(Part 2) Top products from r/projectcar

That's tricky. If you don't have a friend that's a mechanic plus you're a novice, a project car is going to bleed you dry financially. It would be a lot less expensive in the long run to buy a fully restored car.

Start here: www.amazon.com/Auto-Repair-Dummies-Deanna-Sclar/dp/0898153417

That's the 1989 edition that I started with in 1989. That, and a 1974 Pontiac Ventura. I was a complete novice at the time myself.

This book will be especially helpful to you, because it uses the author's 60's Mustang as a reference for everything. That's the 1st edition of the book. There is a second edition that's a lot more recent, but I don't know what's in it. For your 'Stang - get the 1st edition for $5 and save $20.

There's also a good chapter about what to look for when buying a car. That'll be helpful to you as well.

As far as being a novice goes, don't let that intimidate you. I've learned that 90% of mechanics is having the confidence in yourself that you can fix it, and you can fix it correctly. Always have the right tools for the job. Buy the best tools that you can afford. Today, there's a whole internet full of videos about car repair. I didn't have that luxury.

And good luck! I wanna see Mustang pictures one of these days.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find actual detailed schematics.

http://www.amazon.com/Race-Rally-Car-Sourcebook-Competition/dp/085429984X

That book has a lot of pictures and diagrams of various racecars (both production based and formula style) and discussion about design considerations.

The To Win series by Carol Smith has some wisdom from a man who built a lot of formula cars, but it's mostly technical stuff - not straight up schematics.

The only resource I know of that has full schematics about how to build a car, is Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250 and Race It!, but that's to build a 1960 era Lotus 7. (If you want to check this out, I have a .PDF copy I might be able to upload, as the original is out of print - the book shouldn't cost 1/2 the price of the car they teach you to build IMO, lol).

A while back, I had the same dream - except not a Formula 1 car, just a homebrew of some sort.

To get "practice" at putting a car together, I taught myself a 3D CAD program called SolidEdge (similar to Solid Works, except there is a free academic version that's readily available to almost anyone). I looked everywhere for schematics of real race cars so I could attempt to model one before I started working on my own design. The best thing I could find was that Build Your Own Sports Car book.

Seems like nobody wants to give away their design secrets - even with 50 year old cars...

About 10 years ago a friend of mine got a book about Ferrari's ~2000 F1 car. I think the book cost $250. You could probably build a ~2000 Ferrari F1 car based on the photos and diagrams in that book, but you'd need an extremely well equipped shop to do it, and it would still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make the shell and suspension. I don't even remember what the book was called. I think it might be this one, but I'm not sure.

It sounds like you're comfortable with a carb; if that's the case then EFI should be easy for you. Greg Banish has a few books, this one and this one, that lay it out very well. These are the best how to books on the topic I know of. An Innovate LC2 (or the outgoing LC1 for a bit cheaper) is all the equipment you'll need.

I used to say the same thing about EFI vs carbs... now I can hardly imagine running a carbed car. My '83 Alfa will definitely get EFI, probably the '72 Duster as well. Part of that may be that I'm an engineer in the engine industry, I confess that I probably have certain biases.

Yeah, if it's a practicality thing I use this "shaker" siphon and red plastic fuel cans.

If it's an aesthetics thing: then no.

I use this for a lot of gas, and it works well. Why? Because I was reading the Kroger fuel discount brochure one day and realized my reward was for up to 35 gallons of gas. I was essentially throwing over half my reward away by using it on 15 gallons of gas. So now, I take my car and four five gallon containers about once a month and save 50 to 70 cents per gallon on 35 gallons ($210-$294 for a year/ enough for a membership to the children's museum and zoo). Before I was using a funnel, but that shaker siphon was a godsend. I just set the 5 gallon container on my trunk (old car) and start it going and come back in a few minutes.

Maybe that helps? I use it for my mower and moped too.

To what end? Got to ask why you're planning this work.

Are you looking to change the suspension pickup points? If that's the case, you'll need to do the math on suspension design to ensure that your suspension points will work. Carroll Smith wrote the definitive book on this subject (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0768011205/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_of_12?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2Z9CNKQKDTFVS2QX0DN8) If you're not going to change suspension points, a well built jig will allow you to replicate the pickup points and build a tubular subframe.

Regarding Roll cages, you'll want to follow the rule book of whatever racing you plan to do. A roll cage built without a rule book isnt a great idea. Different motorsports sanctioning bodies have different rules. If youre going to do different kinds of racing, you'll need to make sure you meet all of the requirements of all the rule books. This could require some creative thinking before you ever bend a tube. Even if you're not going to race (but then why the roll cage), it's best to follow a certain set of guidelines.

You should be able to find several books on Amazon, check out this one- http://www.amazon.com/Build-Chevy-Small-Blocks-Budget-Performance/dp/1932494847/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377614427&sr=1-2&keywords=small+block+chevy
I've read several books from that series and they are very helpful.

Sweet! What motor does it have? There are a lot of good forums, 78ta has been very helpful. For parts, Ames has an incredible selection. Don't forget to just check rockauto or your local parts store for more generic stuff like brake parts and other wear items. They'll be way cheaper than a specialty catalog. If you're getting into the motor, Rocky Rotella's book is basically the bible for Pontiac motors. How much will it cost... I try not to think about it... but here are some rough #s: Vintage Air AC: $1500; replace brakes from booster to rotors $1500 (not the rears); Stainless exhaust: $900; Engine work and parts $5000 (roughly). Misc parts and trans rebuild will be at least another $1000. Rocky's book tells you how to get the engine done way cheaper but I'm this deep into the project and don't want to go cheap on the motor.

I have a lot of experience in off-road, light weight vehicles. 500cc would be OK for a single seater - a Mini Buggy, not a rail http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c14/theo44/Bandit/Picture0022.jpg

If you want to go "junkyard car" route, strip a VW Beetle (standard, NOT a super).
To see what can be done (street use) go here:
http://volksrods.com/forum/

If you are thinking car based off-road, you MUST read this before buying ANYTHING: http://www.amazon.com/Baja-Bugs-Buggies-VW-based-off-road/dp/0895861860/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426456596&sr=1-1&keywords=baja+bugs+and+buggies

https://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Performance-Pontiac-Design/dp/1884089674

"stud socket connector"
Part numbers I have found: 5656C, AC Delco# PT404, GM# 12112171

here's a couple of sources:

http://www.repairconnector.com/products/GM-Ford-Chrysler-Universal-Stud-Socket-Pigtail-.html

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pco-5656pt/overview/

https://www.amazon.com/Pico-5656PT-Universal-Pigtail-12112171/dp/B0002JN06U

(25 pack) https://www.amazon.com/Pico-Universal-Pigtail-12112171-Package/dp/B01DCJGY5U

A simple crimper is cheaper and will give you more repeatable and reliable results than a vise. That one's made in 'murricah, and it's probably cheaper than the vise.

https://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Own-Sports-Car/dp/1844253910/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540663040&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+build+your+own+sports+car

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/index.php

https://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Camaro-Guide-1970-1-1981/dp/1613252196

I've had to do this to pull a rocker at home. Don't use a chinese puller, they will hurt you, good one is only $35.