problems best avoided or at least understood

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
it occurred to me that there are a lot of ways to take the fun out of owning a decent fast car , and most can be avoided, or at least understood and prevented.
ADD YOUR OWN LIST!
but keep in mind that making a list of what your trying to do and thinking about that goal vs constantly changing goals tends to help
and thinking thru what youll have once your done building it,and how realistic its use on the street will be ahead of the projects completion helps



1. Living where there isn't quick and easy access to a place to drive it occasionally, its a real P.I.T.A. to build a 500hp-700hp performance car and not have a local race track that allows you to at least occasionally feel what its like to hold the throttle wide open at times, or building a really nice car you can,t park without worrying it will be stolen or damaged

2. building something that has so much power or so little mechanical dependability , that it really is not much fun to drive , or something thats unlikely to get you home from a trip without repairs.
think thru your goals before you build the car, if you intend to have a fun car, you probably don,t want a stripped out interior,with a single race bucket seat, a full roll cage and no air conditioner

3. Having a car that are just too expensive too drive, due to costly fuel, tires or other parts required, or one your really afraid to drive as any damage will be almost impossible to repair cheaply, or get parts for.

4. Trading car parts or even older cars, looking for deals on a newer project car, doing this way too much- Trading away your current parts or cars,looking for some better project. that has more potential, just because you have the urge to trade, and ending up with a car,that isn't as good as the one you traded away.

5. Not trading cars or parts when you should-to get what you really want to build , especially if the current car or parts are something in the garage or storage that youll never realistically use and that has no sentimental value and is not a realistic investment- Maybe it would be better to go trade that for something you would build or be proud to own.

6. Just focusing on one kind of car or racing or engine and ignoring all other possibility's,
It's easy to get mentally wrapped up in building or owning a single car brand, or engine type or kind of competition,to the point you ignore other potential possibility's. AS an example, I know guys who passed on outrageously good deals on a Pontiac 455 or 426 hemi, engines and a 500 caddy engine for pennies on the dollar because they are "CHEVY GUYS"

7. Not having a couple local hot rodder friends or club members to help you find deals, work on your car and share stories with.- A buddy interested in cars that will get you out to actually be involved more often and someone who will offer some good advice, perhaps have a good deal more experience and willing to teach or help. Also, consolation on those bad days, when things just don,t go as expected or you hope and congratulations on good days when it all comes together as you hoped ,is not a bad thing.

8. A very general concept- Getting to caught up in the minutia of building your car, if you get crazy when you can,t find original replacement floor mats, or or your concerned over the part number on the replacement head light bulb YOU NEED TO STOP AND RETHINK THE HOBBY AND LIFE IN GENERAL.

9. RACE TRACK TECH nazis - there's occasionally going too be control freaks that have no control over anything in their lives except taking the fun out of you driving your car, or making it miserable for guys at the track. If you must meet a race tracks safety requirements , get a rule book and a good tow vehicle truck and a good dual axle trailer,set up to match your car, and learn to deal with the requirements

10. for the guys up north, Winters when the temps never get above 10 degrees for months at a time - or for us florida guys, summers when the shops too hot too breath at times, your soaked in sweat and every electrical connection seems to shock you, and the mosquitoes get so bad you can,t work outside

11. failing to learn the required skills or buy or rent the tools required to do as much of the work as you can yourself or with a few friends help, not much takes the fun out of this hobby as fast as having a bottomless money pit , that constantly requires you to pay a dealer or mechanic big bucks to fix when it breaks or exorbitant costs too install new or replacement parts.

12. Un-realistic expectations, if you know it will cost you $50K plus to just buy the basic car you want or your dead set on building a 9 second race car you can drive on the street as daily transportation, and you can, only spend $100 a month on parts reality is going to kick you in the nuts on a daily basis!

13. No place to work or store parts, this is a big issue with lots of guys as they don,t have access to the tools and skills and a place to build a car, this can, be worked around but its requires a good deal of time ,effort and in most cases either a really good friend with spare room or renting a secure easy too access storage space to work.

14. absurdly high insurance costs, or building a car thats difficult to get insured at all. I know several guys who have cars that they have built that for one reason or another are difficult to insure , or license for street use.

15. "THE DEAL" this probably effects more builds than all the other issues, guys have a well thought thru plan, but get offered a "DEAL" on some component that is not compatible with their particular build but they buy and install it because the PRICE was so darn reasonable, even knowing its not going to work correctly

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http://m.wikihow.com/Calculate-Diminished-Value

http://www.vincheckpro.com/vin-go?sems=google&sem_net=g&sem_campaign=373606699&sem_adgroup=26150655619&sem_cre=95800849819&sem_targetid=kwd-24567962568&sem_feed=&sem_key=car facts report free&sem_mat=p&sem_issearch=1&sem_iscontent=&sem_ismob=&sem_dev=c&sem_mod=&sem_pla=&sem_ran=4824098978257390774&sem_tar=&sem_adp=1t1&sem_ace=&sem_geo=9012039&sem_interest=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_fHiyZuY1QIVlLrACh1sVAkSEAAYASAAEgKKW_D_BwE

if your looking to buy a project or any used car, pulling a CARFACTS report would be a reasonable move,
this fact, will tend to give a buyer, of that car, leverage for a lower price,
when you buy or later sell the car.
and be aware that if the cars been repaired after an accident,
and it shows on the car facts report the selling price,
from that point onward to anyone will tend to be lower,
simply because most people don,t want a repaired car.
 
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well that was impressive...
and brought a big grin,thank YOU!
but a bit more details would be helpful?
 
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well that was impressive..and brought a big grin,thank YOU!. but a bit more details would be helpful?
You know how hard it is to find a picture of a blown up engine thats not from one of your threads lol
 
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