/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.316949]

/diy/, what's that one dream project you fear you will never have the time/energy/money to see to its completion?

Mine is pic related. Classic Beetles have always been my favorite car, and I would absolutely love the opportunity to find an old dilapidated one, fix it up to even better than factory originals, and drive that sucker for the rest of my days. Alas, I'm still a poor college student, and by the time I get to the point in my life where I have the time and money I fear old Beetles will be extremely rare.

So, what has captured your desires?

[Anonymous No.316956]

well, I have a similar dream..
I already have the car, but not the money to do what I want to it.
My aim is making a swap to my renault clio 2, from a kangoo 4x4, and add a turbo.
that would make for an amazing rally car

[Anonymous No.316958]

>>316949
I've has similar thoughts about the original beetle. Drop in an engine more powerful than it should be. Paint it like Herbie. Beat out all the Civics and Imprezas out on the streets.

I know nothing about racers, though. So just a dream....

[Anonymous No.316961]

>>316958
Yes, I'm a different person and I've also had that dream. The Love Bug was my favorite movie when I was a toddler.

[alexyjh No.316976]

one day hope to do a 1979 Ford XC Falcon GS Panelvan replica, found a sutiable van to restore just need parent coopiration... wont happen.

thinking restor full GS options then do some mods
>351 Cleveland or a modern fuel injected v8
>HID headlights
>power steering
>deck out the back with sound and entertainment
>supercharger
>get bitchs

[Anonymous No.316980]

i'm currently saving for a bobber project, i'm gonna start with a ~$600-$1000 bike and chop it down until i'm happy with it

[Anonymous No.317055]

OP here. Yeah, Herbie is what made me fall in love with Beetles. Not sure I'd paint mine like that, though.

>>316980
Bobber?

[Anonymous No.317060]

>Alas, I'm still a poor college student, and by the time I get to the point in my life where I have the time and money I fear old Beetles will be extremely rare.

So what you're saying is that college is preventing you from doing what you want?

I don't think that's what college is for.

[Anonymous No.317062]

>>316949
I really hate to rain on anyone's parade on a subject like this, but I've got experience with fixing up an old car like new or better than new. It boils down to this: All it takes is one incompetent driver fucking up, and all the money and time you spend on an old car is down the drain, because insurance companies don't give a fuck about that, they will only pay you "fair market value", which may be only a few hundred dollars for an old car. They don't care about the new engine, transmission, suspension, paint, etc etc etc they only care what that old car would sell for on the open market: bottom dollar. So think twice before you do something like this, especially if you don't have the money and time to spare on it. You may end up seriously disappointed.

[Anonymous No.317069]

>>316976
hah, the Ford Hippy

[Anonymous No.317355]

>>317060
You can't really make a living off of fixing up one car.

>>317062
Well, I wouldn't want to make it super awesome, just stuff like power windows and a decent engine. Still would suck if I crashed it, yeah.

[Anonymous No.317404]

>>316949

i have an engine, in pieces, that was run in qualification trials at the Indianapolis 500, in 67, 67, 69, and out Mirage by some famous road racer... in pieces... it is based on a production inline engine so it's entirely doable. got it at the builder's auctio nsome years ago.

i have one of the test mules. there were three engines, one reall yfamous one sold for $10,000 (all assembled with turbos, chromed, and complete, nice), mine's a pile of parts, minus rods and pistons (but those are easily findable). i have two unbelievable cylinder heads with spectacuular porting, and the castings have factory R&D numbers cast in, instead of normal part numbers. i have some one of a kind, handmade, cast stainless parts, etc.

I will never build it, now. Lost interest in that sort of car work. Might sell the shit.

My test mule made 500hp, out of 182 cubic inches. 1967! a turbo, and no intercooler and no computer. mechanical fuel injection. a fkn hand grenade, running.

i figured i'd make a less grenade-like motor, aim for 300hp @5500rpm, modern turbo, stick in a passenger car. i'm unlikely now, though i have the shop to do it at home.

too many projects.

[Anonymous No.317406]

>>317062

sorry anon, but peeps, don't listen to this anon. if you are fixing up cars to make them "worth money" yo uare fooling yourself. tl;dnr, you have to be doing it for FUN.

