Building your own project car can be challenging and fun and most important can save you a lot of money. Most custom shops charge a minimum of $65 an hour with the hours and dollars adding up fast. Even if you can’t do all the work on your car yourself – and not many can – any work you do yourself will save you big bucks. Time is money and if I can do the work myself I’d rather spend the money on parts or beer. You can read about lots of nice project cars in Car Craft, Hot Rod, etc. but most of those articles gloss over or leave out many of the problems you’ll run into when building a real world project car. I like cars that go fast for the least amount of money and hassle. I hate trailer queens and I especially hate cars that look fast but aren’t. Tubbed cars that run 12′s make me puke. My first love is Mopar but when it comes to going fast for cheap (or at least affordable) I’m brand agnostic. If any of this resonates with you, come back often, you’ll like this site.
My S2000 isn’t officially a project car but the Check Engine light just came on so I guess I’ll be working on it a little. What I don’t understand is it runs and drives fine and I know it’s not a loose gas cap. At first i was going to take it to AutoZone because they’ll read the code for free, but I decided to get an OBD-II code scanner and do it myself since the scanner is less than $30 and we have 2 cars with OBD-II. Also found w web page with good info on the Check Engine light and what it can mean when it comes on: http://www.squidoo.com/check-engine-light-on
Tags: check engin
I haven’t had a good daily driver since my wife started driving our Subaru wagon, so my next project is definitely going to be a daily driver for myself. I need something practical, so I’m thinking along the lines of a Pinto station wagon (or possibly an Accord wagon). I really like the Honda, but it’s front wheel drive and computer controlled and I want something I can work on myself. The Pinto wagon is rear wheel drive (which I prefer very much) and doesn’t have a computer (aka ECU) to go bad. It’s actually very “old school.” At the same time, it’s an easy swap to drop in Ford’s excellent little 2.3l 4 banger with a turbo. I remember reading an old Car Craft article on a Pinto Runabout that was running 8′s with a turbo’d 2.3. On the street I’d go with a milder setup but I should still be able to make enough power to embarrass a lot of “performance cars.” The look on some hot shot’s face after being blown away by a Pinto station wagon would be priceless…
Tags: classic station wagon, daily driver, Ford Pinto, Pinto Squire, Pinto station wagon, small station wagon
I’d pretty much given up on the idea of ever getting a 1970 Cuda but the economy continues to suck and prices are “relatively” affordable. Besides I’m letting my wife buy a house this year so she owes me one:) My first car was a 1970 Barracuda (Vitamin C Orange and Slapstick automatic) and letting it go was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. My favorite is the AAR Cuda. I don’t expect to get an actual AAR because they’re too expensive and I’d be afraid to drive it around Reno anyway – too many idiots on the road. More common versions of the 70 Barracuda are in my price range though and I can build one into a reasonable clone of the AAR. So……… if I can get my 66 running this year, next year I hope to get a 70 for it to share the garage with. It’s more of a collector car than I usually prefer but I did have one in high school so there is that nostalgia thing, plus the 70 Barracuda is definitely the most bitching pony car ever built. The only thing that comes even close is the ’69 – ’70 Mustang fastbacks and I’m just not that into Fords.
I’ve pretty much decided that my next project is going to be a 1971-74 Dodge Coronet. My first choice would be a 1973 Coronet Crestwood station wagon because that’s what my parents had when I was a kid and I have a lot of good memories of family trips, learning how to drive, partying, etc. Any model year from 1971-74 would be OK with me though since they all share the same basic body style. I’m also thinking that if I can’t find a wagon I’ll settle for a 4-door (the Coronet was not offered as a 2-door during this period). I never thought I’d choose to own a non-wagon 4-door as a hobby car, but the 4-door Coronet really isn’t bad looking and I really like this body style. If nothing else, it can serve as a place holder until I find my wagon.
Nostalgia aside, the 1971-74 (actually 76) B Body Mopars have a lot going for them. They’re big (actually huge by modern statndards) but they don’t “look” big. The extra space is nice if your hobby car has to double as a family car, and the Coronet has plenty of room to haul lots of groceries, the kids, etc. If you’re tall like me you’ll like the extra leg room especially on road trips. They will give adequate performance with a well built 360, but if you want any kind of high performance you’d want to drop in a big block or late model Hemi. You can also update the suspension and get reasonable handling, just don’t expect S2000-like handling from a car this size.
