There are many different things to consider when trying to determine what kind of vehicle to restore. Ultimately, since this is going to take a lot of your hard work and time, you want it to be something that you are going to enjoy for years to come, so selecting a car or truck that you really like must be one of your first thoughts.

However, there are other things that you may want to consider and do a little research on before just jumping in and buying a vehicle. One thing that comes to mind is availability of the vehicle and parts compared to the amount of money you are planning to spend. ” Richard, can I restore a vehicle for $6000.00? ” Well, the answer is yes, you can. But it is very unlikely that you can do it with a car like my favorite, a 1969 Camaro SS . Finding a decent body alone for that much is a stretch. Usually trucks tend to be a little cheaper to restore due to the fact that they were made from tougher steel and you don’t have near as much rust (although this is not true in all cases) and you don’t have as much interior wise to have to worry about. But with a little searching, you can generally find a decent body to work with fairly inexpensive. Going back to the Camaro, this is becoming a hard to find vehicle mainly due to the popularity, the same is true for the ‘56 and ‘57 Chevy Bel Air’s. So if you are going to have a fairly tight budget, you will probably want to shy away from these vehicles.

You will also want to make sure that you have a good base vehicle to work with in the first place. I remember when my father-in-law and I drove about 45 miles away to pick up a body that he was planning to restore. We could have picked up the vehicle very easily by just sticking our hands through the holes in the rusted out fenders. he was getting a great price on the car, but after looking at it and realizing the total costs involved in getting it to total restoration, it just wasn’t going to be worth it.

So basically what you need to do is scout around and make sure you are going to be able to find a good starting base for your project. Next, call around and get some estimates for things you may not be going to do yourself ( Paint/body, engine, re- upholstering, etc… ) . After you do that, then you can decide what vehicle will be right for you.

I hope this helps a little in getting started with you project. Good luck!

Richard Cronier is an avid classic car and truck enthusiast. Visit http://www.classicfordandchevy.com to find information on restoring your classic car or truck.