You can easily get a decent but flawed car, esp. if you go after lesser models of a good chassis (eg. 4 door instead of two, or two doors instead of hardtops) or something common like Beetles. Is this to impress someone on 4chan, or for the love of wrenching and driving?

you dont need 1000hp to have fun, a car you've made/modified/resto'd is a fkn BLAST. I drive one every day, 49 yrs old. Built the engine (an old inline 6, added Ford EDIS wasted spark ignition; engine designed in the 1940's), manual trans, suspension, put disc brakes on it, blah blah over the liast 7 years. It's slow, kinda ugly, but for it's year and model, kicks ass. Keeps up with the local vintage-rally crowd. And it's RELIABLE and a BLAST and no one has one.

I've probably dropped some thousand$ in it since 2005 when i got it. If I was really lucky, i could get $800 for it. I truly dont care. it was a labor of fun an dlove and learning.

ignore the grouches, if you want it, go for it, but do it for yourself.

[Anomalous No.317426]

>>317062
That's not necessarily true. I used to own a 1982 Mustang with an inline 6. Nothing real special, slow, under powered, ugly. It got totaled one night, sometalented /diy/erhit head on into the front. My step brother accidentally said it was a GT version, bigger 5.0 motor fast popular etc. They ended up giving him $2500 for the whole car. Even a GT in the same condition wouldn't have been worth 2500.
>pic related


>>316949
OP I am also on the look out for a bug. I grew up watching Herbie and fell in love with them. Their engines may only pull about 50 hp an no overdrive for the freeway but their a classic. If you can find one in fairly good shape for cheap and start a resto project, it will definitely keep you occupied and happy. Their awesome cars.

[Anonymous No.317492]

>>317404
I am *intensely* jealous.

[Anonymous No.317494]

OP, you have a pretty fuckin cheap car dream. Bugs are cheap as shit to buy and cheap to fix up.

I want a 1972 Datsun 510 two door myself.

[Anonymous No.317495]

>>316949
we can get the engine from $200, transmissions $150, those are remanufactured and you have to give you old engine.

floor $100, windows $20 each, etc.

That is one or the only bless of living in Mexico those things were made until 2003.

[Anonymous No.317515]

>>316976
>HIDs
Scrap that. Those old style lights and HIDs do not mix. You'll be blinding everyone on the road. Supercharged Clevo is the easiest option for an engine with great power and a modest sound system and that car will be awesome.

[Anonymous No.317526]

you know, there's a whole board for this

>>>/o/

[Anonymous No.317531]

1963 mercury comet
I've got a 4.8 cylinder v8 to put into it but haven't got the money to get the damn thing acid dipped to get rid of the rust and I keep on digging myself into a deeper ditch of being short on money so something tells me I'ma be stuck for a while

Otherwise I'ma end up sellin it before I can finish it

[Anonymous No.317542]

classic beetle
350 chevy engine
manual transmission

fit engine under bonnet and turn into a sleeper, try to keep it looking stock. troll everyone.

[Anonymous No.317593]

>>317526
This thread is relevant to the board it's already on. OP said dream DIY project, everyone just followed suit and posted about cars.

My dream project? I personally would like to build an atmosphere-breathing dynamic gas laser- for science!

[Anonymous No.317597]

if i ever have a son i'd like to buy some kind of project car and just have that father son bonding kind of thing you know? that time where you learn those man things like tools, cars, doing doughnuts, and why i don't have a dick in my mouth what makes you think i want a light beer?

but knowing my luck he'll tell me that sounds fucking lame and he's gonna play calls of metal space twenty thousand.

[Anonymous No.317602]

>>317597

>tfw my dad lost interest in cars and is too much of a dick to ever work on a project car with me


Anyways, my dream is:

>Datsun 240Z, 260Z, 280Z,as long as it's not a 2+2
>rebuild L28 and drop it in, with 5-speed
>rip everything out, strip all paint and repaint everything in interior and underside with POR15
>obviously get all rust holes patched
>weld in some bracing
>black leather interior with subtle strips of chrome and black suede headliner
>wooden Nardi steering wheel and shift knob
>paint exterior pearl white
>240Z bumpers with airdam
>8-spokes in gunmetal
>fender flares carefully installed

I could go on forever...

[Anonymous No.317606]

>>317602
that sounds like something i'd do, sans the being a dick about giving you a hand with your own.

my friend is completely retarded in the way of tools and working on things in general, and from then on i swore if i had a son i'd made sure he knew enough to call himself a man.

[Anonymous No.317610]

>>317606

I know too many males who dont give a shit about cars to swear the same thing to myself.

Too bad cars are apparently cool now, and everyone's hopping on the bandwagon, especially if they have the resources. Feels batman not having the money, space, tools or skills to build my own car. Yes my jimmies are slightly rustled about that

[Anonymous No.317762]

So this is /diy/'s official car thread, eh?

