- Oh, that is way too slow.
Oh my gosh.
That is like the speed of molasses.
Do you know what molasses is, Max?
- [Max] I have an idea, yes.
I'm just kind of out of it today but, yeah, I do.
- Oh, yeah!
We're back in front of the original OG wheel wall,
I will tell you what,
this was terrible to actually put up.
Let's talk about project cars,
which were those cool things
where we keep all of our aspirations and dreams.
And we tell all of our friends that yes,
that 19 by 12 square wide-wheel set up
and the LS7 in the engine bay
will totally be the next Jalopnik article.
Is it considered a white lie if you truly believe it though?
You don't,
you don't know.
But either way,
it's what we tell ourselves to get through the pain
of owning a project car.
Whether you're looking to jump into an actual project car,
or you're looking to buy somebody else's, bless your soul,
there's a few rookie mistakes you could probably avoid
if somebody that has no facial hair
and is gonna plug wheels, tires, and suspension
could probably tell you through a YouTube video.
Hey, it's me, @alex.fi on Instagram,
and today, we're gonna be talking about
rookie mistakes when buying a project car,
and/or owning a project car.
(intense music)
By the way, if you are just noticing this sick tee,
you may notice that we partnered with BBS
to give away a set of their wheels performance line.
It's absolutely awesome.
It's got an absolutely sweet design on the back.
Zowsh, front, bowsh!
Apparently, that's what the cool kids say.
And if people start to say it, then I'm totally coining it.
But don't forget to subscribe.
And if you haven't yet,
go check on FitmentIndustries.com
if you'd like to drool over some aftermarket wheels, tires,
or suspension for your car.
Not trying to entice you,
but I am trying to swoon you.
Rookie mistakes happen literally every day
when owning a project car.
But by far,
the biggest mistake people make
is biting off way too much than they can actually chew
with these project cars.
Now here's the thing, bud, okay.
Projects come in all different shapes and sizes.
We don't judge.
But there are some chonky ones
that are gonna require a little bit of expertise
to work around.
It should be obvious that the more wrong,
the harder it is to work on.
Socrates.
But once you realize
if you bought a roller out of a wheat field,
you're probably gonna end up doing
some complete rust repair, re-welding,
a complete disassembly if anything that's in there.
You're probably just gonna have to redo all the wiring
'cause mice just really enjoy that sort of thing.
You're gonna have to POR the entire inside
once you get it all taken care of.
And about a million other things
that you have absolutely no idea about.
If this is the first time that you're buying a project car,
it's gonna be best to just start light.
Probably with a car that already runs,
has four wheels, and an electrical harness.
Because if you want to hate your life,
electrical harness and assemblies,
they're the way to go.
If you bite off too much,
you may never be able to finish it.
And then you'll either A, keep it forever,
or B, sell it and lose your tushy.
I'd say another word,
but YouTube don't like swear words no more.
After getting the old project car in your garage
ready to rock and roll,
it's a wee bit more than just replacing stuff in the car.
The biggest thing you can do to prevent
wanting to tear what little hair you have left
out of your head,
is going to be organizing your (bleep).
Just put it in a box, organize it, leave it, color code it,
whatever you got to do.
Make it like the first day of school
when you're stoked to be back
and you organize your notebook.
You've done it.
That what your gonna want to do with all of your stuff.
It doesn't matter how many nuts, bolts, screws,
nails, widgets, gaskets,
and components you're gonna pull off the car
if you can't find any of it to put it back on.
It's gonna be a bit mind blowing too
at the amount of stuff you will rip off of your project car.
If you don't keep these good old goodies
organized in baggies and labeled,
you're gonna hate your life.
I made that mistake the first time rebuilding my Z.
And I still have about 14 pounds of leftover nuts and bolts,
and I'm still too scared to throw any of it away,
'cause you just,
you never know.
Keeping it organized will help keep your life in check.
Plus, if you've got a significant other,
they won't want to end you
because your garage looks like a bomb went off in it.
For those that are a little bit older,
maybe you have a significant other.
Maybe getting a project car was hard enough.
Don't give them an excuse to want to tip over
the little fireplace that you got at home depot
into the garage because you just don't take care of anything
or keep it organized.
The biggest problem with project cars
is even when you buy
an appropriate car based on your skill level
and you do have everything organized,
that doesn't mean the build is gonna be as simple as,
(clears throat) list time.
Buy parts, install parts, drive car.
There are an atrocious amount
of skills you're gonna have to learn
or tools you'll need to buy to make it all happen.
These are just part of the building process.
Borrowing your buddy's jack or tap set is not going to work.
Spoiler alert;
you're probably just gonna have to go buy one.
If I can make
maybe a slight indifferent and unbiased opinion,
go to Harbor Freight, pray no one catches you there,
and buy all the stuff you need.
And truth be told, if you're not an expert,
those cheaper tools are probably better for you
because you're probably gonna break them.
And I'm sure Harbor has a warranty on
pretty much everything that they carry.
Judge it, but it works.
And when you're on a budget when you're doing a project car,
we've all been there.
Just saying.
Not entirely sure Harbor Freight is everywhere,
but I feel like it should be.
Now once it's all together
and you're stoked because it turned over, damn.
Idled.
Video captured.
Revved.
IG famous.
And you're pretty sure your brakes work,
you're gonna want to go and send it.
Now don't, don't, don't do that.
Here's why.
Your initial test run with the project car
should be done slowly, repeatedly, smoothly.
For a few weeks before you even consider it completed,
you're gonna want to be nice to it.
Usually once the -- process is completed
is when you'll start tackling
some of the more annoying, minute issues of your build.
Leaks, compression issues, timing, cooling,
and all that stuff
which really only start to present themselves
after the car hits the road,
can be a doozie to deal with.
And you just are gonna have to be ready for it.
But if you don't get your hopes up,
if you just leave them realistically here,
you'll never be disappointed.
And you can live that way your whole life
and you may find yourself living a lot happier.
Because if you just keep the expectations low,
how can you be disappointed?
The final rookie mistake on the project car
is establishing any sort of deadlines.
I'm not sure why we do that to ourselves,
but we know those timetables are just
a big old bowl of Texas toast that's just two days too old.
Don't tell your friends the timeline.
Don't tell your significant other the timeline.
Don't tell yourself the timeline.
Just work on the car when you can.
Rushing through a project build is asking for trouble.
And if you post photos up or talk smack
about how your build is going to be
the garlic bread of the community car scene,
you're gonna have an unnecessary high amount of pressure
to deliver said expectations.
And unfortunately,
when your car rolls up and it feels more
like a reheated up biscuit from the local pizza store,
you may have to backtrack on some of the smack talk.
So what are some rookie mistakes
that you guys have dealt with with your project cars?
Let us know in the comment section below of course.
And don't forget, if you're looking for wheels, tires,
or suspension, FitmentIndustries.com.
If you've made it this far
and you're still looking at where we got this sweet tee,
that's because we partnered with BBS
to give away a set of BBS wheels.
The front, super cool, bowsh.
The back, super neat, zowsh.
Apparently, that's what you say now,
and I'm gonna keep saying it.
If you guys are looking to pick up a tee,
gets you automatically entered in
to win a free set of wheels,
plus we will be making a donation
to United Way at the end of the month.
I'm Alex from Fitment Industries.
We hope you guys enjoyed this video,
and we will see you later.
Peace.
(hip hop beat)