Every once in awhile in the old car hobby a gearhead can have some good karma come along. Especially if said enthusiast has persevered for several years trying to find the car of his or her dreams to build, drive, and enjoy. 

Somehow a terrible driving stranger in a 7-Eleven parking lot totaled Long Beach, CA resident Ethan Gentile's daily driven Subaru by backing into the Subie. So, what did Mr. Gentile do really fast? He did what any American muscle car aficionado might do. He found a 1968 Ford XL sportsroof on a website called Offer Up. Ethan then proceeded to negotiate a sweetheart of a deal for the Ford and drove home in the car.

In highway patrol pony car parlance, SSP initially stood for Special Service Police when applied to the mighty 1982 Mustang. After evaluating a 1979 Camaro Z28 for an 18-month period, the California Highway Patrol asked The Ford Motor Company to deliver several Mustang notchback coupes for testing. The Ford Crown Victoria sedan was heavy duty enough for police duty, but it was underpowered and couldn't serve as a high speed pursuit vehicle. This is why the CHP had tested the Camaro Z28 and wanted to evaluate the Mustang. For whatever reason the CHP didn't select the Z28.

The 1932 Ford, especially the full-fendered roadster and the no-fender highboy variants, are the most built and/or replicated classic cars in existence. These '32's aren't just built back to stock either. There are hot rods, street rods, restored, and restomod varieties to plan and build as projects, or to hunt down and find finished. 

For many, one of the most alluring aspects of the old car hobby is the Barn Find. Practically every gearhead dreams of discovering an old American muscle car tucked away in someone's barn or garage that's a solid, low-mile example with all its original parts. Put some air in the tires, push the vehicle out of the barn, and haul away your rolling, running (one day soon) treasure chest of Americana. As the years fly by, these dust encrusted beauties are becoming ever scarcer, which makes the hunt that much more appealing. One doesn't need to be the automotive version of Indiana Jones to find these babies. One just needs to be persistent and to use all the tools at one's disposal. One such tool is a helpful article that you can check out by following this link: Top 12 American Muscle Car Restoration Mistakes.

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

If you've ever owned or even considered buying a 1987-93 Fox Body Mustang, you know one of the biggest cosmetic issues with these cars is the dry-rot that attacks the quarter windows. These window assemblies are infamously surrounded by what is typically a faded, pitting, and often separating seal around the outer edge. 

What do these three pop culture luminaries from the 1980s and 1990s have in common: John Rambo, Bruce Jenner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger? One is a famous Olympic athlete who won the Decathlon. One is a famous actor and former governor of California. The other is the protagonist in several movies played by actor Sylvester Stallone. In addition to being well-known celebrities, they were all selected as code names by designers at the Ford Motor Company for three different concept cars for the upcoming 4th generation Mustang (a.k.a. SN95 or Fox-4). The John Rambo, the Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Bruce Jenner were all concept cars leading up to the release of the 1994-2004 SN95 Mustang.

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.

From the 1979 model year through the 1993 model, the 3rd generation Ford Mustang spanned 15 years of production. Ford's third-gen pony car is more commonly referred to as a Fox Body Mustang after the unibody, rear-wheel drive platform that this generation Mustang is built upon. A total of 15 distinct Ford/Lincoln-Mercury vehicles were produced on the formidable Fox foundation, including the Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Capri, and Lincoln Mark VII. The Fox platform is the second longest running platform of Ford's illustrious production history, behind Ford's Panther body-on-frame foundation architecture that spanned 1978-2012, or 33 model years. Read on as we take a look back at Fox Body Mustang history.