Links:
More information on station wagons – http://www.squidoo.com/StationWagon
More information on Dodge Coronet – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Coronet
Tags: Coronet, Dodge, Mopar, station wagon
My wife and I have been looking for a new car, and it’s amazing how many good, solid project cars are available for reasonable prices. A couple of weeks ago there was a rust free 1962 Plymouth Valiant station wagon on EBay with an asking price of only $5200 which is not at all bad for a rust free vintage Mopar. Then just yesterday there was an ad for a 1964 Chevy Nova 2 door hard top. Original paint, solid, rust free body, new engine, new interior, 4 wheel disc brakes, etc. for $10,700. Again, not a bad price for a solid rust free classic car. Of course great deals don’t do you any good if you can’t pay for them, so before planning on getting a project car, find a way to save up some money first. That way you won’t be disappointed with all the “ones that got away.” I wished for project cars for years and never had the money to get one. The thing that finally got me on the right track was marrying a woman who forced us to save money. I don’t get to buy whatever I want any more but when something nice comes along, like a 62 Buick Special station wagon or a 2001 Honda S2000 she sometimes lets me splurge.
With all the crap going on with my 66 Barracuda, I really felt like I needed an easy project to take my mind off of it for awhile so I started looking for something different. I was hoping to find another Mopar. Instead I found a 1962 Buick Special station wagon. This should be a nice easy project, something to get my mind off the Barracuda for a little while. The Buick Special 4000 Series had Buick’s odd fire V6 – not a bad little engine. Many people like the exhaust rumble caused by the 90-150-90 degree firing sequence, but it wasn’t the smoothest running engine ever produced. My wagon is (I guess) is a 4100 Special DeLuxe as it has Buick’s cool little, all aluminum 215 V8.
This car should be just about the perfect project car for an aspiring car crafter. The body, paint, and interior are in excellent condition. The car looks and drives nice and has no serious issues that I know of (yet). It has a definite cool factor too. On the other hand, there are some things to be done, so it does qualify as a project car. Unlike my Barracuda, I’m going to keep this one simple. For now I’m just going to give it a good cleaning and polish, brake job, and then just enjoy driving it for awhile. I’d like to get the transmission rebuilt fairly soon since it has 176K miles on it and I don’t know how long these early Buick transmissions last. Next summer I hope to rebuild the engine and I’ll probably keep it all stock. (however, 10.5:1 pistons are available and Edelbrock has a 4 bbl intake manifold for the Buick 215…) For now, I just want something that looks good, is somewhat unique, easy to work on, and fun to drive. I think this little Buick Special station wagon meets all those requirements. I’ll start worrying about the Barracuda next week.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?
Jesus
When it comes to building a project car, you may not get mocked for not finishing but it’s important to know the cost before you get started. If you don’t it can cause your credit cards to become maxed out, all available cash and disposable income to disappear, and it can even have a very bad effect on your relationships (ask me how I know). Figuring the cost of your project car involves several factors. What are your goals for your project car? If you don’t have a clearly defined goal it’s very easy to lose track of what you’re doing and the expenses can add up very quickly. What starts out as a simple clutch change can end up as an almost completely disassembled 1968 Camaro (again, ask me how I know). Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do with your project car, you’ll need to figure out what parts you need and how much of the work you can do yourself. Once you figure out the parts you need, stick with the plan. Wives and/or girlfriends tend to get really pissed when the $400 you told them you were going to spend on an intake manifold and carburetor suddenly becomes $2000 because you found a really good deal on a brand new Six Pack setup. As for outsourced labor, figure that any quote for custom work is probably going to be too low. Depending on the complexity of the work, figure 50 to 100% higher than what you’re quoted. Some people think this causes you to over spend, but it doesn’t. It just makes sure you have enough padding in the budget to cover any unpleasant surprises. If you budgeted higher than the actual amount, nothing says you have to increase your spending to use up all the money you budgeted. If you did over budget, save the leftover money towards your next project car, buy something nice for your wife or girlfriend, or spend it on beer. It’s all good.