18th Dec 2017, 10:07

What parts does he specifically need to finish this 4 door vehicle? What level of restoration is needed? Is it just a driver or a show car? Are the donor parts pristine or do they need to be sent out. Would it not be feasible to simply buy a very inexpensive 4 door finished? Perhaps the owner vs an armchair observer might shed some more information.

You can rebuild the engine, do body work, have bent trim repaired, bumpers rechromed etc. to show the car. Or live with pits in the chrome etc as a driver. What shape are the quarter panels in; on both cars that's an area prone to rust? I brought up pitfalls to watch out for, especially for someone on here new to this. It’s not just the owners vehicle. A new person could find a car initially appearing cheap, not knowing what to face. Even with a donor car, which I did too, there’s more later. Figure in areas such as a quality repaint stripping off all your trim. That in itself cost wise may make a finished 4 door project a more sensible route to go. You could have 2 donor cars and may not be enough.

I try to steer away from cars like this. When completed you may incur damage and have to look everywhere again for a part. I looked over a year for just vintage convertible power top parts and a correct original switch. Not one from Radio Shack I was forced to use. All I needed. Now parts are easily available. I could see this restoration if it was a 4-4-2 or Toronado. It’s his car and he can weigh this all out. If the time is worth it. With cuts, scrapes, burns etc and hours of your own time spent on a project, there needs to be a reward for the efforts. Not all financial, but it is a part of it.