Spending her entire work life as a Yuma, AZ farm truck, her well-earned hard work scars now shine bright in the Southern California sun. According to her personalized black and yellow vintage California license plate, she may still be working for a living. Though that may just be a disguise.

The old car hobby is exploding with an ever-expanding universe of restored, customized, patina mobiles, restomods, lowriders, classics, exotics, super cars, hypercars, and etc. These new creations provide enthusiasts with ideas for the next project vehicle to own and build. Classic Industries also helps by supplying the parts. Pro builders like the Ring Brothers provide plenty of inspiration for those looking to create a restomod.

This article's topic may be a sore subject for some readers. There are likely to be several gotchas in this list, where a gearhead or two (or several thousand for that matter) might have rushed headlong into purchasing and starting a classic car renewal project that goes awry and is hopelessly stalled. It's not something to beat yourself up about. It's called being human and making mistakes. Don't let the fear of making a boo boo or two get in your way of reading this article for some helpful hints on getting your old car project going or restarted. If you keep these muscle car restoration mistakes in mind, you won't fall victim to them in the future.

Our lead photo of a restored Lemon Twist yellow 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda is courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

The Most Common Muscle Car Restoration Mistakes

Car and truck designers and engineers are well versed at evolving and improving vehicles through sometimes subtle and other times dramatic improvements. A vehicle that exemplifies subtle and artful design changes is the 1967-1972 Ford F100. These model years are known as the 5th generation of the world-famous Ford F100. In this identification guide, we'll show you some styling differences that can help you distinguish each of the F100 model years from 1967 through 1972. We'll also take a look at the engine options that were offered for these classic F-Series trucks.

A beguiling beauty to be sure, Betty was first sold at A.G. White Company, in Cartersville, Georgia on April 28, 1972. A.G. White Co. was an old Ford dealership that was established way back in the early 1900's. Mike McCarthy gave his 1972 Ford F-100 Explorer Special the moniker of Betty not long after he purchased her from a farmer in Kansas in 1996. He then gave Betty a new career when he entrusted her with towing his 3rd generation Spec Racer Ford (SRF3) upto Willow Springs Raceway for campaigning the car in some SCCA road racing events. Betty provided over 10 years of trustworthy trouble-free service before the rusty floorboards forced her into a well-deserved retirement and several years of storage at the McCarthy home in Surf City USA.

Lighting technology has come a long way since the late 1960s, with one of the most significant developments being the introduction of light-emitting diodes, also known as LEDs. Modern LEDs produce far more light output than the sealed beam lights that were installed in vehicles in the '60s, and they're also much more efficient and reliable. This results in better visibility of the road ahead, and better visibility of your vehicle to other motorists. For these reasons, our friends at Ford Muscle magazine recently picked up some parts from Classic Industries to convert their 1969 F-100 to LED lighting.

No matter how well-made and durable a classic vehicle is, the passage of time always takes its toll. Case in point, take a look at this 1969 Ford F-100 that belongs to our friends at Ford Muscle magazine. The amount of rusty patina on its body panels is a sign that this truck needed a little TLC. Specifically, the glass and weatherstrip on its cab were cracked and severely deteriorated. So, they picked up some original-style replacement parts from Classic Industries and got to work restoring it. Read on to see how our 1969 Ford F-100 parts improved this project truck.

Each classic car is an expression of its owner's taste and personality. Some choose to restore their vehicles to factory condition, with every last nut and bolt put back to the way it was when the vehicle left the assembly line. Others prefer to incorporate some slight modifications, such as a new set of wheels, coilover suspension, or a disc brake conversion. A few choose to diverge from tradition with major mods that speak to their independent attitude. Guy Moore, the owner of this 1955 Ford F-100, falls into the third category. That's why he decided to drop a Chevy LS1 under the hood of his Ford truck.