When Buying a Classic What Matters Most–Drivetrain Or Body?

Anyone who ever restored an old car , say 30 years old or more , will agree that bodywork is most labor intensive and will swallow up the most hours and money . Not to mention a good paint job , which with al the rules concerning the environment is becoming a very expensive part of the restoration .
And then when you finally get your freshly painted car body back again , you will not dare to put those dull and pitted chrome parts back again …. add that to the body and then you know ..

This story has a lot in common with a relationship. In fact, it is a relationship. I bought an Austin Healey project, because I had always loved the looks and sound of the car since I was a kid. It had both looks and a nice big engine. Couldn’t afford a fully restored one, besides the restoration project was really what I wanted to do. 12 years later and way too much money spent, I end up with a concours car. Never having driven one, I am worried about driving it, about bumps and scratches and being disappointed about all the stuff that goes with ownership. But I do anyway and I start to really like it, almost as much restoring it. It has nothing to do with a modern car —when I drive it it’s like being in a time machine. I would say that for me it turned out to be the perfect choice, because I put a lot of time into it, it is now paying me back in my old age.

Anyone who has had a car restored will know that the big part of a restoration job is the hours of labour.

Unless you are a skilled mechanic or bodywork specialist, it normally happens that an engine or transmission from most of the old cars we can afford to buy, can be refurbished at a reasonable cost, even if there are some bits missing, because it can be easily removed from the body and fairly easily taken apart, renewed and reinstalled again, but if you own an old car with severe body damage or severe rust in critical areas, the amount of time needed to dismantle, repair (cut, weld, etc), refit, repaint and rechrome, ends in most cases converted in bills that exceed by far the market value of a concours unit of the same car.

I won´t deny that for many of us, passion is the key for irrational decissions but the experience should finally take you to the golden rule of classic car buying: get the best unit you can afford even if it takes longer for you to be able to buy it, and while searching it is much better to lose ten good ones than to gain a bad one

I’d go for a car with a decent exterior and a great engine. The body doesn’t have to be perfect, and I don’t mind some paint imperfections or small blemishes, that way I will actually drive the car instead of being worried it will get a scratch when driven or parked. Here’s the beetle I brought to Europe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qLGh8kEys0

Funny but I just took apart the engine in this picture. It’s a BMW 503/507 series. I am ordering all the parts I need in the next few days. The body is more important…

if you are buying it because cars are a true passion it shouldnt matter. to true car people, body work or drivetrain will never be a question.

if you are buying your classic car to look cool or impress, then yeah, go ahead and agree with everyone commenting here, bodywork is more important for looks. A car drives, that is its essence. a cars essence is not to park and get its picture taken, or be videoed by the petrolicous staff. it is to be driven.

id rather be driving on the road, and not on the side looking at my beautiful bodywork because the drivetrain is wacked. plus real age is earned, not given. that said, my classic car is not perfect, but i plan on keeping it my entire life, so investing in a ground-up restoration at one point in its and my life wont be an issue. my completely biased opinion is, drivetrain.