How do you begin to project car? Let's say you find something such as pic related. How do you learn and figure out how to get the car a new engine and everything hooked up so that the car works? Do you have to go to a shop? And what type of shops do that type of stuff? Do you just throw money at it and hope it works? What resources are out there?
>Basically, for a guy who knows his way around cars and does his own maintenance, how do you jump from that to putting in brand new engines and getting a car from basically shell to dream car?
If you weren't brought up on cars and stuff then it might seem a bit daunting. But it's something you will learn as you go through with things. Try to avoid paying someone else to do the work unless you simply dont have the facilities to do it at home, For example if it needs a respray but you dont have a garage.
Jack Taylor
It's gonna be rather difficult if you don't have someone more experienced to help you out along the way, but you can still do it.
First I would decide on what I want for a project car. Once decided go find the online forum for said car and check out what other people have done. While you probably won't find out all the nitty gritty details you will likely a buyers guide and what free manuals are available online.
If you haven't already go and buy the car.
Buy a repair manual for the car, preferably the manufacturers manual. At the very a model specific manual like the Haynes manuals. I would avoid the Chilton manuals since they usually have little details. People at the forum probably have some opinion on which manual is best for said car, take this into consideration.
Don't have tools? Time to start buying them. For most things the cheap tools will be fine. Many like to buy the cheap tools, and if they wear out buy the better quality tool after that. Personally, I would skip the cheap ratchets, sockets, and end wrenches. At the very least I would get a good ratchet. Cheap ones have few teeth which make them useless in small spaces, also many don't stay going in the selected direction.
At this point you are pretty much going over the car and through the manual seeing what needs to be done. You can ask for help on the cars forum if you get stuck, but how helpful will vary widely depending on the community. Basically you are replacing a mentor with a bunch of random dudes on the internet. It's not preferable, but it's better than nothing.
Landon Butler
Buy a car with other engine options. I did my first engine swap on an e30 going from an m40 to an m42. The m42 was also from an e30 so plug and play but it still took a whole 2 days to get it in.
After I did that I haven't been scared of any work really.
Another thing is try and get a parts car to rip apart and sell parts from. They are a great way to learn the ins and outs of your car without wrecking what you want to keep. I've recently bought a non running e36 for the hood, battery cables, lights and other small things. I've sold the shell and 1 part and have already made up my money whilst putting value into my daily.
Most important thing is to have another vehicle. I'm planning a swap on my car that will be 'plug and play' but i'm waiting till i have the garage space and a motorbike to start it. I'll then buy a parts car with the motor I want and take my time. Not being rushed to get a car back on the road is really important.
Use the forums associated with your car. Read them and wikis till you can say without a doubt what parts you want and what problems you'll encounter doing any work.
Good luck user
Kayden Myers
Research is your best thing, I've learnt heaps from Mighty Car Mods on YouTube. There are many channels on YouTube that cover different aspects of engines and cars. Just search for what you need to know on YouTube and the internet. I've just bought a Chrysler Scorpion aka Mitsubishi Galant Lambda/Sapporo so it'll be a learning experience. Good luck! :D
Henry Sanchez
haynes/bentley/factory service manual and google
I've done about 95% of all my work in a driveway with only jack stands, and the other 5% was when my friend who had spare time at his shop job. for most cars 1980s+ there is shit loads of info for. Older than that the cars are simple enough you should be able to figure it out if you know the basics.
Levi Campbell
Here's a few links of YouTube channels that have helped me, enjoy!
hooking up an engine swap isn't too hard if it's the same engine, a different kind of engine make (say nissan engine in a e30, or k20 in a older civic) if you can buy premade mount isn't too hard either and can find a build log on it too help on top but if you're looking into rebuilding an engine then that is more
one of helpful things just to see someone else doing similar is build logs on forums and youtube videos. like youtube.com/user/aaroncake, he goes through full restoration of an old rx-7, has more detail on everything he does. worth a watch though since he explains everything r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=2791749&posted=1#post2791749 is one of bookmarked build logs I have for rust repair on e30. stuff like that it's easy to find a decent build log with lots of pictures of all the progress and just a general old e30 that's been restored fully
like in the revlimited (which site isn't working atm) he restores nearly everything, repairs all the rust, dips the body, then undercoating as well and seam sealing/cavity wax, then goes over painting the outside and using black powder stuff to get it smooth and remove imperfections and all the work that goes into that (if you're looking into doing that by yourself).
