50 Most Famous Cars Of All Time!

[Darren Bedford]

Loren

I have had many old cars over the years and still have about 10 now.

One example is a 1966 Dodge A100 Van I no longer own. When I got it there was nothing missing but it had sat for a long time. Over a period of 3 years I spent about 8,000.00 on this van. I had to repair or replace so many parts to get it going and keep it going. Tires, exhaust, alternator, starter, rad, heater core, hoses. belts, everything in the brake system, gas pedal and cable, etc, etc. Too many things to completely list. It still needed body work and paint and other things. As time went on and things kept breaking, I decided to cut my losses and stop repairing it. I ended up selling it for 740.00

I loved that van and wish I still had it. I actually should have parted it out and sold the parts as they are hard to find and in demand.

Looking at the photo of the red 59 MM Futura your friend owns, I see a parts car. Someone looking to restore or keep a 59 running would love to get any of the parts that are decent and usable.

The van I bought was complete and running ! I spent a bundle of money and needed to spent at least twice what I had already into it if I was going to end up with something decent and dependable.

The guy who bought the van I sold had one simular and needed a flywheel and was going to use a bunch of the other parts to upgrade his. I felt I was doing my part to keep someone elses van running and them happy.

At the time I never had much money and it was taking all that I had to keep it going. It was a money pit for sure and I did almost all the work myself. Sending it out would have cost at least double with labour charges.

After dealing with that van I learned a lesson.
That is, "Know when to let go !"

If you are a body person, good with cars, if you have garage to work on a car being restored, you have all the tools, you have money to spare, you have friends who can help, you can wait years to get the job done, you know the parts are available and where the parts are you need, etc, etc,
then take on the project.
If you need to send things out,then try to figure out what the project will cost you before starting it. If its too big, forget it.


Here's what I figure is the bottem line when thinking about restoring a car...
If you need to spend 25,000.00 to end up with a car worth 10,000.00 - don't do it ! Let the good parts off it go to someone else in need to keep their car going.

Finding replacement parts for Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes is easy !
Everyone re-pops them too.

Finding parts for hearses and Ambulances is much harder !!!
No one re-pops them !

I can't imagine trying to make a ghostbusters or original car out of the red one you posted a photo of. The money it would cost would be 100,000.00 PLUS PLUS PLUS !

This is my opinion and comments so others don't make the same mistakes I did.

Hope you don't take anything I wrote the wrong way,
Darren

P.S.
I WAITED 15 YEARS TO FIND A NICE EARLY '60s HEARSE !
I spent 30,000.00 Man I was happy !
Some people I know have spent more on body work and chrome than I spent on the whole car.

Others have found them for 5,000.00

Ed is being nice by saying BRAVE for taking on that job.

 

[Loren Baldwin]

I understand what you're saying Darren. I've passed on other cars (64 Galaxie 500XL with a 390) that had far less rust than that coach. Believe it or not, I passed on the car too. My definition of too far gone is much more lenient than others, but at the time it was more of a project than I wanted at the time. I look at it like this, if the car is rare and desireable, or I want it despite if it's rare or not...I'll buy it. I found a rust bucket 59 Superior Crown Royale limo style that I thought I bought, but that's another story for another time. Is the guy over his head? Absolutely, but love (and desires for cars) makes us do strange things...

 

[John ED Renstrom]

when your able to say another car has been save and a Gb made of it then we will be thinking alike. but I hope I answered the question you had on why with out sounding condesending or smart mothed. I did not mean to if I did.
all the ex pro cars made into campers fit this same description. as do parade rigs for the shriners club and the goth mobiles. one of the cars I saved is now a flame throwing winged mad max car. the man that bought it from me bought it for that purpose. said it was the most complete everything worked on it car he had ever owned. I'm gad he is getting some use out of it. but it is no longer a Hearse to me. his 800 bucks spent the same way as every other dollar I had. your probably off the mark on most of us here being better able to better afford the repair this car would take to make it road worthy. there are a lot of poor boys here to. most of us would pass this up because the better the car you get up front the less you need to spend. to have a nice one. we all know you can't save them all. but the number of these cars that has gotten started to be changed into something else and dropped for lack of funds or interest is a lot more then the number we have been able to keep stock.

 

[John Royark JR]

Have fun with it and since it's your car you can do whatever you want with it including using suction cups or removing air horns if you don't like them.

Richard, using suction cups is one thing, but when you remove air horns you have gone too far!!

 

[Rick Haslewood]

I agree with Loren's point of view. Ghostbusters hobbyists have saved a lot of 59 MM's that purists might've passed on in the search for something better.

In regards to the car that Loren mentioned, the only person that would have even thought about buying that car to restore would be a Ghostbusters fan. No purist would bother taking it on, it's too much money. But if this person is brave enough the I would applaud his motivation, and I would say that Ghostbusters saved this car!