Building up your own vehicle.
by Ryan C. Smith
ryan@sromagazine.com
Have you ever thought about buying a used car and fixing it up? If your on this site then the answer is most likely yes. If you’re like most of us, you’re on a budget too.
We’ve all had the desire to build the car of our dreams. It’s funny when you think about it. Cars can become fads. A movie or a cartoon can glorify a certain type of vehicle, and then that older car becomes very sough after. Lately I’ve been pondering about buying an older Nissan 240SX. Flashback to 1989 when my friend bought his brand new, I found the car to be a disgustingly ugly. It was a hatchback and just the whole car looked to be a bit funky. My friend had told me that the suspension was based off of the 300ZX so it handled well. We weren’t really into cars back then, but I never knew that his car would become this cult classic sought after by drifters, mountain runners, and road racers.
As of today I’m one of those madmen you find out on the back roads in the late hours of the A.M. on some deserted dark road where if you make one mistake it can cost you your life. You start to think out there about the dangers that lie ahead, such as Deer, Bigfoot, or some aliens abducting you, because really your out in no mans land and nobody is around for miles, but then there’s that stupid thing called adrenaline which makes you think your invincible while having a fun yet dangerous time. It’s just you and the road on a dark cold night. It’s nice when you have a full moon though.
Ok, back to reality. Let’s say we’re looking for our project car. We’ve got a little money saved up so where do we start? I usually look at Craigslist.org, Autotrader.com, or Ebay.com. Not sure if I’d buy a car from EBay, but I like to look. It’s best if you can find something in your local area so you can check it out. If you find a car online that you like, then you can jump onto Kelly Blue Books website at http://www.kbb.com and see what your dream car is worth.
If your going to look at a vehicle try to bring a friend for a 2nd opinion and also ask if you can do a compression check. A compression check checks the cylinders and see if any are weak or not. Linked from the Valvoline website on a step by step procedure for compression checking. BTW when doing the check don’t hold the spark plug wire in your hand.
Some Terms you should get familiar with when looking for a used car.
Salvaged Title: This means that the car was in some type of ordeal where the insurance company told the current owner to junk the car and buy a new one, because to repair it would cost more than the vehicles actual worth. You can find a lot of cars cheap because they have this title. Btw most loan companies won’t loan money on a car that has a salvaged title, so you better have cash to buy it.
There are quite a few reasons a car can have a salvaged title:
Fire Damage – Car had an electrical problem and caught on fire or was in a fire.
Water Damage – Car was flooded and damaged.
Theft Recovery – The car was stolen and maybe a lot of pieces were missing.
Totaled – The vehicle was in an accident and the damage was beyond repair. (I’d personally stay away from these.)
Clean Title: just what is says. The vehicle has no title discrepancies with DMV. You can check a vehicles title http://www.carfax.com. It cost money but it might be worth it to lookup a vehicle’s history.
No Title: For some reason the owner lost the title to the car. Well sucks for them. With no title, you have no idea if the car is really theirs to sell. I’d stay away from these too.
I’ve found my car! A 1989 240SX on Craig list.org for $1300. Have I thought about what this will all cost me to fix up and make a decent car for my needs? We all have different goals so everyone’s outcome will be just that, different. I like my cars to handle well, power isn’t a big issue for me.
When I’m dreaming of making a car within my budget I use the good old internet for research. The net is great for finding out parts and prices etc. I make a list in Excel what I think it’s going to cost me. You should probably add about $500 more to this figure when your done for any unforeseen expenses. This is what I came up with.
|
240SX On a Budget |
|
Source |
|
|
Vehicle |
|
|
Total |
|
1990 240SX |
1,300.00 |
|
3,520.00 |
|
Suspension |
|
|
|
|
H&R Sport Springs |
217.00 |
OptAuto |
|
|
KYB AGX Front |
218.00 |
Tire Rack |
|
|
KYB AGX Rear |
170.00 |
Tire Rack |
|
|
Eibach Alignment Kit |
25.00 |
Tire Rack |
|
|
17″ Wheels & Tires |
700.00 |
Wheel Max |
|
|
Bomz Front Strut Bar |
62.00 |
Speedstash.com |
|
|
Bomz Rear Strut Bar |
62.00 |
Speedstash.com |
|
|
Engine |
|
|
|
|
AEM Short Ram Intake |
150.00 |
|
|
|
A’PEXi N1 Exhaust |
479.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Costs |
|
|
|
|
Shipping |
137.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So for something a little under $4,000 I can build my handling car that would be fun to drive. Start adding in the real mods you want and that $4,000, will quickly become some big dollars. Well this just takes a minute. Here is a 240sx how I’d like it
|
240SX How I’d like it |
|
|
|
Vehicle |
|
Total |
|
1990 240SX |
1,300.00 |
20,130.00 |
|
Suspension |
|
|
|
Tein Basics |
900.00 |
|
|
Camber Kit |
250.00 |
|
|
18″ / 17″ Wheels & Tires |
1,900.00 |
|
|
Custco Front Strut Bar |
150.00 |
|
|
Custco Rear Strut Bar |
130.00 |
|
|
Engine |
|
|
|
SRODET Engine / Tranny |
3,200.00 |
|
|
Intercooler |
1,200.00 |
|
|
Installation |
1,500.00 |
|
|
Radiator |
350.00 |
|
|
Other Costs |
|
|
|
Shipping of parts |
200.00 |
|
|
Paint Job |
2,000.00 |
|
|
Recaro Seats |
1,200.00 |
|
|
Seat Rails |
200.00 |
|
|
3 Point Harnesses |
300.00 |
|
|
Carbon Fiber Hood |
400.00 |
|
|
Exhaust |
500.00 |
|
|
Body Kit |
900.00 |
|
|
Stereo |
600.00 |
|
|
Amp |
200.00 |
|
|
Speakers |
200.00 |
|
|
Turbo Timer |
100.00 |
|
|
Blowoff Valve |
300.00 |
|
|
Wastegate |
800.00 |
|
|
SAFCII |
350.00 |
|
|
Roll Cage |
1,000.00 |
|
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