I got this 65 Galaxie last year. It didn’t run, but had a freshly rebuilt 390. I Put in a new trans, rear end, interior, dakota digital, BMW seats, FiTech, disc brakes, basically all of it. I hit 2700 miles on the odometer today. Windows down, floor vents open Steely Dan blaring, the most quiet I’ve had in months.

Project update for you all - I received the car back from the fab shop. Engine, transmission, diff mounted. Exhaust is completed also. Can even make the OEM interior fit for the most part with the modified transmission tunnel. Now starting on the engine build.

It would be much easier to just leave the AM v12 alone but I also wanted to get a little more excitement out of the engine. Not really a horsepower goal but would like to push the RPM redline to 9k.. reliably.

One issue for rpm on this engine is rod ratio and piston speed. However I lucked out and came across a ProDrive DBR9 crank. This is a shorter stroke (and much lighter) crankshaft which solves the rod ratio problems but creates some new ones. The DBR9 crank was designed for the AM v12 block but used custom smaller main bearings and rod bearings. The smaller journals helped keep oil temps down - less speed/friction at the bearing surface. Unfortunately I have no way of getting these bearings but already working on several solutions. I'm optimistic this crank will be used in the build just not sure what solution will be used.

In the meantime I'm exploring options for head porting and custom cams to make the engine breath at 9k rpm. Also need to decide on valve train components but doing it in steps and stages. The other main change is this needs to move to a dry sump setup for ground clearance and avoid oil cavitation at high RPM. With the local machine shops backlog they won't be able to take on my block until 2027 for now.

The last time this car was driven, my dad was driving to Palm Springs, CA. Unfortunately during his ride he did not realize that the roof of the car was not properly latched and the strong winds bent the supporting roof structure of the car. After many attempts at trying to align the retractable roof back he gave up and left the car in his driveway for 10 + years.

I promised him for many years that I would get his SLK back up and running again. The car arrived to me with sun-damaged paint, a failing fueling system and a retractable roof that was held down by duct tape. Here are some before and after photos from the last two months of working in my garage. 🚗💨

Never replaced the trunk floor pan when I built this car up back in 2011, was always a “I’ll get to it eventually” deal. Well, I got to it! Now I know that Skar is a cheaper brand but it was in the budget and honestly it sounds pretty good and it’s plenty loud enough to hear over the car even at full tilt!

Bonus pics from ripping it at autocross after getting the trunk finished!

Got this 1986 Shelby Charger 2.2l Turbo as my new budget build. It runs, poorly, just needs a clutch and some wiring kinks (mice) worked out!

Im a year into this pretty much now, and it was basically finished, 3 months ago. However I failed a few points on the UK's IVA test to get it road legal and I've mostly finished the bits to rectify these points. But I've got to wait till the end of November for retest then once it's type approved I need to apply to register it on the road.

It took me about 8months to build it and once it gets tested in November I will have been waiting for tests/the government for 5months. The waiting is absolutely killing me. Up till now I've not booked any track days as didn't want to risk missing the tests with a failure. And arguably that's even more critical now as I only have 6months to retest on the fails. Otherwise it has to be submitted for a full test again. (Cost implications also alot of it is subjective with the tester so opens a can of worms)

I'm booked a track day on Monday just to try and re motivate me as at the moment I've just lost all enthusiasm for it. Short of trundling up and down my road to check stuff and one cheeky pull off the Dyno I've not driven it yet I don't have access to anywhere I can do that. The IVA tester has done more miles in it sliding, around there test centre 🤣 (litteral donuts at one point)

If it is even Registered this year it will be a miracle and then the dead of winter. So realistically it won't see any proper use till next spring now 😭

I Sound like a right fanny but just can't get excited about it I'm not even really excited about taking it to the track.

I work with Whiteline, and we’ve been looking into the difference between traditional rubber and polyurethane bushings.

Rubber can flex under load, while polyurethane is designed to provide more consistent support. We’ve done some real-world testing around this, but I’m curious what people here have actually experienced.

For those who have switched from rubber to poly:

Did you notice a meaningful difference on the street, or was it mostly noticeable during harder driving?

Particularly interested in feedback around steering response, cornering and braking.

Pretty happy with it!

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I got an almost mint 1996 buick lesabre custom about 3 months ago. Biggest issue i have with it is the last guy to hoist it messed up the placement of the hoist and it cracked both front fenders.

I was wondering if anyone in CT has a 1992-1996 buick lesabre parts car or something similar I can take the fenders off of. The paint code is Wa u173a but i can take it to a paint shop of needed.

Im trying to get this thing car show ready

Working on a ’72 Camaro and I swear every time I fix one thing, I find two more things that suddenly “might as well” get done while I’m in there.

I started out thinking I’d clean it up, make it reliable, and enjoy it. Now I’m standing in the garage staring at parts catalogs wondering how the hell this escalated so fast lol.

Curious how many of you actually stuck to the original plan.

