14 Y/o Want To Start A Project
 

I want to start a project car. But should I buy a car now and work on it slowly? Start from a straight and clean it up? Or buy something that's pretty clean for a more expensive price. And I also know a bit about cars..just not too much, do you guys just pick up the knowledge from working on it?

I am really looking into a MR2 or a 240sx as a project car...

yeah i got my first car at 13 i dont see why not

As I see it, here's what you need to jump into a 'project car'.

-A place to store it, and work on it, with a decent variety of tools
-A more knowledgeable person or people who are willing to help you with things
-Willingness to do a lot of reading and research online to learn everything you dont know
-Money and time to spare... it will always cost more and take longer than you think

exactly!!! i've worked on cars at a much younger age than that... but that was because i had plenty of people to teach me different stuff as we went...

I learned most of what I know from doing it. Look at it like this.... if you start working and learning now... eventually, a couple of things will happen.

A. You will learn a TON from doing so
B. You will have something that you are proud of.
and C. You can get something now, take your time to get it right, and you don't have to worry about getting to point A to point B without having to worry about, "****, my car is on jackstands again"

1- I have a place to store it,,, under the car port...
2- My friends dad and people that are on here.
3- That is why i am on forums.
4-And I know that... That is why i want to start one now...

exactly what he said. i wouldnt it would be no fun when your 14 cause you cant get a job unless your parents are paying for it how will you fund it.

its going to be expensive really expensive :(

I totally agree....

Thankfully, since he is 14, he doesn't have to worry about bills, rent, credit cards, and so on and so forth... so as long as he has at least a part time job, income is there. Time.... he is damn 14 lol. No work, no need for the car to always have to be on the road, and yada yada.

Troll already laid out some guidelines.

Key points are the research/reading/knowledgable input from others. Take your time, you have plenty of it till you're 16, hell you could build one sick car by the time you can drive if you do it right.

Keep this in mind, while impulse buys are fun, buy the things you need as you go. Example: Don't blow money on a turbo/kit when you haven't replaced alot of the stock components that need to be replaced, and other simple maintenance essentials.

Well i have close to a grand right now to buy a car.. Then this summer is when i am going to start to work full time...

well good luck man lol thats all i can say plus your doing more than i did when i was 14 also it will be hard finding a mr2/240sx under 1k running or not

Yeah if you have some income to be able to fund the project then I think it could be cool... just try to plan as much as you can about how it will go now so you can make good decisions from the start.
I have learned basically everything I know from researching it and doing it (either solo or with the help of someone more experienced). I feel that I've come a really long way, so I think its a great way to go about things, but its important to learn how to do it properly, and not cut corners so the quality of the work is high and the result is a reliable, well put together finished product.

a grand wont get u much and a full time job, im guessin min wage or close to it really is much money, save money and wait till u got a few grand saved up then buy a car

But I want a project car.. If I save up money I can get a car runing and nice

a grand wont go very far, theres no sense spending ur money all at once to buy a shell and have it sit forever til u can buy a motor to swap in it. just my .02

you're going to have a hard time finding a 240/mr2 for around $1000, unless it needs alot of work. take the next 6 months and start looking around for cars that you might think are worth becoming project cars. then, if you do find one in your range in the condition youre looking for, get it.

Like here is some cars

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/933031251.html
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/931453933.html
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/922944000.html
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/936655960.html

I get what you mean... But I was thinking get something now and then after i work the summer get the motor and some other parts

That sounds like a good idea. Just don't jump on the first car you see. I would probably make your first priorities after getting one is to get it running to where you want it before modding stuff.

Definitely try to start with a solid shell... I dont know how much money you'll be able to put toward it with working but also keep in mind that car insurance and gas are really expensive. Its really insane how much it costs to own and operate a car, but we still do it anyway.