New here from Bay Area,CA - Lateral-g Forums

mattausten23 · #1 02-19-2011, 03:54 AM

I've been drooling over this site for a while and

. I'm a 19 year old college student who would love to build cars/engines like these! As of right now I have a 1967 Camaro that is in really good condition. My plans were to turn it into a pro touring car since I live close to Leguna Seca but its just too nice. So I'm trying to sell my Camaro so that I can get a project Camaro. Weird I know but it's what makes since to me. Once I hopefully sell mine I want to document my build on this because I'm going to need a ton of help. I have a lot of buddies but no true experience on building cars. So thanks in advance!

I was also wondering if I had to be a certain type of member in order to post my car on here?

Matt

garickman · #2 02-19-2011, 07:04 AM

Welcome to the site. You do have a very nice camaro. Unless it is a numbers matching car, a true SS or it has some sentimental value, it may be better to keep it and turn it into your pro-touring dream. I know a lot of people, me included who have sold a good running car for a project that never gets completed. I would suggest you slowly build this camaro and drive it as much as you can with a little bit of down time in between modifcations. Of course this is just my opinion based on very little personal experience. Unless you have deep pockets, or you can do alot of the work like rust repair, body work, painting, wiring, mechanical work and suspension work, then "project cars" are not all they are cracked to be. The better car you start with, the less time, money and effort you will have to spend. Enjoy the site, you will learn alot!

dirtybird · #3 02-19-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garickman

Welcome to the site. You do have a very nice camaro. Unless it is a numbers matching car, a true SS or it has some sentimental value, it may be better to keep it and turn it into your pro-touring dream. I know a lot of people, me included who have sold a good running car for a project that never gets completed. I would suggest you slowly build this camaro and drive it as much as you can with a little bit of down time in between modifcations. Of course this is just my opinion based on very little personal experience. Unless you have deep pockets, or you can do alot of the work like rust repair, body work, painting, wiring, mechanical work and suspension work, then "project cars" are not all they are cracked to be. The better car you start with, the less time, money and effort you will have to spend. Enjoy the site, you will learn alot!

x2, good luck

rwhite692 · #4 02-19-2011, 10:21 AM

Welcome! Greg's advice is sound...

awr68 · #5 02-19-2011, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwhite692

Welcome! Greg's advice is sound...

VERY TRUE words!

Always, the nicer the car that you start with the faster and more affordable the build! You have what looks like a great/solid car...you are many steps ahead of most right there! You can do basically any mod you want to on a painted car...you just have to be a little more careful at times. Many have mini-tubbed painted cars...check out Ryan's thread, he just did it! Scott did a complete subframe swap in a weekend without taking off the front sheet metal! It can all be done!

At your current age and the fact that you are in college I would keep this car and mostly concentrate on bolt on parts. I am very excited for you! But honestly for the next few years school will consume lots of time and money...but will be WELL worth it! I totally love that you are into muscle cars and PT ones at that! I just hate to see you sell a great car to start in on a project car, they are soooo much work and far more money than a nice driving car that gets mods done over time...or all at once if you can swing it! Remember, ground up builds will cost 2-3 times what you think they will...modding the car you have right now is the best way to control the spending.

What plans do you have for your PT car? You don't have to be a certain type of member to start a thread or post pics. And Welcome to the site...we look forward to seeing your build and helping in any way we can! There are many Pro and Seasoned builders here! And don't forget about our Site Sponsors...they offer sales from time to time that can help a lot! Oh and keep an eye on the For Sale Forum...you wouldn't believe the deals that get posted there! Have fun with it!!!

awr68 · #6 02-19-2011, 11:42 AM

Matt, keep an eye on this build...it will show you just how cool a 'bolt-on' car can be!

mattausten23 · #7 02-19-2011, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awr68

VERY TRUE words!

Always, the nicer the car that you start with the faster and more affordable the build! You have what looks like a great/solid car...you are many steps ahead of most right there! You can do basically any mod you want to on a painted car...you just have to be a little more careful at times. Many have mini-tubbed painted cars...check out Ryan's thread, he just did it! Scott did a complete subframe swap in a weekend without taking off the front sheet metal! It can all be done!

