Thread: Any advice for a first timer?

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Welcome to your new adventure. I don't have any idea what your real skills and experience are, but based on the tone of your remarks you're VERY new to this. That's great, everyone has to have a "first day on the job". Now, don't get impatient if you want to be successful.

First, if you really want to be like college students "in the day" throw away your pocket calculator and get a slide rule, chuck the cell phone and pager, and drive a VW bug. Back when, hardly anyone who was serious about his formal education had either the time or the money to mess with rods. They drove "old cars", stuff that was 10-20 years old and that, at that time, hadn't been elevated to some mythic status yet. What you're driving now is not unlike what students drove then.....................although it is difficult to envision a Firenza ever being rod material on a popular scale!

You live in the land of hot rodding. To reinforce awsum's comment, you need to spend time hangin' around events in the area. There's about a bagillion of them. That way you'll cross your first hurdle, you'll start to figure out what you like. Right now you're in the romanitcising phase. You see finished products that capture your imagination, but you've got no clue as to why, or how they came to be. Asking questions here is a decent start, but all be can do is paint word pictures and theorize. You need to get around the real thing to start honing in on what winds your watch. At first, almost anything will. As you learn you'll become more discriminating. You've been in school somewhere between 12 and 16 years so far. And you're not ready for prime time yet (in other words, whatever your career will be). What makes you think building a car is any different? You need to take the time and effort to learn before you start turnin' wrenches. Lots of guys have tried it the other way, most fail.................except for the lessons they may learn. Otto's comments to you are full of gold. How much rust is too much? The real answer is ANY!! That being said, it can always be fixed. But it's much more difficult to do (correctly) than can be imagined. And most noobs ALWAYS underestimate the extent of the rust damage. It's that way with just about every aspect of the car's construction. And honest experienced people will tell you they still make underestimations regarding cost, and time, even after paying their dues.

I could go on with the pitfalls, but don't want to rain on your parade too much. Obviously it's not a horrible thing, or there wouldn't be so many of us here sharing our experiences. It's just that I think your chances of enjoying the experience, and of being successful in this car thing as a hobby (or business if you're so inclined) would be better if you walk before you run.

Building a car is a complex process, made moreso by inexperience. My best advice to a newbie is to get the best car they can afford that is the closest to their ideal, that is already functional. Believe me, you'll spend more time and money than you can imagine just keeping it up and making small modifications as you go along. And in that process you'll begin to hone your skills. You'll learn first hand what you like and don't like. What you're good at, and what you're not. And you'll begin to get a realistic idea of what it really costs to play with these things. Along the way you'll end up meeting some pretty fun people too.