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Rebuilding vintage cars have been a staple in American culture. Many families across the country have a car that has been handed down and taken care of. For others, the project of completely restoring a vehicle is an art form of itself. Before you take on the challenge of building your favorite classic ride, make sure you follow these steps.

How Deep Are You Willing To Go?

The first question you have to ask yourself is how far are you willing to put your time and money for the car of your dreams? There are multiple factors that go into this. With vintage cars, even older beat up hunks can come with a price tag. Depending on the year, make, model, and condition that your project vintage car is in you may be paying a lot for something that might not even run.

Vintage Cars: DIY or Paying for a Service?

How you wish to go about rebuilding vintage cars is up to you. Some people will spend countless dollars rebuilding a car themselves, and others will spend more than countless dollars to have someone else do it for them. It is a dance between saving money and running time, or spending money and having more time. Most vintage car owners will tell you that the pride of rebuilding their prize auto on their own makes the best vehicle. Other people (who have money) will tell you that they wanted to save time. DIY is the better and more rewarding option. Imagine rebuilding an engine, understanding all components and knowing that it is you-yourself that built this road warrior of a vehicle.

Turning a Rust Bucket into a Race Car

Every kid has this dream. Purchase a rusted out Mustang or Firebird, and turn it into a ten-second car. We often have this dream before we even dream of having a house or a job. The problem of this is taking a project from one extreme to another. We get it. It sounds awesome. I often wonder how the guys from Fast and Furious have the time to rebuild gnarly vintage cars. Most people I know bought a car when they were younger, had it sit in their backyard under a tarp and some bricks and by the time they finish building the car of their dreams, they have to sell it for a minivan…cause you know…kids. Having this plan requires time and money to do it, and I’m not sure how many people in their mid-twenties to early thirties have the ability to do this.

Tools

Hopefully, before you purchase your new DIY project, you have the necessary tools. If you are looking to purchase everything at the start, get ready for a larger bill than you would pay to have a completely refurbished car. If you don’t have the required essentials in order to rebuild the car, you might simply want to look into purchasing a car. In my experience, I no longer have the essentials to do this, and chances are, you don’t either.

Simply Purchasing Refurbished Vintage Cars

You looked into the cost of everything, and after you take a look at the bill, you realize that your dreams are too far away from what you expect. This is where you start looking at cars that might be rebuilt or further along in the rebuild process. This can cut down on tools and parts costs. It might be best to typically save up and throw down on the car of your dreams. I know for me, I want to buy a ’75 Pontiac Firebird. Black with a white chicken on the hood. Keeping it as classic as possible. I would love to fly out to where it is, purchase it then drive it from the purchase site back home. We all have our dreams right?