At your current age and the fact that you are in college I would keep this car and mostly concentrate on bolt on parts. I am very excited for you! But honestly for the next few years school will consume lots of time and money...but will be WELL worth it! I totally love that you are into muscle cars and PT ones at that! I just hate to see you sell a great car to start in on a project car, they are soooo much work and far more money than a nice driving car that gets mods done over time...or all at once if you can swing it! Remember, ground up builds will cost 2-3 times what you think they will...modding the car you have right now is the best way to control the spending.

What plans do you have for your PT car? You don't have to be a certain type of member to start a thread or post pics. And Welcome to the site...we look forward to seeing your build and helping in any way we can! There are many Pro and Seasoned builders here! And don't forget about our Site Sponsors...they offer sales from time to time that can help a lot! Oh and keep an eye on the For Sale Forum...you wouldn't believe the deals that get posted there! Have fun with it!!!

Thanks for the advise everyone! My plans for my PT car is to 3 link it, I really like Randy Bell's set up I saw on here. I also would like to do an lsx swap, big brakes, cage, etc. I want a car that I can drive around town and also drive hard at the track.

The reason why I was thinking about selling is because I think I found another solid car to start with that comes with all the parts to get it running and driving, and pretty much complete, it all just need to be installed. I would also have a good amount of $ left over so that I can buy some of the parts I wanted for it, and also an every day driver. I don't know maybe it's just the way I think because everyone I know is trying to talk me out of selling it.haha

awr68 · #8 02-19-2011, 03:01 PM

Listen to all your frinds, don't sell....a project car isn't all it's cracked up to be. It can take many years to complete them...and that's if you have lots of spare time and plenty of cash at all times. Honestly I would have loved to had started with a car like yours! Take a little time to think things over. There are more pros than cons to building the car you have! I like your list of parts! So far you haven't mentioned anything that can't be done to a painted car!

6D9 · #9 02-19-2011, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garickman

Welcome to the site. You do have a very nice camaro. Unless it is a numbers matching car, a true SS or it has some sentimental value, it may be better to keep it and turn it into your pro-touring dream. I know a lot of people, me included who have sold a good running car for a project that never gets completed. I would suggest you slowly build this camaro and drive it as much as you can with a little bit of down time in between modifcations. Of course this is just my opinion based on very little personal experience. Unless you have deep pockets, or you can do alot of the work like rust repair, body work, painting, wiring, mechanical work and suspension work, then "project cars" are not all they are cracked to be. The better car you start with, the less time, money and effort you will have to spend. Enjoy the site, you will learn alot!

x100..very good advice

**DFRESH** · #10 02-20-2011, 04:41 PM

Dude, welcome to the site. I hate to offer you advice right out of the gate, but listen to what others are telling you here----learn from their experience--I promise you will not regret it. If your car is as nice as it looks in the pics, then by all means, do not sell it because something else looks more affordable. You will end up spending more than you can possibly imagine taking on a car that needs to get to the place yours is right now. Those items you mentioned you want to put into it are great parts and will make it an even better car, but don't sell this one to buy another one and put those parts in. Keep this one and do it. You will be miles ahead. My advice would be as follows---keep it, do one modification at a time--don't pull the whole car apart---there is a huge chance your life will get in the way of that big of a project and the car will never be enjoyed as much as it could have been if you had kept it running and done one mod at a time. Also, save up cash, be patient and look constantly for deals. I promise you they are out there. Ask me how I know--my parts list for my car is growing with some amazing stuff, and I can tell you it has been at a fraction of the full price by just being patient and waiting for the right deals to come along. Don't use credit cards ever---you will be surprised in a period of 5 years what you will be able to do with this car. Many of us here have made the mistake of overbuilding a car, making it a project that is way to big to manage in a timely manner and getting rid of a car we wish we never would have. I'm not saying project cars suck, it's just that we have seen the majority of them never get finished or sold off and never enjoyed. PM me anytime, and regardless of what you decide to do welcome to a fantastic site with some of the best people in the business represented here. Please keep us posted.

Doug