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Old 09-30-2017, 08:29 PM   #1
18frszymanski
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Pulaski, Wisconsin
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Post Project car time? Lets give out some advice!

Hello, I'm new to the whole "car forum" deal so excuse me if I do not get back to you right away or have issues navigating the site. Never the less, I'm here to help others and try to give advice. So my first post on here is maybe for the younger people like I was at one point (and kinda still am). Also the older guys (older than me lol). So here I was brought to write this post. Project cars. Yes, the age old topic. The once cheap, easy, and very fun hobby (or job if you're lucky one day). Its still fun don't get me wrong, but its dying! As the older generation leaves us we begin to see less and less cars built by hand stay with us and more cars built by a shop begin to enter the streets. I've never turned my cheek at a bought car that's been juiced up by a shop compared to a beautifully hand built tuner, street rod, drag car, etc.. I digress, kids entering our new generation are becoming scared I'd like to call it to dive into a project car. That's my opinion as a simple google search doesn't give me a easy to read graph of the generations wanting to build a car themselves, sadly. However this should not be the case. Lets give an example, of myself. I was 17 years old. Never had a single family member to introduce me into cars. Never had someone to show me how to torque a bolt down to stock specs. Never had someone to show me how to drive a stick. Never had someone show me how to do body work. Never... Ok you get it. I had the short end of the stick. I turned 17 and got myself a project vehicle. Why you may ask with my "short end of the stick up bringing"? Well I thankfully had a very good friend and to this day a very good friend introduce me into cars. He showed me what horsepower was, how to compare it to weight of a car in order to size it up before a little hillbilly mid night race down some old back road. He really showed me the guts of cars and the wonderful people around it are. He introduced me to my project, showed me people to talk to in order to get help on particular things while throwing away every hard earned penny I devoted to a project car. He really did me a justice. However a lot of us do not have these kinds of people to show us how or where to get started. So I'm going to get started of what you'll need to start a project car, truck, bike, etc going in the right direction!

What should you know?
Nothing. I knew nothing at first on my truck when I first pulled it apart to rebuild it. YouTube is a blessing and showed me what are common parts. Parts to replace, how to modify it, etc. Books, lots, and lots of books! Get your 20$ from your next pay check and buy a book that goes with your make, model, modification, or whatever and read! Us car guys are notorious for not liking to read. Break this damn awful habit because if you decide to make a career out of your project car and its habits you'll need. So suck it up and read!

Where?!
Where in the hell do you put it when you decide to get it. Well I hope you didn't get it and live in an apartment and you're now stuck with having to build it in a parking lot. Hit up some buddies who might have a little extra space in a garage or shop they don't mind sacrificing for you. If you have a small shop on your property use it! Or go online and look at the amazing DIY small garage builds for cheap, etc. Try and find somewhere it'll not get capered with, some leg room, and space when you need to throw that part when it doesn't fit correctly.

Tools?
Get a good look of your project. Inspect what needs to be done or what your end goal is. Ex: Wow! that's a huge dent I should go to Hobby Lobby and get some molding clay that matches the color of my car and stick it on! WRONG. Do your research in tools. Lead bars, bondo, glazing mud are still tools worth investing on if you're doing body work. Other tools you may need are welders, wrenches, sockets, pliers, vice grips, WD40, tool box to put all the crap into, specialty tools that your car may need like those damn BMW's. The list goes on. Do your research find what you need for it, and buy them! Cars are like babies. They don't change them selves, they don't feed themselves, they don't baby proof things for them selves, etc. You need to fix what you can see and then go back around and make sure everything else is bullet proof (if you're picky). Tools will be needed for this and I suggest you start getting the wallet out because you'll need them!

Budgeting? Nah.
YAUH. Budgeting is a nasty word. It means don't spend money. Well not really. See budgeting is a funny thing when it comes to your car. What are your first goals? Get it running to drive as a daily and a project, get it done in one swing with your choice of a shop in a matter of weeks? Whatever it may be get a budget done. I really cannot go into each set of budgets for different scenarios for cars. But I can go into a very easy and basic one that I used and you can try and apply it with yours! So here was my budgeting plan while I was making jack $h!T. I got a pay check each week when I first started at my job (360$). I took half. Took that and used it on a tool, a book, a part, a piece, etc.. for my build. The rest I saved. Then I met my wonderful girlfriend so now I spend my paychecks 50/50 on my truck, and my lady. I love being an adult.

Mental
You mentally need to set yourself up. If you see it as a job rather than getting your dream one step closer each time you work on it, you'll one probably never get it done, or two, you'll end up selling a half ass POS to some unlucky guy who feels bad for you. Never the less you gotta have the motivation to get the thing going! And that was a big piece for me to get mine done!

I think I've blabbered on enough now, so I want to hear what other guys and gals think of doing or finishing there project car, truck, etc. Add some thoughts on what you think I left out or take out some of my advice and add in what helped you through yours!
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