Category: Project Car Build

You are thinking of getting a project car, just like I have and so many men (and some women) have done but before you hastily buy a car or get ‘paralysis by analysis’ of choosing one, you will have to ask yourself a few questions first. It is only then that you’ll know if you can afford a project build or wait until you are able too. It is wise to have these answers beforehand as society will also ask you the same frequently, until it sounds like a broken record in your ears, as it is their way to determine if your new aspiration is just a harmless hobby, a way to express yourself, a sink-hole of a money pit or that you’re having illusions of grandeur.

The Questions to ask yourself is:

Time

Do you have the time to spend working on your car after work, on weekends and on holidays? We all as a species may be the same but our work and personal lives are not the same. What is being asked is whether your job requirement leaves you with any personal time for a project. The majority of the economic workforce works an 8-hours/40-hours work week, while others such as doctors, private contractors and government/military personnel can work up to 80+ hours work week and be required to be away from home for long periods of time. If you fall in the first category, then you can afford to spend 2 or more hours working on your project but if you are in the latter, then your project will require planning, advance preparation and unwavering determination on your part to at least work on it yet to bring it to completion.

There is a popular TV-show called ‘NCSI’. On the show, there’s this character named Special Agent  Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a former Marine Gunnery Sergeant, a thrice-divorced widower and the Supervisor of the  Major Case Response Team, stationed in Washington, D.C. We all know what Agent Gibbs personality and work-ethics are like, therefore we don’t need to elaborate on that but the main thing that I want to bring to light is to what he does with his time at home. In the brief clips when guest visits Agent Gibbs house, whether it’s “ducky” or his Boss, it is shown that he is in his basement working on his boat. Imagine that, a busy, hard-working and decorated man as himself is building a boat in his basement. It’s crazy, isn’t it …but, it shows his determination and what he chooses to do with his time.

The other issue to consider is your family and social obligations. What I’m driving at is whether or not that you have a family that requires the majority of your time such as a wife, children, ageing parents …or in worst cases, are you the sole bread-winner in your family which depends on your wages to cover the bills?! Do you have any extra-curricular activities, such as college or on-line training, gym-training ?! Anything that takes up your time other than your work hours. If you do have such responsibilities the best thing to do is to create a written time schedule or download t your phone a time management app the will send you scheduled reminders to keep you on a ‘timely’ routine.

Space

Storage and a good working environment are critical in the process of your project build. You would need a place to park your project vehicle, as that area will be its home until you’re finished with the build. The best places to house your new project is in a fairly sizable car garage in which you have enough room to move around the vehicle without any impediment and no other vehicle needs to be a park in the spot of your vehicle. Small or crowded garages are not ideal as there isn’t enough room to freely move about the vehicle, especially if you need to remove or carry parts and tools. Be cautious when working in the garage as this is where most accidents happen. Insure that it is well light, so that you can see what you’re doing and ventilated if you’re working with chemicals or need to have the engine running.

A Paved driveway. If a paved driveway is all you have, then as long as it is level and it isn’t taking the space of another vehicle, it will be ideal. You should never try to jack up a car that is sitting on a slope! You also should never jack the car up on gravel! Take care not to drop any bolt on a slope or gravel as it will quickly become infuriating to find and clean afterwards.

The Yard, such as the front or back of your house is ideal, only, if the yard is your own (or you have permission from the owner/landlord or parents). The yard (or property) should be sectioned by a fence or a wall as you don’t want unwanted visitors to have easy access to your project vehicle. Also, the vehicle isn’t obstructing the flow of traffic and isn’t making the yard to look ‘junky’, if it does, you will hear lots of complaints by the female members of the family and the “concern neighbours” which can result in becoming the beginning of the end for your project. It is also good to have your project parked in an area that is shaded or can be shaded by erecting a make-shift tent or covering for shelter from the natural elements. There will be days when the sun will try to cook you alive and the rain clouds try to wash away all of your efforts. You will need some shade. If you don’t believe me, wait until summer comes around!

Remember, when you’re working in the yard to make sure you make provisions for catching spilled fluids, as they can damaged the environment.

