Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with their project car?
Posted by richardcx5@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 31 comments
Just wanted to see how other people think and feel about their project cars… I recently bought a 2001 Audi TT as a project car. It’s very much a project and needs quite a lot of work. One day I could take it for a drive in the evening sun and be totally invested in getting it sorted. The next day, I’ll find it’s leaked oil everywhere and want to immediately get rid. There doesn’t seem to be an in between like the other cars I own. Does anyone else have this sort of love/hate relationship with their project cars, or am I going mad?
drpottel@reddit
Yes. Everyone does.
joezupp@reddit
Every day. I love my project vw vanagon BUT my son’s projects keep getting pushed in front of mine.
BuffaloBagel@reddit
My diesel westfalia has been parked in the garage for a decade with leaky injection pump while all the other household cars got worked on.
Kiteboarder1980@reddit
That thing is begging for wheel spacers… 15mm on the rear and 10mm on the front…
Character-Plantain-2@reddit
Does anyone love their project car more than they hate it? Am I doing this wrong?
StillhasaWiiU@reddit
i love the car part, i hate the project part.
Lazy_Hall_8798@reddit
Still in the "honeymoon" phase with my '97 Z3 Roadster, but I'm well aware that my German beauty can quickly become a beast.
13Vex@reddit
My mk1 cabriolet is nice but most of the electronics are shit. The wiring is very simple, but it’s also poorly done. Like my indicators, why the fuck does the entire circuit run through the hazard switch.
Beullersghost@reddit
Lol, all the dash lights not in the signal switch/hazard are powered by the headlight power circuit, if you have an aftermarket radio it will most likely also be powered by the headlight circuit, and also the cigarette lighter. It will start popping fuses, and once you get that fixed you have the fire hazard of the wire being to small for the current passing through. Mk1 VW's wiring is questionable at best. I ended up running a relay bar off the ignition to power different items.
UnbelievableDingo@reddit
As a 25 year journeyman Auto tech, every time I work on a German car it's the worst week of the year.
Sorry for your loss.
DarkStig22@reddit
I've been hating mine for a while !
Im_Darryl_Revok@reddit
I had several projects that I was able to turn around - I've been fortunate in the cars I've bought.
BUT ... I did pick up a 2000 BMW 323i for $300 a couple weeks ago - and I think it's a dud. Beautiful car - runs amazing , but after 20 min, I get the COG light, and she shuts down. An hour later, she runs amazing again - but for only 20 min.
Shop says they have to replace the VANOS and cam shaft sensor and quoted me 3k.
Love the car/Hate that it may not be worth it to fix.
fzrmoto@reddit
If you've only got $300 to lose, try to fix it yourself.
Im_Darryl_Revok@reddit
That is the plan - I replaced several sensors already.
From what I understand, the VANOS is a pain in the ass to replace and is harder to track down another VANOS.
Im going to continue working on it - the issue is , in the mind of a collector - the money I use to fix up much Beemer can be used for another car. It's a disease.
fzrmoto@reddit
Mine should technically be sorted but something always seems to pop up. Tree recently fell on it, but just enough to need a replacement windshield rather than total it. Can't win. lol
finkrat82@reddit
I took a damn near 10 yr break from my first. Course i start new ones all the time. Just give it a break because when you come back you see things you previously missed, you reprioritize and you end up with better results IMO
Outrageous_Shallot61@reddit
I have a love hate relationship with my daily, it’s basically also a project
Awkward_Stranger407@reddit
My golf
General-Explorer11@reddit
My last love hate was a mk3 Supra turbo don’t regret selling at all
D0z3rD04@reddit
Yes I have a series 2 rx7 and it is always fix one thing another breaks
TomGissing@reddit
Yes. I hate mine right now. After an engine swap, I can't get it to run properly. I'm so sick of fiddling with the carb/timing.
velociLlama64@reddit
Was going to get a 2000 audi tt but the 3500 the guy wanted made me apprehensive considering the age of the car and how fucked up i heard they were to work on so i settled on an 02 rsx which runs and drives but still needs to quite a bit of work. Right now the only thing I really hate about the car is that it smells like dog piss
pooo_pourri@reddit
Trunk leaking?
velociLlama64@reddit
The previous owner kept the dog in the trunk
somenewbie3477@reddit
IDK how to feel about my project. It was supposed to be a straight forward engine swap, but rather than go with a stock motor, or a stock+ motor, I went built so the throttle body is now the bottleneck. So then obviously, we needed new headers and a torque converter. We are at the re-assemble stage, and I am missing a bag of bolts. I'd like to get this project done but part of me wants it to just go away. I still need to find a tuner that I trust to at least get me a shake down tune as a starting point so when we are at that point, I can drive it around and make sure everything works...
No-Enthusiasm3579@reddit
Yes
No-Enthusiasm3579@reddit
Had mine done besides the interior then had an engine fire, rebuilt the motor AGAIN, got the trans built this time, in the home stretch of 'I don't wanna' with fuel lines, and wiring odds and ends
juwyro@reddit
Yup. I burned out hard on mine, a year later and I'm back at getting it onto the road.
Famous-Extension706@reddit
I sold my TT because it was a pain. Fix one leak then boom, there's another.
MayaIsSunshine@reddit
My 1999 Miata felt that way when I bought it in 2017, it ran but it seemed like everything was seconds away from falling apart. It sat for years before I bought it and had to run around chasing random issues and failures for a few years. Clutch master cylinder, alternator, water pump, fuel pump, oil filter sandwich plate exploded, header split in half, ignition coil, all failed in the first 3 years at various times, among other things. I finally have it sorted now though, it hasn't stranded me in years now.
MayaIsSunshine@reddit
Oh yeah, and my exhaust blew off the muffler twice, once on either side. The first time it happened was on the test drive lol