William Torres
also if you strip down a car buy glad wrap bags with writable labels and put every nut/bolt small thing in there and a label with where it came from. put them straight into a bag once you take it off too
makes it easier that if you looking for bolts to put one section back together, you grab the glad wrap bag with that section labeled and have all the bolts there. and you won't lose a bolt if they're in bags too. and since you'll have it stripped down for ages, it's easier to put them somewhere + what I said with bolts being specific to one thing, when you go to put stuff back you can grab that bag for the 1 thing and have it there
also wiring stuff labeled with a tie on or tape that you write on what it is/where it connected make it easier to connect dash and stuff back up.
Cameron Gonzalez
Simple for me it was >buy car you really want >start racing >change parts that really piss me off, like tyres, superheavy bling wheels, suspension that is too low, wheelarches that are too small, chassis that needs a bit of stiffening, head unit that is rice etc
Xavier Williams
I cannot understate this, being organized when you do whatever is important. Nothing hurts more than spending an hour forcing brake caliper off, twisting piston back in, forcing brake caliper back on, putting wheels back on, pumping brakes, packing shit up and then finding one new brake pad in a pile of old ones
Adam Robinson
>suspension that is too low >too low
Adam Evans
>cliff edger dog fucker pretending to know about cars again gg no re
Jacob Davis
Depends what your end goal is 2bh, looks or performance, lower is better as long as you can maintain some travel and good geometry and roll center etc. A car doesn't have to be all performance as well, there can be a balance between performance and aesthetics, and a lower car is definitely more aesthetic.
Ayden Jones
yea. i've also done that with work, which another thing should add is putting all your stuff in cardboard boxes then putting that somewhere it won't get stepped on
I took sme interior stuff off, left it sitting on a bench/floor then trod on it or dropped it and got a crack in the centre console plastic thing (easy to reapir though)
but putting all the shit you take off into a cardboard box keeps it off the floor where it might get damaged.
and like a forum post for stripping interior, some list the socket sizes and everything you'll need for all of those. then you know you'll only need a 10 and 12 mm (well most cars use a 10mm for everything) but also if you need an extendable etc. for getting into places for reach if you're only doing this stuff after work it helps in not messing about when I removed dash I printed out someones forum post who did it, helped with knowing where the bolts were to remove for getting it off
and one of the best things is gloves for not getting shit all over your hands. I get builders gloves for free from work (well a stockpile of them when they're a bit worn out and I grab another pair then put the old ones in my garage) but before I got them I used to buy a 100 pk of nitrile glove it's way better not having hands covered in shit after working on car if you're doing a lot of stuff. and if you're working with it a lot on some days, you can just plop the gloves off and go eat something.. can get sick if you're not careful with some things and just go eat in between work with chemicals/stuff on hands. there's also other risks like if you need to scratch your head (scalp absorbs stuff moreso then other skin areas) or eyes, if you're doing work with harmful chemicals/stuff then it's bad to just do that with bare hands covered in it, with gloves you can pop it off and they'll be clean.
Eli Edwards
>P Plater Mods What the fuck?
Daniel Rogers
>copies all this text off wikipedia >still oversteers a 5hp vehicle at 5mph off a cliff
I'll call you when I'll consider your advice seriously. Don't bother leaving a number.
Easton Price
>loses control at 5mph
Dominic Brown
>copies text from wikipedia lol what, I haven't copied anything, this is just shit I learned when building the custom coilovers for my festiva
Luke Gutierrez
So pretty much what I learned is that you should just go for it. Buy a cheap ass beater off Craigslist and just start going to work, learning from forums and manuals as you go.
Ryan Hill
Yup, treat it like your other car and just buy something and fix whatever you think needs fixing
Nathaniel Hill
>step 1: be rich >step 2: don't be poor
Blake Bell
One piece at a time, bro.
Lucas Baker
One step at a time friend. One step at a time. Buy a car with major problems and fix them. Don't just jump straight into your dream car, just make something nice for yourself.
