Venturing into another ground-up restoration requires an attachment between owner and vehicle.  Treating this selection period as a courtship may give it more meaning. This choice is not unlike a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. There will be everything from anger to elation, and from hope to heartache. Approaching this decision like a relationship and not an acquisition may assist you in finding a true classic to call your own.

This beat-up beauty will be your new girlfriend for the next month, year or possibly longer. Choosing this companion for the foreseeable future should be taken on with the utmost integrity, but also needs a healthy dose of subjective thought. Would you choose to be in your current relationship, if you could choose it like you chose your last project car? Most of us jump in with an automatic “yes,” but on second thought, perhaps you would not. Allow me to explain.

If you knew you would have to buy your wife girlfriend a new mainframe during your lifetime together, would you pick her?  Or for you ladies, if your man wasn’t able to put out the desired horsepower due to size limitation, would you go with him?  These are fundamental questions that should fuel your decision on make and model of your new project vehicle.  No matter what car you choose, you can always dress it up on the outside; but if the underlying problems cannot be addressed, it would be better to move on – even if you were certain he or she was “the one.”

Most long lasting relationships have shared experiences from the past.  Maybe you have known you wife/girlfriend for years, and you know the status of the undercarriage. With a few coats of primer, a good wet sand job, a little bit of color, and a chopped-top, you’re back in the driver’s seat of something familiar, something you know and love.  Restoring a vehicle you have owned for years, can give you that sense of ease and comfort while also peaking your excitement.  Knowing the potential lying under those years of wear and tear can make this choice of restoration more momentous.  Therefore the most rewarding project car may be the one closest to home.  

Whether you chose to stay close to home or venture off into a new relationship, it must begin with commitment. Time and capital can achieve any physical outcome, but careful discretion during this selection period will give you a result that you will cherish forever, not one you’re bored with after the lust calms down.  Give yourself a chance to commit to a vehicle that you know will return your investment. A quick peek under the hood or kick of the tires is alright for a run-around vehicle, but you need an intense inspection of the frame and firewall before you start in on a long term relationship, I mean, project car.

By Dan Lauer

Dan is a freelance writer.