[QUOTE=Unintentionally Blank(pssst: http://www.millertwinracing.com/BelfrysBest/ )[/QUOTE]
That’s yours? ::drool::
Fine looking machine, man.
Only driven on Sundays. 
Actually, it’s the Wife’s project car, I just keep it running.
The GM F-body (Camaros and Firebirds) aren’t a bad suggestion. Personally, I’d lean toward a later one from the 3rd generation, which ran from 1982-1992. It still has the large engine bay of the earlier models. You can find one with a TPI 350 and a manual or automatic transmission, depending on your preference. (I’d go with a more recent car, even within those years). The problem with the 93-up F-bodies is that the engine extends back under the cowl, because of the windshield rake. Getting to things can be difficult.
I’m looking currently at a 1992/1 3rd gen Camaro, most likely a 305 TBI with manual transmission (from my own research the 350 TPI with a manual is next to impossible to find). I probably should have mad it clear in the OP I’m really only interested in a manual transmission vehicle, shifting through the gears just feels so damn good. There is also a Monte Carlo near me for sale in very good condition, but once again the lack of a manual transmission turns me off to it, even though body wise the third generation Monte Carlo is the most beautiful thing on earth…
And in this “project car” I am in no way looking to get my money back from the car. It is not an investment at all. I’m just looking to get my moneys worth from the car. Learning enough from the hands on experience while not going 30 feet over my head in trying to work on it to keep it running and have it run at any decent pace (in my head I am shooting for a 12 second weekend car at the end of it all)
This is also the second time the “Factory Five” link has come up… from what I understand those are mostly kit cars? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am more looking to purchase a car that is running and do some minor/major mechanical work and improvements on it in my spare time to get it running and enjoy it… not necessarily buy a car in pieces and put it together.
Thanks for the input I look forward to hearing more… [sorry about the bad job qouting from all the posts, I couldn’t figure out how to officially quote more than one post so I legitimately quoted none of them 
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Factory five is a kit. They quote about 200 hours assembly time. The owners I have met, have told me the most fun they had was building their cars. I know one local owner that sold his 5 year old car (at a profit) just so he could build another.
They have a very active FFrOG (Factory Five Owners Group) message board. If you have any interest, register and post there. A local owner will be happy to show you their car. These guys are as nice a bunch of fellows as you will meet anywhere. They have even been known to have build parties where they put a car together in a weekend or two.
I understand what you are saying about not wanting to build a car, but with a Camaro, or Mustang, if you gut the interior, you won’t be driving for a while either.
If you decide not to go with the FF, how about an El Camino? Personally I like the looks, and they sell for lots less than Camaros.
This is truth. Personally, I’m not sure he wants it to be done. This car has been a part of him for over 40 years. There’s also a male bonding component that he has grown accustomed to. He loves the planning and the catalogs and the TV shows and the banter with his pal. If he finished it, he’d have to find a new project and he’d never love it as much as he loves this one.
I think my husband is conflicted on this. The engine stuff is all beautiful and perfectly arranged with neat wiring and pretty/shiney stuff. He wants to put the $9K paint job on it…which is fine. But he also wants to go under 11 seconds at the strip. WHICH IS IT??? I think he’s nuts to make it both beautiful and a strip car. And if he hits the wall or burns up that paint…well, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.
I would LOVE an El Camino! But I cant find one in any sort of decent shape for cheap compared to say an 87-92 Camaro…
Mr. Stranger Danger cruised my neighborhood in an El Camino. I’ve been freaked out by them ever since. [/mini-hijack]
The only major ‘con’ for a camaro (and in my mind, it’s a surmountable one) is that an engine swap has to come put from underneath. I say it’s surmountable because you only really care about that for the X number of hours you’ll be pulling and reinstalling a motor. I say ‘a’ motor because it’s cheaper than you’d expect to build a separate motor while the ol’ stocker is still in the car. (hint: $250 for a seasoned block) If you build a new motor on the side, then a motor swap could be a case of beer and a long weekend with the guy that’s got the right tools (a two post lift.) It’d suck to turn down a car just because you might have to plug and play the motor from the bottom.
On the Pro side, the Camaro is STOUT, Parts are CHEAP, Cars are CHEAP, and the bang per buck is seriously high.
Sure, tucking the engine up under the windshield is kind of a pain in the ass, but that just makes the sense of accomplishment higher when you figger out how to get that far back header bolt on. (hint: Stage 8 locking fasteners. 
)
You’re only talking about the '93-up Camaros on this point, right? I’ve participated in a few engine swaps involving first and second generation Camaros (I’m quite popular, as I have an engine hoist with a leveler), and we’ve gone through the opened hood on all of them. With a couple, we even did it with the transmission still on the engine.
