Story time from an old b*st*rd:
NEVER EVER let anyone talk you out of what YOU wish to do with your car (unless it's illegal, dangerous, bad for others, etc.). If you want to do a frame off so you know where your base is, then do a frame off. Ensure you are ready to sail the entire trip. It's not for the faint of heart. You must commit to the project and invest in it with time and money. And more money than you thought originally.
Setting a goal is one thing. Planning for it is another. Then executing the plan is the hardest part to start. When I picked up my 85 442 in Feb 85, I knew what it took to pore through a Hemming's Motor News fixing up the old 71. Having been there and done that, I decided right off the bat I was going to start amassing genuine GM parts for my one-day restoration of said car WHILE THE STUFF WAS STILL AVAILABLE FROM GM. Sure, I've seen the "survivors" of the day, those 1965 442 cars with 29,000 miles on them, original faded paint and patinas on everything. They were still great cars, but if I were going to respray a car to make it look new again, I sure as hell needed all that new plastic sh*t too.
My goal was lofty, and maybe stupid to some, but I'm still on my goal. So in April, I started my plan. First few items out of the box, so to speak, was new front grilles and an extra set of floor mats. Then to follow was tail lamp and reverse lenses. Then it was on...over the years, I've amassed all sorts of GM parts for the car. Obscure crap that I didn't even know you could get. Like that plastic edging on the T-tops...interior fabric (TIP- NEVER buy the NOS foam-backed headliner material 30 years in advance- useless. What was I thinking?)...those weird exhaust bolts that have the extra stud pieces for the hot air shroud...name it, I've pretty much got it. Not 100%, but damn near. I'm still identifying the little stuff here and there that I've forgotten, but when I'm done, I'm going to be pretty much darn near the way it was the day I drove it off the dealer lot. I may not use all the stuff, but I'll have it, just in case.
So with the planning still going on for me, the parts issue is pretty much taken care of. I have all the bolts and frame bushings, etc., to do a frame-off, and I probably will. This is a car I bought new, it's never been wrecked and pretty much never saw much weather, let alone winters but they rustproofed it underneath anyway, so I'm expecting no typical rust issues. I ordered it the way I wanted and had to wait forever it seems for it to be built and shipped. BUT- when I start on it in earnest, I'm going all-in. If I don't finish it, it's because I have died, stroked out, or some other catastrophe. I've got $10K set aside for some paintwork, and I'll probably end up putting some more to it. Is it worth it? Not to others, but it is to me. I have the car, I have the parts, I have the money (ok, most of it) and now all I need is the trigger to get started. Maybe next spring, or maybe fall. I dunno.
No modifications, and don't expect rust or other cutting/welding operations, so it's basically going to be a strip/clean/refinish/reassemble operation.
