Guys I am new to the site but have read ya'lls posts for a long time. I have a 69 conv with lots of rust needs new pans, trunk floor and both quarters have all the parts and am starting the work soon. 350 car non #'s matching but I found some #48 heads unmolested and will build a 350 HO. I am planning on new sheet metal a 69 TA the way I would have wanted it. Carousel red with white stripes painted the same as the vay as the factory but with my colors .Any advice I have always loved the 69 Transam but always thought the colors could have been better.IMHO thanks Billy Ray Dallas Tx

Welcome: You title your post as a 69 shell. For the budget minded, it's the best way to go. Also, unlike whatever you buy that has already been done, you have complete quality control over the build, with budget being the only restraint.

When you start with a shell, it's not like you're chopping something up, and if you have been lurking around here, you know that under these circumstances, the majority will agree that you should build it as you see fit.

T/A clones are nice cars, and they pay tribute to the era. Of course the colors could have been better, but they were about the best that the had to offer in that era. Modern day metallics do wonders for the car's lines, and unlike factory correct colors, modern metallics create natural "pinstripes" on the various crowns in the metal.

Look around and you'll see what I'm talking about. For the first 15 years the paintlife on my car, I had a lot of people stop and say, "Old cars don't do a thing for me, so I never stop and say anything to the owners. But your car is one of the most georgous things I have ever seen."

If you want to impress a judge, do it the way you're "supposed" to do it. If you want to impress everyone, do the car in modern day metallics.

Thanks for the input I will be getting started as soon as it warms a little here in Dallas.Budget is always a concern but doing it right the first time is always cheaper as my Dad used to say. My labor is free (haha) and I love the car even as a serious project. The Pictures on the site of the finished cars give me something to work for.

hey 69conv
i bought my 68 bird in 1986 its been sitting since 1991 and it about to see the road this spring take your time and do it right you have another 100 years on this earth so have fun with it and don't stress about time cus you going to find out it going to take longer and more money than you think or planned good luck and don't give up