looking for a project and im in a tough situation.

im currently in school and i hate it. (im not dropping out, i just hate dishing out so much cash all day long.) im looking for a project car to start on a tight budget of 1000 to start. my father has a million parts that fit mid 80's bmw 320/318i so i thought i would start there. however im finding no such luck finding an 80's bmw that isn't a "parts car". does anyone have any idea on what might be a light, fun, rwd car for cheap? it doesnt have to run, but should still have all the parts there.

Turbo Volvo.

What I did when I had a small budget to get a project car was get on craigslist and make the max price as a few hundred over what I was looking to spend and search... for months. I looked around for almost 2 months before I got my half finished 302 swapped toyota pickup for 500 bucks. Its all just a matter of patients until the right deal comes along

Build a kart for autocross. Win FTD.

In reply to edizzle89:

Lol been looking for 3, going on 4. Found a 325e that's worth it but I don't have the cash.... I hate school :(

In reply to Woody:

Hmm, how much is a set for serious kart racing?

Kart, trailer, misc parts I may need..

I'm going to be a jerk and suggest that a good project would be school. Why do you hate it? What are you working on? What would you rather be doing? Are your grades decent?

nboyles85737 wrote: In reply to Woody: Hmm, how much is a set for serious kart racing? Kart, trailer, misc parts I may need..

Serious kart racing is expensive, but I've known several guys who built karts for autocross and had a blast on the cheap. One guy hauled his in the bed of his Toyota pickup and another hauled his in the back of his Fox body Mustang hatch.

College or high school. Sounds like the latter except for the cash part.

How about a C1500 Chevy truck?

You are not being realistic, for $1000 all you are going to find is parts cars or projects.

I think you should ratchet your price up to $3500 if you want a driver.

I also would recommend you find courses you enjoy at school, a degree in any discipline is still a degree and proves you are trainable and right thinking. A car project during school is not practical unless it fits into your discipline and goes towards your school credits.

You should be socializing and berkeleying off in your free time (enjoy these years) as once you graduate and go to work you will not be able to enjoy near as much of that kind behavior.

The answer is usually always Miata.

Hold out for a BMW that can work with the parts your dad has. You might not get something driveable for 1000...if that's a hard budget cap, you'll just have to wait and watch, and fix up what you buy. Anything else is going to be way too expensive.

I understand the idea of focusing on school, but there's a lot to be said for the mental health benefits of having a side project that lets you blow off a little steam when you need to.

Do you already have a car? From my own experience, if money is already tight, maintaining two aging vehicles concurrently while working and keeping up with school is not a good idea. It's possible to keep track with all of them, but it requires a lot of undesirable compromises.

Why not split your budget in half and build a badass r/c car?

It's hard to get laid in an r/c car.

If getting laid is the objective, then convertible and/or original Mini and/or motorcycle are the answers. Horsepower attracts dudes.

Woody wrote: I understand the idea of focusing on school, but there's a lot to be said for the mental health benefits of having a side project that lets you blow off a little steam when you need to.

This, having a sanity fund is good.