Ideas for classic car restore and sons first car?

[Baron Von Crowder]

Challenge accepted, motherfucker, and I fully expect to fail!

Factoid: alfas have been ranked at he top of lemons reliablity stats.

[Slowhand]

Factoid: alfas have been ranked at he top of lemons reliablity stats.

I really struggle to believe that, but perhaps the Italian adage of "drive the piss out of it or it will break" holds true.

[Rreemo]

You have heard wrong. Besides you can EASILY shorten a frame and slap an aftermarket bed on it for $2500

...and shortened frames (if done correctly) are typically stronger than the original uncut LWB frame too. But hey...there really is nothing wrong with a nice LWB either.

Here are some SWB examples I sent to a friend just last night....

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/3190923466.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/3144443629.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3122741762.html (loads of potential here)
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3219931786.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/3166704485.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bar/3206958917.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/cto/3074214347.html
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/3189113066.html

[IHaveAMustang]

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 1966 Mustang V8, 3 speed, factory air. Had a guy in high school get one for $4500...granted that was in 2000, but they aren't really that expensive for a standard coupe.

Just don't get a straight 6. The 289 was underpowered enough, don't punish the lad by dropping him into a 6.

[Z06killinsbf]

I drove my 66 during high school. A cool dad would get something with a ginormous back seat.

[00bolt]

thanks again everyone, lots of things to think about here...still really leaning towards the 60s stang and showed him plenty of pictures and he really likes them too (as well as the wife).

in my mind, id like to have it as much back to stock as possible, but im afraid as he gets older and closer to 16, he will probably want different rims/tires, radio and engine mods... im not sure I want to go ALL out and give the kid a death wish for his first car, but how bad would it be to put a 302 stroker or 351 in there? kinda conflicts with the theory of keeping it original/stock, but might be a different route to go, assuming whatever we end up with will need a new engine anyway...

[Baron Von Crowder]

thanks again everyone, lots of things to think about here...still really leaning towards the 60s stang and showed him plenty of pictures and he really likes them too (as well as the wife).

in my mind, id like to have it as much back to stock as possible, but im afraid as he gets older and closer to 16, he will probably want different rims/tires, radio and engine mods... im not sure I want to go ALL out and give the kid a death wish for his first car, but how bad would it be to put a 302 stroker or 351 in there? kinda conflicts with the theory of keeping it original/stock, but might be a different route to go, assuming whatever we end up with will need a new engine anyway...

Personally, Id put more effort into front suspension/steering/brakes over performance. He will hot rod it on his own later.

[00bolt]

thats a good point...

[black2002ls]

I agree with baron. Suspension and brakes are areas often forgotten and not serviced at regular intervals. I would spend a lot of focus there for a car for my child!

[Rick Modena]

A truck is always best, they can run over curbs, scrape curbs, run over shit and not fuck anything up. I wouldn't get anything near performance, he will want to go fast.

[Z06killinsbf]

A truck is always best, they can run over curbs, scrape curbs, run over shit and not fuck anything up. I wouldn't get anything near performance, he will want to go fast.

Unless its lowered then none of that will happen, trust me.

[IHaveAMustang]

I drove my 66 during high school. A cool dad would get something with a ginormous back seat.

A smart dad would buy a Mustang as it's almost impossible to have sex in the back of a Mustang...

..almost..

[Vertnut]

You can do this with any year car, but I would get something with A/C and airbags. The restoration stuff take a large amount of time and money. 15 year old cars are pretty affordable and you can still spend some time fixing it up and getting that invaluable experiance.

After seeing first hand what happens to cars when kids drive them, this is the best idea. AIRBAGS, and a shit-ton of them. Between phones, buddies in the car, daydreaming, and loud music, the last thing on their mind is driving. LOL!

[hotrod66stang]

<----- Has a '66 coupe that is probably going to be for sale soon. 289, rebuilt auto. I also still have the '94 L I bought from you in 2005?. 210k miles. All I've replaced is the A/C compressor. Love that thing.

[00bolt]

you are the one that bought my older Lightning? The black one that had a white hood? Hows it doing these days? Any recent pics? Or did you buy my 2000 model? I really wish I could find the guy who bought that one and check up on it, I miss that truck alot.

PM me some info on the stang if/when you are ready or thinking of selling.