So, I am summoning the help of NYspeed in a decision I need to make rather quick. I found donor cars for two totally different projects that I definitely plan to eventually do both…and I have to choose which one makes more sense to do in the short term. Both donor cars are deals that are REALLY hard to come by and I probably won’t find another for the price with what I’m looking for…
Option 1: My Caterham/Lotus Super7 replica car that I have a frame started for. I found a RWD 4cyl manual trans’d car that is PERFECT for a donor for $500.
Option 2: Begin hoarding parts for the AWD focus project. I found a jaguar X-type that’s been wrecked for $500. It was a manual trans car, but the motor and trans have been pulled. But I need the rear diff, axles, driveshaft, computer, wiring harness, dash cluster, shift cables/tower, hubs, brakes, etc…this is a STEAL. I can use any v6 duratec from anything else Ford, and source a trans for about $500 later on down the road…
both projects are on my list of things to complete…but I can’t obviously buy both donors right now and work on both (I have way the hell too many projects as is)
If you had to choose, which would YOU build first? I think the jag will be harder to find again than the other donor car, as I could really use just about ANYTHING 4cyl rwd as a donor for the caterham build…so I’m leaning toward picking up the Jag…
If it were me, i would buy the jag, strip it of the parts you will need right now, sell what you don’t need and scrap the rest of it. You may be able to make back half or more of your purchase price, and if the RWD deal is still around, but that as well, use it to store the jag parts in now.
It sounds like the jag is a little bit more of a needle in a hay stack, and this keeps you moving on your current project as well.
that makes sense and I hadn’t really thought of that…my fear is that it’s not going to be a “quick” endeavor eliminating the parts of the jag I won’t be using in a part-out…seems most jag owners buy NEW parts or ditch the car when it is damaged. this is DEF more of a needle-in-a-haystack car than the other…if I legitimately had a grand laying around, I’d find a way to buy both, but it’s not feasible/sensable right now… I still can’t fit the focus in the garage at the moment to continue with tear-down on that…so my driveway already looks like shit with half assembled cars in it
---------- Post added at 09:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 AM ----------
Poll added
I’m getting a back-pay check for around $500 on friday, so I plan to buy one or the other over the weekend if still available…
no, I DD a 2012 F150. The focus is already half apart in my driveway for the RS body conversion…I have no problem ripping into that car for extended periods of time for a serious project. But I’ll probably only keep it a year or two after finishing it and sell it lol.
yeah I figured the only things I’d even be able to try and sell is the interior, the doors, and the fenders. The rest is either already gone or I’ll need it… so I might be lucky to get $150 out of scrapping the shell. the parts I’ll be getting are worth far more than what I’ll have spent…so it won’t kill me to ditch the rest but it would be cool to make a few bucks selling shit. Its British Racing Green with tan leather…good thing it’s not repairable, I’d be tempted haha.
Between this and your dad’s car project (which if you aren’t working on it now, you soon will be) and your Ford conversion, you have PLENTY on your plate. My vote is neither, get what you have up and running first, then find a new headache. No matter how amazing the deal is you WILL find another like it eventually.
an s2000 donor is far out of the pricerange I wanted to build this car with. I want to use either a tunderbird turbocoupe, 240sx, or a miata as a donor for it(In that order of most desirable to least desirable).
I’m a total AWD nut swinger for winter driving events but FUCK the AWD Focus project. A Caterham/Lotus would be WAY more fun. I can’t even believe this is a question.
