Help : What to avoid?

I would like a little advice; I hope this is the right place to ask.

I'm looking for an 1940 Chevrolet convertible as a present for my father-in-law (Pat) to refurbish; he's recently retired and is bored. He's done his own car-maintenance most of his life, so he's not scared of most jobs. However he doesn't have a big shop. I would like to know what I need to avoid in buying an old car like this: what things are simply not fixable by an enthusiast without an expensive shop? Presumably extensive rust is one thing to look out for; is there anything else? Pat has worked as an electrician and a jet mechanic and done all kinds of jobs, and I'm not concerned about him picking up skills

Mike,

Your FIL appears to have the skills to handle most projects on an early car like the Chevy. They are simple to work on, and information resources are readily available for things he'll have questions about. Starting with the best quality car you can find in your price range. Take a look at his shop-and see what he has for tools and space available, and try to match the car with what he has. You shouldn't buy a car that needs a 'frame-off' if he has a one-bay garage. Also, don't get one that needs the floors replaced if he hasn't got a welder.

Probably the biggest reason for 'projects' to go south- and let sit- is boredom. Be sure to pick a car he has a genuine interest in. Try to find as COMPLETE a car as possible. Even a rougher complete car is easier to finish and work on than a 1/2 done project car someone has started and is now scattered throughout his garage and in boxes. He will gain much more experience in dismantleing the project himself- and seeing just 'how' it's put together. If you aquire a project that has already been started-it's hard to tell what is missing- where all the parts in the boxes go- and what you need to do to reassemble. It gets frustrating to try to put together a 'basket case'...you spend 5 hours trying to make something fit- only to find out you're missing some integral widget. You then spend weeks trying to find said widget- and the project stalls. This is particularly true if he is without prior experience with a particular car (or related manufactured cars).

One concern everyone needs to address: You will buy the car, and all the excitement and enthusiasm that goes along with that. He'll jump right in and take it apart, order the parts he needs, and things will appear to be going very quickly- so fast he'll think he'll be done in a couple months. So, the excitement is expected to last. After the first adrenaline rush- the project will start to hit lulls- even though he works all day on it- it doesn't 'appear' that anything major is getting accomplished. This is especially true of the 'bodywork' stage. You'll work on a panel- do the body fillers, prime it and block it, and reprime- takes all day, but you don't really notice much of a change.... and the projected end of the project appears to get farther away rather than getting closer. It is at this stage that it is important that he get 'boosts'... a visit from you to see how the project is going. Volunteering a day to help him with one big task (like putting an engine together, building the suspension, dropping the body back on the frame- anything that would be so much easier with 2 people- but difficult to do by himself). Or by commenting on how much he is getting accomplished- whenever you have the opportunity. Even taking a day off and attending a car show...will bring back some of the excitement to get back onto the project. Getting past this mid-project boredom is immensly important. He will reach a point when the project appears to be back to the screaming stage- and every little thing he accomplishes seems to get him much closer to the end. This is when the excitement returns and little or no outside help is needed.

All excellent advice. If after talking with your FIL he likes the idea of having an old car but not keen on *having* to do things you can find a presentable 'driver' that he can enjoy and decide for himself what, if anything, he wants to do to it. Norm

One of the best things to do is to take along with and look at a few project cars. That way you can see if he's interested first and then buy the one that excites him.

Pete

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