The Search is ON!

So a few weeks ago I managed to sell my project car. It was a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, Numbers Matching, and relatively rust free. It was a good project car, and I learned a lot about project cars from it. Enough so that I felt like I was ready to unload so that I could apply what I had learned to a new project car. I didn't feel like there was a good resource online to help explain how to buy a "good" project car, so I thought that I would set forth a list of qualities!

How do you make sure that you get a good project car?

1. Clearly define what you want before you start looking. This will be imperative to help direct your search and keep you from making a snap decision.
2. Research the car you've decided to work on. You should look not only at how many of them were produced, what they're currently selling for, but more importantly how available parts are for your desired choice. This part availability is going to directly affect your search. If there are certain parts that you know are more or less impossible to find you're not going to accept a high price tag on a car missing said parts.
3. Search for a period of time. There will be a lot of temptation to go out and buy the first car that you see that gets close to meeting your requirements and is in your price range. Unless you're after a super rare car though; DONT! Give yourself some time to search and look and really decide what it is you want in your project. Do you really want a ton of rust repair and body work to do? Or are you more interested in just having a motor to tinker with while you drive the car daily? These are important questions to answer now before you've taken the initial dive into the project.
4. So you've found a car that meets your desires list, it's in your price range, and local; now what?
1. Ask the seller for basics on the car, when did they get it, why are they selling it, what have they done since they got it? This can give you an idea if the seller is just a flipper or someone more interested in the car itself.
2. Make sure you get the VIN of that car, this will let you verify if the car is original, exactly as advertised, and help to make sure there are no legal issues with the car. Remember, sellers occasionally mis-advertise what they have, this could either be intentional or accidental, but in all cases it is the buyers responsibility to get their facts right.
3. Inspect the car from front to back. Open the door, every door, the trunk, look in every cranny and where possible, pull up carpet and look under trunk mats. Rust tends to start where you can't see it in day to day operation so make sure to really look the car over. Any imperfections found now are good opportunities to try and haggle on the price. If you're standing there in front of the seller waving a wad of bills in their face odds are they'll be more willing to try and make it work than if you try to hash it out with them over email.
4. Does the engine run?
1. No? Not a problem. Do your research ahead of time and find out what tools are required to turn the engine over by hand. Bring these tools with you to the inspection. And engine that turns over freely is not a sign of a good engine per say, but it is a sign that the engine isn't frozen. Worst case, you may need to sleeve some of the cylinders, but hopefully it's better than that!
2. Yes? Fire it up! Give the engine a moment to settle out and then listen for any irregular noises. Any excessive mechanical noise could be the sign of a larger mechanical problem, or worn or out of adjustment parts. If the engine sounds smooth and there's no issues. See if you can take if for a spin around the block.
5. On a test drive you want to take note of a few things. Does it seem like all the instrumentation works? Are the brakes firm or spongy? How does the transmission shift? None of these should really be deal breakers at this point (I mean come on, your project car runs and drives!?) but they are tools to use to try and get a lower price.
5. Price negotiations. The most important thing here is to remember to always be polite. No matter what at the end of the day you're trying to purchase someones personal possession. Remain professional, courteous, and refrain from foul language or insults. If you've done your research well you should have a good idea of what the car is worth. It's then up to you to decide if you want that particular car badly enough to risk insulting the seller with a low-ball offer. The higher the initial price of the car the more likely there is to be some wiggle room. How much will vary greatly and isn't something I can really put a number on.
6. Got the car? Awesome! Now it's time to take care of the paperwork. Title and vehicle sale process are dependent on the state of sale. So do some upfront homework. Ideally you want a vehicle with a clean and clear title.

So hopefully they gives you a better idea of how to go about buying a project car. In short order here I'll go through in detail how I'm going through this process with my current search and let you guys be a part of it each step of the way!

Happy hunting!