Very cool. My son is turning 16 in a few months and I was thinking it would be very cool to restore a car together for him. But not really being a car guy, have no idea where to start. Just love the idea of working on something together with my son and having him drive a car that he and I worked on it together. Likelyhood of this happening is slim to none, but it would be very cool. Remember this girl driving a 69 red convertible mustang in HS. Loved the car.
Did just that with my son when he turned 16. I've been into cars since I started driving (in 1968 - yikes). When discussing a vehicle for him I suggested an Accord or Camry, reliable and easy to repair if needed. His response was Mustang Convertible! My response, that's not a car for a 16 year old boy, that's a coffin! At the time, my son was working in a LFS and the owner was into Oldsmobiles, and indicated that many of the older cars (1960's) had full frames from bumper to bumper. So we looked around and found a guy selling both a 1965 Olds f-85 Cutlass, and a 1972 Cutlass. My son liked the '65 and it's body line was similar to that year's GTO, except with horizonal headlights. It was completely stock with original paint and Oklahoma mud all over the underside.
I advised against it for several reasons. First, it would likely be sitting in front of the house 75% of the time waiting for parts, as this car is quite rare. Second, gas mileage is measured in gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon. But I also felt it's time for a life lesson in decision making, and let him decide. he decided on the '65 and we drove it home. We spent alot of time in the garage working on it, and my first prediction came true, it was forever in the garage. But, we pulled the motor together, and replaced the entire front and rear suspension components together, as well as transmission and rear end. Car broke down a number of times, and I had to go out with my 72 el camino and push his car home several times! Well, long story short, he's 36 now and still has the car, albeit with a 455, 4-speed automatic, 12 bolt chevelle posi rear with 373 gears and a Maaco lacquer paint job. The project taught him about resilience, never give up, etc., etc. and gave me a whole of experience in doing these things (and tools, etc.)
