Souring on Project Cars

[Andy]

I know most of us has had a car or two that we were really in love with but it didn't work out. What mistakes did you make and if you had to do it all over again, would you start another project like it.

I know with my Prelude, my first mistake was buying it from an idiot. I wasn't truthful with my budgeting. I went 5k over budget. I bought all the "cool" mods without thinking about whether or not I needed it. And when I finally got everything running, I was too broke and pissed to enjoy it. If given the chance, I might do another 4th gen prelude cause I know it so well and the learning experience was tremendous.

[Mike]

stupid civic.... g damn it....

[JohnC]

I'm finished with the Z. I'm actually still under "budget" as far as my original plans, but that budget was a little too ambitious to start with, and I've got other things to do with the money. And of course the obvious realization that HPDE-ing a 400hp pig isn't going to translate very well into an economical racing situation. And Jess hates it and won't drive it.

Bikes are much less expensive, as long as you budget for the funeral up front 8)

[Mike]

Bikes are much less expensive, as long as you budget for the funeral up front 8)

that is what you pay life insurance for.

[HAULN-SS]

I get frustrated with my SS sometimes. I like working on it, and love to drive it. I guess really I get frustrated more with being in college and too poor to do everything I want to it. It's taken like 4 years to get it where its at now, and still needs quite a bit of money to get to where I want it. I havent even touched the interior yet, and I need to do quite a bit of suspension work. The motor is probably within 300$ of where it needs to be before I'll be satisfied with where its at (unless I rebuild the whole topend again later). As far as budget..I never set one, I just spend what I can when I can..sometimes that means taking a big hit all at once..sometimes it's a slow drip. Oh well, that's the way it is with cars.

[Sijray21]

we'll find out with the VW soon enough...as soon as that ball gets rolling. Right now it has regular problems (window broken/rough cold-start idle) that need to be fixed. I'm not quite sure yet whether i want complete engine swap (12v VR6), a different engine swap (16v I-4), or keep the current engine and work on brakes/suspension which will be done regardless...still doing research for parts and making lists for parts needed and optional parts. I'll need help with that later, but i'll ask when i'm ready to do it.

The teg was orginially going to be the track car - insurance rates are too high - which led to a very short life. Other than that it was going well - sparco 383 steering wheel, LTB quick release, hub, koni's, GC's, intake, wheels/tires, XP-10 brake pads, and ATE blue Brake Fluid. That set-up alone was VERY satisfying on-track. I still have the car, but it's going back to 'stock' soon and the Steering wheel/quick-release, and wheels/tires will be used on the VW later. Once it's back to stock it's going on the market. Great car, i just didn't understand my priorities at the time of the initial purchase. Hopefully i can make the money back i spent on it.

Stopping to really plan/think about where I would like to go project car and budgeting is what i really should've done.

Long Term Goals:
Make VW track/play car (budget to be decided later)
Purchase comfortable-fun daily driver (car decision in-process)
Purchase nice sport bike for fun (bike decision in-process -- 600cc's)
Begin saving for property purchase

[Rex4life]

rx-7 = pissest little bitch to ever exist

when it runs it runs great for a 22 year old car. The shock and springs are worn out, i think i have a cracked swaybar, all bushings need to be replaced, the exhaust needs to be welded so i don't smell like i've been mowing every time i drive it, and being over 175k i'm just waiting for the engine to pop.

future plans = fix all that chit ^ providing enough cash. and keep from parking uphill to prevent flooding

[ViPER1313]

I made the mistake of buying the wrong car with the wrong miles for the wrong price. Still working at it though.

Now, off to install my 3rd alternator in 1 1/2 years!

[Mike]

by wrong car you mean a taurus, right?

[Jeff]

I just wish I could get off my ass and get the Omni running agian...I really miss that car a lot. Sylvia's mom fucked up the paint....damn weed-eaters. Its going to hell just setting around. Whatever...just depressed now...I never should have got a job. All my weekends are gonna suck now.

[Dave]

can we say 3800 lb, engine swap nightmare, barge-like handling mkIII supra from hell (funny since it was red)?
-didn't budget enough money
-pulled engine from car 2 days before my clip was supposed to come in
-clip from Canada never comes in, guy skips the country and I'm out 2 grand
-install suspension all around the car and then let it sit until it runs again
-wait and earn money to buy 2nd engine (eventually bought off Ebay)
-2nd engine is from a Soarer, different electrical diagram, I want nothing to do with that
-buy 3rd engine from guy in Chicago with the most hacked up engine harness ever (didn't even really realize the extent of this until Rex had the car) who sold it as "ready to drop in and drive"
-install engine. Does not idle well, temp guage doesn't work, oil pressure guage doesn't work, small electrical drain from somewhere, tach doesn't work, runs like a bat out of hell and doesn't show any signs of failure
-drive home for a weekend. End up overheating the car just as I'm getting home (miraculous). Car is undriveable.
-tow car back to H-burg (THANKS JOHN!) several months later. Car sits until I can convince Rex to make a trade for his 240.
-later find that the head was warped and had not been properly torqued to spec by previous owner, but I'll let Rex expand on that if he chooses this car to be his tragedy
-I think my total losses in the car come close to 6 grand. That's almost the same amount that I have spent on buying and building the 240 PLUS all the mods I've done to the Supra. Bought the car March of 03, sold it to rex October of 05. In 2 years and 8 months, it was probably driveable for ~5 months.

Lessons learned: Don't trust Canadians or anybody not in the US (even some of them). Don't trust other people's work. Budget for twice what you think it will cost. Do one project at a time and finish it before starting another (wasted money on suspension while car wasn't even driveable). Get to know the car before dumping a ton of money in it; you may finish it and find it was a lost cause.

[Mike]

dave wins...

[Dave]

heh, wasn't trying to win. I still learned a ton, and my mechanical skills improved a bit b/c of this. It was just a doomed project and has given me a lot more knowledge than I thought at first.