Hello all, My name is Dennis, I'm 36 years old, and I just joined Team Chevelle, and this is my first post. I figured this is the place to come for the challenge I'm about to take. I'll try to keep this short. First, I've always wanted a 72 Chevelle, but not to do a frame off, just do what I want, what it needs, and customize it the way I want, and make it the muscle car that I want, TO DRIVE it, not to sale it and make a profit. And I know little to nothing about cars in general. But I have the drive and the will to do it. I work in a machine shop and have access to anything I'll ever need. I also have co-workers that will answer alot of my questions, but I wanted to come here also, in hopes that the people here are alot more knowledgeable, especially when it comes to chevelles. With that out of the way, here is the main question. The Chevelle I'm looking at was in the process of becoming a drag car. The guy has too many projects, and wants to concentrate on a couple other olds 442's. The frame has been cleaned and painted, new quarters have been put on, new trunk pan, and it looks like the shell is in great shape, as it is also primered. It has no engine or tranny. It has a new roll cage welded in, and the dash has been torn out, and replaced with some sheet metal and gauges, as most drag cars would have, I assume. He said he would take the roll cage out if I wanted him to. I'm worried about the dash, and how hard it will be to restore to the original. This and the roll cage are my biggest worries and that's where I need the most advice. He has some of the parts that he took off, like the chrome bumpers, he has a front fiberglass one on now and a rear fiberglass one also. So if anyone can give me some advice, I'd appreciate it. I'm determined to do this, but at the same time I'm just not sure if I should wait for a different 72 Chevelle. I live in Kansas, and I don't see them come around to often, and usually when they do, they are restored already and want 10k or alot more. I can get this one around 2k, maybe less if he takes the roll cage out. And I don't have to drive a 1000 miles for it. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

Welcome to the BEST site on the net!!
You can get all the components to put the stock dash & wiring back int he car. It takes a few hours to do and it would be good to have an extra set of hands. THe dash itself bolts in with 7 screws. Take a look on the classifieds here on TC, I bet you find a complete dash for sale somewhere.

Welcome,super site.

Buy a finished one and drive it away, you will be money ahead.
Now, I know you won't listen to me, but just remember what I said as you work on that thing. I'm 13 grand into mine and the body is still off the frame!

Actually I think he would be interested in making you a better deal with the roll cage intact - it will take some work to get that cage cut up and removed. Are you sure you wouldn't be interested in making it into a 10 second street rod?

Unless the sheetmetal that the dashboard attaches to has been cut off, there is nothing that a bit of time and parts won't fix. While you are at it you should install an SS style dash. $2,000 is a fair price if the shell is good andstraight and all rust issues taken care of.

Although it is virtually always true that you will spend less total money on a car that is already nicely completed, maybe you would like to do a cash and carry Chevelle that you can say you built with your own hands.

I am blessed financially and could easily buy finished hot rods from any of the popular auctions - but I prefer to slug it out the hard way. I can't explain it really, other than to say that I like the pride of knowing that it was my vision and ideas fulfilled.

Thomas

If what you say is true about your automotive abilities, spend a few extra grand and buy something you can drive and update as you see fit. these cars are always breaking something it seems, and the battle of mechanical upkeep is ENDLESS. But it wouldn't be a hobby if the aforementioned wasn't true. Welcome to the greatest site on the net and good luck. JN

Welcome.

While it would make more sense, with limited experience, for you to find a little better car, I can understand where your coming from. Only you can decide if your up for this challenge. Be careful not to bite off more than you can handle. Many of us on here have started off with the almost too far gone car, they are expensive and time consuming. My car was so/so when we got it and it took two years to get to this condition and I have some car experience, and now I'm having transmission issues.

As for the dash, look the area over well. If the mounting points are intact replacing the dash is a 3 or 4 on the difficulty scale. While SS dashes are nice you could probably find a sweep dash for next to nothing, or free since a lot of guys want to convert to the round gage dash for some reason. I'm sure if you posted a wanted ad here for a complete Malibu sweep dash one would turn up.

As far as the cage is concerned, get rid of it, it will make the thing much more enjoyable and easier to work on. Unless of course you are going racing, or want people to think you are, which I'm convinced is why 50% of cages are installed in cars.

Thanks for all the great advice!! I'm letting it all soak in. Hopefully I can rely on everyone down the road for some more. If there's anyone out there that has ever wanted to be a mentor, nows your chance :) Thanks everyone.

Welcome!! I think that you should look for a better car to start with. You will spend a lot of time and money un-doing the modifications on this car and you will nickel and dime yourself to death getting all the little parts required to get the car back into near-stock looking condition. Another possibility is to get that car and get a really rusted out donor car for all the little things you will need.

You don't mention what your total budget is. That is a big factor. You do say you want to customize & make the car the way you want it. I think this car sounds like a good start for a project like that. You mention already restored for 10k & up. 10k doesn't buy much. Do you want a big block with lots of grunt or will a mild small block do? I agree that buying a car already done is usually cheaper if that car is exactly what you want. Buying one that way & then makiong a lot of changes defeats that purpose. Rust repair is always expensive & that makes this car sound good. Also unless the cage really bothers you, I wouldn't worry too much about it as lots of cars have them that don't really need them. You do need to decide what you want the car to be before you spend a lot of money & then change direction. Hope I've given you a few more things to think about & welcome to the best Chevelle site there is.
Mike

Your exactly right, 10k doesn't buy much at all. The things I know that I do want, is a yellow paint job with black racing stripes, hard to find alot of those. A custom black and yellow interior, which I will learn how to do. As far as the engine goes, a small block would be fine, I'm not in to the whole power thing, I just basically want a muscle car that looks good and runs fine, not fast. And I love the yellow and black color scheme. I'm probably not the typically muscle car guy, but I can live with that. The only thing about not taking the roll cage out would be the back seat. It would be nice to have at least seating for one back there. I thought about even putting some kickers on the sides where the bars are,(yeh, I want a good stereo system in it). As far as the budget goes, I really don't have one. I have a good job and I can get unlimited overtime for the extra cash, but realistically, I'd love to get this done under $10k, don't know if it's possible, but at least I'm not on any timeframe. Like I said, I'm not doing this to sale, I'm doing it for my pleasure and to drive it, I don't want a show car, but at the same time I don't want to do a half-ass job and make it look stupid. Thanks and keep the advice coming, I appreciate it.