I take it that a Chevy of some sorts would most likely be the best choice for a project then?
More than likely, I’m basing my expert opinion on an episode on Spike TV. (and I spent the night in a Holiday Inn Express once.)
When you say Chevy, keep in mind that Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and sometimes even Cadillac built a version of the same car which could be a candidate. Yes, a lot of times, GM vehicles can be easier to deal with than Fords or Mopars. I tend to be a Mopar fan first. If you really like some Ford that you saw or a Dodge down the street, they aren’t significantly more difficult to deal with than GM cars. Face it, this is more about love than sensibility.
If I was thinking about getting a project, first I’d decide if I wanted to do a screaming little 4-cylinder front-wheel-drive car or a traditional American V8 rear-wheel-drive. You mentioned a Jetta, a GTI, and an Eclipse - have you decided to go with RWD? Then I’d decide which cars might be fun to have; then I’d see if there were any on Craigslist or if any of my friends or the guys at the parts store knew of anything cool around. If you live deep in the Rust Belt, it might pay off to bring a car back from elsewhere. (Some of my favorite stupid-car-guy stories involve me and/or friends bringing a car back from hundreds of miles away.)
If I were doing another project car (not that I ever will) I’d get a Miata and one of those aftermarket blower kits. I’ve often thought that it’d be fun to drive a blown Miata and surprise the heck out of Mustangs at stoplights.
Lots of aftermarket stuff out there for Miatas.
If I were doing another project car (not that I ever will) I’d get a Miata and one of those aftermarket blower kits. I’ve often thought that it’d be fun to drive a blown Miata and surprise the heck out of Mustangs at stoplights.
Lots of aftermarket stuff out there for Miatas.
Like 3acres said, it depends on what you’re shooting for. A first time car hotrodder could do MUCH worse than wrenching on a Mustang or Camaro.
A person with unlimited funds can build a Bugatti from nothing more than a VIN plate. There’s a lot of spectrum between the two.
Case in point: The Cadillac had a gear whine. I didn’t know the car and didn’t know if it was serious or not. (Long story short, it’s a mid-60’s car…they make noise, it was a normal noise, and I spent a lot of time determining it was a normal noise.
Took the rear-end out of the car and got it over to a driveline shop and it turns out they have no idea how to deal with a ‘Cadillac Controlled Differential’…it’s a part only Cadillac used, and only from about '65 to '68. It’s a great part, nothing was wrong with it and the guy made kind of an interesting observation: “Maybe we don’t see them because nothing ever goes wrong with them.”
I will caution that for a lot of things, there’s Chevy and there’s BOPC (Buick, Olds, Pontiac, Cadillac), for example, the Caddy has a plain Jane TH350 transmission, but it mounts up to a BOP bolt pattern on the engine block. Not insurmountable, and adapter plates are made (but if you’re putting in a new motor, take the next step with a new tranny as you’ll get better gas mileage and avoid the whole bolt-pattern issue)
Miatas are nice to work on as Aluminum had been invented by then. Instructions for doing a clutch job on a miata say things like "remove bolts attaching transmission to engine block rest transmission on your chest and slide it out from under the car.
There isn’t ANYTHING on the Caddy I’d care to have sitting on my chest.
Totally unrelated question: Do you happen to own a GM harmonic balancer installer I could borrow? Or know some good way of getting it on and pressed down? 
Come to a state like New Mexico or Arizona if you’re looking for an older car like that in any condition. New Mexico, at least, has no mechanical inspection whatsoever. (My girlfriend never tires of pointing out cars that would never be on the road in Pennsylvania without some major work, including my Impreza.) The lack of snow means little to no body rust, though the paint and interior tend to take beatings from the sun.
I have as of yet only made two or three solid decisions as to what I want. I want something I can make to go fast by some point, so it has to have engine potential there. And as I am a first timer I’m trying to stay away from doing an engine swap straight out of the gates. The other solid decision is I want a manual and it also must be running and driveable (not necessarily perfectly but being able to drive it home would be a plus) Everything else is up in the air, besides me actually having to like the type of car. For instance I’ve put thought into getting a camaro… but i refuse to get a fourth generation one as I personally think they are hideous.
I havent heard much about newer cars from the crowd yet. Any opinions on boosted four-bangers? Jetta’s, Eclipse, GTI, Civic? I know there is a huge aftermarket crowd for all of them, but how much of it is work I could feasibly do rather than pay to have some shop do it? I do have a reasonable amount of tools at my disposal also, not a TON. But I’d say a decent to maybe a little below decent amount for a backyard mechanic
Just to throw a totally different wrench into the mix - and mostly for myself rather than the OP - what about a Mercedes, something like a 300TD or so, as a project car?