Expert’s guide to project cars, rebuilds and refurbs

Buying a project car can be an incredible opportunity, offering a rewarding way to spend your time while building up your mechanical muscle.  However, it’s best to keep a clear eye on the road ahead.  

Project cars are notoriously time consuming and can lend to things going financially awry if you’re not aware of the practicalities of rebuilding, restoring or rodding a car.  It can be an emotional journey too!  

With that in mind, here’s a few things you should know from the outset before setting out on your project.

Keep your eye on the dollars

We can’t stress this one enough, but set a budget and then add a little bit of fat for those impromptu decisions.  They’ll happen.  Be realistic.  Don’t go into working on a vintage Porsche on the budget of a new Prius.  

Do your research.  You’ll need tools, and you’ll probably need to draw on the expertise of paid professionals to really get what you want out of the project.  Other things to think about include import costs, which have risen exponentially because of Covid-19.

Not trying to take the fun out of things!  Just remember, fun isn’t always free!

Find a workshop that you can access all hours

Are you planning to work on the car at home?  Bear in mind, it’s not always a quiet exercise in the workshop and you’ll need to consider neighbours if you don’t have a workshop you can access day or night.  Search around, there are likely to be some great spaces in your area.

Choose your project car wisely

If you’re setting out on a project, you’re most likely to have a car in mind that you’ve always dreamed of rebuilding, doing it up in a way that makes your heart sing.  Our advice is just make sure that car you dreamed of owning as a 10 year old still sizes up today.  If you’ve got kids now, maybe choosing the two-seater needs a rethink to get full joy out of the results.  

Also, depending on the make and model of your project car, you’ll want to make sure you can access the parts without too much expense — see our comments above around international freight and import costs – duties, GST, and so forth all tally up quickly.

Patience is key
Once you’ve decided on your project car, do your research on what pats you’re going to need.  The internet is naturally a smart place to get started, and places like Autopart International can give you an indication of what sort of costs you’ll be looking at.  Get in touch with local enthusiasts too.  Car clubs are a great place to start, and you might have the good fortune of stumbling across some local know-how (or an extra set of hands!).

Also, bear in mind like home renovations, they often work on their own timelines, despite your best efforts!  Be prepared to not be able to get your car into the spray shop straight away, or that those tyres could say 6-8 months to arrive in New Zealand, and another 3 weeks to process.  

Don’t be afraid to call in the experts
While this is the “expert’s guide” to project cars, real experts know when to call in other professionals to get the job done right.  Whether you’re dealing with a classic car, a hot rod or muscle car, or something even more unique, it’s impossible to go into a new project without getting vehicle-specific knowledge, and that usually best comes from the people you meet along the way.  It’s also half the fun of an auto rebuild project!

If you’ve got a rebuild project underway, My Auto Shop may be able to put you in touch with someone in our network who can help shine a bit of light on things to be aware of for your car project.