From my experience looking back my advice would always be to buy a car already done or buy a car that has survived and you are happy to do mechanical work only. Nothing wrong with people being motivated and committed enough AND have the resources to restore a car for whatever their individual motivation is, but the harsh reality is that most people are either not committed enough or lack the resources to accomplish the task. I take my hat off to those that are however I still reckon most who do it end up spending much more than they would have if they bought a car already done, probably twice as much in some cases.