Thoughts on buying a completed project

[Ridin-High]

Hello all,

Wanted to get some opinions from the fellow members on here. I'll give some background info first.

My Current daily driver is a newish toyota camry, about two yrs ago i wasn't into cars at all to be honest. It all changed when some of my friends went to the local drag racing meet at W.S.I.D (Wicked Wednesday), that was basically the hook. I went to honestly ever wednesday street meet after work for about 8 months, i've attended various drag racing comps (as a spectator) & Car shows for the past 2yrs not limited to but including

Summernats 2006 & 2007
Sports compact 2006
East coast nationals 2006
All holden day windsor 2006
supercharged outlaws 2006
sydney motorshow 2006

and quite a few more.

Motorsport/cars has re-ignited my relationship with my father who i didn't speak with for over 6-7yrs (personal reasons). We camped out for 06 & 7 summernats.

I'm wanting to get into the hot street/street machine scene. I've been reading and asking many questions trying to learn as much as possible.

Would you guys suggest it is best to buy a completed project such as this immaculate HR CLICK ME (http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/HOLDEN/HR_HOLDEN/details.aspx?__Ns=pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32|1| |pCar_ImageCount_Int32|1||pCar_LastModifiedDate_Da teTime|1&Make=HOLDEN&__Nne=20&State=New%20South%20Wales&R=1141795&state_id=80&__N=4294965857+80+834+285+257&distance=25&__Dx=mode+matchany&trecs=20&__sid=112114E2E793&__Ntk=CarAll&silo=1003&keywords=show%20car&Cr=0&__D=show%20car&seot=0&__Ntt=show%20car&__Ntx=mode+matchallpartial)

or do something myself? I'm presuming i would need to keep the camry as day to day transport and i am currently in a financial situation which would permit me to do that.

Your opinions and ideas would be greatly apprieated.

Ridin-High:serenade:

[BLACKWAGON]

Buying a completed project or even 1 that has most things done and you can add more will save u a fortune if..........make sure the car ur buying is ok, maybe u know the person, get checks etc done.
There are some great cars around that are proven performers that people sell at good prices due to starting a new project, buying a house, having kids etc.
There is a quick ececutive for sale on here now.

[Jac001]

What is your motivation to get into hot street/ Street Machine scene?

Do you just want to meet like minded people that enjoy cars?

Or show off something that you have / worked on?


Personally i think you are better off doing up a car yourself, rather than showing off someone elses hard work.

Restoring an older car from scratch is very very expensive and time consuming but the feeling of having built up a car is fantastic. :)

At the end of the day it comes down to how much time, effort and especially money you are willing to commit to this "hobby". :)

[BLACKWAGON]

Yeah have to agree with you there, I couldnt buy a complete car and drive it around exactly as it was knowing someone else had built the whole thing.
I was thinking more along the lines of a car with suspension, exhaust and boltons done that u could build up to what u want.

[TommyVTss]

i think a built car is the way to go then you could just change the paint and wheels and this would make it your own not the same feeling good feeling of having a full build up but if you are 100% happy with a built one i cant see why not, it will save you sacks of cash!

tom

[BLACKWAGON]

Yeah, bolton car even, with diff gears, full exhaust, otr, suspension already done and build it from there, that would save u a fair few thousand.

[dogsballs]

There is a quick ececutive for sale on here now.



I was thinking more along the lines of a car with suspension, exhaust and boltons done that u could build up to what u want.

:wave: , geez and i'm not even paying you.

i've tried all the different ways. my first car i started from scratch and modified almost everything, 1 or 2 twice. this cost me a friggin packet. next car was bought with a couple mods, then the next with more and more. if you were to buy a car with mods, they have to be exactly what you are after otherwise it's not worth it. eg whack in a decent cam &/or heads on my car, and you got a low 11 possibly 10s car for not much at all

[Gee]

A lot of work building an HR (or anything that early) to the level that car presents at. If you're really into HR's then maybe that's the car for you (or something like it)? Fact is, if you want a V8 drivetrain in an early Holden with a good body and paint (not to mention all sorts of stereo, interior and other stuff you might want) then unless you are ready to have a crack at all sorts of work then you will spend more than $35K :deal:

Then again, if you want a real project, use your dollars to get set up to do it yourself (garage, tools, etc.)... and maybe get your father in on it too. Then pick the model car you really like and go and find one with a good body. Make sure you're getting on with you old man or the spanners might start flying. Dont mean to sound like a 'wise old' ('cause I'm not) but if you just getting into it your ideas might actually change as you get upto speed on your options, personally for instance at prices today I'd be looking at injection on an SBC, or get straight to an LS conversion, even though I thought I'd never say that in the past. But that's just me (HQ Monaro owner), played with HR's a little years ago.

I actually think the best thing to buy is someone's half done job, especially if its not in full paint (hides sins and if it looks really good can just make you want to buy it) and they often come with box fulls of parts etc. Also they often aren't too far down one style road or another, especially if you're looking at making some custom touches.

In the meantime, if you want something you can enjoy a run at WSID with or cruise with your mates (or even fellow LS1 owners on here) while your working on the project car, offload the Camry unless you need something like that for work, grab yourself a tidy early LS1 (maybe even a ute if you dont need the seats, so you can pick stuff up for the project car and even tow the whole thing on occasion) and do a bit of a low budget performance number on the newie to keep it interesting. All the info's here as you know to get it moving.

Good luck mate.

[BLQWN]

If you just want to get out there, go to some shows, race a bit, cruise a bit, change a few things and customise it to your likings, and as long as you dont mind hearing "oh that was so and so's old car", it's easier and cost effective to buy one.
On the other hand there's nothing quite like the satisfaction knowing that you have built a car yourself, and that involves carefull planning, budgeting, knowing suppliers and good tradespeople and a good sound mechanical knowledge.
My advice , buy a cheap Torana/HR, with a nice paint job, good mechanical, and do a few things yourself, race it no matter how slow it is, hang with the people who live/breathe this stuff and you will start to get a feel for the type of car you want, how fast you want it to be, how neat/showworthy you would like and you will come to compomise in a few areas and end up with a picture in your head of what you want.
Don't set unrealistic goals, it will only drive you away from what you are trying to achieve, set realistic time lines for getting little jobs done and plan, plan, plan.
We spent 570 hrs putting my car together, and that was after it was painted, the engine and diff were already built, and all the parts were ready to assemble it, if you allocate 8 hrs a week, that gives you 71 weeks work, yeah 17months.
Hope this helps(but dosnt put you off)