What kind of project car should i buy

That drives what happens next. Some people like body work, others like engine work, others like fabrication. If you have sufficient support from people who have done it before, you can jump right in. If not, it comes down to money. Learn basic car maintenance and expand from there. I found that once you have the basic knowledge you can jump into some quite complex projects if you research properly and take care.

You will make mistakes. Some will be expensive but exentually you will get good at it and you will be able to have the car you want. For electronics folks, there are quite a few opportunities to build car electronics such as custom ECUs, data logging, entertainment systems and so on. I will be building a data logger, a custom ECU and electronic turbo controls at some point. Once you start to mod a car, it is hard to stop. Some cars newer than that were also optioned without emissions controls.

So if it was federally allowed it should be able to get stickers. I got a 91 Probe LX with no emissions control from factory. Hoping to never need a comp for it because all I ever find are cars with it. The reason was that manufacturers often sold them as a cab and chassis onto which 3rd parties would mount all kinds of things.

Flatbeds, van boxes, ambulance bodies, wrecker cranes and more. It was impossible to test all the potential variations. And there are some open-source examples of various sorts of hacks.

For GM stuff, the software only recently became available, so things are just getting started. I was pretty active in the Subaru community for a long time, learned a lot from people there, and enjoy it a lot.

Dude it was replacing a sensor, anyone with a 8mm socket could have done it or OMG you have to rent a special tool to press that ball joint in. He would ride everyone until they left and made newbs leave because he made the smallest thing seem impossible. I frequent only a handfull, but you basically summed it up, either people bashed newbs till the forum died, or server costs killed it, or the forum owner just got fed up.

Photobucket messed up alot of good tutorials too when they decided to lock down hotlinking. Full pdf service manuals available and forums where all the niggles have been discovered, so you can just work through the likely fixes one by one.

Jeeps are fun, relatively simple vehicles to work on and modify, but oh lord, you can spend a lot of money on them wirhout trying very hard. Looking forward to being able to drive it again. Its always the first step as you are more than likely going to need an extra set of hands to fix something at some point.

Engine swaps that CARB will allow, are relatively rare. So any attempts at woodgas systems, homemade hybrids, or weird veggie oil diesel engines in small cars are right out. In state: Farm exemption probably trucks only, though. Used car dealer license — drive without registration. Fair warning, this assumes one is from the US but the basic principles still apply:. So when considering a first project, think about the memories you want to make and then go from there. Do you want to emphasize learning about cars and how they work?

Like super simple, and plan a large scale project that revolves around taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together. And nothing beats taking something apart and putting it back together again in terms of learning how it works. Possible candidates: to keep it affordable, go for basic passenger cars from the 80s through about Ford Festivas are a really popular option in some circles, but you could also go with a base model Subaru or the like.

Basic passenger cars are much much easier to find parts for, with some models still supported by the manufacturer. Do you love driving and have a competitive streak? Go racing. They run events like autocross, where folks get out everything from daily drivers to fully built cars and run around parking lots and airports in timed runs no wheel to wheel.

The culture is usually pretty great too, no wheel-to-wheel results in a less adversarial culture and folks are more than willing to help out new folks. Possible candidates: the list is long, and a lot of these cars start out with a sporty daily that gets slowly modded over time into something faster. Are you more into the restoration and collecting side of things? Possible candidates: There are some cool old Datsuns, Hondas, and Nissans out there from the days when the Japanese were coming into their own in the early 80s that are dirt cheap considering their rarity.

There are some options in the world of european imports, but you might be paying more. If the idea of jumping in and buying a car to mess with is still overwhelming, start with some basic maintenance on your daily driver.

Doing brakes, oil changes, even something like a power steering pump is a good way to build some confidence to make the jump to something bigger. Most of all, have fun! If you are sure that you want a Miata, you can search exclusively for a Miata and find exactly what you are looking for in one of the examples you see for sale. Why do we want the car we desire though? Well there are a lot of factors which impact why we want a certain car or type of car.

But the single largest influence on why we want a car is those who surround us. I have another post which delves into who and how society influences our decisions with cars. Here though I am going to open up the question of the viewpoint society takes with a project car. Those who own a project car are perceived as more devoted to their aspect of car culture than those who do not. You only have this car to both get you both to work, and to enter said track day. So the only mods you are willing to do are things like cooling upgrades and maybe better brakes to make your sessions last a little longer.

All this person needs is a trailer, a hitch, and some basic sense of driving a trailer. This person can build their track car to specialize in being the best it can be on the track. This is the car which is going to be capable of beating what would be expected to be much faster street cars on the track. So between these two individuals, how is a group of enthusiasts going to interact with the two and what differences will be seen?

A group of enthusiasts will for the most part, avoid the civic with all of its body panels, and start visually picking apart the specialized track toy. A car which has the mods which others want to do is going to satisfy the demands of society more than a car without them. Anyone who asks the civic owner about their car will get the response of wanting to take part in track days, but not being able to specialize their car because of everyday driving needs.

And the owner of said project car gets the praise and attention of their peers. This both satisfies the need for acceptance from peers for the owner of the project car, but simultaneously creates a feeling of disconnect from the community which the non-project car owner wishes to enter. And the most obvious way to rectify this situation is to obtain a project car because it symbolizes devotion to an aspect of car culture. This can be a reason why so many project cars either never get finished or never really achieve the goals they were intended to.

