It just Fits

It's not a midlife crisis. The fact that I'm nearly 40 isn't relevant. Nor is the reality that I lost my father last week and have been feeling all the feels regarding that. It's not a midlife crisis. It just isn't. 
 

The last two years have been an epic roller coaster ride. I've gone from having a cool project car and a shop to no shop and no interesting cars of any sort. Nonetheless, I've been scouring the interwebs for the perfect score. One that I can convince my wife is a good idea. 
 

Thus far, I've swung and missed on a '68 Camaro chassis. Needed a full restoration, but was relatively solid for what it is. I really really wanted this one, as I was picturing small flares in the wheel houses, modern drivetrain and suspension and all of the cool noises. 
 

I also made an effort to convince the wife that an '81 911T was a good investment. She just rolled her eyes and laughed, which was not a good sign. This one had no drive train , which was a no go for her. She is wise to the world of cars and knew what I was getting into with a turbo P-car. 
 

My salesmanship floundered once again on a '49 Chevy pickup. My dad always wanted one, but that's apparently not a good enough reason to buy one. (To be fair, she's definitely right). BUT! This one ran and drove, just needed literally everything else.  
 

Then there was the '57 Chevy 210. Her dream car is a Bel Aire, so I thought I had a chance here. But alas, there is no classic Chevy in our garage. 
 

Weeks of me attempting to rationalize purchasing a project have yielded nothing. Until today. 
 

I don't have legal possession of it yet. But this is GRM, so close enough. Through creative accounting and good fortune, I secured a 2008 Fit from a customer today for the lump sum of $497. 
 

It doesn't run, but that's neither here nor there. I have a project car again! Not remotely close to what I sought out to purchase, but the price was too good to refuse. 
 

Lost my mom in November. My condolences, it's rough.   

The Fit doesn't run because the threads for the spark plug on #2 decided to exit stage left. I have a helicoil set, so I'll try that first. If it doesn't work, I will "borrow" a complete head for the L15 from one of my techs. 
 

Either way, I expect to have this car on the road and operating as a commuter for well under $1,000 all in. 
 

But, where do we go from there? Just commuter? Strip and cage and track it? Somewhere in between with some suspension and brake mods and make it my autoX and track beater while still commuting?  

Sundae Cup!

akylekoz said:

Sundae Cup!

Got there before me.

I'd look at the rules and see if they fit you

Always start by assessing the rules. 
 

They are pretty fun to autocross. They are classed in H Street, which is dominated by 180-200 horsepower turbo cars on the national level, but my experience running with multiple local clubs is that most of the owners of those cars can't resist modifying them into other classes. 

Wheels and sticky tires and a bit of low. Then drive it like the whole world is your slalom course.

Check the front axles. They tend to corrode around the damper weights. There was a recall on it but you never know if it was performed. 

Love it!  My driving buddy and I were just taking about building something like a Fit for a mountain car, gutted, buckets, meaty tires and all the aero!

Look forward to seeing where you take this.

dculberson said:

Check the front axles. They tend to corrode around the damper weights. There was a recall on it but you never know if it was performed. 

That recall didn't apply to this VIN, but it will definitely get a good once over soon. 
 

First order of business is to try to salvage this head and get it running. 
Second order of business is to start modifying suspension and brakes! 
Third will be to actually change the oil and check fluids. Priorities and pricing being what they are, mods over maintenance!

dculberson said:

Check the front axles. They tend to corrode around the damper weights. There was a recall on it but you never know if it was performed. 

That recall didn't apply to this VIN, but it will definitely get a good once over soon. 
 

First order of business is to try to salvage this head and get it running. 
Second order of business is to start modifying suspension and brakes! 
Third will be to actually change the oil and check fluids. Priorities and pricing being what they are, mods over maintenance!