You don't HAVE to do it the way the magazines do it.....

In the last post I talked about how people go overboard on a resto-replacing stuff that doesn't need to be replaced and driving the cost way up. If you want to do a frame-off resto and can afford it and want basically a brand-new old car when your done-go ahead, no ones saying don't do it. But for the rest of the population that don't have a 100 grand to put into a project-95% of us-here's some more tips to keep the price down while still building a quality car. # 1. Don't rebuild or replace a part that doesn't need to be rebuilt or replaced. This should be a no-brainer-but I've seen people pull a perfectly running engine that had good compression, good oil pressure,didn't smoke, didn't use or leak a drop of oil, and ran like a champ, and then tear it down, have it line-bored, the crank turned .010 over, the rods resized,and replace every internal part. Why? "I wanted more power" they say. Ok-what's wrong with adding headers or an Edelbrock intake and maybe even a cam? You don't have to overhaul the whole engine to get more hp out of it. If the engine ran fine before-why would it not run fine with a new carb and intake? Or even a set of aftermarket heads?  And if you are rebuilding an engine with a lot of miles on it-not every block needs to be bored. I've seen engines with 150,000 miles on them and the cylinder walls looked great. And the crank looked great-not every crank needs to be turned. Some may need polishing or minor cleanup, but often you can just replace the rings and bearings. ( Make sure you mark the pistons and put them back in the hole they came out of.) The other thing they do-if they do rebuild the engine-they do the tranny too. Why? Especially if you have a TH400, a C6, a 727 Torqueflite-etc-their bulletproof in bone-stock trim. And if it was working fine behind the old engine, it will work fine behind the new one. Add a shift kit or higher stall converter if you want-but there's a couple grand you don't need to spend. Ditto for sticks-if your Muncie Rock-Crusher, or BW T10, or Ford Top-Loader, or A833 Chrysler 4-speed worked fine behind your old engine, it will work fine behind the new one. I'd replace the clutch disc and pressure plate while the engine was out,and maybe send the shifter to Hurst to be freshened up-but if the tranny shifted fine and didn't leak oil-leave it alone. The same goes for rear ends. Honestly-outside of someone with a 600 hp engine,wrinklewall slicks bolted to the rims, and 5 grand converter with a trans brake-when have you ever seen anyone break a Mopar 8 3/4 rear or a Ford 9 inch? For that matter-when have you seen someone break a GM 10 bolt-or a Ford 8" or 8.8"?  If it's not leaking the fluid and not making noise-and the posi works good-Leave it Alone!!  Why spend $2,500 bucks on new gears,axles, bearings etc-that you don't need, and won't need for 100,000 more miles if you change the fluid once in a while??!!  Brakes are squeaking? Fine-replace the pads and turn the rotors-just like you would in your 2005 Chevy work truck. Why do you need to replace the calipers, the hoses, the master cylinder, the booster,and everything else-that wasn't leaking and worked fine?? Need lower ball joints? Do em and an alignment-but why replace the entire front end if the only thing that has slop in it is the lower ball joints?  See what I'm saying?  Fix what's wrong, but don't replace every nut and bolt on the car whether it needs it or not-which is what the magazines do with their project cars. But they have a basically unlimited budget-and they have to showcase their advertisers products to stay in business. They can put $60,000 into a small-block Nova. You don't need to. Mastermind