Keep it stock, or make it your own?

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1987 and between both cars, I had 5 or 6k into total
The green 71 340 Challenger was my mother's car, paid 2k for that car and did nothing but keep it up and clean ( and stock)
Sold it for 28k to a guy in Texas five years ago.
I went through allot of 340 cars, I would pick em up and undo what some dude thought was cool to get em stock as I could for the cheep and sale em always for profit.
What's cool today is silly tomorrow.
But like I told the guy from Texas "your destroying the whole hobby"
Now pffft it's really just a money game.
A game I refuse to play.
So I'm finishing my numbers match everything 69 340 cuda convertible, drive it for a few years and let a rich boy have another toy . SMH it's all upside down man .
If I wanted some rat rod missmatch parts compilation .I'd get something somebody already put together, cause he spent all his money and I know for a fact I can get it for roughly half of what he put into it, drive it to death, and get another one.
Not a prayer I'm spending coin on a newer restoration project.
I mean 99% of the money boys just throw their wallet at somebody else to do the work they can't do .
Can you rebuild a newer hemi engine?
Wire it? Lol change the oil even?
Cracks me up.
Oh well boys and their toys will always be what it is.
All work I've done myself on all cars I've ever had.
Simple easy fun and used to be cheap until it became cool to pick one up and look cool.
I usually laugh shake my head and go back to work in the garage .
Ok I think I might have crossed a line a little.
For that I apologize for my passion of classic American muscle cars.
To many years I removed crap from cars just to make them civilized.
The things people do to cars still amazes me.
And I'm old School, if u didn't build it, just threw your wallet at it.
I can never have respect for you as a man.
Oh well it's a new world with computers telling us what we need to do is shameful but it's were we're at .
The new challenges really get me laughing, I'd dig driving one hard for a day or two.
But no way I'd want one.
Engineer's design cars so you almost have to take it to the dealership for a oil change.
They can make it simple, well at least doable.
But their boss tells em the money is in dealership maintenance and repair.
They should give them away for the amount of money it's going to cost u in five years .
Lol.
Then let's look ahead ten fifteen years.
Now u have a car that definitely needs work that most people will never spend to repair them.
Then what?
I see a **** ton of cars, nice fast good handling cars that really aren't worth what it's going to cost just in upkeep.
No my brothers, very very few of the new computer cars being able to hold it's value .
After 100,000 miles or so, the maintenance costs will not justify the end product .
So in conclusion.
Buy old school cool cars that will continue to climb in value as the new cars depreciate at a incredibly fast rate .
And for the love of God keep them stock/original . It's always been where the money is .
Peace .
Well, I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight. I didn't restore my own car. The original owner did. And it's not completely stock (headers, carb, distributor, cam). And I threw my wallet at it to get it bought! I don't know how I can live with myself, knowing I don't meet Gover's definition of perfect.
 
Well, I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight. I didn't restore my own car. The original owner did. And it's not completely stock (headers, carb, distributor, cam). And I threw my wallet at it to get it bought! I don't know how I can live with myself, knowing I don't meet Gover's definition of perfect.
I'm gonna go home and drown my sorrows in beer.
 
I get a rush every time I fix even the smallest thing on my cars, but I admit I am not any king of mechanic, still trying to learn after how many decades!!! I have restored and/or got many running,driving, but I have also bought some restored cars that were amateur, like me, done and pretty decent cars. Buying one done or sorta done can really be a blessing. It can takeout a lot of time and even $$ out of the equation!
What is great about buying a done or partially done car, is coming behind the PO and finding he did some really good work, fixed things he forgot to mention, etc.
What is NOT great is to find he f*****d up a lot of stuff!!!!!!! lol

First done car I ever bought was bout '85. It was a great running, driving 383 SuperBee. Local guy I knew did all the body work in a one car garage built in maybe 1930!!! It was straight, paint laid down very nice, B5 Blue, 383 air grabber car, cost me $1000. He apologized for the dust in the paint! I agreed it had some dust, but I was happy with it, and if I wanted to I could re shoot it. Great car! .......Dust????? The little garage had open rafters that had accumulated dust since 1930!!!! He forgot to hose them off like the dirt floor!!!!!
 
Well I did learn Michael Gover is a Bushman....... Let's see if he can keep up.... Too many trips to Colorado can do that to ya.....

