5 Things to Immediately Inspect on Your New Project Car
The excitement of buying a new project is not to be underestimated. A new-to-you lump of a car that only you can, or will, save. But where to start? If you’ve bought a new-to-you car that doesn’t run, what’s the first thing you do? Try to make it run. But that’s mighty optimistic, and may cause even more problems.
Of course, the first step depends on each individual car and your goals, but in my experience buying projects, there are five critical items to inspect right away. These will not only get you familiar with the car but also ensure that you don’t accidentally cause damage in the excitement of diving into a new project. Follow these five checkpoints to make sure that when you actually grab tools and get ready to start working, you know what you are getting into and what to expect as you work.
Tires
While there are so many more exciting things to be investigating and poking at, tires are something to examine right away. All of us can get very excited when we get a project car running for the first time and will inevitably wind ourselves up until “just one trip around the block to see if it drives okay.” Blowing out a tire on a test drive is foolish and can cost a surprising amount of money should the belts of a tire decide to whip around and take out a fender.
check the date code and visually inspect the tread. Old tires are not inherently dangerous for a gentle test drive, but if cords are showing or the tire is deformed, it’s likely best to find some better rollers for moving the car about and that first test drive.
Brakes
Sliding into the driver’s seat, turning the key, and hearing a car’s engine roar to life is thrilling. Before we even know what we are doing we are shifting to first gear and seeing how the steering feels while easing out of the garage. What’s directly in front of you? Probably something you don’t want to hit.
The first time you press the brakes should not be the first time you drive it. Take the time to inspect and make sure the brake lines and hoses are in somewhat acceptable shape before trusting your life to them. Also, what does the brake fluid look like? On the 1985 Corvette I purchased recently the brake fluid was a deep brown and sludgy in texture. Merely lubing the slide pins and adding fresh fluid transformed the brakes into actual functional items—though I still need to put on new rubber lines.
Oil (in every location)
Oil is the lifeblood of so many mechanical objects. The engine, transmission, and differential in a project are no different. Project cars are rarely parked in perfect condition, and even if they are, storage environments often conspire to dry out seals and create leaks and seeps from all kinds of weird and wonderful places. That car might have gotten parked with a pan full of engine oil, but over the years it lost a quart or three. Fail to top it up (or change it completely), and that engine that showed the promise of being a runner can quickly turn into scrap metal. The same attention ought to be afforded to the transmission differential, or transfer case oil. If you see leaks at the seller’s property, you should assume your project does not have the proper amount of oil in it.
Coolant
Just like oil, coolant is critical to most engines living past a few minutes of runtime. “But my Porsche is air-cooled!” I hear from afar. Yes, I know, and you should still be worried about coolant flowing properly. I’ve pulled the sheetmetal that directs air over air-cooled engines just to find massive mouse homes–not just a nest but a home—that would have made an engine overheat in short order. The condition of the coolant on water-cooled cars can also be important or signal what else to expect on the project. Look under the radiator cap, and if there is no coolant or just water, it’s time to dig deeper and ensure there is no damage.
Weatherstripping
Compared to the rest of this list, weather stripping seems like the last thing to worry about, but the reality is that weather stripping keeps the outside out. A fresh barn-find car sitting outside for one short autumn rain shower can be enough to ruin a serviceable interior. Take a minute to wipe down the weather stripping and check if it seals. It’s not a big deal if there are leaks, but be sure to prepare for the consequences that come with lack of sealing. A lot of long-parked cars can be easily brought back to running condition, but ignoring weatherstripping can give you headaches for a long time if not careful. From moldy smells to shorted electronics, none of the things that come from leaks are fun to deal with.
I would add the fuel system before weatherstripping. What’s a little wind noise compared to combustible fuel leaking on to that hot exhaust. Also running gas that has sat for who knows how long can really do a number on the engine as well.
At least open the fuel filler and smell the tank. If the car has been sitting for too long, you will be able to smell bad fuel.
Yep! My son and I bought a first gen 4Runner and didn’t know that it had been sitting. It ran and drove pretty well-for a while. The old fuel had created rust in the tank that we unknowingly moved to the fuel filter and beyond, resulting in an expensive fuel system service that included injectors, regulator. new tank, pump and strainer, plus a sender. Had we originally dropped the tank to see why the guage didn’t work, we would have seen the crap in the tank and likely would have dodged bigger problems.
This is simple Check. test and replace all needed fluids.
Second check pads and shoes. Stopping is more important than anything even if you push it.,
Check belts.
Check fuel in the tank and condition depending on how long it sat.
Weather strips are way down the list. You need to focus on all the things that make the car run and survive.
You should be inspecting lines, hoses, frame, exhaust and bushings. To be honest all of these should be looked at before you even buy. Bad frames should not be purchased in the first place.
I mean, the last point seems like things that should be inspected before agreeing to exchange money and titles. If your new to you project (meaning a transaction has been a completed) has a bad frame, then you failed the basics of buying an old car.
Don’t bother checking the fuel. Drain it, clean the system out, and put in new.
I check a lot of the obvious things first… fluids, rubber parts, etc., then I literally shake them down. Short trips up and down the road first, then a bit longer. From there, I let the car tell me what it needs.
