Projects When to say no to a project

So, I'm currently building a 37 Plymouth for my wife. In the process, I've been dreaming of a potential project for myself. Every now and then I look through ads and look for my next project to come across for me.

By chance, I spotted a 1963 1/2 Galaxie Fastback sitting in property owned by a friend. It's got the 390 FE, automatic, and most of it's interior is there. Needs a decent amount of body work, but by all means I was interested if the price was right. Went to take a further look at it again last weekend. And found the trunk and floor pans to be rotted. But the biggest issue I spotted in my opinion was two large holes through the frame. They is one on both sides, both about the same size, in basically the same location.

So my question is, when hunting..... When does no mean no? What red flags do you look for in a potential project. And would this frame rot turn you away immediately?

(The car was on flat tires, and I'm hoping to see it now inflated to get a better look at the severity)

 

For me its always how much rust. My current project is a 68 C10 pickup that I picked up as it was 100% rust free. I looked at a lot 55-72 Chevy pickups and most need alot of rust repair. Engine, interior and blocking/sanding bodywork doesn't really scare me much.

 

If you figure out that the time and effort to fix is effectively more costly that stepping up to a better starting point you need to walk away. I had a 39 Chevy sedan that needed extensive floor/rocker repair and even though it came with all of the sheetmetal (patch panels/floors etc) I knew that my time was worth more than what the car would be when finished so I traded it off ( for a bobber Triumph which I then traded for a front motor dragster but that is the way my life tends to go).

Roo

 

I know I should be the last person to talk, but rust and availability of parts either new, or original.

 

You Haven’t seen rust until you’ve seen Ohio rust.

I’ll tell you what kills a project for me is missing the little pieces. The specific specialty parts missing cost a lot to regather. I’ve got a few not started projects that are mostly complete and waiting on the missing parts. They are gettable and available but the damn thing is worth more in parts than it is together.

 

I've fixed enough rust to never want to fix any for myself again......

 

How bad do I really want it and price/condition are my top 3. Seems recently on CL they want stupid money for rusted out bodies with no engine/trans . I guess there is a fourth reason if it is stock and I plan updating rear, suspension and the like then the value goes down .

 

http://www.autoweldchassis.com/spec.ivnu

Sent from my SM-N960U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Not trying to be a "Debbie Downer" but, that Galaxie sounds like an endless money pit as it
most like has tons of rust problems that will cost a fortune to repair. Not worth it in
the long run as it's not a highly desirable muscle car.

 

There you go,,,
427 sohc too?

 

Ohio trust ! ! .HAH ! You ain't seen rust like up here in Massachusetts . It's funny I had a 63 1/2 Galaxy Fastback that had exactly the same issues ,frame rot , same place bad. It was 1990 . I paid 600 bucks for it.wish I had it now .31Vicki has it right ,,oddball parts , TIME,MONEY .

 

"95% complete" means the 5% that's missing will cost you a fortune and take 10 years to get together, unless you are a"blister packer" and can buy it all repop. 100% complete, or the bits that are missing I have seen at the last 20 swap meets (heads, trans, etc) is what I look for. And when rust holes can be described as the size of a coin.

 

Any time one that's forsale ,is rigged to look good,but most of the parts are just shells,like a rearend with no gears or axles with out hubs or brakes,a tranny with not grears,a body missing doors or door parts.trim etc. frame but no state papers. The missing things add way up,often why they gave up. How much work and $ ya got

 

Age and what is in the works, determines it for me.

To borrow some of JIm Sibley's sig line, if you're you young, "stack'em up out back"...as ya get older...you want to clear them out.

 

It has taken me 50 years to figure this out..... Buy the best car you can pay for. It will get done sooner, have less things to fix, and you will be able to enjoy it, instead of just pouring work and money into it and never driving it. It will also be cheaper in the long run. All this from a guy that just got his 25 year project on the road 3 years ago.

 

If it spins my crank....I'm in.
If it doesn't.....next!

 

The time and cost to repair all that rust damage will far exceed the value of the car. Once you get into it there will be 2x the rust damage that you see now. I also HATE bodywork so for me a project MUST have a solid body so I walk away from the rust buckets, but that's just me. I on the other hand don't mind engine, suspension and drivetrain work so if the potential project is missing the engine and trans no biggie.
Seek a project that matches your passion and abilities is my advice. Of course the price needs to be right as well. If you love bodywork then go for it.

 

I agree with the rest. A clean body is key and if not the price should reflect that. A complete car goes a long way too. It’s nice to have all the trim and small bits. With that said I have also bought rollers cheap just to add my drivetrain. Good luck!

 

Not at all bud. All honesty is appreciated.
It's a 390, not the 427.

 

I used to restore rusty cars. Nothing scared me. But now I'm too short of time to put up with it.
I'll spend more up front so I don't have to.

 

What determines buying a particular project for me is having an honest understanding of my own skills, experience, ability to assess value/availability of missing parts, work that will require outside labor (upholstery, plating, machine shop work, etc.), knowledge of the market, and of course desire to own it.
Projects aren't for dreamers, you have to be of the mind set to "get er done".
It's a commitment that warrants serious, honest thought.
Projects need to always have the end result visualized, and strived for.

 

For me, a rusted out frame on anything newer than 1940 is a deal breaker. There are tons of cars out there to settle for a rust bucket.

 

Personally.....Never.....if its something I want bad enough

 

who says no to a project? there all fixable.

 

Paperwork...if it doesn't have a good, local [Nebraska] title with all matching VIN # all signed in the correct places, I don't want it. If that part is ok, it's gotta be really high on my "list" because anybody who's ever seen my 34 ford coupe build thread can see all the mechanical/bodywork/rusty frame problems can be overcome if you really REALLY want the car.

 

No title, no project.

 

But then again, you have an desirable end product .

 

I can identify with this! When you're well into your seventies, you have about thirty projects in the queue, most of your social security check goes to pay for storage, which is much more than the appreciation in value of everything you have, prices for parts are 10 to 100 times what they used to be, it becomes a little easier to turn down new projects. (I've only accumulated three more in the last year.)

 

If they have more than 6 square inches of rust, total, I'm out, unless it has a rusty roof under vinyl. I might reconsider that. No title, it's just parts that are still bolted together. I don't pay extra for "patina" either.

 

Looking in the ads will always land you with another project, ask me how I know.