are really underpriced in the US, maybe you try and find a falcon XP coupe.
You could also look for a 240z, they're pretty cheap there.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3309/130070602z1971datsun240vx5.jpg

How in the shit could you restore a muscle car for 5k? Unless you can paint and do mechanical work yourself i guess....meh.

How in the shit could you restore a muscle car for 5k? Unless you can paint and do mechanical work yourself i guess....meh.

thats why a gen 2 firebird or camaro would be a good choice for him. you can get a driver for not too much and if you can do body work and paint yourself you could have a pretty decent car for around 5k.

OP:
too bad you don't have $7500 to spend and have it now, you could buy this,
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ctd/848244189.html

you can get a driver for not too much and if you can do body work and paint yourself you could have a pretty decent car for around 5k.


I paid $600 for mine. If I saved up 5k, minus the $600 I spent on it, I could make this one hell of a car. I've found a few old Pontiac 400's and a a few 350's I'm looking at. None of which are over $800. Body work, wouldn't cost much more than $200 at the most(if I did it myself). Then I'd still have all that other cash for performance mods and upgrades.

Beetle hot rod! Beetle hot rod! Beetle hot rod!

Seconded.

With the time and money you could fit an older porsche engine in, or even graft in a subaru, if you could get one. Then again, a 2L bug can put out 100hp, if tuned right...

Whatever you choose, do it tastefully. No spinners/36"rims, no limo tint or huge subs which mean you cant hear the exhaust note...

Just what the World needs; another "bad ass" driving a Firebird...:rolleyes:

Yeah niggah, I take Javascript, HTML, and get a's in all my classes, sing in the school choir, as well as try really hard to do well in school and at other things. I'm a real "bad ass" aren't I :rolleyes:

How in the shit could you restore a muscle car for 5k? Unless you can paint and do mechanical work yourself i guess....meh.

This is why I like these cars, because I can do this stuff myself since it's relatively simple for someone with not much mechanical experience to do. Slacker got it right on.

I here old ford falcons are really underpriced in the US, maybe you try and find a falcon XP coupe.
You could also look for a 240z, they're pretty cheap there.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3309/130070602z1971datsun240vx5.jpg

I have thought about getting one before, I've actually gone and looked at a 280z, and I've seen a coupe of 240s in pristine condition, and they're pretty nice cars, in both the visual and performance department.

if you end up with a firebird and need any parts let me know i'm only an hour and a half away and have a 77 trans am that was in a garage fire. it was being restored and only thing left was to do the paint the panels don't look warped so there's a lot of good metal that could be used in another one. i also have a complete black interior that wasn't in the car when the fire happened.

Would you be interested in selling the whole thing? Also, what part of Minnesota are you from, I'm about 10 miles west of Buffalo (Nearest major city to me, I'm not going to say my specific town). Can I see some pictures of it?


Whatever you choose, do it tastefully. No spinners/36"rims, no limo tint or huge subs which mean you cant hear the exhaust note...

Trust me man, I would never do anything like that to a car. I think it looks ridiculous. I saw an old Acura, probably worth around 5 or 6 grand with about 15 thousand dollar spinners on it, and I wanted that man to die painfully in a car crash involving a highway divider.

You could also look for a 240z, they're pretty cheap there.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3309/130070602z1971datsun240vx5.jpg

This, the 240z are amazingly awesome.

You could also look for a 240z.
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3309/130070602z1971datsun240vx5.jpg


Couldn't agree more.
Max recommend.

How in the shit could you restore a muscle car for 5k? Unless you can paint and do mechanical work yourself i guess....meh.

What the fuck?

Isn't that the point of restoring a muscle car? Who buys parts for their '68 Camaro and has a shop put them on? I can understand if they're building a drag car that's going to run 8's but for a street rod there's no point, and it ruins the fun.

What the fuck?

Isn't that the point of restoring a muscle car? Who buys parts for their '68 Camaro and has a shop put them on? I can understand if they're building a drag car that's going to run 8's but for a street rod there's no point, and it ruins the fun.

I can picture the scene: Hi, I just bought a 1980 <insert car here> and I would like you to restore it for about 5 grand!

Shop: ...

What the fuck?

Isn't that the point of restoring a muscle car? Who buys parts for their '68 Camaro and has a shop put them on? I can understand if they're building a drag car that's going to run 8's but for a street rod there's no point, and it ruins the fun.

Yeah of course that is the point, if I wanted to restore a muscle car I would do as much of it myself as possible.
What I mean is, unless he can paint his car and do it well or buy a car with a good paintjob, he will require the services of a panel beater/spray painter. A decent painjob would probably cost at least 5k. Not to mention all the other crap that goes with restoring a car. When someone says they are restoring a car, to me that means new paint, new engine, new interior, new everything.

When someone says they are restoring a car, to me that means new paint, new engine, new interior, new everything.

Not necessarily. People can restore cars without doing any of these, it just depends on the condition of the car when you get it at first, which is why I want to buy something in crappy condition but not so horrible that I have to do all of this.

I have thought about getting one before, I've actually gone and looked at a 280z, and I've seen a coupe of 240s in pristine condition, and they're pretty nice cars, in both the visual and performance department.


Getting a pristine Z(rust free and with workable paint..) in your area (Minneapolis?) on a budget is not likely.

As nice as they look, they love to rust, especially the 240Z (70-73) The later cars (280Z, 75-78) look the same, and only weigh about 300lbs more. They're also more resistant to rust. Because of that slight weight grain, they are not as popular as the 240Z, and you can get one for cheaper.

They are also very easy to work on. Newbie friendly.

I had a large post about project cars somewhere, I'll try to find it for you.


First, if you purchase a non-running "Project car" you may have to repair a lot of boring stuff just to make it run, which is always educational. This is a good thing.

Cost of build depends what you buy. The more popular cars (Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Charger, Chevelle, Nova, Duster/Dart/Valiant/Demon/ Maverick) can be a little more expensive based on how popular they are.


I was looking at some Mavericks the other night, and for what they are its not a bad deal. Some came with 302/5.0's, too. So that at least is taken care of.

Average build time? Depends on how much money you have. If you already have a engine and transmission sitting around that you want to put in the car, and the car is already set up for that engine then a weekend would do it.

Just because newbies should KISS (keep it stupid simple) I would suggest staying away from fuel injection and making sure you don't put too much carburetor on the engine.

Cost of the project depends. If you have enough basic mechanical skills and can follow instructions, it shouldn't be that difficult. There is a manual with confusing instructions for everything you could possibly wonder about.

This is what I would do/did:

Find a car you want, in the best condition for the best price. By best, I mean "workable". If you don't like the car, go away. If you don't like the price, try to talk them down based on what you think is wrong with it. If they do not agree, walk away.

Know what you're looking at. Google around until you have a list of problem areas specific to that car.

Good prices on engines and transmissions are highly, highly subjective.

Find what you can afford, and go from there.

MrParks, thanks for that post, very informative. +1 internets to you!

I've never seriously considered a Datsun, but now that you posted that, I'm not really considering it at all.

87-97 Dodge/Chrysler Daytona Shelby, Chrysler Laser, GLHS cars, etc. Mopar ftw, I'm in the process of building a 350whp Daytona daily driver.

87-97 Dodge/Chrysler Daytona Shelby, Chrysler Laser, GLHS cars, etc. Mopar ftw, I'm in the process of building a 350whp Daytona daily driver.

While they look incredibly lame, those cars are damn fun to drive.