c/budget-project-cars

11

lewis.diana•1d ago

My cheap junkyard carburetor gamble actually paid off

I pulled a Carter AFB off a 78 Dodge van at Pull-A-Part for $22 about 6 months ago. The thing was crusty and the guy helping me said there's no way it would run without a full rebuild kit. Spent a weekend cleaning it with carb cleaner and compressed air, swapped out the gaskets for like $8, and it bolted right onto my 360 and fired up first try. Has anyone else had good luck with yard-sourced carbs or did I just get stupid lucky?

22

carr.willow•1d ago

That time my 'budget' brake job turned into a comedy of errors with a frozen caliper bolt

So I'm swapping pads and rotors on my 2002 Civic last Saturday, trying to save $200 by doing it myself in the driveway. Everything's going smooth until I go to take off the caliper bracket bolt on the passenger side and it just won't budge after 30 minutes of PB Blaster and a breaker bar. I ended up snapping the bolt head clean off, then spent another hour drilling it out and chasing the threads with a tap I borrowed from my neighbor. Has anyone else had a simple job spiral into a whole-day ordeal because of one rusted fastener?

17

dianab68•3d ago

Best and worst day of my project car rebuild happened inside one week

I've been working on a 1995 Miata I picked up for $900 and last week was a total rollercoaster. Tuesday I finally got the engine to crank after fighting with a bad ground for two months. I was so pumped I went to tighten the intake manifold bolts and snapped one clean off in the block. That set me back three days and $40 for a cheap extractor kit from AutoZone. Then Friday a buddy showed me how to use a torch to heat the area and the bolt backed right out like butter. Now I'm back on track but I'm nervous about the timing belt job this weekend because I've heard stories of people messing up the cam alignment. Has anyone else had a project go from a huge win to a total loss in the same week like this?

13

spencer_johnson22•3d ago

Hit 500 bucks in parts on my $800 Civic and it still runs like a top

Threw a junkyard transmission in my 92 Civic last month for $150 and it shifted smoother than I expected. Has anyone else been surprised by how long these old Honda motors hang on?

9

johnson.lee•4d ago

TIL a junkyard Vortec 5.3 can run on a standalone harness for under $400

I was digging around on a forum called LS Swap Depot last night, just killing time, and found a guy who documented his whole budget swap into a beat-up '87 Chevy truck. He got the whole engine with accessories out of a 2001 Suburban for $250 at a local yard in Phoenix. Add a $150 standalone harness off eBay and some tuning tweaks, and he was driving it for under a grand total. Has anyone else tried this with a gen III or gen IV motor without breaking the bank?

5

rowank69•4d ago

Warning: that vacuum brake bleeder I bought for $30 took me 3 afternoons to get working right

Turns out the cheap check valve was letting air back in the whole time and I finally figured it out after blowing through 2 quarts of brake fluid on my '92 Miata last weekend, has anyone else had to rig up a better seal on those budget kits?

9

the_zara•4d ago

I spent 6 months swapping a junkyard motor into my Civic without ever checking the timing belt condition first.

Turns out a 1998 timing belt with 120k miles on it snapped on the third test drive and bent every valve, which is how I learned that $35 and an hour of work upfront beats pulling a whole engine twice.

19

hernandez.ben•5d ago

Appreciation post: carburetors vs. fuel injection on a tight budget

I spent last summer swapping a Holley 4160 onto a junkyard 350 in my '72 Chevelle. Cost me $80 total for the carb and a gasket kit. My buddy dumped $600 on a used Holley Sniper EFI kit for his truck and spent 3 weekends fighting wiring gremlins. Both got the job done, but mine fired up first try and I had a working car for less than a sixth of the price. Has anyone else stuck with old tech just to keep costs down?