My “project cars” tend to be non-runners in the first place – in fact, it’s rare that they even have an engine in them at all! All of these things are important to check for a car that is ready or nearly ready to drive, but when I think “project”, I think more along the lines of 1) find all the missing parts to complete the body, 2) find a suitable frame to mount said body, 3) weld a bunch of brackets, mounts, and connecting points to install body, 4) source drivetrain components, 5) well, you get the point. I’m not looking at brakes and tires and weatherstripping for a LONG time after I acquire my projects!
Dub6 is spot on. A project usually needs pushing onto a trailer, not something to drive home. If it has an engine, the parts are in a bucket and the block is in the trunk.
Sidewall cracks on the tires no matter what the tread looks like is a no go. Also if you have a milky deposit on the underside of the rad cap means bad news, maybe a head gasket, etc.
Having worked in aviation for 35 years, we used to see sidewall cracks all the time. Goodyear’s published guidance was as long as cord is not visible through the crack, the tire is considered airworthy. Needless to say, many customers did not care for that advise.
I usually hold off on tires until the project is nearly a driver. I’ve gotten excited about a project and purchased tires right away, only to have the tires age for years before meaningfully being driven.
That’s absolutely fair, but you sound smart enough to not drive on the old tires. A lot of folks will buy non-running projects and then get them running quickly and then say “we’ll lets drive it now!” without checking the tires.
I actually had a tire company discourage me from buying a set of specialty tires (9″, wide-whitewall, pie-crust cheater slicks, with a certain tire brandname molded into the sidewall) for a themed project build. These were manufactured on an as-ordered basis (not a stock item). I had a few bucks in the budget so I called to order them. The company asked me when I expected to have the car streetable, and I told them it might be a couple of years. They said they felt I should wait most of that time before placing my order so that I wouldn’t have 2-year-old tires to put on a car when if I waited, they’d be new. I really respected that!
Add “your sanity” to the list. You may have to question what you have just done and now begin the 5 steps of grief. :^)
I would put the brakes first, even before tires.
When I go to buy a car the first thing I check is how the doors close. I make sure the seams are even and they open and close easily. This tells me the frame or unibody is good. Then I check the upper control arms for the amount of shims. This again tells me the condition of the chassis. How much front crossmember sag. Then I check for general rust. Quarters and dog legs. I like to drive convertibles if I can and make sure the doors aren’t slapping the quarters on a bump and rough roads. This tells me once again the chassis or unibody isn’t fatigued. To me everything else can be fixed or replaced. You have to have something solid to start with or you’re just wasting your time.
Agree fuel system needs to be right after brakes. Drain and flush as needed. Depending on the vehicle, running from a container right to the carb is a good first pass.
I’m a stickler on replacing any rubber line. Brakes lines for sure and then fuel lines followed by coolant lines. Hydraulics with seals that can wear, like calipers, wheel cylinders, master/slave cylinders. Just did the clutch slave on the 62 C10 that recently joined the fleet. PO had replaced all he rubber brake lines, wheel cylinders and master.
And updated the fuel system from tank to carb.
Recent date code on tires so good enough for now.
Once over on the electrical.
Tires, I can tell you right now you should ask Paul Walker how important it is that you never drive on the street with old tires, he would agree if he wasn’t taken from us by a set of old tires. Those old tires should be viewed as things that let you easily roll the car around the shop or yard until they can be replaced.
Breaks, I have no idea how that dry rot and fall apart thing happens to something so critical, but I have seen it too many times to ignore that it does happen to even the best friction material.
Unless you are buying a car that you helped do the work on yourself, you should assume all the fluids including the grease in the light bulb sockets probably needs to be replaced, brake fluid, ball joints, that grease fitting on the clutch linkage that no one remembers, and yes the grease in the light bulb sockets that people think is a joke until they have to replace a bulb socket because the bulb froze to it. Hinges, latches, if it moves lubricate the wear points, It’s all fun and games until you are rolling down the window to get out because the door linkage wore through. Oil and coolant in all the places they live or are killing your car, don’t forget the shifting linkage when you change the transmission oil or fluid, grease that as well. Does the car have points, grease the cam for the points before the plastic follower on the points is destroyed by it being dry.
Optimism is the enemy in buying used cars, especially cheap or project cars.
Commit to a go/no go check over on a drive on style lift before exchanging money.
If this is too inconvenient… just don’t do it. Sounds tough but it is the right thing.
I wish I had a list of the dozens of freshly painted early Mustangs and similar vehicles we saw over 40+ years…. where the front frame connectors or unibody sections were completely rusted out. Total trash.
All bought cheap and paid for in cash… some 1st cars… cheaply painted up and ready for the junk yard.
Back to fuel, if the car has been sitting for years, it is likely that the fuel tank will require replacement. I recently restored a car that sat for many years with little use but had no rust in the tank. When I topped off the fuel and started driving, the varnish in the tank and in the fuel lines clogged the fuel injectors. The resulting lean running condition damaged the engine valves. I ended up replacing the fuel tank and injectors but somehow the electric fuel pump lives on. Replacement of the fuel tank should have taken place prior to driving the car at all.
#1 thing make sure the vin # matches the title before diving all in
revv, that sounds like a “first hand knowledge” kind of thing. Sorry for your loss…
Absolutely
RUST!!! That’s the absolute first thing I look for — rust then other body damage that might be costly to repair. A solid body can have all the mechanicals replaced fairly easy, cutting and welding a body (especially unit body cars!) can get time consuming and costly fast.