Fuel for Thought.......

Project Cars

Recently somebody was picking my brain for an idea of a project car , his daily driven ride has maxed the sensible limit before ending up as an unreliable monster jahat type..

In a perfect world, a 2 door coupe or 2 door hot-hatches are great platform to start with as your 1st car and they have an added advantage of 'motor mbiak mudak' stigma attached with it........driving a 3-Series BMW or Benz C-Class Kompressor...will get you labeled 'motor urang tua' or 'motor makbapak' or worst, 'motor mbiak tua ija'....


.......Coupes and hatchbacks are great chassis to polish your driving skills, a great start to your car project...no need to waste money...alas we tend to buy a new car, cheap econoboxes (Iswaras, Kancil, Kelisas, Kenaris, MyVis, etc etc)... cheap, affordable, fairly maintenance free cars with high financing availability....

1 Car + Modds = Happy

then you end up getting bitten by the bug, buy another car to start a project car venture...now you end up having 2 cars to maintain..(logik sik mun sigek jak k modd and k round2)

1 Daily Driven + 1 Project = No Savings

2 Door Coupes and 2 Door Hot Hatches are unfortunately quite costly here in Bolehland and most are priced out of reach from your normal mbiak (bloke).


Coupes such as Putras, Corolla Levins, Trueno Sprinters, Celicas, Silvias, Fairladys, Preludes, Integras, RX7s, MX-5s, MX-3s, Cordias, Starions, GTOs, FTOs, Alcyones, Piazzas etc etc costs a big sum ......the mentality is if its a 2 door car, its a sporty car then its not for the masses but only for the selected few, hence the astronomical price..


Hot Hatch with examples like Satria, Starlets, Pulsars, Civics, Colts, Mirages, Swifts, Familias 323s, are fairly affordable but some still can fetch quite a healthy wads of money.


Personally, I always had a soft spot for The Mango and Ford Escort Cosworth...I know Webb has a thing for The Formidable Satria GTi...damn good choice I'll say..


But in my opinion, a well cared old 2 door coupe and hatchbacks are always a better option for a project car/daily driver but the lack of financing or the big amount of cash needed to secure one is always a hindrance to many.


Anyways, in that perfect world... Our modds will progress as we age and we should fight the urge to go all out and make the ride all about un-drivable BIG Horsepower or Trailer Queen Poser lest you end up not having a daily driver at all.. (bila modd ya boh over! mun dah 200 out of 365days ya dlm workshop/garage, bukan sensible dah ya)


Like wine, the car should age and mature in its modds slowly but surely towards the ultimate goal ..... by then we are already earning good figures and we are ready to acquire our executive type (read yuppies) automobile..its the car we use to snare the ladies with, show it off to your colleagues with, to show that you have climbed up the ladder....a 4 door..to ferry those yuppies friends of yours for Happy Hour, to haul the wives and kids...to impress the in-laws...


me? E30 BMW or Benz 190E Evolution2 16v Cossie suits me fine...Old? yeahhh... but timeless heirloom!!

1 Project + (1 Daily Driven x Upgrade = Executive ) = Planet Dubb (Debt)

or

1 Project + ($ Saved From Maintaining Only 1Car) = 1 Project + 1 Exec (90% Paid For) = Wise

by now, you still own the Project car...(didn't have to sell it to finance the new car coz you save the cost of having to buy another extra car for a daily driver.)..plus you have that executive family car... Project car should by now register a strong BHP reflecting your sensible modds...


Another theory i would like to share is how often the family/executive car should be swapped out for a new one..again..in a perfect world where car does not give you problems..I find that the best time to swap for a new model is when your kids has learn to appreciate value of money...no sense buying a classy car only to be soaked in pee and graffiti-ed with crayons....besides, your kids will have a great sense of pride, riding in a new car when he already knows how to appreciate one....


Hitting the middle-age...bikes? tourers, easy riders, superbikes? pick your fancy... I'm leaning towards a yatch..too much??? most at this stage will buy a SUV, MPV...nothing says I'm married, financially stable, bored to death, not getting any sex from the wife as an MPV or SUV does......although an evil Techart Magnum Porsche Cayenne will do nicely for me..grin grin.. It Screams..I'm getting IT..in LOADS and than SOME!! HAHAHA!!



The golden years will have you restoring classics and indulging in 4x4 adventures or in my case, flying my Gulfstream G5 ( I wish )... I would like to get my hands on a Sexy1964 Lincoln Continental and a Viral '73 Volkswagen Super Beetle with a 911 Turbo engine stuffed in it or a Scooby boxer....



my 4x4 would be a toss up between an FJ40, LO49 Shogun or a Landie Defender ... now Webb has jumped the gun and finished his 4x4 project early...but then again...not everybody has deep pockets like he does..hehe..

Perfect World for me would be my 1000bhp Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 + Maserati Quartoporte + TechArt Cayenne GTS + Land Rover Discovery 100... well..for now lah...im fickle minded..expect it to change in a few seconds...typical Male kan?? hehe


so to my Brother with the MoarrPawer Itch.... make sure its a 2 door car with off the shelves modds and upgrades you can reasonably afford...no point buying the car and finding out later all the stuffs made for it costs balls and dicks!!!!! you get what I mean...hehe...

dz@l