some thoughts/advice would be appreciated

[Quicksilver]

i have in my possession a 1971 Avanti. I bought it in November 21 and parked it in my garage. It is not running.

The previous owner refurbished the front end, replaced the engine with a 305 from a Monte
Carlo, and did a lot of body work. The hog troughs are good, and all the instrumentation is brand new. It has the Turner brake conversion

However; it still needs a complete exhaust system, a radiator mount(it came with a twin fan radiator), some cleanup of the wiring, and complete paint job.

It was given to me with two late model Chrysler powered bucket seats.

As with many project cars, it has sat, untouched, for two years in my barn.

My original plans were to drop in an LS3 engine, a Mustang II front end, and a bunch of other mods, as well a a killer paint job.

Well, like many plans, it hasn't happened. Money and a poor economy has stopped me.

I finally came around to the following changes:

-fast steering arms; gas filled shocks; new high performance steering pump, new carpet, and a junkyard 6 litre GM engine. I found someone who will paint the car to a level that suits me for a very reasonable price.

Overall, the budget has dropped from upwards of 50 grand to around 20-ish canadian.

So here's the dilemma. I just came across a 1974 Avanti in northern Ontario, about 800 miles from me. Driving up to look at it, then coming back to get it  another time is a lot of time and trouble.

From the pictures, I't looks in great shape, although i don't care for the colour; the owner said it would take nothing to do a safety certificate(required when changing ownership in Ontario) and that he would'nt have any hesitation to drive it here. ( he won't actually do it,  but he's confident the car would make the trip just fine). Asking price is $17,000 CDN.

Should i mess around with my current Avanti, spend the money and get closer to what i want, or pay more or less the same money and get a ready made car that i don't have to fool around with with? Opinions welcome.

[mfg]

Off the cuff. I'd stick with your '71.

The downsized work you plan for it sounds good to me...AND IT'S ALREADY IN YOUR GARAGE!

Good luck!

[Desert Driver]

Ya know, $20k on a restoration has a tendency to grow to $30k and upward. If all that you don't like about the '74 is the color, keep your '71 in the barn and save some dough. 

[64studeavanti]

Go look at the 74. If it is what you want, buy it. You would still need to get your 71 running and safe in order to sell, so scale way back on the repairs.

[ronmanfredi]

I would continue on your journey to build your 71.  If you retain your stock front suspension, then I recommend rebuilding it and increasing the caster by adding shims to the upper and lower control arms.  I did that and wrote a post about it on this forum and it made a world of difference in steering and handling.  While a LS is really nice, you could save money by installing a strongly built 350, just a thought.