Originally Posted by
3alarmer
.
...I don't know where you live, but here in NorCal the trick is to wait for the really swell ones to come up on CL in reasonably complete condition in your size. Almost without fail, every time I've bought something that was gonna need a lot of work, either on the paint or in finding appropriate components because the originals have gone south, something nicer and relatively pristine comes up within another month.
I stopped buying the tougher projects a few years ago. The rusty ones and the stripped frames were fun at the time, but that time is past for me. And I'm only now getting the last of them finished up. it's very easy to end up with a long line of projects in the garage that will take several years to finish, because they always take longer than you thought they would.
+ 1 finding complete bikes that have largely been garage queens is the way to go and/or cool parts. Buying frames will eat up money. I tend to pick up a bike or two a year that is not my size or that I don't want to harvest parts. I then typically sell the frame.
Restorations can be worth while but it should be a bike you really, really want.