Decided to restore your car? If it's over ten years old and under 150,000 miles it's a great candidate for a restoration. Depending on your make and model, too, putting in money to the current car you own might be a better move than buying new, especially with cars that were high-end in the first place. In your restoration, you will want to budget for items that will get your car to the 300,000 mile mark or add at least three to four years more driving time. If you make hard use of the car, plan to search online for the best used or new car parts your money will buy, because there is no substitute for quality in parts when it comes to rebuilding or restoring your main ride. It probably isn't necessary to plan on a retrofit to modern technology at the same time, but there are certainly plenty of add-on kits available if you choose to go that route.
There is no substitute for owning an old repair manual on your make or model and many of these can be found online for sale as well. Everything from the smallest lock nut to matching the exact paint colour can be done these days and all it takes is a bit of research to get started. With most cars, depending on how they've been driven, researching your car manual or taking the car to a qualified mechanic will give you an idea of what kind of work might need to be done, and in what order of priority to make your car roadworthy.
If major work is going on, you'll either have to plan around the major repairs or get a cheap second car or mode of transportation that you can sell off once your project is finished. There are plenty of online shopping sites where such a vehicle might be found for very little money, and in pretty good condition. You'll also be able to easily source car parts online with fantastic websites offering you the option to get the parts you need anywhere in the world. Online auctions and foreclosed sales in your local town are also possible sources for a secondary vehicle, also a "parts car" from which you can strip parts for your project. Advice sites proliferate online, and certainly a good mechanic will be able to advise you on the connections available in your town for parts. If you are mechanical and can do the work yourself or with help, so much the better.