1

sarahsullivan•6d ago

My buddy's $500 Civic made me question everything I thought I knew about project cars

I was over at my friend Mike's place last week and he showed me his 1992 Honda Civic he picked up for $500. The thing had 280k miles and looked like it had been through a war, but he had it running on a tune-up and a junkyard intake manifold. He told me he spent less than $200 on parts and it drives better than my build that's got over $2k sunk into it. It hit me that I've been chasing perfection with new parts while he's just been fixing what's broken and getting the same result. Made me wonder if I'm overcomplicating my own project by worrying about cosmetics before the mechanical stuff is solid. Has anyone else had a buddy humble them with a budget build that just works?

1

sean_murray•7d ago

Unpopular opinion: buying a parts car is almost always a bad move

I kept hearing everyone say grab a whole second car for parts, but after buying a 1998 Civic for $500 I spent $200 hauling it and another 6 hours swapping a single alternator. Most of the parts were rusted or worn just like my main car. Why not just hit the junkyard for $40 and skip the headache?

14

craig.parker•23d ago

That $200 harbor freight engine stand nearly killed my project

Bought their 1-ton stand to hold a small block Chevy and the locking pin sheared off after 20 minutes, dropped the whole thing on my garage floor. Has anyone else had cheap stands fail on them or did I just get a lemon?

19

richard_hall•24d ago

The day I realized junkyard tires aren't worth it

I was at Pull-A-Part in Atlanta last Saturday digging for a replacement door panel and got to talking with the yard guy about used tires. He told me most tires sitting there are 8-10 years old even if they look fine, and the rubber gets hard and dangerous. Ran the date codes on three sets and sure enough every single one was from 2015 or older. Has anyone else just stopped messing with used tires and started buying budget new ones instead?

18

leo_campbell•24d ago

Found a junkyard fan from a 90s Taurus that bolts right onto my Civic radiator

Picked it up for $12 at Pull-A-Part last Saturday and trimmed the shroud to fit, now my 97 Civic runs 15 degrees cooler climbing the Grapevine. Anyone else got weird donor parts that surprisingly worked?

30

torres.drew•25d ago

Appreciation post: Harbor Freight 1/2 inch torque wrench vs my old Craftsman

I finally compared my old Craftsman torque wrench to a new Pittsburgh Pro from Harbor Freight (the 1/2 inch drive one) on my '92 Miata. I was torquing down control arm bolts to 80 ft-lbs and the HF one actually clicked more consistently, no weird stretch feeling before the click. Maybe I just need to calibrate the Craftsman, but for $25 it's hard to beat the HF one. Anyone else have a favorite budget torque wrench that actually holds up?

30

james672•25d ago

That $45 harbor freight engine hoist paid for itself after one transmission swap

Picked it up on sale two years ago and after pulling the 4L60E out of my 02 Silverado in the driveway last weekend, the cheap welds held fine and I saved at least $500 in shop labor, anyone else trust the cheap lift gear or am I living on borrowed time?

19

sage_perry•29d ago

Spent 10 hours on a brake job and still screwed it up

Rebuilt the rear drums on my 1997 Civic hatch last Saturday. Got everything torqued, bled the lines, felt proud. Then I took it for a test drive around my neighborhood in Austin and heard this grinding noise on the first stop. Pulled the drum off again and realized I forgot to adjust the parking brake cable. Took three more tries to get it right. Anyone else waste a whole weekend on something this basic?

19

foster.wade•1mo ago

Had to choose between a junkyard transmission or rebuilding mine this weekend

My 94 Civic wouldn't go into 2nd gear anymore, so I was looking at a $250 junkyard pull with 180k miles on it versus spending $400 on a rebuild kit and doing it myself in the garage. I went with the rebuild because I figured I'd learn something and know exactly what's in there. Took me about 10 hours across Saturday and Sunday, but I got it back together and it shifts smooth now. Anyone else ever tackled a transmission rebuild on a budget or just swap in a used one?

17

mason283•1mo ago

Can we talk about how much oxygen sensors cost now?

I was at AutoZone last week checking prices for a 2002 Civic and a single downstream sensor was $85. I remember paying $25 for the same part back in 2016. What happened to the cheap stuff we used to slap on these beaters? Anybody else notice parts creeping up in price like this?