JW
 
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That's one of the beautys of A-bodies. Prices still low enough that some of us poor guys can still afford the admission ticket into the hobby. AND not worry about screwing it up and losing your house.
at $10K total in, I proudly show it next to $100K+ builds.

And drive it like you stole it.
Because you can.
That has a double entendre since relatively speaking.... you did.
 
I have only been a member of this forum for a little over a year, but I've noticed that there seems to be more "keep it all stock, all original" guys here than in other forums I participate in. (Except for maybe the Corvette forum, there are some seriously fanatical "keep it stock" guys over there.)
I have never owned a vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle, snowmobile) that I did not modify in some way to make it better suited to me or to do what I wanted from it, better. I'm firmly in the "not-stock" group, and I have been my whole life.
I know there are some rare "numbers matching" low production cars that need to be kept as original as possible to maintain value, but collector cars aside, what would some of the reasons be to keep something pretty common all original?
Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with anyone who prefers a 100% stock original vehicle, and I can appreciate the effort it takes to maintain it that way. It just seems strange to me, and I'm trying to understand the appeal, not cause an argument.
It's your car. Yeah, there's gonna be haters if it's not stock, but who cares? There's nobody on this forum you need to make happy but yourself. Or for that matter, anywhere else. Do your thing, and be happy with it!
 
He said all my car was good for is going in a straight line. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know what my car is. It’s built for the road, not the track...and is exactly what I want it to be.

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If I owned that car I wouldn't cut it up or change the paint. In fact all would do to that car is drive the piss out of it!!

That's a gas in the rear, key in the front type of car if I've ever seen one!

Nice job, beautiful car.
 
Ok if he agrees to wash it on delivery I'd let him drive it to my house. But if it shows up dirty we gonna have words...
 
I'm old school too , and what that means to me is putting together a badass hotrod. fortunately, I was also raised in the Mopar world . it's in my blood , and all that equals tunnel Rams , dual quads, centerlines , jacked up rear ends ,headers, hacked off exhaust , big *** meats and rolling with the hood off so everyone can see that beautiful 440. is my charger rare or valuable? I don't give a flying **** , it's not about that. its about satisfying myself and seeing peoples faces in amazement that i so much as dare to run that contraption on the street. I do ALL my own work so that I will never have to pay someone or let anyone put a wrench on MY car.
IMG_20180602_180237.jpg
 
Ok you're cooler than me because of the BB, but I'm trying!

Tunnel Ram for the WIN!

This.

seeing peoples faces in amazement that i so much as dare to run that contraption on the street.


:thumbsup:


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Is anything stock anymore? If actually driven.
It can be pretty close. I will agree that 4 wheel manual drum brakes may be iffy but I have locked up all 4 on my 66 with a single reservoir master cylinder. Ya may be a little dicey.
I put dual points back in my dual point. Not an issue. Creature comforts would be nice but that's what owning, driving, and enjoying an old car is all about. Make it safe and drive the wheels off it.
 
I'm old school too , and what that means to me is putting together a badass hotrod. fortunately, I was also raised in the Mopar world . it's in my blood , and all that equals tunnel Rams , dual quads, centerlines , jacked up rear ends ,headers, hacked off exhaust , big *** meats and rolling with the hood off so everyone can see that beautiful 440. is my charger rare or valuable? I don't give a flying **** , it's not about that. its about satisfying myself and seeing peoples faces in amazement that i so much as dare to run that contraption on the street. I do ALL my own work so that I will never have to pay someone or let anyone put a wrench on MY car.
View attachment 1715282169

Can we see more of this car?

I for one would love to see just how bad you "screwed it up".

In my opinion the only thing you could do to make that better is slap on an 8-71 blower.
 

Like I need another hole in the head. Lol.

Actually me and dad are working on a deal for a 1931 model A 5 window. Street rod project. Just waiting on a parts list and a final price.

If we end up getting it, it will have a build thread on FABO, because I like the people here, regardless of what car I’m building. Lol.
 
Like I need another home in the head. Lol.

Actually me and dad are working on a deal for a 1931 model A 5 window. Street rod project. Just waiting on a parts list and a final price.

If we end up getting it, it will have a build thread on FABO, because I like the people here, regardless of what car I’m building. Lol.
Love it! can't wait!
 
Love it! can't wait!

We will see. It’s definitely nothing set in stone. A friend of dads wants to get out from under it. We will see if the numbers line up. I want it, but I won’t shoot myself in the foot.

Plus I’m saving to build a pole barn. Lol
 
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