cost of build and daily driver

I am 22. you don't understand how many times my friends say I could of bought a and built numerous hondas. I have a budget of 15k. I just look at them and say exactly what you said.

 

I was talking to a guy that runs one of the best ford engine building/tuning shops here in Western Australia and he said that his friend (who is in the paint & panel business)was telling him that for professionally done paint & panel job (back to bare metal) will cost you on average 40k here at the moment. Iwas quoted that about 7 years ago for my car

 

40k what?

 

Probably would cost me about a grand to get mine "nice" and reliable. Not including power brake conversion, disc brake conversion, or much of anything cosmetic.

 

It all depends on what way you choose to go with it. If you really want it to be reliable and a daily driver, and don't need to have show quality paint and custom forged wheels and a 10k sound system, then it should be cheap to keep it running, I think with something around 2k should be enough to change oil, coolant, battery, shocks, brake pads, brake fluid, air filter, gas filter, buy a new coil, service the carb, replace bulbs, replace wipers, oil the doors and trunk, reconstruct the steering box (if needed), replace diff oil, replace trans oil, install a simple car stereo with normal speakers, install an alarm system with door lock actuators, and (in case the engine needs it) a change of piston rings and service to the heads. All if you do it yourself, which is the fun part.

Don't let people discourage you from daily driving your mav, I did it for a while and had no problem with it even with the obscene traffic we got here. In the end, is cheaper and more stylish to daily drive your mav than to buy a more expensive, uncool, harder to fix recent car. Many people think cars must stay in the garage being too afraid that somenthing wrong happens to it or simply feeling that even when they " love their cars" , it's too cumbersome and uncomfortable to be driving them daily! So don't listen to them, love your car and and use it for what it was intended to be used for, go ahead and drive it!

 

Thanks man, im going for it!

 

Only problem is once you start you might not be able to stop, next thing you know it's to good to be a daily driver.

 

Ditto (what H2O said). I would include replacing inner & outer tie rods, sway bar bushings and mounts, and idler arm. New ball joints and shocks should also be on the list. After this get the front end aligned. Unless the previous owner did something recently the front end parts could be quite old and worn out. Get under the car and take a close look. Best of luck.

 

people have different opinions of..."reliability status".
and the... "your liking". is in the..."eye of the beholder".

idea...drive it as is and fix it as it breaks down...

 

They make great daily drivers. Been driving this one for the past 10 years.

But in those 10 years I've replaced just about everything you can. And somethings more than once. But in those same 10 years I've spent less on it that I would have on a newer car. And I have a lot more fun driving it.

 

If you want it as a daily driver then do it, it isn't easy by any means though. If you are good with your hands and have technical knowledge or knows someone who does then you should be fine. I'm 21 in college and drive my 73 every day to school and every where I go. I bought the car for 4200 and have put about 1500 into it. I have upgraded the ignition, starter, brakes, interior, sound system etc.. Just go to swap meet and buy your parts when you can and you will save money. It isn't easy and you will have to constantly work on but it's worth it. Just buy the car in the best condition you can and go from there.

 

I have a 71 Comet (302, c4 and AC ) and I have been driving it every day for almost 9 years now. It is all stock mechanically except for dual exhaust and a Pertronics igniter. So far I have about 5500.00 invested in it including the purchase price. I had to rebuild the transmission, replace the heater core, replace the radiator, clean out the gas tank, rebuild the carb, and all the other general maintenance; brakes, belts, hoses etc. The body and paint is all original but I did splurge and buy 4 new wheels and tires( American Racing Torque thrusts). The paint is fading and the quarter panels show some rust but I'm still having fun!

 

what about the shocks and ball joints, then everything would be stock?

 

When I bought this car it had 48,000 miles on it, it now has 112,000 miles on it. I did have to replace the shocks, idler arm, and the idler arm center link bushing but I haven't had to change the ball joints.