Early vs. Late dusters

Most 20 year olds are not as mechanically inclined as 20 year olds 20 years ago, and even less so than 20 year olds 40 years ago.

Add in a college kid budget, which means he has even less money now than a kid in college 20 years ago and buying a non running car to get started with? He’s probably going to be gung ho the first weekend or two and then lose interest/funds soon after.

I’ve seen more threads on here of late teenagers and kids in their early 20’s still in school buying a project car only to sell it on here (usually for a loss) after they realise they are in over their heads.

Folks chiming in here about pulling a 318 in a couple of hours and banging in a running 318 is fine if you have you‘re own shop/tools/expérience already. This kid has never pulled an engine before. The time it takes you will take at least double the time for this kid. Swapping over brakes? That’s gonna take the kid a while to do. Does the kid have a garage/carport to store the car in?

And buying a non running car since it has a shark tooth grill and 8 3/4? That doesn’t help get the car on the road any faster and it won’t mean much to the kid as he looks at a non running investment after several weeks of ownership.

If he wants to dip his toes in the classic car arena, at least go for the running classic (’75). So much lower risk given the age/stage this kid is at in life.