LOOKING FOR ADVICE

[lgjhn]

Been in your situation and it's sometimes not easy to decide. I agree with many of the others in that a running car will keep you emotionally motivated to keep at it. However, some things like rusted out sheetmetal should be addressed before they get even worse. My '73 has been apart now for a good, long while and I'm really fighting a battle to get her back running. I finally got her to roller status last month after sitting for years, but this month has slowed me down with the holidays. I suggest doing the critical stuff and keep her a running vehicle while you amass whatever parts are necessary to do the job. Also, get a daily driver so that once you have all the parts, she's only down for a short time to get er done. Dunno if any that makes sense, but it would be my recommendation.

 

[Frnknsteen]

but i do have sentimental value with it and one condition of me buying it back was my wife said " your are not selling it this time, i don't want to hear it".

Well that answers that question then. And that's awesome that your wife is supporting you that way. My first wife was not supportive at all, and my car sat for YEARS, always with the excuse that we didn't have the money, space, or time. My current wife is great though and not only supports this hobby, but helps out where she can.

Heck,... she even sits and watches Bitchin' Rides, Fantomworks, Garage Squad, and most of the other car shows with me. All except Graveyard Cars,.... She says Mark Worman bugs her too much to watch, plus she likes the older pre '67 Mopars (Darts, Barracudas, Polaras. and Furys) and they never seem to do any of those.

My biggest suggestion would be to think through what all needs to be done and create a plan that aligns projects in an order that makes sense and flows properly. I only say that because I have found myself finishing certain things, only to have to tear them apart again for the next task.

For instance,... I rebuilt my whole front suspension/steering to get the car road-worthy so I could drive it, including new balljoints. Now I am thinking of converting to disc brakes with big bolt pattern, which means pulling apart everything I did to swap out spindles, lower balljoints and put in upper ball joint adapters. Should have just done them all at same time and saved work.

Another example is putting my transmission back in and mounting the shifter, console, seat belts. Got it back on the road, but next spring I want to pull the carpet all out and spray the whole inside with Lizardskin sound deadener and thermal insulator. Seems like 2 steps forward, one step back kind of thing!