The End of My Project Cars

Why I am no longer "doing project cars". And I mean it this time.

Photo by @mistercircles

I've put in quite a few years on this basketball shaped space rock and for the vast majority of those years, I've been making questionable (yes, they were fun) decisions about which cars I chose to drive and modify. It's been rare that I've ever driven a car that wasn't a project or otherwise did responsible things like work when you want them to or carry more than two people. The two that weren't a project were a 1997 Saturn SL2 (it had a spoiler so I don't wanna hear any lip) and a 2007 Jeep Commander. Spoiler alert and yes the pun was intentional, neither were my daily drivers for very long. I currently own 3 cars. Arguably, this is two too many vehicles for any sane person and one too many for your average car guy or gal. And although two of these cars were considered project cars, they all are kept insured and in running condition. As you may have guessed this gets real expensive, real fast especially if you are maintaining and modding them. I built the 2000 Audi S4 for track and autocross duties. Intake, exhaust, brakes, coilovers, tune etc. But then one day, I blew a turbo coolant return line and that repair was so mind numbingly difficult and time consuming to do that I knew the car wasn't meant for the track. If I was being honest with myself, I knew well before that . Every forum I'd ever read told me this car isn't meant for the track. It looks amazing, it handles well (fight me) and it takes to mods like a fish to water. Here's why it's not a track car though. Track cars break. Then you fixe them. Then you take them back to the track. The Audi B5 S4 on the other hand... wasn't meant to be fixed. They're extremely complex and expensive to repair and that's if you can find the parts. So you see, there's a conflict of interest. So what did I do? I finally succumbed to common knowledge and bought what all of the forums said was the greatest fun track day car ever made. A Miata. Not just any Miata. An NB sport Miata. It was beautiful, non abused and stock. And I immediately sliced into it making it something you cannot easily take to the grocery store because of the bars, and harnesses and seats and things. But man oh man does it corner. The F Type R is the first car I've ever bought that I don't want to mod. Ok, I could see myself doing a tune and a pulley because 600+ horsepower sounds like too much fun. But here's the thing. I'm done with project cars. So I'm not going to do it. Here's why.

1) I sometimes fear that as strong minded as I am, I can be sucked into social media based clout chasing just like anybody else. Here's what that looks like. Hey, look at my car, I'm adding a (insert $800 car part) to it this weekend. I'll do a video and you give me likes and it will feel great. And it does. It truly feels amazing to see people appreciate your work. But at what cost? All of my cars have enough power and they are all "low" enough. I have done all of the things I want to do to them to increase safety and reliability. All of my cars look exactly how I want them to look. Would perfect paint be nice? Absolutely, but I love the quirks and stories my cars own. They're not spring chickens and neither am I. So we kinda fit each other. So I would question if I did more than maintain and drive these cars... who it was for?

2) I just want to drive. I'm the kind of guy who would get back from a road trip with my wife, throw the backpack in the bedroom and fire up the racing sim so I could do a couple of laps before dinner. Did I say "would" do that? I meant have done that. My wife was not impressed. So why would I continuously keep my cars undrivable when all I really want to do is drive them... a lot. My S4 has been out of commish and in the shop for what seems like ages. It's a full engine out and while I'm glad it will be reliable when I get it back (knock wood)... I'm just kind of ready to get it on the road. With the amount of preventative maintenance I've done to it, who knows. Maybe it'll even see an autocross course before 2023 is done.

3) It's more fun to talk about other people's cars than your own. I've been talking about myself and my car experiences on Caffeine GT magazine and it's been hella fun. People have gotten to learn about me and my cars and the journey has been amazing. But when I talk to other folks about their cars and their ambitions and their activities it's even more fun. Part of that is because I love learning new things and when you talk to other people, you learn. I've been in my own head for decades. Been there done that. I know what I want and I know what I like. To stay there talking about myself would be monotonous. Talking to other folks, however... now that's interesting. So that's what I'm going to do more of in 2023. Good timing for this blog I suppose. It's almost the new year. Let's makes some new years... plans? Promises? Deals? Anyway, I'm sure someone has come up with a phrase for what I'm trying to articulate. Moving on.

In closing... I am done with project cars. I've done everything I want to do to the ones I own. Now they are just cars. Things I drive. Things I have fun with. Things I share with other car guys and girls. If I come up with a new thing to do to my cars, I will surely share about it if it's interesting enough. But outside of that, I'd simply rather be driving, having experiences and talking to other car addicts about their projects. Please note. I am not disparaging car builds. If you are building because you have a goal in mind, there is no nobler cause in the car community and heck... I'd probably like to talk to you about it. As for me... I'm hoping for a repair free, mod free 2023. If only so I can see what it's like to not be obligated to wrench... just for one year. If everything works out well, I plan to have blogs, photos and features... from people who are non-me in Caffeine GT Magazine. That will be amazing.