If you have spare cash, a rented shop or storage unit may be ideal. If you are living in a situation mentioned above and don’t have the permission to work at your residents, then renting a space maybe your other option. People have always used storage units to store their belongings when they run out of space at the homestead. There have also been instances where husbands have rented storage units to hide their “toys” from the unsuspecting wives, so why should this should be any different for you. There is an ‘Upside’ and a ‘Downside’ for a storage unit and a rented shop space. The ‘Upside’ for the storage unit is that you can store your project vehicle, part and tools there. You can work there in peace without interference, leave and return again to pick up where you left off . For rented shop space, you will have access to the shop tools and experienced personnel, if you run into any mechanical difficulties. It’s also good to have access to a car lift which make working under the car much quicker and safer. The ‘Downside’ for both the storage unit and the rented shop space is that both may be charging you an hourly or daily rate, in which it can turn costly. Also, both the unit and shop have hours for operation in which you can go to do some work. This means that you’re unable to work on our project whenever or as long as you want.

Tools

From the dawn of time man crafted tools to aid in the development of civilization. To work on your project, you will need some basic tool which is a socket set. If you’re working on a JDM vehicle, the basic tool you’ll need would be a 10mm, 12mm, 14mm (maybe 17mm) sockets, an extension and a driver to match. With these combination, the entire car could be stripped down to a shell within hours. The tools you would need are as follows:

• Socket Set
• Pliers and Wirecutters
• Torque Wrench
• Wrenches
• Screwdrivers
• Dead Blow Mallet
• Work Light
• Latex Gloves (or Mechanic Gloves)
• Zip Ties
• Multimeter
• Impact Wrench
• Lubricants and Cleaners
• Drip Pan
• Desiccant
• Duct Tape & Electrical Tape
• Factory Service Manuel (Or “How-To” Manuels)

You don’t have to buy everything at once or any of them at all. As you start on your project, you’ll know what tools you would need to complete the task. You can buy what you need or you can opt to rent the needed tools or borrow them from a good friend or neighbour. If you do borrow any tool, make sure to remember to return them immediately when you’re done. Many trusts were lost just because someone didn’t return tools back to the owner or even worst.. they loan the borrowed tools out to someone else who has not to return.

Experience

Society loves to know the extent of one’s capabilities, whether if it’s applying for a job or to offer someone a simple, yet true dating advice. The question will always be, “What do you know?!”. Having “experience” is only important if you are offering your service for a paycheck. The only thing that is important for you and your project is “knowledge”. Consider this for a moment. A baby growing to a toddler doesn’t instantly begin to walk, does it?! Just as the toddler who first have to gain the knowledge to walk, you have to do the same. To gain the knowledge you’ll need for your project, there are numerous of the way for you to obtain it, such as: taking a trade course or online course in mechanics, taking an apprenticeship or asking an expert for help or advice, or sourcing information from reputable YouTubers and “How to” books/manuals.

As for myself, I do find YouTube to be my source of information as it is a treasure trove of valuable content but do make sure to your research. With these videos, you can easily follow along with the instruction as you work on your project and complete it within hours. In the past, you would either would have to hire someone, or spend years in technical school/college but now you have all of this within a click of a button.

I do have to iterate the importance of doing your research before you start to work on your vehicle. Whether you have chosen the YouTube route or the books, do keep in mind to make sure the content you’re viewing is from a reputable person, with “years of experience” in the field, they are giving advice on and that their content is in an easy to follow step by step fashion so as if you get confused on anything. If you do get confused, you can always go back to find out the answer. YouTube Reality and Your Reality are two separate entities. What the YouTubers may find easy to do with their no-problematic vehicle, the magic of editing and their top of the line tools, you will find it 2x harder with your rusted bolts and borrowed tools. Trust me, I Know, with cuts to prove it.

A Plan

Whether it is to build a dog house or to start a business, everything requires a plan and your project is no different. The sole purpose of your plan is to put your ideas to paper and with it, you’ll be able to know what is your whole vision for your project from start to finish. Your (written) plan should list everything that is needed for your project, such as to what work needs to be done to the vehicle, what parts are needed for the vehicle, what jobs that have to be outsource for the project and lastly the cost of everything. Once you have everything listed and the prices or estimated prices of everything, then you should be able to determine what you can do first or not at all by your Budget. Also, you should plan to build in stages as you won’t have all the finances to complete your build from start to finish, Unless your rich (unlikely not). With a plan set in stages you are able to see your progress and enjoy your accomplishment in the process.