A car with that has been heavily modified will nickel and dime you to death for a little stuff you didnt even realize were missing!

I believe it is best to start with the nicest car you can afford and go from there...

If you are patient, the right car will find you......

Sounds like you have a solid start with that one. Any car that needs restoration will nickel and dime you. I bought my 70 for $800 that was a big POS. It is now finished and I have a car that is nice to look at, and I only have 10 or 11K into it. Not a show winner but I will not be afraid to drive the hell out of it. Click on the "my car page" link in my sig.

Rust is the most expensive thing to fix, and if this one has none - 2K sounds like a good price. You can get a good running 350 for little money.

welcome to the most knowledgable site on the net- also good for more than a few jokes as well.


ahhh the sweet sound of money on a project- sounds like you got a good start... I remember when.... *im buying this for a driver.. ill get the motor in and ill just have fun.....
too many years, an ex wife- and the car is still in two places.. reminds me of a johnny cash song.. one piece at a time... but god its been alot of dimes...
good luck

. reminds me of a johnny cash song.. one piece at a time... but god its been alot of dimes...
good luck

But you'll have the only one there is around!!

I Think I would pass on that car, With your experience you would be much better off spending 10K on a decent driver and then updating it through the years as $ allows. I see this thing sitting somewhere for a long time, You get discouraged and then sell it 1/4 done. Happens a lot.
I would at least look for a car that was not converted to a drag car. Like was mentioned above, You will not even know what you are missing untill you need it, very frustrating.
Just my $0.02

LK

Welcome :thumbsup:

Quote: I'd love to get this done under $10k.

That's a tall order with a car in that condition.

I think the biggest mistake that people who are new to this hobby make is not comprehending what it takes to see a car project from start to the finished car that they envisioned. Many lose the drive, and heart when they get mired in the many challenges large and small that constantly test you at every turn. Then there's the money. Unless you are restoring a highly collectable rarity, you will hardly ever (there are exceptions) get back $$$ what you have put into the project. That's also a big factor in why people lose interest, and decice to just cut their losses, and quit.
I am not by any means as experienced as some of the great people on this site. I myself have only restored 4 cars. I can say I have "been there and done that" though. I kicked myself many times for taking on my last project (see website). When I was finaly done and kind of stepped back and took a hard look at what I had done, it was worth every day, hour, pain, frustration, and dime.
Getting there was the hardest part.

It's true what is said about "everything worth while is never easy".

Well...I definately don't want to get divorced. But my wife would if she found out I was going to drop 10k on an old muscle car. I guess that's why I'm excited that I even found one for 2k. I tried the old speech months ago, that this is an investment, and in the long run it will all be worth it if I ever decide to sell it. Granted, this chevelle probably doesn't fit in this category because I wouldn't be restoring it to factory condition. But like I said before, I'm not buying this to re-sale. That doesn't mean I won't ever resale it, but it will be a very long time. I still don't know if I'm going to get this chevelle or not, but I do know that in the last 6-8 months that I've been looking very hard, this is the first one in Kansas that I've found in this price range that didn't need new quarters, or rust fixed everywhere. Thanks for all the advice, I'm going to call the guy today and ask a few more questions, that way I can inform everyone more about the car, and ask everyone a few more questions. Thanks again.

you need to decide on a few things about you to decide on this. i have unnatural mechanical ability (so i am told), so i would be all over a straight rust free body with a prepped frame for 2K. if you are willing to take the long learning curve and have the patients and time to use this for the education that will ensue,than i say dive in ! you will be a wrench when this is done,and you will enjoy and know the car much more than if you had bought it.

Welcome! I currently have two old classics. 64 Malibu with slightly warmed 350 that is my daily driver (see signature) and 59 4WD Apache that I am doing a frame off on. I started it about 8 years ago thinking it would take 12 months to complete. Took it apart in one summer, took the body down to bare metal during the fall, took the engine apart over the winter...got busy starting new business and just started rebuilding/detailing the suspension and frame this year after minor fits of work over the last 6 years.

The truck was my daily driver when I started. If I had it to do over I would have just fixed the rust and did a rolling restoration like I am doing on the Chevelle.

My advise would be to pass on the half converted race car and spend a few thousand more and get something that is drivable and has all the little pieces you will try to find (including the ones that you have to backtrack to install). If you don't you will be selling it as an uncompleted project in a few years to pay for the driver you want. Plus you get to enjoy it from day one.

As for the 10K, you buy the 2K rolling chassis and you will drop 8K more in a heartbeat and still be along way from completion. Spend the 10K on a good driver, remind your wife you are buying something that is appreciating, easy to work on, relatively cheap parts and a big fun factor compared to a new or used 10K foreign junker.

Which ever way you decide to got there is a wealth of information and support here. Good luck with your decision. Patrick