What car would be a good project car?

**raz0r** · October 7th, 2007 05:28 AM

Hi,

Ask ko lng po sana ano ang magandang car model na pwedeng project car. hehe parang gusto namin kasi magbuo ng mga friends ko pero hindi yung mga type of projects na expensive masyado hehehe la kami budget eh.

Preferably po sana yung mga cars na yung price tag is 100k below namin mkukuha.

Also, sa po kami pwede maghanap ng mga ganitong cars? Ask ko na rin sana if meron ba dito sa Phils. na makukuhanan ng Nissan 240z? Thanks ng marami.

**chuaed** · October 7th, 2007 06:52 AM

for me if i have the time to do a project car, i would choose a Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86

sweet...

**ghosthunter** · October 7th, 2007 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by raz0r

Hi,

Ask ko lng po sana ano ang magandang car model na pwedeng project car. hehe parang gusto namin kasi magbuo ng mga friends ko pero hindi yung mga type of projects na expensive masyado hehehe la kami budget eh.

Preferably po sana yung mga cars na yung price tag is 100k below namin mkukuha.

Also, sa po kami pwede maghanap ng mga ganitong cars? Ask ko na rin sana if meron ba dito sa Phils. na makukuhanan ng Nissan 240z? Thanks ng marami.

Most of the cars older than 15 years can probably be bought for around 100K budget but getting parts or such might be a problem. Also a properly built up project car will often never be "cheap" to build.

Good cars to build a performance car project on would be:
Honda Civics
Honda Accord
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Corona
Nissan Sentra B13 & B14 chassis
Nissan Cefiro 1st & 2nd generation
Mazda 323 Familia
Mitsu Lancer
Mitsu Galant

Each car has its pros and cons so you will have to determine what kind of build up you will be aiming for.

As for the 240Z, there are a few units locally. Just a matter of persistence, patience and contacts to finding a unit worthy to buy.

**mbeige** · October 7th, 2007 11:42 AM

If you ask me, the VW Golf/Rabbit of the 1980's is a good car to start with. Small, agile, nimble and yet simple enough to restore on your own or with a buddy.

But if you ask the board, you'll get a lot more answers you probably might have a hard time picking your best choice. Maybe you could narrow it down to several limits like it has to be RWD, or a certain make, etc?

Good projects are those that are not common. There's a guy near our hometown of Fairview who has a Gemini coupe that's brown and I think it's fully restored. Sobrang simple lang pero ganda ng dating kasi old school na old school.

**basti08** · October 7th, 2007 01:50 PM

a boxtype Lancer SL.

convert it to GSR look. full suspension (stiffer springs, strut bars etc), aesthetics (interior and exterior e.g sunroof, leather, carbon fiber trims, 4 full size headrest etc. 17" alloys, foglights, bodykits), sound system (Cd player, subs, amps etc) and powerplant (4G63T swap) modification...

that would be a good drift, road and track car.

**Memphis Raines** · October 7th, 2007 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by chuaed

for me if i have the time to do a project car, i would choose a Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86

sweet...

[SIZE="4"]AE86[/SIZE] :drool:

**the_wildthing** · October 7th, 2007 02:35 PM

100k below I'd go for a Sprinter or a Starlet, heck even a 3-door DX. With creativity and some ingenuity you can rebuild one and slap newer engines and mate them to an RWD tranny.

**niky** · October 7th, 2007 03:25 PM

Below 100k, maybe a Starlet is the best car you can buy... relatively good suspension, and you can find a ton of aftermarket parts if you hang around the autocrosses and pester the veterans using them.

The local racing bodykits are actually sought after in overseas Starlet circles.

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The Mitsubishi Lancer Box-type GSR is a great project. It's a desired car nowadays, but it isn't as ridiculously expensive as the AE86. (Damn Initial D!

)... it's good looking, and there are tons of power and upgrade options. No need to go fancy, just restoring the stock look would be a great achievement.

Other options, if you're going sporty, is an older Celica ST (70's) or even an S12 Nissan Silvia. This one came with the CA18DET (pretty fast engine) and digital instrumentation, so it's pretty sophisticated compared to the Trueno. Plus points... it looks a lot like the Trueno. Rare, though, so good luck finding one.

There are quite a few 240Zs around, I sadly had to pass on one being sold to me for 80k (needed lots of work) as I didn't have the money to engage in a resto project. The problem with the Z is finding parts, and sometimes you'll have to order from the US.

Another option is an FB RX7. We passed up on one, too (at only 120k!), because we were looking for a daily driver at the time, not a project car. The non-turbo Rotary is creamy smooth and not as fragile as the later twin turbos. Finding a mechanic who can wrap his head around it is another thing.

I've seen restored Geminis... they're beautiful... I've seen a 70's Lancer restored to factory spec with parts imported from Japan... I've even seen a 70's Corolla Sprinter restored to near-new condition, and it was much more desirable, IMHO, than any AE86.

The possibilities are endless. There was a guy in Evangelista selling an Isuzu Impulse. Interesting car... looks like a sports car, but it's front wheel drive, with a Lotus designed transmission with equal length drive shafts (the same system used in the 80's Lotus Elan, touted as one of the best handling FWD cars, ever)... there are even rarer birds not going for very much... if you're lucky, you can get an Escort and upgrade it to Escort Rally Mexico specs, or with Cosworth parts (they're locally available, but rare), or a V6 Capri.

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The number one priority when finding an old project car is the trim. If it has intact headlights and tail-lights and most of its chrome, get it! Any car will do, as long as the trim is intact, the interior is decent, and you don't mind spending a lot of time searching for parts. And when you're done, it doesn't matter if the car was merely a common Corolla or Lancer when it was new... as it'll be a rare classic today. ;)

**niky** · October 7th, 2007 03:32 PM

Of course, if you're looking for a "racing" project... lots of other things you can do for very cheap... for 50-60k total, you can build a Ford Laser hatchback with a Ford Telstar engine that'll rip holes in Civics in the quarter mile... or for 120-150k total, you've got a Nissan California with an SR20 or SR20DET in it that'll do the same.

A Kia Pride will take a Mazda 1.6 turbo (there's a guy at Protegetech, KIADOHC, who specializes in this), or even a Toyota 4AGE. I'm pretty sure you could do a Honda B16A swap, too, if you want.

Or you could buy said Lancer or Corolla, preferably in ratty condition so you won't have to pay more than 5-10k for it, and swap in a modern EFI engine (SR20, 4AGE, whatever) and suspension and create a drifter.

The possibilities are only limited by how nuts you are and how much you're willing to spend. But make notes of everything you want to accomplish, and how much it'll cost before you plunk money down on it... nothing is sadder than a half-finished project car rusting away in the corner of a shop after months of fruitless and heartbreaking labor.