Newbie, could use advice

[70Barracuda]

Money, hard work, patience,  How much do you have?

Thats a real question

[7212Mopar]

First of all welcome to the forum.

These cars is a hobby and for most folks between work, family and other obligations, the amount of time you get to work on the car is limited in a given year.  So beside cost you need to think about time. I got a running car to start with original body that did not need work. Exterior paint was not perfect but in good shape. After driving it for may be a year, I started the mechanical, cosmetic and interior work. I did not get to drive it again until almost 6 years later. Some of the time I did no work, saving money and think about what I should do next.

Depending on your situation, these are some of the things to think about.

[nsmall]

Welcome.
Being in Panama, part availability is likely more difficult than in the states. Just guessing.

   Do you live in Panama?

Neil AKA @Chryco Psycho lives in Panama and would be good person to know.  I agree with buying the most car you can is the best start.  Parts are so expensive IMO.

[jimynick]

Welcome to the site from Ontario,  I see many have counseled buying a "done" car. That can run into money and there's also the issue of determining that it is, indeed, properly "done". As mentioned, body/paint work can be a large cost, but cutting up a "done" car can also be somewhat sacrilegious to some. At the end of the day, it'll be your car and your wallet, so try to balance a realistic appraisal of mods and their costs on said car. If they add up to where it'll cost you more to "re-do" that "done" car than building from a shell, well then you'll have made an informed decision. Good luck either way. 

[blucuda]

For a restomod, definitely look for a 318 car that does not have the collector value that other engine/trans combinations will have.  If you are unfamiliar with body work, have any potential purchase looked at by someone who knows auto body and you can trust.  I know very little about body repair and was happy that the California car I purchased did not appear to have any major rust issues.  After getting the car back from the dipper, I wound up replacing both front fenders, both inner fenders, both door skins, roof, both rear quarters, and the taillight panel due to swiss cheese sheet metal.  A competent auto body guy could have warned me that the metal was not near as solid as I thought it was.  Know that any project will snowball in cost and time invested, but can be worth every dime and every minute if you enjoy the end result.  Good luck on your quest.   

[cuda hunter]

If your not restoring, pick a car that no longer has it's fender tag and or build sheet. 
Lots of great advice in this thread!

@journeycuda   

[Fastmark]

Not sure why this thread was brought back up. This guy was on the forum for 1 post and 7 minutes in July and not back since. There's no one listening on the other end!

[blucuda]

I honestly did not notice the date.  I usually just read the most recents but obviously found this thread somehow.  I don't really post much because I am not an expert in anything.  I just jumped at the opportunity to actually add something useful to a conversation 

[tparker]

My thoughts, having done this and getting close to getting it driving...

How much money do you have to dump into it?
How much time do you have?
Do you prefer the process of building or driving?

Money is a big factor in many ways. You can buy one ready to go ranging from super expensive all original prime shape, sky's the limit restored, or relatively expensive running. $20k-$150K or more depending what your looking for. I think a hemi convertible toped a million many years ago.

Buying one that needs lots of work doesn't really save money. It'll need parts and many aren't cheap or even available. A air cleaner is $300-$500, the rear finish panel is near impossible to find and usually go for a grand ( though someone on the site had one super cheap). Belt molding clips aren't made anymore and were a hundred bucks last time someone made them. Antenneas are over $100 and the washer fluid bottle is close to $100. Little things all add up. So think long and hard about what shape the car is in before lumping down some money.

If you don't have the time to work on it, then you have to pay someone to do it. That isn't cheap. If you do have the time, but it's limited to weekends, expect it to take years depending on the shape. Mine took at least 5 years. Lots of body work, painting, redoing the interior including seats dash headliner, etc. I had a lot of fun working on the car. I made LOTS of mistakes and some people wouldn't be ok with them but I am.

There is a lot trade offs and really depends what you want to do. Assuming you do most of the work yourself and you don't want to blow a fortune, I would get something that would be easier to build up. Paint is VERY expensive so you may consider getting something with a decent paint job or at least something with no major dents or rot. Rot on panels that are replaceable will be simpler and easier to deal with. Focus on something that has most of the major parts. I would polk around and try to figure out what parts are expensive, hard to come by, or not available and make sure you have those or you don't care about them.

just for the record, I put in probably close to 10K including complete interior, paint, body panels, engine rebuild, exhaust and headers, etc. I went with lots of cheap parts, things on sale and did everything myself with the exception of the motor rebuild. I was lucky and bought it for $1000 back when you could still find them cheap.