Real World Project Cars

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.

Always Carry Cash

Ken — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:47:13 +0000

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.

Buick 4100 Special DeLuxe Project Car

Ken — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:50:56 +0000

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.

My 66 Barracuda becomes a project

Ken — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:32:07 +0000

It wasn’t supposed to happen – I wanted my 66 Plymouth Barracuda to be a turn-key car, not a project car. All that went to s*** last week. The shop that installed the engine and did the transmission conversion called and told me the number cylinder is dead (this is a brand Mopar 318). Engine builder took a look at it and many valves are sticking. At first he said if it was a problem with the machine work he’d make it good but then he started talking about how it could have been caused by bad gas in which case I’ll have to pay to fix it. I call bullshit. He offered to tow it to his shop and take the heads off to see what’s going on with the valves. No way in hell I’m going to let my car sit in an outside yard in a not so great part of town. I told him I’d pull the heads myself and bring them down. The only problem is the header flanges on my TTI headers cover the outer row of head bolts so I can’t even get a flat wrench on a couple of the bolts to remove the heads, let alone a torque wrench to install them correctly. The headers don’t exactly just pop out either; the drivers side header has both the steering column and the left torsion bar threaded through it. The only way I can see getting the heads of is to pull the engine. Well, if I wanted to pull the f*****g engine I wouldn’t have paid big bucks to a shop to do the work for me. Unlike a lot of cars, the engine compartment on a 66 Barracuda is extremely tight and doing an engine R&R is a major pain in the ass.

At this point I don’t know what to do. Pulling the engine myself would be difficult at best since the car is sitting immobile in my garage, ass-end in and my driveway has a steep slope. I don’t want to pay someone else to do it either, especially since I’d also have to pay to have it towed and I had to pay to have the damn thing towed home in the first place. Also I think the evidence points to lifters not being correctly preloaded – not “bad gas.” So any way, I guess the point of this besides just venting is to point out that you don’t always get to pick your projects. Sometimes one is dumped in your lap whether you wanted it or not. I know I’ll eventually get my Barracuda sorted out, but I was supposed to be driving it this weekend, not tearing into a brand new engine.