I graduated from university in May 1969. Married in 1971. Had our son in 1972 (educated with a PhD). I had to borrow money for every vehicle I have owned including my '72 GS (bought for less than $5000 in 2000) with the exceptions - My 2015 Colorado, I paid cash. My wife's 2011 & 2015 & 2018 Chevy Cruze, I paid cash. It took a lot of hard work & saving. I owe no one any money. I sure that since 2000, I have spent over $25000 on my GS over the years ( i did most of the work myself except paint & body). But I have always had well-paying jobs that I loved which makes a whole lot of difference. I retired in 2012 with a good pension + Canada Pension + Old Age pension and with medical benefits til death. Best of all, I have my health but aches & pains with old age.
Years ago it was a lot cheaper to restore a car. In 1989, I had the paint and bodywork done on the black car. They hung GM quarters, good used doors, a trunk lid, GM fenders, core support and hood. They installed all the glass, bumpers, trim and painted it in single stage urethane. Then did the cut and buff on it. Basically all I had to do was install the interior. Car was finished in 1990. It cost me $6k. Still have the receipt! Try that today
You dont need a million bucks to get a decent GS. But if you have no idea about body work or have some sort of connection with labor or help forget about that 71 rusty GS. Its best to buy 1 good car rather than 2 bad cars. My first GS was brought for $400 back in 1983 still have it 69 vert 4 speed .The last GS I brought a 72 stage 1 vert the guy was asking $100,000 a few weeks later I brought her for a bit over 20k. Patience pays off wait for a decent deal I see them all the time . Not every car sells for crazy money and you will probably get the best deals in the fall winter time.
I as well do not have any kids and bought my cars years ago, and like a bunch of other guys here do not go on vacations much. When we do go on vacation my wife is a travel agent, so we get to go on trips we could never afford because she is often doing site visits (working) while on the trips. Also like others here I have traded/sold some cars over the years, but I tend to keep what I have for a long time. The other benefit I have is that I married a Saint. Beth puts up with both my cars and friends, and has grown accustomed to living with car parts in her house. (She tells people she got me too late to change me.) My friends and I also helped fund our hobbies by cutting up old rust buckets. At one time there were tons of these in the area and we would take them apart, keep the pieces we needed and then swap/sell off the rest. (Mostly swap) This often allowed us to get our parts "for free" after all the work was done. We would get a rotted out car and spend the weekend tearing it apart. When we were done you could sweep up what was not saved. (We used to say we were like the "Eskimos and the Whales", as we used everything we possibly could.) I miss those days. Maybe I'm crazy, but I would rather cut up a car on a weekend then spend it at the Shore. Trust me, you never want to give me 20 minutes with a saws-all, your car would never be the same! We also often help each other out, by trading labor for car parts etc. In my little group of local friends I usually do the seat cover installations, and have traded bunches of beautiful used California chrome pieces I bought years ago, for parts/services etc. I always try to do as much work as I can on my cars, but was not able to do as much as I wanted to with the last one I did. Due to logistics, and the fact I wanted it to come out to the level it did, I had to let a friend do most of the work. It also helped that he knew more about that particular year/model car then I probably ever will. What I am describing here is basically a Lifestyle that many of us share. That's just the way we roll. Duane
Some common themes - most of you guys purchased your cars years ago. For a lot less money, put sweat equity in them, and watched the market rise. None of this is your fault. I was around when the speculation markets of the late 1980's went nuts and all of a sudden all old cars (in theory, not actuality) were the same value as a Van Gogh painting! Then it crashed, and recovered. But the template was set in stone that all old cars were now worth thousands of dollars. The muscle car craze elevated asking and selling prices. I had a 71 Burnished Copper 442 I should never have sold. As for GS's, I had a 1972 GS350 4 speed project, largely stripped of the valuable parts but had I chipped away at it rather than sold it, I would have it today. Unlike most of you guys I went all over the map on what I have owned. From the 1920's to the 1990's (Reatta, still own) Basically I would read a story about a car or era and "had to have one". For Buicks, I owned a 36 Roadmaster, a 61 Electra bubbletop (these have all but disappeared), several 64's, a lot of early 70's Centurions. I am trying to resist buying 1-2 GS projects. It is just KILLING ME that no one wants that rusty Triple Black GS350 for $4500 or offer. Add that to the 71 Stage 1 for $6500 and with shipping I would probably have 2 worthwhile GS projects in the garage for a combined $12,000. I get it, rust is the reason they remain unpurchased. I can't fix rust myself. I was a dealership mechanic and went to school for it, so I can do disassembly, assembly, troubleshooting, and the GS is well supported by the catalog markets. I am seriously thinking about that Burnished Cinnamon 1971 GS455 with poverty caps for $29.5 AND a project car. But then I would hate to see one or more of the project cars I am thinking about go unclaimed. That guy in Phoenix with the Stage 1 sure wants to flip it pretty quick, so it must have been worse than he thought. He's not on this forum, and the guy selling the triple black car is. For less, and he essentially saved it but is getting ready to part it out, leaving one less GS in gene pool.
