opinions

[scott_fx]

Hello,

I'm new to the whole classic car world and i'm looking for a bit of guidance on how to go about purchasing my first car.

The car will most likely be a daily driver so safety and reliability is paramount. Budget is limited to about 18k, and i'd like to have it done by march. The car I'm looking into getting is a 1966-67 Chevelle.

I found a 66 with a 6 cyl, upper and lower tubular control arms, willwood brakes , drop springs front and rear, and 17'" BBS 2 piece wheels with 235 front and 275 rear.

The paint is original with surface rust on the trunk and just below the rear window and a small dent. the seats would nee to be upholstered soon and the headliner replaced. The interior doesn't scare me as i plan on doing a lot of customization myself on that as well as building a custom gauge cluster. The part that i would be farming out would be bodywork and engine swap.

Pros: I'd get a F.I. car, choose the color paint i want, has a (more) modern suspension/brakes
cons: cost of body work, cost of engine swap

Do you think this is a good foundation or should I; as a first timer, go with something more complete. Is it a pipe dream to think I can get the engine/trans and paint for 10k?

Thanks in advance,

scott

[minendrews68]

I say go for it!! You'd be surprised how much fun you'll have and what you'd learn. People on here are always willing to help when you get stuck.

Carl

[scott_fx]

that's one vote for the positive! heh

i've been running some numbers and talking to some people. an ls1 swap would run me about $5500 and the owner told me that the car could be painted for about $2k (of course, not show quality) lets say $3k though

i think that would leave me with about 2k for interior and misc (exhaust?)

[silvermonte]

if you plan out the engine swap you might be able to get it in for that amount, there are alot of nickle and dime things that run the cost up like fuel lines and the fuel pump and little things like that you dont think of, if the 6 banger runs half way decent i would drive it with that for awhile and collect all the engine swap parts as you go that way you have less down time when you do the swap

[scott_fx]

if you plan out the engine swap you might be able to get it in for that amount, there are alot of nickle and dime things that run the cost up like fuel lines and the fuel pump and little things like that you dont think of, if the 6 banger runs half way decent i would drive it with that for awhile and collect all the engine swap parts as you go that way you have less down time when you do the swap

The guy i'm talking to stated:
For this price I include adapter plates, fuel pump, fuel line, tranny crossmember mod, stock driveshaft shortening, harness mod and tuning. If I provide the engine I will give warranty on the engine and tranny for 3 months.

I'd like to get it painted and looking good and that would mean that It would be in my best interest to pull the engine first before paint. I think i'd have to do the swap at the same time. but thanks for the suggestion. gives me more to think about.

[scott_fx]

also, while people are looking at this post. are there any shops that you'd recommend in socal that you've had good experiences with. 12 years ago when i lived in MA I had a guy that did amazing work, but i'm in the dark over here!

[Mkelcy]

Hello,

I'm new to the whole classic car world and i'm looking for a bit of guidance on how to go about purchasing my first car.

The car will most likely be a daily driver so safety and reliability is paramount. Budget is limited to about 18k, and i'd like to have it done by march. The car I'm looking into getting is a 1966-67 Chevelle.

I found a 66 with a 6 cyl, upper and lower tubular control arms, willwood brakes , drop springs front and rear, and 17'" BBS 2 piece wheels with 235 front and 275 rear.

The paint is original with surface rust on the trunk and just below the rear window and a small dent. the seats would nee to be upholstered soon and the headliner replaced. The interior doesn't scare me as i plan on doing a lot of customization myself on that as well as building a custom gauge cluster. The part that i would be farming out would be bodywork and engine swap.

Pros: I'd get a F.I. car, choose the color paint i want, has a (more) modern suspension/brakes
cons: cost of body work, cost of engine swap

Do you think this is a good foundation or should I; as a first timer, go with something more complete. Is it a pipe dream to think I can get the engine/trans and paint for 10k?

Thanks in advance,

scott

Yes, particularly if you're not doing all of the work yourself AND you're in SoCal. I'd get a cheap daily driver and continue to save, looking for a car that's already done.

[scott_fx]

i have a daily driver right now so i can take my time with the build. I'd just prefer to sell it to offset the cost of the chevelle when it's done.

[bs46488]

What specific part of SoCal?

For that budget there is a lot of stuff you can do in this area. It all depends on what you want in the end product. There are places down in San Diego that will paint a whole car for $1k.

so for this chevelle, your paying $8k for the car, then have $10k left for upgrades?

If you went for one of the cars that are not as "popular" your budget could go a lot farther.

[scott_fx]

What specific part of SoCal?

For that budget there is a lot of stuff you can do in this area. It all depends on what you want in the end product. There are places down in San Diego that will paint a whole car for $1k.

so for this chevelle, your paying $8k for the car, then have $10k left for upgrades?

If you went for one of the cars that are not as "popular" your budget could go a lot farther.

im in LA near venice/lax area but i'd be willing to travel SD isn't that far of a drive for me.

The 'potential' Chevelle would be around 8k yes. and the 10k would be for the engine and paint and left over would be for interior; although that could be done down the road.

Unfortunately the chevelle is the classic car i like the most, or maybe the Lemans (which isn't any cheaper).

[rockytopper]

If your serious for not much more than your budget you can fly to Texas and Drive mine home. It's done in and out and under. Its not a chevelle but close. The issue you will have in CA with a LS swap is getting it inspected for emissions so I have read.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/1111phr_1965_oldsmobile_cutlass/

[bs46488]

Great idea from rockytopper

In CA, cars before 1975 have much easier rules to follow for DMV purposes. No emissions requirements, so you could technically pull off registration in one appointment at the DMV....or about 5.5 hours in DMV speak. They just want to verify that its not stolen via the VIN. Of course they want their $$$ for sales tax. Then your free.

[scott_fx]

If your serious for not much more than your budget you can fly to Texas and Drive mine home. It's done in and out and under. Its not a chevelle but close. The issue you will have in CA with a LS swap is getting it inspected for emissions so I have read.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/1111phr_1965_oldsmobile_cutlass/

Been looking at the car for a while now and it's great... but i really have my heart set on the chevelle right now. :/ thanks for the offer though

[scott_fx]

Hey guys,

so the other one didnt work out, going to check out another one:.

1966 Chevelle Malibu
clean white interior (bench)
350 Engine (stripped down 4 years ago, replaced the cams and pistons...and i believe the heads too but not sure)
350 Turbo Trans
4 wheel disc brakes
power steering
custom wheels 18's in the rear 17's in the front. i'm not 100% in love with them as they look like a common wheel for a classic. but they are nice and i can live with them until i decide to swap them out
12 Bolt rear end
brand new air conditioning unit that needs to be installed
He told me that the paint looks good but if you look really close you'll see a few spots where it cracked and there is rust near the rear window (common issue i believe). Since there are cracks, it sounds like it's bondo but i'm far from an expert.

does 15k sound good or high?