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.