Muscle car

I am looking to build a muscle car but i am 16 years old out of school working but i dont know were to start i know about mechanics but i want something that is going to be fast nice and a show winner. I have been looking at stangs and novas. Anyadvice would be helpful.

[danny]

what type of car do you like, almost any car can be fast with the right combination of parts. don't be fooled into thinking that just because a full out drag/race car uses a particular part that it will work on a street machine. most "race" parts are made for a specific application and are prone to wear if used for long periods of time (weeks/months/years). in the service manuals of new cars the term "severe driving" usually means the type of driving that we do everyday, stoplight to stoplight and not too much road trip type driving. if you want a daily driver then you should consider this.

I want a car that i can use mostly as a trailer queen till i get to the 1/8 or the 1/4 and something that i could drive ocassionally down the road to a local show

get a shelby mustang

Hello didnt i say i was 16 with a price budget?

[thecarguy]

I was once in the same boat as you my friend. I am 16 and will be 17 on April 4th. I first wanted a 69 ss camaro, then it was a yenko camaro, then a gt500 like in gone in 60 seconds. I dont know about you but I decided not to get a muscle car. I love those fast, cool cars but I had a severe budget. I am gonna wait till im older and i have the money to do whatever I want with the car rather than skimping on parts because of money. Just so you know I drive a 81 toyota pickup...its ugly but reliable.

Just some advice here: Novas are easy to find and cheap but most of them have some needed body work. I dont know of one company that doesnt make parts for nova's or small block chevy's. I would rather get a chevy because avalibilty and price of parts. Go with the nova or a first gen camaro.

At first I wanted to get a 1969 Camaro ss but I couldn't aford it, so I started looking at older cars to make a good rod, but one day in the paper was a 1964 Nova 2-door sedan for sale for 500 bucks. I bought it and, it had a 194ci inline six in it. I pulled it out and droped in a 350ci chevy engine and put a 4 speed trany on it. it is a beauty to drive. there was a little body damage, nothing that couldn't be welled. man does it go. to finish the car off it only cast me under 1500 dollars, but I did all the work myself. so if you are looking for a car good all around a nova is your best bet, and they are cheap. I hope you know what you are doing if you are restoring it your self, it can get tricky

You will be 17 april 4th i will be 17 april 30th.

[mikey]

Just remember if you build a car just like everyone else it is tough to be noticed in croud or if you get a bunch of them together. Good Luck !!!! and try for a minute thinking outside the box and get creative.

[76 Mustang II]

I'm having conniption fits with all this GM recommendation stuff...LOL

IF you're dead set on a GM product, try finding a early to mid 80's F body.... build it up one part at a time. Nobody wants to here this, but upgrade the brakes first. There's nothing scarier than a car that won't stop... unless it's my wife in the morning...LOL J/K honey! LOL (she reads these too) if you don't do anything else to the brakes, get drilled rotors and braided hoses. They're not too expensive. You can always convert a TBI to TPI or mass air later. you can even convert injection to carb, if you're looking for cheaper repairs and getting rid of the computer.

When I was 16, I remember my first "hot" car I built one piece at a time, I bought a 4 bbl intake and mounted my 2 bbl on it until I had the money to buy the 4 bbl carb...LOL I remember my hot cam sat in my room on my table untill I had enough money to buy lifters, and then another two weeks before I bought hardened pushrods, and another three weeks til I bought the roller rockers... and THEN finally I had to get the gaskets...

See, it's always been hard for young-uns to get more HP...LOL

First, it's gonna be real tough to build anything when you're 16 and on a tight budget. I know-I was there once. I'm 21 now and still can't do everything i want.....the racecar kinda drains my budget. Anyway, try to stick to a GM product. The parts are soooo easy to get and much much cheaper than Ford or Mopar. I just full built a 283 for my '55 Willy's Jeep for less than $1000 (Steel crank, forged pistons, lightweight rods, cam, lifters, pushrods, bearings, gaskets, bored .030 over, shaved the heads, valve job with all new stainless valves, everything-even the paint!). Try to do that with a Ford... As far as what car to get, just pick one that you really like to look at. You ain't gonna be to happy if you get an ugly car just because it was cheap. Also, be patient!!!!! I always had this problem.... Don't buy the first thing you see. It usually pays to shop around. Once you do get a car, just be prepared to have no money for about the next 4 years...lol. But it is worth it. Good luck and happy hotrodding.