hey guys just joined not long ago, and i know this is probably the wrong place to post this, but i am interested in learning about cars (leaning towards import)and am looking to buy a cheap car to start. I was wondering if someone could kindly point me to somewhere more relevant to ask these questions?

any help would be appreciated!
cheers!

3/5

 

Start here. List questions.

 

Always been interested in recreating the black civic from f&f1 (sleek) and read that honda was an easy place to start as a project car as the parts etc are available and common.
I wanted to find&use a cheap well-maintained 01'+ model civic for its sleek design potential and have few q's:

1. Is it an easy newbie-friendly car to use as project car?
2.Basically where do i begin! i have basic knowledge of cars but none of the finer details. what should i start reading up on in the meantime prior to buying a project car? what shoudl i know? where should i look? what sites to visit, etc?

First steps!
thanks for any help!

 

- The black civics that they used in FF1 are Gen 5 Civics 1992-95. Gen 5 is very similar to Gen 6 Civic 96-00, so lot's of aftermarket parts are available.

- 01 to 05 Gen 7 Civic took a different turn and are not similar to the past Gens, even thou the outside design looks similar. There are still aftermarket parts support, but not that much as the past.

- 8th Gen Civic 2006-2011, again head into another direction. IMO, the parts support is strong. It's still very popular. This may be the best gen to modify now because there are plenty of good used examples, that will give you many years of trouble free driving. The older gens are sometimes "junks" and you'll have to be more careful in picking the right car.

What is your budget? Gen 8s are still expensive.

Civics are great cars to modify. Lots of parts and support and ideas from on-line sites such as this.

This forum have sections for these models. You can check them out, read, search, and ask questions. We all started out the same way. I did.

 

I would suggest that you start searching Ebay, Craigslist, and the local Auto Trader for the car of your dreams. Do your homework so that you know what the car is worth and what options you want on the car. Once you have the car, you can purchase the shop manual for it and start reading. Join your local Honda users group. Depending on the size of your city, there could be a local group in your area.

 

Great reply, thanks a lot!
what i really want out of this is to eventually build a solid foundation about cars, and the civic i envisioned. i have no budget as i'll be working on it for a while, my real question is:
if im going to be basically stripping the car apart after, what criteria should i work off when looking to buy?

 

Thanks for that Crashmaster!
I still need to do more research to see which model of civic is appropriate for what i want, but im adamant about working with any newer model civic of the same or similiar body type as the 95' one in f&f. (so coupe or sedan) haha!

I'll also make a note of joining my local Honda users group. Should be one around. I see Honda's everywhere