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Perhaps old cars are like music. There's an awful lot of people who basically listen to the same ole' crap, as in nothing but top 40 oldies hits played over and over again. Its predictable, popular, and reliable. In fact, maybe the two go hand in hand since I've heard my fair share of that kind of music at the shows.
I was going to buy a 1974 Ford Bronco and install a new 2010 Ford Coyote engine and transmission. I was going to build the truck as a daily driver with mileage in mind. I bought a new truck instead.
Why didn't you do that? It would've been cool.
I agree on the loose terminology of restoration. It's amazing what people will call restored.
I'm not trying to put down people for buying what they truly want. If you love Mustangs, then if you get one and truly love it, then that's all that matters. But even so, why do collectors seem to stick with a somewhat limited number of models and makes versus branching out? I'd almost much rather see something like say- a mid 70's Chevy Capprice station wagon or maybe even a few old AMC Ramblers.
Some of it is availability of parts, some of it is resale value, some of it is the clubs you can get into. To each his own. I like to restore old Volvos, and have actually hit a niche market with the ridiculous Hipster crowd...
Even so, I'm with you. Rather than seeing 100 restored Mustangs, I'd rather look at stuff I haven't seen before. To me, it's more interesting.
The more obsure and unusual the car, the harder(and more expenisve) it is to get parts and to restore. If you have a mustang, there are dozens of suppliers that you can get brand new parts from.
Right, and just because it's old doesn't make it desirable and cool and attractive to drive around it.
Hell, 20 years from now, the Pinto will be a vintage car, but how many do you think people will restore, polish with a diaper, and drive around on the weekends?
Hell, 20 years from now, the Pinto will be a vintage car, but how many do you think people will restore, polish with a diaper, and drive around on the weekends?
They already do. Hell- one of the most popular cars at our local show was a 1977 Ford Pinto that had somehow been kept in a warehouse, undriven, until a few years ago. The car was essentially factory-fresh and perfect. People were drooling all over it. ( well... not literally, but you get the idea)
I've owned a 55' Mercury for over a decade. Its nothing special, just a large 4 door family car. But the thing is that whenever I go to a show, its almost always the only one of its kind at the show period. Meanwhile there's no shortage of Mustangs, Cameros, Chargers, Bel-airs, and various hot rods made out of kits and whatnot. Actually, I rarely go to shows anymore simply because I feel like I see the same cars over and over again. After awhile they blend in together. I've seen my share of Bel-airs with chromed-up small block engines, chrome headers and fat chrome wheels to last a lifetime.
Been restoring mostly 65-68 Mustangs over the past 25 years. Progressed in restoration skill to the point that the last one I did had no aftermarket or reproduction parts on it. Only original restored or NOS parts used, felt like I was restoring a Bugatti or something exclusive. Would like to try out other makes now, thinking of a 69-71 porsche 911 or something like that. Although, I've gotten to the point now with restoring cars that I have the mentality of doing it right or not at all. So, restoration projects can take years to complete. Starting to think maybe I should just seek out nice survivor cars that I won't feel compelled to make perfect. It's a strange situation to realize.
As far as restoring the same type of car, I stuck with Mustangs because it was what I was familiar with and improved my knowledge and skills with each one... which made the next one easier. I currently don't own any old Mustangs, sold my last one about a year ago, restored '65 K code fastback. I prefer to work on them for other folks as a hobby, it takes a lot of the anxiety out of doing a full restoration as the costs can be staggering, just for paint/body work these days. Currently working on a '65 convertible, have a '66 GT fastback ready for assembly, a '68 cobra jet fastback nearly ready for assembly and then a '64.5 coupe and a '67 convertible in the body shop. Anyone in the Raleigh, NC area that is bored and wants to clean some parts, let me know, lol!
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