Have you ever wanted to build a classic muscle car? I will attempt to explain what to look for in you first muscle car restoration.

First of all we’ll concentrate on what you should look for to make the work easier and more fun for you to complete. Let’s face it a classic car is supposed to be fun to restore, not make you hate the idea of doing it again.

First of all you should not base your search on money and what the car costs, the days of $2,500 muscle cars are gone. You should plan on spending no less $10,000 on your purchase.

Now that we have that out of the way we’ll start talking about what you should do. If this is your first muscle car project, you should look for the car with the least rust.

Rust is your worst enemy on a first project car if you have to pay more to get less rust take my word, do it. It is more fun to spend your money on performance items and nice interior and paint then rust repair.

 

Rust repair will cost the most of any process that you will do.

 

List of places to look for rust

 

l Floor boards

l Rocker panels

l Trunk floors

l Inner rockers

l Trunk extensions

l Firewall

l Quarter panels

l Inner wheel wells

l Outter wheel wells

l Tail light panel

l Radiator support

 

The list above is the most common places for rust to infect.

Next look into the mechanical and electrical systems.

List of mechanical issues

 

l Engine listen for clunking or knocking sounds coming from the engine.

l Look for leaks from the engine, brakes, cooling system, brake system and drive train.

l Check the wiring harness for burning, stripped insulation, shorts. Splices and the like.

 

The goal with this article is to help you get your car restored and have fun with it. It should not seem like another job, it should be fun for you and you family and friends