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6 Sneakily Expensive Upgrades for Your Classic Car
Playing with cars is expensive. There’s really no two ways to get around that. From the vehicles themselves to the tools and parts to maintain them, there’s not much that can truly be done for free if cars are the toys you decide to fill your personal sandbox with. Of course, not all projects are wallet-draining, but occasionally our brains lie to our hearts about the true price of the modifications and projects we want to undertake.
Some of the most fun projects and tasks that we might desire to undertake on our aging iron are also some of the most expensive, but they don’t always appear that way. Here are six examples of projects that can pull more than expected from your wallet than you expect if you aren’t careful.
Engine swap
This is one that gets people more than you might think, especially with all the internet-documented swaps out there. While it’s possible to buy an engine, even an “exact replacement” for short money, it is not the big parts of an engine swap that will drown your mind while emptying your bank account. Small parts and “while I’m in there” bit can spiral the effort out of hand rapidly—simple $5 here and $20 there for hardware, gaskets, or sensors all conspire to inflate your budget well beyond initial expectations.
Paint job
Tatty paint is a feature to some people, including myself, because it often makes caring for a car a little bit easier: Bumps, nicks, or scratches can be forgotten about more easily on something that already has a little character. “Patina” is not for everyone though, but if you want fresh color and clear on your vintage ride, it’s often best to prepare for the final bill well in advance. Good paint jobs are not cheap, especially if you are not able to do the prep work yourself. Cleaning, sanding, and masking eat up mountains of time when done right, and time is money.
Custom wheels
Not aftermarket wheels, custom wheels. The set I put on my Corvair back in 2017 required a lot of measuring before plunking down my cash—they were made to order, as there was no option for off-the-shelf wheels that I liked. I could have saved literally thousands of dollars if I would have been okay with a used set of Cragars, but the fitment and look of this set suits my tastes perfectly and I could not be happier. It just took a surprising amount of time to recover financially.
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Cam swap
If you are tempted to make large changes to your existing engine in light of reading how off-the-rails an engine swap can go, I’ve got bad news. Engines are fancy air pumps, and the camshaft controls the air and fuel as it enters and exits the cylinders, meaning a camshaft change can completely alter the power potential and character of an engine. It’s also a swap that often requires far more than just a new cam. Supporting mods like valve springs, rocker arms, and pushrods will add up quickly if you’re not careful, and suddenly a simple swap turns into a full engine rebuild.
A good stereo
The way chords and a rhyme mesh with cruising in a vintage car is one of life’s great pleasures, but if you want to upgrade the stereo in your aging car, you might be in for a frustrating mix of adapters and ill-fitting parts, all of which require work to fit even close to properly in an old structure. Items that are proven to fit right often have a matching price tag. Just putting new speakers into old openings doesn’t always yield the results expected. Getting modern sound in an old car costs real money.
New upholstery
Much like a custom suit, unless you know what you are looking at, custom upholstery can sometimes hide in plain sight. Even simply replacing tired interior components will often spiral up in cost because new materials make old, even only slightly worn stuff look even worse. That means it often comes down to tolerating the mis-match or refreshing as much as possible all at once. Missing interior parts are often hard to find, and matching materials can be near impossible if you have a rare option fabric or finish. Nice interiors are made of fabric, and so is paper currency … maybe that’s why I’ve never had both at the same time.
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New paint often requires new door handles and trim pieces for the desired look, assuming those pieces are available.
I am going through this right now. before my car was painted the bumpers and trim were the highlights. Now after paint they stick out like a sore thumb. Just a having a front bumper straightened and re chromed is around 1000 bucks.
These are only sneaky if you don’t do your homework work.
Plan out your project and know what you need to do before you do it. Also account for the what if’s like rust hidden on a body panel etc.
Yes, custom wheels are expensive but it really sets your vehicle apart from the others if you chose wisely. I get asked frequently about the Raceline wheels on my Javelin since most others settle on Torq Thrusts.
Kyle, buddy – I enjoy your columns and (having been a biker nearly my entire post-adolescent life) I fully support your motorcycle habit, but –
titling a column to reference upgrades for a “classic car” and then picturing dirt bikes in the title photo is just not cool, man! 😜
I scored on a set of 140 HP heads at one of the past Corvair national convention’s swap meets. They came with a fresh valve job and cost just $125. It doesn’t come close to balancing out against all the money pits I’ve filled up. But being such a good deal, it still gives a good feeling when thinking about it!
I finished (kinda) my hot rod a few years ago. Purchased back in the early 90’s. Life got in the way house,kids,college etc. But along the way I gradually accumulated parts. Swap meets, eBay Craigslist blah blah. Being on a tight budget made me scrounge for good deals Once retired and with boxes of parts ,time and some extra cash built up it all came together. Prices on car parts have definitely gone way up in my lifetime but there’s still good deals to be had
So spill the details, brother! What’s this (kinda) finished hot rod?
PS – my story is similar to yours, Scavenger. I had always wanted a fenderless Model A rod, finally found a deal in 1994 on a rust-bucket project hulk. Thought “okay, this will be my retirement project”, tucked it away, and began acquiring parts. Life intervened, and am only now really getting into building the car. Of course, retirement pay means slower going in the spending department, but every once in awhile, running across that bargain can be a real boost!
I hear you on the paint job. That’s why my 66 Corsa coupe has forty year old cracked lacquer paint. I get in it and drive without having to worry about dings and chips.
The small parts mentioned in the engine swap strikes me. Many times, in all sorts of different kinds of projects, those costs can escalate quickly. The relatively inexpensive bits and pieces in total frequently add up to quite a lot. So while people think this job won’t cost too much in pounds they ignore watching the pennies.