I certainly got lucky on this one and it was not even remotely big money. I was looking at a couple in California and would have gotten them shipped if anyone could have actually come up with a title. The cost was $1500ish so it ultimately would have been about the same as I spent on the ticket and the trip but I had time, the truck seemed decent and it seemed like fun. FYI: It was great!
I am not a body man myself but I sure wish I were. I almost always have the feeling I have been screwed when I leave the body shop. Maybe I am too critical or I don't convey the level of work I expect. Maybe I am not spending enough money??
I would love to find a mid to late 70's Trans Am or early 70's Camaro. I have really grown to appreciate the 70's stuff a lot more than I used to. Maybe because I grew up with the 70's stuff.
I love the late 60s and early 70s vehicles
Pretty much anything that was designed before 1973 is a stylish vehicle
I think in the early 70s they started using computers to design cars and instead of having some extra strength in the wheel bearings and stuff like that , they made em as small as possible and started using a lot of plastic for parts that should be metal
I love the cars where they wasted a lot of metal to get it to look a certain way
The firebirds and camaros are probably the largest car on the outside to be so small on the inside of any car ever made
And if you shop around you can still find some good deals on 70-80 firebirds that are not rusty and haven't been hacked up by some redneck teenager
I've owned several firebirds
Had a 70 Trans am and a 78 formula
The 70-73s are more expensive but the parts are all interchangeable
You can bolt a 70-73 nose on a 80
Only difference is the wraparound rear window in 75
And to me the dash and instruments in a Trans am is the most perfect dash ever made
All the gauges lined up, and the design in the fake metal bezel just can't be topped
The shaker scoop and T-tops ....
Not sure what part of the country you're in but you gotta cast a wide net
Im in Atlanta and on any used car , late model or a soon to be classic you have to get at least 100-150 miles away from any large city to find a deal
Take a look at a 64-66 thunderbird
There's a lot of metal used up just to get them to look a certain way
The doors are 11 inches thick
Yeah. Body work is stupid expensive
I've done a LS transplant
I've swapped automatics to five speeds etc
I'm worthless at bodywork
It might as well be brain surgery
And I'm pretty sure most body shop owners must earn as much as a brain surgeon based on the rates they charge