I'd give anything to get my hands on a WWII army vehicle. Don't care how much I'd have to fix it up, having the history would be worth it.

[Anonymous No.317822]

>>317762
"do you know how many jews were raped in this truck?"
"this was the masturbation truck, all american soldiers had 15 minutes at day to use it, and of course they were allowed to "share" their time"

[Anonymous No.317861]

A Dodge Dart Swinger
Holy fuck I think they are awesome, but yeah I dont see them often, and anytime I DO see one I have no money for it

[Anonymous No.317877]

I started out on a 1988 chevy beretta, and have since "upgraded" to a 1994 when the previous gave out. it isn't a bad car, but it'd seen better days even when I got it. Dash is warped, driver's seat fabric has holes worn in it, and the driver door doesn't fit together right.

[Anonymous No.317941]

>>317610
Mechanic here, you're better off not having a penchant for automobiles. Firstly, everything about a car is a fallacy, car companies make cars for the sole purpose of making a shit load of money off of you. That being said, you should only ever buy a cheaper used car using cash, unless you are a millionaire, and laugh all the way to the bank. Just think about this next time you see a nice car driving down the street. That guy financed that shit. He's paying interest on that thing for 5-7 years. If he saved that money, and bought a car with that amount, he most likely could have had a brand new Porsche instead. Buying brand new cars is for total suckers and morons.
That being said, owning a second hand cheaper vehicle does give you the opportunity to learn about DIY repairing. Frankly, going to a mechanic is also full of fallacies, the guy isn't getting paid fuckall to fix your car, and he's likely not "certified" the way you think. The parts are grossly marked up parts from the same parts store you would walk into and buy from anyway, So you might as well put them on yourself and save hundreds of dollars.

[Anonymous No.317952]

Hey OP, I used to fix up old ACVWs, and let me tell you, the community is already dead. Basically, if you don't own a rare model (23 Window, Split window, etc.) no one cares about you. Replacement parts are complete garbage, too, since OEM stock has dried up and everyone is doing things on the cheap. Rubber bits fall apart in weeks, and that's if you can even get them to fit.
The problem with restoring Beetles is that they were the Civics of the day. People did things to these cars that still blow my mind. You will find rust in places that it should be impossible to rust out.
The cool thing, though, is that because getting OEM engine pieces is next to impossible now, the Subaru conversion scene is really taking off, and a few shops specialize in it. Such a good investment. A modern transmission and engine in a Beetle. Triple the HP stock, Japanese longevity (rated 300K miles), and much quieter engines, without needing to cut up your car.
What I suggest, and this goes to anyone wanting an older car, DO NOT by a project and think you can learn and do it. Not going to happen. it takes years of skill and tons of money to do it. Spend the extra money now to by a body that is in good shape (no or minimal rust, straight, preferably never in an accident) and upgrade mechanically to your liking.

[Anonymous No.317975]

>>316949
Had plans to make a pvc submarine. Unfortunately I have no guarantee that it would work, and don't have the money to throw around trying to build a theoretical machine until it actually works.

[Anonymous No.317978]

>>317941

sheesh man, why do you bother living?

cars after appox. the 1980s, the increased tech nology in cars makes less amenable to hacking. Not impossible certainly, but harder. electronics, plastics etc.

american cars from the 1960's, some 70's, and certainly anything post-war, are GREAT car hacker platforms, generally speaking. 60's cars are modern enough to drive on freeways safely, they often have not so great brakes by todays standards but that usually an easy upgrade. engines are common, easy to work on, etc.

it was also the (end of the) era of STANDARD PARTS and STANDARD FASTENERS! lots of interchangability.

Also, you can get complete factory service manuals and parts catalogs (vintage, or repro) on eBay. About as close to "open hardware" there ever was, for a commercial product.

same true for japanese and euro cars. personalyl japanese 70's, 80's cares are all fairly great.

70s and 80s for american cars today i sknown as the Malaise Era. If youve worked on them youl know why. shit stinks (with exceptions, as always)

[Anonymous No.317979]

>>317952

wow, all these negative unhappy anons! are you wrenching cars for fun and learning, or to win some fucking prize?!

the intertubes has made once-impossible parts fairly easy to find, even for obscure makes. Maybe, especially for obscure makes like my Rambler.

[Anonymous No.318372]

>>317979
No kidding, if it weren't for the Internet I doubt half my projects would've come to fruition.

[Anonymous No.318384]

>>316949
I wanted to do the same. so I did.
I don't have much room in the garage and not a whole heap of money for tools/parts so I have one tip for you. Buy a bike and work on that.