21

noahs82•1mo ago

Pro tip: I found a $300 Miata in a barn near Spokane last weekend

I was out visiting my uncle's farm in Spokane and he showed me this old 1990 Mazda Miata tucked away in his barn. It had been sitting for 7 years but the engine still turned over by hand. I offered him $300 and he took it. Has anyone else scored a project car from a family member or friend's property like that?

18

fisher.diana•1mo ago

Vent: my $500 Crown Vic threw a rod on the highway in the rain

I was driving home from work near Columbus last Tuesday, just cruising along at 65, when my 1999 Crown Victoria started making this loud knocking sound. By the time I pulled off at the next exit, the engine was smoking and it seized up completely. Turns out a rod punched through the block, which I guess is common on these old 4.6L motors if you ignore the oil pressure light (which I definitely did). I had to call a tow truck from a gas station, cost me $150 just to get it dropped at my buddy's garage across town. The real kicker is I only paid $500 for the car a month ago, and now I'm looking at a junkyard motor swap that'll probably run me $400 more. Has anyone else here dealt with a blown motor on a cheap project and found a way to salvage it without breaking the bank?

1

ivan_perez•1mo ago

Debate: Paint it yourself or pay a shop for a cheap project car?

I'm at a crossroads with my 1992 Miata that I picked up for $800. The body is straight but the paint is sunbaked and peeling clear coat. I've been watching YouTube videos and I'm pretty sure I can rattle can it for about $100 with a weekend of work. But my buddy who did his own CRX says it looks like crap up close and he wishes he just saved up $500 for Maaco. I don't have $500 to blow right now but I also don't want to ruin the car's value if I ever sell. What did you guys do on your first budget paint job? Did the DIY route work out or did you regret it?

17

thead44•1mo ago

Venting: A buddy in my car club made me rethink my whole approach to rust repair

Was bitching about surface rust on my beater Miata at the meet last Friday. This older guy named Chuck just said 'you know you can save hundreds by using Eastwood's rust encapsulator instead of cutting and welding everything.' Honestly hit me hard because I was about to drop like $400 on new patch panels. He showed me his own car that he treated three years ago and it's still holding solid. Now I'm wondering how many other expensive fixes I could have avoided with a cheaper method. Anyone else had their mind changed by a simple suggestion at a meet?

11

theawest•1mo ago

That guy at the junk yard who laughed at my engine swap plan

I was pulling a starter off a 1998 Civic at Pick-N-Pull in Phoenix last Saturday and this older guy walks up, looks at my car, and just starts chuckling. He pointed at my 200k mile 4-cylinder and said, You're not planning to put a turbo on that are you? Like I was some kid with a dream. I told him no, I'm actually swapping in a B18 from a wrecked Integra I bought for $400, and he just shook his head. He said I should save up for something with a real block instead of wasting time on a econobox that'll blow up after 6 months. That stuck with me all day, not gonna lie. I mean yeah, it's a budget project, but does everyone have to throw shade on someone trying to learn? Has anyone else run into a gatekeeper at a salvage yard who made you second-guess your build?

6

lewis.diana•1mo ago

My uncle swore by those $50 harbor freight engine hoists. I laughed until I needed one.

I was rebuilding a 350 SBC in my garage in Denver and needed to pull the motor from my 72 C10. My uncle told me just get the cheap one, it'll do fine, and I argued with him saying it'd snap. Well, three years and two engine swaps later, that thing is still going strong with no issues. Has anyone else had surprisingly good luck with budget lifting gear or am I just lucky?

5

nancy275•1mo ago

TIL that pulling parts from a junkyard in Phoenix during summer is a whole different game

I was at Ecology Auto Parts last July hunting for a radiator for my 98 Civic. It was 112 degrees and I spent 45 minutes just trying to get one bolt loose without sweating through my shirt. Since then I only go early mornings or winter months for any major pull. Has anyone else found their junkyard trips get way harder in extreme heat?