Buffalo Restorations: Choosing The Right Vehicle

Section 3: Choosing The Right Vehicle

Chances are that you have already chosen or own the vehicle you wish to have restored. But how do you know if the vehicle you've chosen or are considering is a good choice. Many factors effect the overall cost of a vehicle restoration. Condition, age, popularity, and customer expectations are just a handful of the variables that will have a direct effect on the cost of your restoration. This section will outline the items to look for in a good restoration project car and the items to avoid. By choosing the right car you increase your chances of having a much more cost efficient restoration and decrease your chances of having a car load of stress. Lets begin.

A Good Project Car

Finding a good project vehicle to start a restoration with is not impossible. They exists, and with a little elbow grease and some determination, they can often be found. Things you want to look for in a good project car include: little to no rust, straight body panels, good trim condition, no frame damage, running or easily rebuildable engine & drive train, and even parts availibility. Added bonuses that aren't necassary but add to the vehicle's overall value include popularity of the model, rarity, original numbers matching, and even age. Lets list the key components to look for.

Little to no rust on vehicle
No frame damage
Straight or easily repaired body panels
No excessive use of filler
Chrome in good condition or easily re-plated
Interior in fair condition or easily replaceable
Running engine & drive train
Easily repairable engine & drive train
Vehicle has good parts availability
Reusable glass or easily replaceable glass
Sturdy floor boards
Convertibles and roadster models are usually higher value
Original numbers matching (engine, tranny, rear end)
Rare vehicles are generally worth more
Good popularity of vehicle
Easily storable (garage, storage facility, etc.)

A Bad Project Car

Unlike finding a good project car, finding a bad one is extremely easy. Many folks mistakenly waste valuable time and money restoring vehicles that for all intents and purpose should have been scrapped years prior. In rare cases, the make & model of a vehicle may still make it valuable enough to restore, but 9 times out of 10, you're just starting with a bad car. Starting with a car in poor condition can easily cost a customer additional costs in excess of $20,000 or more, it's that serious folks. The only good reasons for restoring a car of this nature is strong sentimental value or the highly valuable nature of the vehicle itself. In most cases though, save yourself some money and find a decent starting vehicle. The better the condition, the farther your budget will stretch. Here are some key characteristics of a bad vehicle to look for and more importantly avoid. We have done numerous amounts of these so called junk cars that are restored to Great condition.

Extensive rust damage (i.e. rust through, rot out, heavy surface rust, excessive pitting)
Any type of frame damage
Heavily damaged body panels, collision damage
Excessive filler use
Chrome & trim is pitted, rusted, or heavily damaged
Interior is molded, rotten, rodent damage, or not easily replaceable.
Un-repairable engine or drive train (i.e. cracked block, seized heads, broke transmission, etc.)
Very poor parts availability
Wood substructures: they are costly to repair and replace.
No glass or hard to replace glass
Rusted floor boards and trunk floor
4 door models (sedan) tend to be low value
Non-numbers matching cars carry less value
Vehicle has very low popularity
Vehicle is not easily stored

Now that we've covered what to look for, all you have to do now is go out and look for it. Take your time and don't be bullied into a car you aren't sure about. Be comfortable and research any prospective vehicle thoroughly before you buy. Be prepared folks, we just can't stress this enough. Once you've got your vehicle picked out it's time to move on to Section 4.

Buffalo Restorations

10611 Canyon Rd E

Puyallup, WA 98373

1-888-781-0368

buffalo@autorestorations.com

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