Due diligence was in order. At this point I had a leaning to Australian or American and had pretty much qualified out the rest. The great thing about the web is you can do lots of research without leaving home. I checked out a lot of cars on eBay, CarPoint, Carsales, Trading Post online and Drive to get a feel for prices, what you got for your money and availability. Now we all know that how something may be represented online can be very different when you inspect it. I learnt this first hand when I was living in the US and bought a "restored" 67 Mustang Fastback from Oregon. The sellers definition of restored was very different to mine but because I never had it checked out I only had myself to blame.
By this time I had made a few decisions. The car was going to be "no matching numbers", in other words non original. The intention would be to keep the classic lines but modernize the entire drive train so that it performed, handled and stopped way better than it did when it first left the factory. I wasn't looking for a total basket case, but I wasn't prepared to pay a premium for lots of stuff that would get jettisoned in the build. Ultimately, a usable body with minimal rust and most of the trim parts on the car would work for what I had in mind.
Restoring a car is a little like building a house - the first dollar figure you come up with normally translates as you pick up the keys into double that figure plus twenty percent. How far do you go, where do you set your limits, how long is a piece of string...... I am not going to put a budget to the project until I have a car and understand what I am up for. This normally occurs once the paint is blasted off and you get a real sense for the amount of work involved.
All the cars that would be appealing or were recommended would cost big bucks up front. Old Monaro's, even total basket cases were outrageous money. Valiant Chargers weren't as bad but there were not many around. Any true Aussie muscle car worth restoring is in the stratosphere and I am probably about five years too late. I remember a HK Bathurst Monaro requiring a full restoration sold at auction in the last two years for $55K and everyone thought that was outrageous. Looks like an absolute bargain now. Fords, especially GT or HO optioned cars from the late sixties and early seventies cost more than an average family dwelling and a basket case is in the range of two years salary for most people.
I inquired about a number of cars. A Bolwell in Western Australia caught my attention, I always loved these cars as a kid and you rarely see them today. It was a basket case, no drive train and missing a lot of parts but it could be the one. After lots of questions, numerous phone calls and emails I was told it had previously been registered in Victoria yet it had no VIN or chassis number attached. Potential nightmare - qualify out. A good looking, solid six cylinder HG Monaro came up on eBay with faded paint and 35+ years of wear which was a potential candidate. As the price rose with each bid, its suitability slipped further. I didn't even see its final price but I realised at this point I need to reassess what I am doing.
By this time I had made a few decisions. The car was going to be "no matching numbers", in other words non original. The intention would be to keep the classic lines but modernize the entire drive train so that it performed, handled and stopped way better than it did when it first left the factory. I wasn't looking for a total basket case, but I wasn't prepared to pay a premium for lots of stuff that would get jettisoned in the build. Ultimately, a usable body with minimal rust and most of the trim parts on the car would work for what I had in mind.
Restoring a car is a little like building a house - the first dollar figure you come up with normally translates as you pick up the keys into double that figure plus twenty percent. How far do you go, where do you set your limits, how long is a piece of string...... I am not going to put a budget to the project until I have a car and understand what I am up for. This normally occurs once the paint is blasted off and you get a real sense for the amount of work involved.
All the cars that would be appealing or were recommended would cost big bucks up front. Old Monaro's, even total basket cases were outrageous money. Valiant Chargers weren't as bad but there were not many around. Any true Aussie muscle car worth restoring is in the stratosphere and I am probably about five years too late. I remember a HK Bathurst Monaro requiring a full restoration sold at auction in the last two years for $55K and everyone thought that was outrageous. Looks like an absolute bargain now. Fords, especially GT or HO optioned cars from the late sixties and early seventies cost more than an average family dwelling and a basket case is in the range of two years salary for most people.
I inquired about a number of cars. A Bolwell in Western Australia caught my attention, I always loved these cars as a kid and you rarely see them today. It was a basket case, no drive train and missing a lot of parts but it could be the one. After lots of questions, numerous phone calls and emails I was told it had previously been registered in Victoria yet it had no VIN or chassis number attached. Potential nightmare - qualify out. A good looking, solid six cylinder HG Monaro came up on eBay with faded paint and 35+ years of wear which was a potential candidate. As the price rose with each bid, its suitability slipped further. I didn't even see its final price but I realised at this point I need to reassess what I am doing.
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