What somebody elses work" could you just not buy?

I went to the swap meet @ the Phx fairgrouns Saturday and saw some interesting stuff. I like the look of COE or heavy-duty before-my-time trucks with huge 5-bolt pattern wheels in general.

But when I see something that's already been re-framed with a late van ch***is or whatnot, I just can't imagine buying it. I'd just HAVE to do that work myself.

What hangups like that do you have on buying your projects? Are there any "don't care if someone messed with that" aspects?

 

"Bodywork-done-in-primer-ready-for-paint" translates as: You'll be stripping it back to metal.....

 

Pretty much anything that is not old and worn out....I want to fix it myself. engines and transmissions especially

 

I won't buy a "freshly rebuilt" engine (or transmission for that matter) for anything more than the cost of a rebuildable core. I've seen with my own two eyes what some people consider rebuilt and I won't trust anybody else's work but my own unless I am paying major money for a professional builder/machine shop to do it for me.

 

Roll cages in ex drag cars. All the ones we have seen we would cut out and start over. Not sure how they ever p***ed tech, if they did.

Don

 

Electrical wiring, the wad of wire stereo is my Nemesis.

 

Oh man, do I know what you mean. That one would be high on my list. But it won't stop me from buying.

 

I'm leery of anything that's been subframed, unless I know who did the work. How do I know the thing was welded in straight?
Or even worse, maybe the guy who did it welds like I do!

 

Bodywork 95% complete. thats another word
for the doors and trunklid not fitting the
openings and there is no way to make them
fit except to cut away all the 95 % and then
some to make them fit

 

I can buy anyone else's work as long as I can see exactly whats there. I'll buy a bare steel repaired car before a smooth shiny one.
Subframed, etc... better get that on a lift with good lighting if you want me to buy it.
Wiring? **** it. I'll redo it with a Rebel kit. They probably used a Chinese kit anyway.

 

Hell yes it does! Everytime so far. Even customer's cars have been that way.

 

'Ready for paint'....always a winner!

Ready to strip is usually more like it.

 

Heres a "new wire harness"!

 

Mine has always been chopped cars with no gl*** installed lol

 

"Only needs minor work to finish", scares me.

 

1.Chopped w/ no gl***
2 "Fresh rebuilt" .. Engine - trans... (maybe if a pro shop built and serial numbered it MAYBE)

 

Haha damn right. My favorite is "ran when parked". Haha **** I wouldn't be surprised if people started saying things like "ran when last driven"

 

I couldn't buy a car with someone elses ****ty bodywork done to it. I have watched cars roll into a shop with a workable dent, then seen the dent beat all to hell with a hammer and bondo slathered all over. most people just don't seem to be able to move the metal back to where it is supposed to be. they go into the job thinking bondo is how you fix things.

 

Me, I don't care. Unless I know the seller really well, I figure I'll have to redo everything and make sure it's priced accordingly.

 

"All the hard work is done."

 

The following scare me : ANY Sub frame jobs, "new head gasket", "ready for paint", "I put a 9 inch in it", and anything painted flat black that is for sale.

 

What burns my *ss is SS tribute, SS clone or "I was told its an SS" ....Damn ! Now I am pissed off!

 

At least each wire is a differant color

 

I won't buy a car if the seller misspells the model of the car repeatedly in the listing, as in Craigslist. Misspelled once, you could write it off as a typo, brain-fart, or whatever. But OVER and OVER again throughout the listing..? Really..? Hey, *****... it's probably spelled correctly somewhere on the car. You should probably check that out before you go telling me other clueless "facts" about the sack of **** you're trying to get 3k for. O/T, but "Camero" is a huge one for me... I scroll right past every time.

 

Some of my biggest turnoffs: Tilt columns, fat late model seats with matching rears and digital guages, "smoothed" monochromatic cars with pop in oval moving van tail lights, low hanging 4 bars on fenderless cars and ***le issues!!!

 

"Turnkey"

 

I hate seeing project cars and bodies for sale in a swap meet with fresh red oxide primer on them............I want to be able to see what is hidden under that coat. I have p***ed up cars I was interested in because of them being sprayed that way. I know the seller thinks he is making it more attractive but it is just the opposite.

Don

 

Anything spelt with a K: kustom, kool, kroozer, or worst of all...olskool.

But if I see "unfinished project"............

Run screaming in the other direction.

 

I don't mind if the engine & trans is missing or needs work. It's the big modifications that scare me - frame work & suspensions mods.

A long time ago a wise man once told me "the more a car is modified, the closer it gets to the junkyard"

 

Frame & suspension welding will stop me from buying a car unless it is done by someone I know. Especially half breed front end swaps.

Any "rebuilt" ***embly like an engine / trans / rear end is considered to be a core if I am lucky. Some are not even usable cores under the paint.

electrical? I just figure it needs to be completely re-wired. I do a lot of electrical work, and just accept that I will not find things up to my standards.

Used performance parts? If if has a moving part it is worn. Used turbos all need seals & bearings. A blower that "just needs freshened up" is worn out junk that swallowed a screw...

B.