Back in the early 90s during my 4 years with Uncle Sam’s Haze Gray Sailing Club, there was this guy who would by a couple of the old 70s big cars for a few hundred bucks.
He always seemed to have two at any given time and I think that was the most anyone on base was allowed.
Of course they were never like models at any time and he would spend thousands to keep one going more than a few weeks. He was always broke and could never figure out why.
On one deployment on a couple of paydays, for some reason, he opted to be paid in cash. I was a direct deposit person. I signed up as soon as I could. Wise advise from my 80s era Army uncle.
Anyway on BOTH of those occasions, he put his money in his shirt pocket, went to put on coveralls, and leave his shirt hanging where anyone could walk by. Both times, he came back to an empty shirt pocket.
When you’re buying old beaters you’ve got to have a very good eye, or a friend with a very good eye, a bit of luck, and be dedicated to treating the car very well. Ed, my friend who gets the super cheap beaters, goes over them very closely before the purchase, knows what’s broken, how important it is, and how much it will be to fix, all before purchasing. Then after purchase and initial repair he’s religious about preventative maintenance, and not pushing the car too hard or too fast. He’s good at getting 10,000 or more miles out of his little cheapies, slowly and with frequent oil changes.