My main suggetion would be to thoroughly check out the body and sub-frame conditions - thoroughly. This also applies to inside the trunk and interior floors. No need to pay someone else a king's ransom to restore a car body when the ultimate value of said car will never match what the restoration cost. Of course if you do most of body and paint yourself then it may be worth the time and effort. But, at the end of the day, this will never be a collector vehicle and the resale value will only reflect the overall condition. It is a very unique body style. A friend once had a '62 in really good cond. but his wife rear-ended someone at an intersection and, despite fixable fender and hood, the front-end trim and bumper were beyond repair - so, the car was 'written-off'. He had a chance to buy it back from insurance company but declined. End of car, end of story. I do have a factory service manual for 1962. Now, as suggested by TWX, there are many ways to upgrade for performance, reliability and safety. The entire running gear can be modernized so small parts are cheaper and easier to locate. I would also look at the interior condition and design and get estimates for replacing the upholstery and maybe door panels, headliner, dash, etc. (did this model even have a padded dash?) Let us not forget those (nasty) push-button tranny shifters - used thru 1964.
Yes, there is soooo much to ponder and you must price out some parts and services, otherwise this will not be a good choice for son's first car -for sure not the best choice but, it is your choice, not ours. Perhaps something 10 yrs. newer? Keep us informed with what you decide.
