Saw a 71 Firebird someone posted, asked if it was worth it to go get it. It looks straight and rust free, desert south west car, and people are saying save the gas, don't bother, it's not worth it.. What the hell? Because its not a Trans Am or a Formula it isn't worth anything now? If I could get it, that thing would be running in a month, with a 400, painted satin black and a spare set of wheels thrown under it. They'd think it was a steal to buy it for $5k-$8k. If I don't rebuild the engine, just use the extra parts I have laying around, I could make it a decent driver for all of $2000, most of that is tires and little stuff. You guys saw what I did with my 68, scrounged stuff, built a 400 for it, made it presentable despite not pulling many dents out, and now its a driver if I need it to be.
Are people jaded? Do they want it nice right off? Are they afraid of getting dirty? Are they simply passing car guys who aren't into actually working on themso they just want garage art? I realize few people have my skills, shop, tools, experience, and big freaking pile of parts, but I have been doing this for decades when I didn't have all those things. How do ya think I got all of them?
I get that people get excited, buy an old car, then lose interest when they discover it takes up too much TV watching time, those guys end up selling to someone like me or having it rot into dust in the yard. What happened to ingenuity? Job satisfaction? I don't expect them to build some killer 56 Chevy with a 409, or an Anglia gasser they can cruise daily, but why discount a clean vehicle because it is shiny? In my opinion, some people should stay the hell out of this hobby, if they discourage someone with a vision and a dream from following it. We could miss out on the next Chip Foose or Lil Jack. We can always miss out on the next Xibit.
The car in question.
Are people jaded? Do they want it nice right off? Are they afraid of getting dirty? Are they simply passing car guys who aren't into actually working on themso they just want garage art? I realize few people have my skills, shop, tools, experience, and big freaking pile of parts, but I have been doing this for decades when I didn't have all those things. How do ya think I got all of them?
I get that people get excited, buy an old car, then lose interest when they discover it takes up too much TV watching time, those guys end up selling to someone like me or having it rot into dust in the yard. What happened to ingenuity? Job satisfaction? I don't expect them to build some killer 56 Chevy with a 409, or an Anglia gasser they can cruise daily, but why discount a clean vehicle because it is shiny? In my opinion, some people should stay the hell out of this hobby, if they discourage someone with a vision and a dream from following it. We could miss out on the next Chip Foose or Lil Jack. We can always miss out on the next Xibit.
The car in question.
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