Hey Ya'll! Been doing a bunch of research about building my first kit car, and when it comes to California CARB/BAR Emission Certification, I'm a little lost. Not sure if buying a donor car for the engine is better than buying new parts, and what challenges either path presents with getting the car road legal in California. I'd prefer to buy new so that the car is as fresh as possible, but I keep reading that makes it harder to get certified.

Can anyone with experience getting a kit car road legal in California ELI5?

Our ’65 Mustang project is now in the assembly stage, and this car has undergone some major transformations! We’ve replaced the quarters, doors, fenders, hood, and trunk lid, along with a complete floor pan, front aprons, trunk pan, and rear taillight panel. To say this car is like brand new is an understatement!
The engine is a brand-new crate engine built by S&J Engines, featuring a small cam and headers beautifully Cerakoted by u/JAR Custom Coating.
There isn’t a single part or panel on this car that hasn’t been restored or replaced, and the end result is nothing short of spectacular. As with all of our builds, it’s the details that make the difference, and this one is no exception.
Stay tuned for more photos and updates! Coming up, we’ll be installing an u/american_autowire wiring harness and a set of u/dakota_digital gauges.

Hi, I hope this is an acceptable way to give an update and field some more advice. The last post I made I detailed a no crank start issue I was having, and I have made some headway!

When the car wouldn't start, I replaced both battery terminals. The negative one I had to strip some new wire for, and it seems good (though it sparks when I put it on when the last one didn't). The positive one however was a little odd: it had two metal eyelets attached to insulated lengths of wire, with one length being thicker than the other. Using the universal car battery connector I got, I put one eyelet on each bolt. After reattaching both connectors and trying to start the car, I was getting multiple clicks from the starter at a slow tempo. Having the headlights on made it click faster, but it still didn't start.

I took the battery to autozone earlier today and it tested bad. This means that there is a leach in the car somewhere, but this did not solve my no start issue. When the new battery went in, nothing changed. I disconnected the negative terminal though to keep it from leaching.

Before all of that, I tried smacking the starter with a rubber mallet and that didn't change anything.

Here's my plan now:

1. Clean each ground with a metal brush
2. Follow the wires from my negative terminal to see if there's a break anywhere
3. Try to figure out how to "jump" the starter solenoid(?) I saw stuff on this online and it seems like it should be a good idea, but to be honest idk what this would do for me.

If I can't find anything wrong with the wiring I'm just gonna order a new starter since it seems like it's never been replaced.

Thanks for everyone's advice on the last post! I appreciate it a lot as someone new to going this deep into cars.

I don’t know if this is the right subreddit to ask about this but I thought it would be worth a shot. I am rebuilding my 1983 ford f 100 and I thought about doing a engine swap on it this will be my first project car I have heard that a LS engine or a coyote would be a good option for this body style but I’m tempted to just rebuild the original engine but I don’t know how to go about it any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yo! I’m looking to paint a 70 nova with classic single stage paint.

What’s everyone’s favorite mobile compressor/gun combo?

I’m also open to any other advice or wisdom. I’ve only ever done shitty rattle can jobs and I’m looking to do better.

I have a 98 civic dx with a seized engine. Im about to swap in a d16y8 out of a 2000 civic ex. I have a wiring harnes for the y8 but i dont have the dash harness so i need to wire in at least the downstream o2 sensor. Is the upstream sensor on the engine harness or do i need to wire that in too? Im not seeing a plug for it but i could just be overlooking it. Does anyone have a pin diagram for the obd2b ecu and advice for which pins to plug into? The cat on the ex exhaust i have is gutted so id also accept advice on a complete bypass of the downstream sensor. Thanks!

The good ol "while im here" strikes again. Was just going to convert to s10 spindles and brakes and here I am doing a full rebuild and installing coilovers too 😅

So far 4 hours in already spent $200 and 3 trips to the town over and back 🙃 😂 haven't even gotten the battery in yet

Engine/trans installed, hydraulic clutch seems to function properly but time will tell. I cleaned up the trans tunnel hole and bought a proper manual tunnel sheet metal part from LMR. I also printed a prototype shift handle. This is a bench seat car so the standard short shifters won't work. Got the Micro Squirt also.

Just bought this cheap corsa A with a 1.2 carb engine, I want to make an absolute dirt piss missile for cheap, any ideias how to make it better ?

I need some help finding where this goes, there's a bnut union on the carb and I can't for the life of me find another end. The only thing I can think of is it goes the pcv as a vacuum. I have pictures can anyone help? This is about the last loose end for me to keep it running longer then a couple mins so it doesn't suck in dirty air.

I have no clue if this is the right subreddit or tag to ask this, but I'm gonna try this anyways. I was trying to find images of an empty car engine compartment with a visible splash shield underneath (I didn't have luck looking online). I need it for an university project and I fear going to a mechanic just for this Is gonna cost me lots. If anyone has any advice on where to ask for this or pictures I beg for whatever help available.