If you’re like most automotive enthusiasts, you’ve always dreamed of building a project car. But if you’re also like most people, you don’t have an unlimited budget.
Luckily, with a little bit of creativity and some careful planning, it’s possible to build a project car on a budget. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to do just that. So read on and get started on your dream project car!
Tackle the Big Jobs First
Let’s face it, some jobs are more important than others. Before you even think about spending money on paint or a custom interior, make sure that your engine is running properly and that your car is safe to drive.
Things like suspension work, new brakes, and rust repair should be done before you start thinking about changing your car’s cosmetics. This will help ensure that you don’t end up spending gobs of money on engine parts that are hidden by carpeting or end up with an exhaust leak under the dash courtesy of rusty seat brackets.
Buy Used Parts When Possible
Once again, some repairs are necessary no matter what your budget may be. But if you have a little extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, consider buying used parts for other repairs. Cars are simply machines made up of lots of smaller parts. And like anything else, car parts wear out and need to be replaced over time.
Since, likely, the person selling their old engine to you has already gotten rid of everything else they were planning on selling, you can probably get away with not replacing things like wire harnesses or brake lines if they happen to be in decent shape.
Plan for Future Upgrades
When you’re building a project car, just about every repair is an opportunity to improve upon what came from the factory. For example, when repairing rust damage to your car’s body it would be wise to replace all sheet metal panels (that means fenders, doors, hoods, etc.) with new ones that are made of thicker (or even stainless steel) material. Doing this will give your car’s sheet metal the strength it needs to resist any additional stress caused by future upgrades.
Another way to plan for upgrades is by using generic original equipment replacement parts when doing repairs on components like your engine or suspension system. Let’s say you were installing a complete aftermarket fuel injection system in your car and wanted to use the factory intake manifold during installation even though most aftermarket intakes would function just fine.
Doing so would mean you’ll be stuck with the original restrictive design of the intake manifold when it comes time for you to upgrade your motor. What if you were planning on upgrading your engine from the beginning? In this case, you could have installed a better intake manifold from the start.
In short, keeping track of your future upgrade plans will help you avoid being stuck with unsuitable replacement parts later on down the road. This way you can make sure to install upgrades at the time they’re needed, not five years down the line when you’ve forgotten about them.
Do as Much Work Yourself As You Can
There’s no substitute for real-world experience and doing things yourself is a great way to get it. If there’s anything that doesn’t require specialized knowledge or equipment, consider taking care of it yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it for you.
While it may take a few extra hours out of your day, you’ll learn a lot in the process. And when it comes time to install that new set of headers or swap out your engine for something with more cylinders, you won’t have to pay someone to do it for you like you would if you had never done it before.
Find Help When You Need It
On the other hand, some things simply require special tools and knowledge; things like welding aluminum or making custom suspension brackets. If this is the case, don’t be afraid to ask for help from an experienced friend or seek out a mentor at your local enthusiast club.
After all, working on cars is what we enthusiasts love doing and we’re usually more than happy to share our expertise with anyone willing to learn. In other words, you’ll have a much easier time building your project car if you can get a few other enthusiasts on board with helping out.
Set Realistic Goals
When first starting a project it’s easy to want to do too much at once and this usually results in one thing: failure. This is why proper planning is so important when doing any kind of work on your car; big or small tasks alike.
Making sure you’ve got the tools, knowledge, and manpower needed for every job is crucial to the success of your project car build so keep things reasonable if you want to avoid wasting money later on down the road. Working on cars is supposed to be fun all, not frustrating!
Do Some Research
The internet has made it easier than ever for car enthusiasts to come together and share their knowledge with the world. Sites and forums can help you get advice from fellow enthusiasts or provide helpful tips about anything from suspension tuning to engine swaps; huge thank you’s go out to everyone involved in making these kinds of websites possible.
Start Small and Work Your Way Up
Don’t let your project car become too much work for you simply because you decided to bite off more than you could chew. If you want to avoid this from happening, try starting small and working your way up as needed. For example, if you’ve never performed a full engine build before, don’t attempt it on your own first time out.
Instead, find a few friends or mentors who have experience doing the job and see if they’ll help you get started. Once you feel confident enough performing an equivalent task by yourself, move on to something bigger until eventually, you’re ready for something as large as rebuilding an entire engine from scratch.
Don’t Rush Into Major Modifications Right Away
There’s a big difference between a project car and a trailer queen; walk that line at your own risk! While many of us dream of owning a show-winning vehicle right off the bat, it usually takes years of hard work to get there. For example, if you want to start off building a show car by slapping on a fancy coat of paint and some shiny new lights, have fun doing so but don’t expect it to be any good.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for something that will turn heads at your local cruise night or track day without requiring an all-out restoration; consider getting yourself an aftermarket body kit or rear wing before anything else.
These kinds of modifications are much easier to install than they look and can make a big difference in how your project car looks (especially with wider wheels/tires). Just keep in mind that what you do now directly affects what you’ll be able to do later on down the road; literally.
A good rule of thumb is to start small if this is your first project car or larger modifications are way out of your league right now. There’s nothing wrong with changing out a set of coil-overs instead of swapping engines for example but make sure you choose the right task for the job.
With a little bit of patience, you can build your dream car on a budget. If the thought of doing it all alone makes your head spin, reach out to our team today and we’ll help get you started with some great resources for planning and building from scratch!