Since you guys bought and restored your cars, as many of you have noted - the cost of restoration has skyrocketed. I understand that paint has toxic fumes in it or whatever, and so paint seems to have skyrocketed in cost. Who painted their cars in their garage? My results always sucked but most of that was impatience during prep. Still, since HVLP guns came along, these are much better for paint application than the "old days." Jason has single stage urethane black paint on his car, done in 1989 and it still looks great. Now, everyone has to have base coat clear coat or you are just not keeping up with the Jonses! Whatever, let's see 2019 - 1989 is 30 years in my book! I think I would just do a single stage Burnished Copper on that 71 Stage 1 and sand between coats, but getting the new metal hung I can't do. I always look at projects from the standpoint of front clip and doors needing work vs. the body. A person can always replace front clip parts and doors, but if you don't have body work skills - read welding and such - you will have to pay for that stuff.
I do body work and paint cars in the garage (actually my buddy's shop, as my garage isn't big enough). Single stage metallic gray and Viper red on his Blazer was the last project. I helped teach him bodywork on it, we fabbed his floors, quarter patches, fender and door patches, etc, just because he didn't want to buy them but also because he wanted to learn fabbing. Just be careful prepping and be ready to do a lot of color sanding to get the "nibs" out if you do a garage or shop paint job and want it show quality.....He thought it was going to take a weekend, maybe 2. 6 months later we had a good looking Blazer. View attachment 432417
Sorry, but most cars I see are way out of my price range. I have never had a high paying job. My highest paying job was almost 16 hr at Walmart. I have no savings to speak of. Most all my vehicles have either been financed or under 1500. I live in subsidized housing. How ever currently own 7 vehicles. 2017 Lincoln MKZ, 2000 Crown Vic, 1999 Ford Explorer, 1985 Crown Vic 2dr, 1984 Lincoln Town Car, and the 1971 Buick Sportwagon. Plus the 2015 Street Glide. Own everything out right but the MKZ and the Bike. Even with both working we couldn't survive without my VA disability. Making a little over 12hr as an assistant manager doesn't help. Refinanced the bike to get some extra to get the 2000 Crown Vic because the wife's town car needs tranny and engine rebuilt. But the crown vic needs 1800 for replacing the frost plugs. Thought it would cost 1/3 that. Live and learn, it is low mileage at 58K. My 85 was a steal at 700 with under 70K. Have wanted a 2dr crown vic forever. I wound up cracking up the front of the MKZ so another grand to fix that. Luckily it still drives. So plopping down $20, 25, 30K plus for skylark or a GS is way out of my lifestyle. Of course hind sight is 20/20. Should have kept my 70 Stage 1 or My 75 Pacecar, 70 GTO, even my 68 Beetle. I do have my Sportwagon, She isn't much to look at but runs good. She need an interior, and rust repair. I guess my life hasn't been what I imagined it would be. I had hoped that by the time I was my current age 54 I would have a good job and a house. Really don't have either. But hey I am surviving have a great family, three fantastic sons, and three grandkids. That is my story and I'm sticking to it. Tim
My car too was garage painted. It isn't great, but it's also a driver Skylark. From 15-20 feet it looks good, and that's the best I could've hoped for. A cut and buff could get it down to a 10 footer, I just haven't had time. Would I be happy with the paint if it was a matching numbers GS? Probably not. But those aren't in a my budget anyway. I really appreciate cars with provenance and will always admire them, but I'm a drive and and have fun guy, never will be in the "collector realm". Shawnies too po' for that.
Bryan, I am going to try to give you the best advise that I can. Whether you take it or not is certainly up to you. Please first look at the things you can and cannot do to repair a vehicle and then MAKE SURE you pick a car that meets what you can do to fix it. If you cannot do rust repair, and cannot afford to have someone else fix it, then leave that car for someone that can..............and please do not do what many of us have (myself included), and buy multiple projects. Do not go down the route where you feel the need to fix/save them all. Trust me, that is a downward spiral, and I have seen the results with several of my friends. The basic bottom line is that some of these cars need to die/be sacrificed to save others. That is just the way it is. Yes many of us bought our cars years ago, however I bought one last year, and it has just finished a restoration. Believe me I went thru sticker shock, as the last one I did that way was at least 15 years ago. It is done now and I am very happy but it was expensive. If you want to save something for the next generation, it would be a lot better to save a single nicely done vehicle that starts/runs etc. so you and others can enjoy it, then 1 or 2 projects that might never get done. Just some friendly advise from a fellow car nut. Duane
Sound advice right there.....I'd add to buy something you can drive while you work on it, especially if you're going to try to tackle it yourself. It's easier to stay motivated about something you can enjoy while working on it little by little. And there are still good deals. I got my Riviera for around 6k a couple years ago, for example. They're still out there. You just need to look, wait, and jump when you find the one.
Lucas I just did a Bronco in Single Stage. Last coat of metallic i mixed clear in 50/50. In case i have to nib.
Single Stage will save you $$$$$$. Just don’t get dirt in paint. Hang a chain on the frame. Iliminates static charge.