A Budget

In Order to buy anything, you need to know how much it cost and how long will it take to get the funds to get it. This is also where the plan (mention above) comes into play as you’ll need to know the cost of the project car you’re aiming for and what all is required for it. The Budget will show you what you can afford from what you can not. Let us say, for example, that you what to build a turbo 4-cylinder sleeper that you can drive daily. The sleeper build can easily be achieved as the exterior of the vehicle will remain stock but there will be some parts you will need to achieve the horsepower such as upgraded fuel system, intake manifold, throttle body, turbo exhaust manifold, turbo kit with inter-cooler, etcetera and etcetera.

These parts are not cheap, even though you can do a cheap china build by buying all Chinese made parts from China but it will still cost you money than leaving everything OEM. For each and every part you’ll need for the project, you will need to know the cost of each item, then decide on how much money will be allocated from your paycheck (Or whether you going to borrow from your Parent, Grand Ma or the Bank) towards your parts list. It can be a fixed amount allocated from your paycheck after expenses each week or a percentage from your paycheck if you’re someone who works on commission.

The Budget will determine what items you can afford to purchase first and what items you will have to get in the future. By dividing the cost of the parts from your pay-check each week, you can determine how long it will take for you to save up the money for your parts. Also, It will also determine if you will need to create a second income or not. Sticking to a good budget will be the key to your success.

“A Budget Tells Us What We Can’t Afford, But It Doesn’t Keep Us From Buying It.” – William Feather

The Vehicle

A project car build would be nothing without a vehicle or the idea of one. When you’re considering potential candidate for your project car, here are some questions you need to ask of your potential vehicle.

• Is it inexpensive to purchase?
• Is it easy to work on?
• Is there a ready supply of technical literature and repair manuals for the vehicle?
• Can it be fixed with common tools?
• Can the parts be easily sourced?
• Can you get help when needed?
• Does the vehicle have the potential to increase in value? (It may not likely to happen, but it’s always good to make a profit if you chose to sell).

There is a reason why certain 4-cylinder vehicles and the straight 6-cylinder vehicles are popular with car enthusiast as these cover all of the above list, easy to work on and working on them makes the project a fun build without a heavy cost. But before you run to your friends to ask them if they know of some cheap cars for sale or source Facebook Groups & Marketplace for one, there are some things you should know and look for in the car. Firstly, How much money are you willing to spend? Is it $500 or $1000? This should should already be in your Plan & Budget. In any case, to buy a car for that price you should always believe that there is something wrong with it even though it is running and driving. Secondly, If the car you want is online, ask the owner for a picture. You want to see the full interior, the dash gauges, the entire exterior, inside the trunk and under the hood. What you are looking for is rust, body damages or anything that will cost you more than what the car is worth. If the car is for $500, none-running but the body and interior are in excellent condition, then it may be worth it as you can just do an engine swap but if its none-running and a rust bucket, then your answer should be a firm “No”. Remember, you just getting into the game. When you’re more experienced, then you can move up the difficulty level. After you have seen all of the pictures and have decided that the vehicle is a good deal, then it’s time to see the vehicle. When you go to see the vehicle, go with someone if you can. Having someone with you will give you security, peace of mind, another set of eye for the inspection and a leverage in case negotiations is needed.

You have already seen the pictures of the vehicle, went and inspected the vehicle with someone or your mechanic and you have determined the vehicle is worth the deal then it’s time to seal the deal but before you do you need papers. Make sure that the owner has the papers/title to the vehicle and that the VIN numbers match the VIN on the vehicle. If the owner doesn’t have the title proceed with caution. The last thing you need is legal problems. Presuming that the owner has the tile and everything is legit, then it’s time to pay. A safe way would be to do a e-banking transaction as this eliminate the need for you to have cash. Ask the owner if he accepts this method. If not, you need to pay in cash. If you have cash on you or have to go get some, always have it already counted and in an envelope. Having it in the envelope makes the transaction discreet, the other party doesn’t know how much cash you actually have on you and it forces the other party to count it. When you pay, make sure you get a receipt for payment. If the owner don’t have one, withhold payment until you get one and have them sign for payment. This is your proof in case a legal litigation. Its better safe, that sorry.

If you made it this far, then a BIG Congratulations to you. Pat yourself on the back and break out in dance (…after you get the car home). You did well.Summary

Summary

So, with that said. Having completed all of the questions/requirements, then I encourage you to get started. If you have not completed all of the questions/requirements, then the question to ask is “What is preventing me? ” The best time to start is ‘Right Now’, when there are great deals on the market and the economy and life is slow (post-Covid-19). The choice is yours. Whatever your choice may be, do what you love and love what you do!