Seeing a particular "old car" sitting there can give you ideas! It can really help, though, to try to define your goal and then consider the best path to reach it.

If you were to have a particular car to which you had some special attachment, and were to want to return that particular car to a certain condition, well, that's one sort of goal. Depending on the circumstances, it can be a very expensive one in terms of money and/or time. Some people find such a project to be very rewarding.

If, instead, your goal were just to have some particular model of car in a certain condition, well, that's something else entirely. Even if you see one that really gets you fired up, you might be better served by seeking out a better example of that model to use as the basis for a project.

Older vs. newer isn't always so clear cut, as it depends so much on the particulars of the car. Condition, condition, condition... I would guess that for just about any model that you might consider, there would be folks here who could give you (or could refer you to a source of) excellent advice regarding what to look for, what to expect, etc.

BTW, I think there still might be an old M-B sitting out derelict in a yard not far from my house. I still haven't gotten up the gumption to knock on the door and ask them what the story is...