I guess I'm your newest forum member.
Just last Saturday I went to a car auction and bid on a '55 DeSoto 4-door Fireflite. My cut off was $2000. It got to $1600 and nobody bid me out so I got it.
Then I took it to a garage to be safetied. I did know there would be quite a bit to fix but I didn't think it would be $4000 plus, just to get it on the road, before even thinking about cosmetics!
The body and frame are good (one rusted fender) and the mechanic thinks the motor and steering are good. But that's where it stops. It seems just about everything else has to be rebuilt or replaced.
I'm just on the cusp of abandoning the project and maybe parting the car out to get back as much as I can of whats already spent versus biting the bullet and start shelling out the $$$ to bring it up to a summer daily runner. (Even though I KNOW that 4 grand is just a starting point. Not included in that is exterior paint (or plastic vehicle wrap?) and upholstery (the interior is basically a mouse motel. not even enough on the door panels to tell what it was).
When I drove away from the garage after the $4000 news I saw 2 '50's era restos driving by and an older coupe. They looked so fine compared to the other, new anonymous "boxes" on the road. (

I think I'm leaning towards keeping it

)
It doesn't help that just across the road from the garage is a lead sled (I think it started out as a 49/50 Merc). It seems to get a new colour scheme every time the owner sees some house paint left at the side of the road. Most of the paint schemes are U..G..L..Y, but the lines are so fine, every time I see it ...
want ...