7 Items I Bring When Buying a Project Car
After years of scrolling, countless unanswered messages to sellers, and even a little tiff with the significant other, you finally have the green light to go pick up that project car you’ve been dreaming of. A quick trip to the bank for an envelope of cash, and away you go to bring home that hunk of crap that only you can save. You’ve got everything you need: cash, trailer, and time.
Well technically, yes, you might be lucky enough to pull off a successful retrieval of a project car with only those things, there are a few items that I have come to trust in my years of buying questionable project cars and motorcycles. I recently pulled home a 1985 Corvette and had a laugh when social media sent me one of the “on this day seven years ago” messages with photos of me towing home a terrible 1967 Corvair, including the tool kit I packed. I got a good chuckle seeing how similar the assembly of tools and other items were that I carried each time. Here are seven key items I won’t pick up a project car without.
Real tools
Usually you don’t need tools right away when picking up a project since it’s not like you’re going to fix the whole thing in the person’s driveway, but if you end up in a pinch, trying to use that Leatherman that’s been rattling around your glovebox for the last decade is frustration you don’t need. You are buying a project and that means you have tools at home. Grab a bunch of those and bring them with you. Think about what, if anything, might need to be secured for transport. If nothing else, it might help deal with small problems while loading up or properly securing loose parts that the previous owner hastily reinstalled to make the car look more complete that it really is.
Also, if you’re towing a trailer, having real tools to deal with problems that often pop up with wheel bearings or blown tires will save you a lot of time and headache if something goes wrong on the journey.
An inflator or spare wheels and tires
Moving non-running cars is hard. Moving non-running cars that are also on flat tires would be one of the levels of Dante’s Inferno had he been alive to see how hard it is to get a B-body Chevy to roll on three flat tires. Sometimes those old dry-rotted rubber donuts have just enough composure to still hold air, and only need inflating to hold at least long enough to get on a trailer. Other times, the rubber is at peace with its deflated state, and outright replacement is the only option to get rolling.
Come-along or winch
Even a good rolling project is no fun to push up ramps onto a trailer. Project cars don’t always run and even if the owner is kind and fit enough to help push, there is only so much a couple people can do against Newton’s third law. That project car has been sitting for some time and really wants to stay that way. Have the right tools to move a powerless car and it’s not such a big deal.
The Corvette was dead on arrival, but I was lucky enough that the trailer I managed to borrow included a winch and the driveway was flat. That Corvair involved more manual labor with a come-along to get it out of the area it had sunk into the field near a barn.
A jack
While your friend named Jack might be helpful, we are talking about the hydraulic or mechanical kind here. Most cars are low enough to the ground that even getting down there yourself really won’t let you see much of what might be hiding just out of sight. A small jack can let you get a more honest glance at what you’re buying—just make sure you know the safe jacking points so you don’t punch a hole through the floors—if they are still there.
Extra space
Someone selling a project car is more than likely a person who has all kinds of other interesting things, and you are showing up on a day when they are prepared to let things leave the property. You never know what a seller might toss in with the deal, and if you don’t have the space to get it home it’s hard to capitalize on the opportunity. When buying a parts motorcycle years ago, the seller gave me two mopeds because I was interested and knew what they were. Luckily I had space for them, unlike the guy who came to buy one of my project motorcycles years later and put the whole bike in the back of an already full Chevrolet Cavalier.
A trustworthy friend (or two)
I get excited about the potential that is a rusty or otherwise dilapidated vehicle, so much so that that I often forget to ask good questions or take the time to do a thorough inspection to know that what I’m buying is indeed what I think it is. A good friend will provide a counterpoint to all the pre-purchase excitement and generally be the voice of reason since they have no skin in the game. Be sure to at least buy said friend lunch.
A jump pack or battery
Cars that have been stored a long time, especially improperly, more than likely have a dead battery—if they have one at all. Taking a minute to connect power and confirm what works or even just that nothing at all works is absolutely worth the effort. Knowledge is power, and it’s always better to arrive with the capability to answer the question of what works and what doesn’t.
Something else worth bringing, some type of hand cleaner. You WILL get dirty and not every seller has somewhere that you can clean up at. And a small first aid kit as there is a good chance of some skinned knuckles. Better to try to avoid that infection now, than try to cure it later.
No kidding! I can’t even take out the trash without having to carry hand-cleaner, let alone go load up a project. Of course, I think it’s a good plan to ALWAYS have something like that along in the car – and especially in a working vehicle like a pick-up or tractor – not JUST when project buying.
2 pair of gloves, 3 ratchet tie downs, a 10K chain, bottle jack and assorted plywood and 2 x shoring is standard in a truck in my neck of the woods, two 12v starter relays and a set of points and condenser for the sake of discussion.
I just put a box of nitrile gloves in with my tools. Use the 7 mil thick ones. And, is your tetanus shot up to date?
And rags…
Gas and starter fluid.
4 extra set of hands and a remote location you can drag it to, so your wife doesn’t see it.
