Real World Project Cars

Subaru BRZ – as a project car???

Ken — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:46:48 +0000

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with Subaru. On the one hand, I’ve always liked the Subaru Brat (wish they still made them), the first new car I ever owned with my wife was (is – we still have it) a Subaru Outback, and they have a reputation for awesome reliability. OTOH, our Subaru hasn’t exactly lived up to Subie’s reputation for quality, and the Boxer engine means that the engine needs to be removed for really stupid things like, oh, replacing the timing belt which is supposed to be done every 60K miles… guess how much it costs to replace the timing belt on a Subaru Outback:) Also, the styling of Subaru cars is not exactly “Kate Perry” – it’s more “Elena Kagan.” That might cut it for a family car, but for a project car??? ANyway, a couple weeks ago we were in the local Subie dealership (my wife is in the market for a new car) and I noticed a brochure for a new car – the 2013 Subaru BRZ. Holy crap!!! Is this thing really a Subaru??? I mean it is downright sexy!!! (I found out Toyota did the styling – I guess that explains it). The BRZ is a wickedly pretty 2 door coupe with an optional automatic transmission (so my wife could drive it) and it’s Rear Wheel Drive!!! So why would (or should) a brand new Subaru BRZ be considered as a project car? Well, in spite of the good looks, the BRZ only has 200 HP which means it’s going to get stomped by every kid wearing a backwards hat and driving a clapped out Honda – NOT ACCEPTABLE. At the very least, I’m thinking the BRZ needs a nitrous shot to avoid getting embarrassed on a daily basis. Even better would be a turbo kit. I wonder if one could fit under that low, sleek hood…

The Radiator Is Out:)

Ken — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:26:53 +0000

A couple weeks ago I talked about finding help on forabodiesonly.com and today Tristan came over to help me get the radiator out. After about a half hour of poking and prodding we decided to try bending the flange a bit, the some prying with a bar and… it’s out (with no cutting). I’m still pissed at the shop (B&T Custom – Reno) for putting it in the way they did – also don’t like the trimming they did on the flanges (looks like crap, pictures coming soon) – but at least it’s out so hopefully the first nice weekend I can get the engine out and find out why the valves are sticking. My birthday is in late April and it would be really nice to have it back together and running by then. The next thing after that will be a new rear end but to do that I also need new rims and tires so not sure where the money will come from. I have a little saved up but the wife wants to buy a house…

For A Bodies Only

Ken — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:12:40 +0000

Well, I’m getting sick of my Barracuda sitting in the garage for almost 2 years so I decided to do something about it. Exactly what, I don’t know… I had a friend come over and look at it and he couldn’t figure out how to pull the radiator without cutting something. Maybe I could take it to a shop but I’ve already sunk enough money into it. So… did some looking around the web and found a great site dedicated entirely to Mopar A-Body cars – ForABodiesOnly. They have lots of forums and in particular one for early A Bodies – i.e. my 66. I posted a request for help, low and behold someone on the forum lives in Reno and is willing to help me out. I’m taking next week off so hopefully the radiator (and engine – fingers crossed…) will come out and I can finally get it running this year. Anyway, if you’re into Mopar A Body cars be sure to check them out. A great resource…

For A Bodies Only

In Search of a Mopar

Ken — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:56:02 +0000

I’ve got 2 small block Mopars sitting in my garage and I want to find a car for one of them. One is a 273 and the other is a 360. The 273 was the stock engine in my 66 Barracuda so if I rebuild it, I’ll probably build it pretty close to stock. I guess that means a first generation Dart or Valiant – which are kind of hard to find without a lot of rust. The other is a Mopar 360 that came out of my parents’ Coronet station wagon so it has a lot of sentimental value. I’ve had it since 1988. I also have the original cast iron 4-bbl intake manifold for it and I just found a correct Thermoquad in like new condition. It would be nice to find a 73 or 74 Coronet (preferably a station wagon) to put it in. That’s about as big as I’d go with a Mopar small block. I think most of the B bodies are too big for a small block. Even the Coronet is kind of pushing the limits for the engine.

Check engine light on in my Honda

Ken — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:53:52 +0000

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

In Search of a Small Station Wagon

Ken — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:30:11 +0000

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…

1970 Cuda

Ken — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:02:41 +0000

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.

1971 – 1974 Dodge Coronet

Ken — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:28:07 +0000

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

Accidental Project Cars

Ken — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 04:00:55 +0000

Sometimes you don’t get to pick your project car, you have to work with something that gets thrown your way. My 66 Barracuda is an example of an accidental project car. I never wanted it to be a project, but paying someone else to fix my brand new f****d up engine amounts to throwing even more money down what has become a $15K Rat (no relation to big block Chevies) Hole, and letting it just sit amounts to flushing the $15K already spent down the crapper. So I’m kind of forced to take it on as a project, at least if I don’t want to get divorced (which I don’t). Even though I wish the would have turned out to be a turn-key car, I’ve noticed some things I can change to make it better now that I have to work on it any way. So making it a project isn’t all bad.

My wife’s Corolla is another example of an accidental project car. A few weeks ago the transmission stopped going into forward speeds and it turns out the repair costs more than the car is worth – at least more than it’s worth as just a driver any way. As a project car, it just may be worth the cost to repair though. I’ve never really been into front wheel drive or Japanese car, but this little Corolla has really impressed me during the time we’ve had it. I’ve been doing some reading on this car and it turns out there is a lot you can do to make it faster – head swap, intake and exhaust mods, even a turbo kit. Since it’s essentially a free car, I can try any thing I want (at least if we decide to keep it as a project car) and not worry about screwing anything up.

Neither of these cars would have been my first choice as a project car for different reasons. It turns out though that both are excellent potential projects (being rust free is a big plus). As they get better looking and faster, I’ll be learning a lot. What more could I ask for?

Super Car Performance on a Beer Budget

Ken — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:03:00 +0000

We just bought a Honda S2000 for my wife and I’ve been doing some reading on it. Many of the reviewers compare its performance (note: the S2000 is no longer in production) favorably with cars costing up to 3 times as much – that puts the S2000 into Chevy Corvette and Dodge Viper territory. So how did they do it? The Honda S2000 has a DOHC 4 banger that cranks out 245 horsepower. It might not sound like a lot but the car only weighs about 2800 lbs. That puts the p/w ratio of the S2000 about in the same range as a 70 Cuda with a 383. And that got me thinking… I’ve always been kind of a “Buy American” guy, but that’s pretty impressive. I’m used to messing with cars that weigh around 3200 to 3500 lbs, with engines that make around 300 HP. What would happen with a little 2800 lb car with a turbo’d 4 banger cranking out 500 HP? I’m guessing it would be a blast to drive. I don’t think I want to build an S2000 but Toyota made a few rear wheel drive cars equipped with fuel injected DOHC engines… I may just have to look into one of those after I get my Barracuda back on the road.