Five top tips for dealing with a project car

There is endless fun to be had with project cars, be they inexpensive £500 runabouts or more serious and expensive classic restoration projects. Unfortunately, regardless of what you’re working on, a project car can also quickly become a source of tremendous frustration and financial despair.

If you’re considering picking up a project car, or something’s just landed on your drive, read on for my top tips on how to maximise enjoyment without blowing your budget to bits.

1. Don’t start ordering parts immediately

You know what you’ve bought, so it makes sense to start ordering the parts you need as soon as possible.

However, it’s easy to get carried away before you have properly got to grips with your new purchase. You might merrily buy lots of new or used parts, before digging through the car, then discover game-ending rust when you first get underneath it.

To save time and money, as a result, you should hold fire on those orders until you’ve established that the car is a going concern.

2. Give it a proper wash and inspection

A good first step with any project car is a comprehensive clean and check-up. Wash the car, tidy the interior, inspect everything, check the fluids and cast a flashlight over the underside.

This will help steer your plans and parts orders or, in some cases, allow you to bail out before throwing good money after bad.

If you still have doubts, consider putting the car through an MOT; it'll help identify if it's too far gone or, if not, detail exactly what it needs to get it back on the road.

3. Identify your goals and formulate a plan

It's crucial to have a plan for your project build. You might otherwise buy parts that subsequently become irrelevant, wasting money that could be spent elsewhere.

A set of new discs and pads, as a case in point, might promptly be replaced by an aftermarket brake system.

Alternatively, you might fit components that then have to be removed again to install something else you’ve bought. Come up with some goals, establish a to-do list, and get to work.

4. Be wary of fitting upgraded parts straight away

Immediately fitting performance parts to a project car can lead to disappointment and grief.

A set of uprated dampers and springs might prove tempting, for instance, but the improvements will be limited if the suspension bushes are shot to bits.

Instead, just replacing the bushes might result in a car that drives superbly – and, if you later settle on some upgrades, you’ll maximise the benefits.

Reset the clock: service everything, and replace worn-out parts, so you have a good starting point.

5. Take your time and enjoy working on it

There is often an insatiable urge to get everything done as quickly as possible but, unfortunately, this can lead to frustration. Many jobs, after all, will end up being far more involved than expected.

Don’t despair, though; when you can, just try to complete the odd minor task. It might just be fitting a new detail part, or sanding something back, but this little-and-often approach will help things keep moving along.

It’s important not to rush, too, as a hurried job inevitably just creates more work.

Thinking about picking up your next project car from an auction? Check out our auction buying guide here