I have $15k. Resto on zed or new car?

[Richard McDonel]

A lot depends on how much you can do yourself. Certainly, if you're just going to hand ithe job over to a bodyshop, then get pros to do the upholstery, etc., $15K won't cut it. Talk to your body guy and see what his cost would be if you delivered it stripped and clean both in an out, with all body bolts loose, then reassembled it all yourself.

On this site a few weeks ago, I questioned whether to replace or repair the wiring harness, and the consensus seemed to be that I should repair what I have. So fine, the car is all apart, I'm just setting the dash upside down on the workbench and going over every wire, one by one. Time consuming, but a lot cheaper than having someone crawl under the dash for lord-knows how many billable hours trying to find out why the XXXX doesn't work.

All that being said, it had best be a labour of love, because 95% of the time restoration is a lousy investment! And yes I heard all about the '37 Benz that went at auction for $9.8 mill and the '57 Testa Rossa for $16 mill, but they are the rare exceptions.

Best of luck.

[sblake01]

Er, Richard, you might want to take a look at the date this thread was started, 06-06-2005. Almost 6½ years ago. The original poster hasn't been here in almost 2 years. $15K might not go as far as it would have at either of those points........