What should I do, I have a 1963 land rover 88 which is in rough shape

[junkyddog11]

If you have a 2 car garage or alternatively a single bay and a large spare bedroom that can be dedicated for a period of an average say 5 yrs.
A large group very understanding family and close friends, because it would be nice to have a few left when your done..... and 20 grand for the bits.......your good to go.
Sounds absurd but its really just an average. Most projects get to about the disassembly and fame rebuild / purchase point. Many make it to the 90% complete look. The last 10% of the job seems to take about 90% of the effort and 30% of the money.....but if you can get there it will be the best thing you've ever done and you will never regret it.
My GF just spent 5yrs doing just this and drove it out of the shop for the first time a couple of weeks back. There is no way for me to explain the emotion or pride / satisfaction she went through that day. Imagine....a 30 something hardware store manager builds a brand new looking 50 yr old truck from a pile of parts with nothing but a "green bible" a little bit of money and a whole lot of love.
So financially its not worth it.

 

[aek50]

Having just purchased at 64 109 that sat in a field for 20 years slowly sinking further into the mud rotting away the frame and any other steel on the vehicle, the thought of returning a rover to the road once again overcomes all other hesitations. Like it was said earlier, emotional vs. rational thoughts here. I don't have previous experience restoring vehicles and little mechanical ability than puttsing around on my RRC, so I figure what better way to learn than jumping off the high dive at the deep end of the pool. You have a 63 so it is 50 years old now. Get to work on it or pass it on to someone else who will get it ready for the NEXT 50 years of it's life. As another series owner told me "you may have a few years of frustration ahead but after that it will be great!"

 

[Charo]

I rescued a '63 model two years ago that had been sitting since 1971. After putting about $1,500 in it, I have a drivable fun truck that makes me smile every time I head out in it.

 

[Rovertrader]

Evaluate the goal/purpose of your initial purchase. If it was a financial 'investment', you can give it away now, and lose less money than restoring it for 'profit'.
I tell people most every day- buy all the truck you can going in...

However, if the initial purchase was romantic- something to save, respite from daily grind, learning process, etc, keep it and build it. BUT, only if you have the fortitude to finish and keep it.

My father-in-law under took such an endeavor about 5 years ago as a retirement project. Finished it in about a year, sold it the next year. Sadly, the buyer bailed because a wire came loose, causing the Rover not to run for about 5 minutes whilst finding and fixing said wire.
So, F-I-L then swaps in a diesel, then a new T-case, drives it a year or two. Now, just sold it last week. First time around, sold for $10k, and was a break even on dollars, and a 'free' hobby, aka nothing for his time. This time after more time and another $3+k, he sold it for $8500, loosing about $5k.

Determine the goal, determine the reality- time, space, dollars, frustration, skinned and oil soaked fingers, elation of completion, etc.- then decide, is it worth it -to you, not us...