Hey, careful with giving away secrets here, Michael – my wife sometimes reads these columns! 😜
Yeah, I’ve brought home a couple “good deals” that didn’t appeal to my wife as a good deal. Later I sold them as my wife stood in the driveway with the, I told you so, look.
been there and done that!!LMAO
I used a car cover when I got my project home into the garage a few months ago. For what i spent on it I sure didn’t want the wife saying “are you SERIOUS!”
sooo true
Or in my case my husband 🙂
A buddy with a car trailer and a tire off the rim so you can push it onto the trailer with another vehicle. I’ve only ever bought 2 that couldn’t run and move under their own power, and that has been the general strategy
This may work, however I’ve also seen damage done to both vehicle using the push / tire method, particularly onto a trailer when the car being pushed goes up the ramps, making the rear bumper dip down. This probably worked better when cars had large steel bumpers and pushing on a flat surface.
Kyle, great advice you and The Hack seem to have the same affection for cars in, shall we say challenging condition (Corvair). By the way what usable parts were on that Corvair? Or were you buying yard art???? the corvette did not look that bad, hope the digital dash was still functional or you will have issues.
The Corvette had a lot more potential than the Corvair, you’re very right there.
In short, the Corvair was less a project and more a parts car. It was advertised as a 1967 and I was hoping to pull the collapsible steering column into my ’65. Sadly when I got there the car was a 1965 so I pulled a bunch of parts and sent the tweaked, rotten shell to scrap. I managed to pull all the parts needed to swap an automatic car to a manual from that parts car and it “only” cost $250 plus the trailer rental. Not bad.
You might want to bring a piece of plywood to put under the jack so it doesn’t sink into the yard
If the car in question is planted in a field or non-paved surface–Mark is right on the mark with his comment. I never failed to have substantial boards handy in the van when lifting a mired car.
And for goodness sake, if you’re using that jack to peer under the car, either bring jackstands (and more pieces of plywood) or DO NOT EVEN STICK YOUR NOSE under the car when only supported with a hydraulic (or even a mechanical) jack. I nearly suffered a broken arm adjusting brakes on a car supported by a jack, and even worse, lost a friend when his hydraulic jack collapsed while he was under the car.
See the caption under the second picture in the section titled “An inflator or spare wheels and tires”!
Don’t forget italian grinders!
I’m partial to a friend and a flashlight. Someone to tell you, what were you thinking.
A come-along?! For mere peanuts you can get a winch at Harbor Freight. And if you are concerned about sufficient pulling power, add a pulley and double up the cable. Half as fast but twice as powerful.
Also a wireless winch controller will save a ton of headache as you drag your project on the trailer. I’m able to steer the vehicle and look around it as it winches onto the trailer. Has saved me a ton of grief in the past.
Cheapest HF winch is $54 and still needs power and an appropriate mount. Come along is under $20 and can go anywhere. I see your point, but not everyone is in a place to modify their trailer to accept a winch–assuming they own a trailer.
At least one bright flashlight, gloves, coveralls, something to lay on, a magnet, tape measure, and air tank.
And sobriety…analytical & critical thinking may just save yourself a lot of future grief…
Also – something to have – if you intend to restore the car – thick skin may be helpful. I bought a ’59 Austin Healey 100-6 that was in a dirt floor aircraft hangar. The right rear brake was locked so the pulling the car out of the hangar and pushing it on to the trailer was ‘assisted’ by the local airport truck – with a plow on the front. FYI – I got the car in the Fall – so snow on the ground was not a helping – – or hurting factor.
As I am taking my new pride and joy home on the trailer – pre-IPass or EZ Pass days when there were attendants at the toll booths – one attendant commented “Good Luck.”
After arriving home – another person suggested having my tetanus shot up to date before I started work.
Ahh – it is good to have a positive support group.
Buying the car trailer. After years of renting one it has been a great investment. Not to mention all the new friends you suddenly have. (HA)
I finally found a good deal on a 16′ car trailer $1750. It’s nice to have one for car shows far away, new projects and I don’t mind loaning it out to friends.
Hello my new friend…
On the other hand…three of us went to retrieve a Studebaker Lark that had languished in a barn–80 miles away in Indiana–for nearly 18 months. We brought all the requisite stuff mentioned in the article. Literally cleaned the hay off the car, then primed the carb with a little gas, turned the key to start, and it it came to life after a few revolutions. Tire pressure was down a few pounds, so off to the nearest gas station for air, and we departed for home. Only thing not working were the tail lights, so I followed the Studie to make sure we didn’t attract untoward interest from the gendarmes. Made it home without incident, and the following fall drove it to Hershey and back–from Ohio.
Years ago when I was an Auto Parts sales rep, I stumbled upon a non running Norton Commando. Not to be deterred, I got the seller to loan me his tools to remove the wheels. I then spread out a blanket and we loaded the bike in the backseat of my Tarus company car. With the front forks hanging out the back window, I made the two hour drive home.
My sales manager made a point, before every mandatory ride along, to check the trunk for golf bags. He commented that I was the only one who had a trunk full of Motorcycle parts instead of a golf bag.
I always take at least a piece of cardboard or an old exercise mat to lay on to look under the car. Of course, don’t get under it unless you have brought jack stands that will hold it up properly. I have used my phones light, but a battery operated trouble light is great if the car is in a storage facility/barn.