A while back, I shared my plans of working on a project car. After a couple of months of settling my finances, I’ve finally come up with the budget for it. Since this is going to be the first project car, I intend to keep it for myself and that means making it fit for my own uses.

I’m primarily looking into achieving three things - comfort, reliability, and fuel-efficiency. Given these goals, once can argue that it may not be truly a project car since usually project cars are all about restoration, tuning and aesthetics. Initially, I thought of creating a monster sleeper but since I won’t really be taking the car to the track, might as well make it a city cruiser.

But hey, let me lay out my plans first.

Budget

I have to admit that you can actually buy comfort, fuel-efficiency and reliability off the showroom. However, brand new cars are just way out of my budget range. Right now, with a budget of $2250, I am trapped into getting a 15-year old car somewhere. Kelly Blue Book confirms this price-versus price ration give or take.

Though I just have to envy the Brits and other European Union countries. Ever seen that Top Gear episode where Jeremy bought a ‘94 Volvo for a quid?

Make

Given that it’s a 15-year old car, I have to consider the ratings of automakers during that time frame. Also, the availability of parts should be taken into consideration. I am all to inclined towards getting a Japanese car particularly since reliability of 15-year old cars are practically slugfests between them. Honda (especially their hatchbacks) from that time still carry a huge re-sale value and Toyotas and Mitsubishis are just proven workhorses that don’t know how to quit even after 15 years of service.

Hondas should be nice but since there aren’t as many OEM and aftermarket parts as compared to Toyotas and Mitsus, I’d have to drop it off the list. Between Toyotas and Mistus, Toyotas seem to have higher resale values. Besides, design-wise I’d rather go with Toyota’s 89-92 models than with Mistu’s.

Since it’s going to be a city car, I even considered Daihatsu here since as far as the Japanese creating great minis, Daihatsu is one name that stands out. But Daihatsu parts aren’t really particularly that popular in many places so Toyota it is!

Model

Given the budget, I’d have to say that if it’s a Toyota, then it must be a Corolla - one of the best people car models all over the earth. Yeah sure, there might not be any novelty left in this particular model but hey, I’m not too ashamed driving a good reliable Corolla.

Toyota released a variety of 88-92 models ranging from the 2-door liftback to the 5-door wagon. But I have to say I’ve got to go for the 4-door sedan for practicality purposes. It’s got passenger room (for transporting friends) and it’s got a sizable boot. The GTS version of this generation is the heir to the legendary AE86 and still commands a higher price in the market. Would’ve been the choice if budget permits.

As far as the engine goes, the US versions all sport 1.6L engines (the 4A-F carb, 4A-FE fuel injected, and the legendary 4A-GE fuel injected). All are good engines but I’ll try to look for a Euro-spec version that sports a 1.3L (2E carb). I hear that it can get more miles per gallon than the 1.6L ones.

As far as other comforts go, I don’t think these 15-year old cars features airbags so that’s not a consideration. Air conditioning
is a must and so is power steering. All the other “power” electronics (locks and windows) can be easily fitted later on anyway.

Plans

Not much is. First and foremost, I have to make sure that every thing that is strapped in the car is in pristine condition. While not exactly an exotic restoration, the first phase is to make sure that everything that’s mechanical is in good working condition. This will entail some replacements but hey, that’s part of the project.

Cosmetics, I’m not too particular about. Not much of tweaks but a few mods by adding a visor or repainting the bumpers to match the body color might add some appeal to it. I will be buying one that should have absolutely no rust on or under the body. Rust is basically an old car killer.

I’m a big music fan so I’d probably upgrade the sound system on this one. Stock stereos would definitely be tape decks too and I really don’t own any cassettes now. Besides, tape decks are crummy. Nothing too fancy though. Anything that sounds good inside the cabin would be okay.

Rims? I’ll try to look for one that already sports magnesium rims. I’m not a big fan of hubcaps anyway. The stock’s 14-inch and if ever I’d spend some money on rims, definitely, I’d wouldn’t go for anything larger than 15 inches.

I’d say there’s nothing really interesting about this “project” car. It’s just a matter of getting a good reliable car and get it to a pristine condition.

But who knows? A lot can be done with this car anyway. Maybe this is really just phase one…