They could have been purchased as a solution to a social issue they felt, but did not fully understand. And lastly, will we even still want the car down the road? Again if you have desires which are very susceptible to which part of car culture influences you that day, this can be a huge issue. If someone is purchasing a project car to get a stronger foothold in car culture this is very risky. We only have so much time and money which we can spend on a car.

We have another amount of time and money which it will take to get the car to where we want it. And we still have another amount of time and money which we intended on spending on this part of car culture.

With all the inequalities between these situations, is it safe to buy a project car? So instead of choosing to round up this blog with hypotheticals, I feel that it is more appropriate to bring what little experience I have in this field to the table.

A smidge over a year ago, I bought what is undeniably, a project car. I have a MG Midget which a previous owner stuck a into. Over the year, really nothing has changed about the car.

The Datsun Z is the direct predecessor to today's Nissan Z—and anytime a model directly spawns so many generations over so many decades, it's a great sign that the original was something truly special. A unicorn Z might cost a pretty penny, but beat-up used examples are great project cars that combine iconic long hood style, neutral balance, and mechanical simplicity.

Keep an eye out for rust while shopping around, but other than that, just about any Z is a great place to start for either a restoration job or a seriously sporty build complete with a big V8, fender flares, and a roll cage. The ridiculously wide rear tires on this Mustang reveal exactly what makes the Fox Body such a great starting point for a home project: namely, that anything is attainable underneath that classic s exterior.

Ford built the third generation of the Mustang with a range of engine options and even modified some examples from the factory in a tough enough spec for use as police cruisers. With up to a 5. Fox Body Mustangs also tend to look amazing when modified. Possibly the best overall deal on the used sports car market right now is a well-maintained Porsche of the generation.

The occupies a low end of the depreciation curve thanks to the fact that it's the first with a water-cooled engine, its interior is a little less luxurious than expected, and of course, the infamous IMS bearing fiasco.

But a that's had the clutch and IMS replaced and the rear main seal, as well is one of the most reliable cars on the market right now, and with horsepower hovering right around from a Variocam flat-six engine, there's plenty of grunt to go with the model's light curb weight. Subaru has gained a rabid following over the years partially because of their legendary rally success and partially because their cars always seem to reach the perfect blend of performance, utility, and affordability.

A Subaru WRX or better yet, STI is a bit more of an advanced project to take on due to the relatively complex engine bay layout which has to balance the shape of a Boxer engine and an intercooled turbocharger, but with plenty of help available in the form of online forums—plus cheap factory and aftermarket parts availability—the higher end Imprezas make a great way to learn about cars while enjoying a daily driver that's equally at home driving hard and fast or up the mountain to the ski slopes.

The earlier years of the Audi TT make a great starting point for a modding and tuning project. Audi packed a good amount of horsepower into the little coupe to go along with its unique style, but there's a lot of potential to be found, even still. The TT also shares plenty of parts with its contemporary Volkswagen Golf and Beetle siblings, making aftermarket support both readily available and relatively affordable.

Throw on a few suspension modifications, especially an upgraded rear sway bar to compensate for nose-end weight, an ECU tune, and the project is already well underway. Up into the higher budget for sports car projects is a model that was generally reviled by the industry until only the last few years. And while plenty of enthusiasts might still think the is just a VW-powered, cheap , in reality some subtle differences in geometry can make a sorted quite a canyon carver.

Starting with Porsche's perfect exterior, simple and surprisingly roomy interior, and eminently wrenchable mechanics, a can easily turn into a nimble little sports car or a showstopper, all while the 's engine doesn't hang off the rear end as far as a 's, making for more predictable handling under hard cornering.

But just like a WRX or STI, the combination of powerful, turbocharged Boxer engine and Subaru's legendary all-wheel drive make the Legacy GT a serious performer, and one that can be had in a full-sized station wagon body.

Even the interior is put together with a higher quality level than the Imprezas, making the Legacy GT a great way to start a cheap, used project. With collectors having sufficiently inflated the value of other boxy off-road classics — such as the Toyota FJ40, International Harvester Scout, and Ford Bronco — the Suzuki Samurai stands out as one of the last of such cars yet to be snatched up.

Count on these becoming harder and harder to find. While this can lead to some sad and neglected examples, others can prove quite a find when it comes to budget project potential. But with a bit of patient searching and some luck , you can easily snag a i. Available as a roadster and as a GT pictured here these cars are extremely popular amongst automotive enthusiasts. When considering a potential MGB project, be sure to check for rust — British cars are notorious for the stuff.

For all of its flaws, the has managed to leave the world of budget project cars behind. However, the is still regularly affordable with reasonably low miles. If you have your eye on a , get your hands on as complete a record of maintenance as you can. Second to the Beetle, the Volkswagen Golf is one of the most prevalent models the German marque produces. In GTI form, they make for lightweight little hatchbacks that offer tons of driving fun.

Bag it, boost it, or bring it back to factory condition — the world is your oyster when it comes to the end result. Even a cursory search will show you just how thriving the VW wrencher community is.

Older Volvos have tons of qualities that make them ideal platforms for getting your hands dirty. For instance, their spacious engine bays allow for easy access to components come time for maintenance.

Buyer beware — depending on the fix, some parts can be hard to find as is the case with most Swedish imports. Getting your project car back on the road is only part of the experience; the real fun comes when you decide to start making it your own. However, some cars are more readily-accepting of aftermarket modification than others. HiConsumption is reader-supported.