anyone ever build a car with a friend?

[Mike]

well as the title says, im wondering if any of you ever went in on a project with a buddy. i would like to know the pros/cons, dos/donts, and any other information that anyone with experience would like to share.

once i have some replies/ feedback, ill tell the whole story including the planned car.

[V]

I almost did but, later thought otherwise, its tricky to really do with a friend, There are a lot of questions you need to think about before you decide to do anything. Â*the main issues are whos name does it get titled under, who insures it,(as far as i know, only that one person can leagally drive it unless the friend lives in the same household and is on the policy), also who gets to driev the car when, like weekdays, weekends.. Â*Also who will actually keep the car at their place once its finished, Â*if soemthing breaks, who pays for it? Â*if somethign breaks, will you both pay for repairs equally. I know there are other issues i didnt get into, btu those are the ones that made me change my mind. Â*In my case, i would have been doing all the labor and the planning, my friend would have been chipping in money. but in that case i then decided that i didnt trust his driving and didnt want the car to be associated with him and I together. Â*To give you my honest opinion, dont do it. If you want, help him build somehting of his own, his money, his car but your work, that way once its done, its his responsability and money, but you can take credit for it and im sure hell let you drive it now and then.

oh, and as some of the board members here know, i am building a car for my GF, shes helping as much as she can, but even with that, once its done, i'm getting a few thou from her and she gets the title, after that its hers, ill help her do more to it and if soemthign breaks of course ill fix it, but itll be her car, just my creation.

[9secfirebird]

i think itreally depends on what you plan on getting out of it. my friend and i have recently agreed to turn his car into a race car, and i offered to do alot of the work for him, however, the only thing that i really want to get out of it is experiance, fun, and maybe ill get to drive it once or twice. i also trust him to the fullest, as he trusts me. as for splitting a street car with someone 50/50, that will never happen with me. i need to work at my own pace and make sure i do my own work, cuz i know it will be perfect that way, and when its done, i want to drive it, and if someone is gonna total it, i want it to be me, and not my friend because i would have a hard time dealing with the fact that my sweat, blood, and pride went into something just to have someone else kill it. if i was getting paid to do the work and it wasnt my car, thats another story.

[79CamaroDiva]

i think itreally depends on what you plan on getting out of it. my friend and i have recently agreed to turn his car into a race car, and i offered to do alot of the work for him, however, the only thing that i really want to get out of it is experiance, fun, and maybe ill get to drive it once or twice. i also trust him to the fullest, as he trusts me. as for splitting a street car with someone 50/50, that will never happen with me. i need to work at my own pace and make sure i do my own work, cuz i know it will be perfect that way, and when its done, i want to drive it, and if someone is gonna total it, i want it to be me, and not my friend because i would have a hard time dealing with the fact that my sweat, blood, and pride went into something just to have someone else kill it. if i was getting paid to do the work and it wasnt my car, thats another story.

I'll let you drive mine if i can drive yours ;)

Mike, (the cbrr one) I think whats been said is pretty much right on. Don't go into something unless you really trust the person either. Its a lot of both of your money, it'd be a shame to have someone else ruin it for you.

[2001orangess]

well, me and my buddy are going to do an engine/tranny swap in my 240. also going to do vaious other things like put in an lsd. i'll tell you how it goes when we start.. :wink:
btw, we did this to some extent before, pretty much fixed a car that was beat the F up. so i don't think it'll be that bad.

[Mike]

i dont mean work on it together.......

its a race car, my friend had a motor built and we were planning on going halfs on the shell to put it in, with me buying the small stuff, wheels, and taking care of the bodywork.

the car would be trailored to and from the track, and would be highly competetive in a nhra class

[badzracing]

Depends on the relationship you have with your friend. If the guy is like a brother, then by all means go for it. Just be prepared to spend lots of money and/ or the loss of said friend. If all hell breaks loose one or both of you will be highly upset with your losses and, unfortunately, that rarely ends up being a good situation in a friendship.

[79CamaroDiva]

i dont mean work on it together.......

its a race car, my friend had a motor built and we were planning on going halfs on the shell to put it in, with me buying the small stuff, wheels, and taking care of the bodywork.

the car would be trailored to and from the track, and would be highly competetive in a nhra class

which class are you thinking about running? Sportsman racing, bracket racing? Regular weekly racing at atco or chasing the divisionals.

Before you start spending any kind of money on a race car to be highly competitive, I HIGHLY suggest you race a street car in their street class to get a feel for bracket racing if that's what you're going to be doing. You cant just jump into a good car and expect to be a good racer. Racing the starting line and ESPECIALLY the top end can not be explained and understood, it has to be experienced and done over and over.

[Mike]

its one of the nhra, and nira all motor super street classes....its heads up racing

and yes, its an import

[Mike]

and mellisa youve met him, and you pretty much have heard our plans....just at the time the motor wasnt going to be to this extent

[Mike]

it would be more llike we are starting a race team, rather than sharing a street car.....

we have multiple partial sponsers lined up and a couple that we are going to attempt as title sponsers once the car is built

[9secfirebird]

what kind of sponsors might you have lined up with no experiance and not even a car together yet...im not being an *******, im really asking cuz im interested.

[Mike]

well the friend is a honda tech and the car is a honda, so the owner of his dealership expressed that he would have some interest if we show decent success througout next season,

my dads shop would most likely give us a discount rate on paint/booth time in exchange for decals

and he has already aquired other discount oriented arrangements from some import parts companies and mailorder sites.



although we have no experience in this class, it will be his second 11 second honda as well as having a 11 second notchback mustang, and while my transam is relatively stock i have a decent amount of seat time in the car as well as a couple others that are much faster...

i know your not being an *******, because your right we have no true competitive experience racing but sometimes **** falls togther for ya ........

[9secfirebird]

thats cool, if its a honda, it makes much more sense, that would fall properly with the import crowd, 11 seconds is pretty quick for a honda, so that would work out well. i was thinking that you were gonna build a domestic car, and try to race taht, in which case there is alot of competition out there and from and advertising standpoint, would you want your name on the car that runs 11s or 9s or 8s and lifts the tires. in the import events and such, if ya get one of two WINS, not runner up or anything like that, but solid wins, then things will really start to look up. just gotta make a name for yourself. i think your best bet honestly, would be to stick with the import crowd here, race at etown and stuff like that, thats where all the import stuff goes down, and if ya play your cards right, youll do great. for sure you gotta play out the import crowd, theres alot of money being tossed around there, and alot of people who dont know what they are doing. that is a good thing tot ake advantage of. if ya need any motor help, or want some advise on building it up or something, let me know, im always here.

EDIT:
oh yeah, and one more thing. if your gonna do this, do it right, get all the right parts, make sure everything is done clean and neat. nobody wants to sponsor a car that looks good but cant make it down the track, and nobody wants to sponsor an ugly car that is fast as hell, ya gotta have the best of both worlds. it needs to look clean, have a quick motor, be built with all the right parts, and have a good driver. be very neat with everything, even when it comes down to cutting the plexiglass for the windows, make sure its done neat and perfect. nothing worse then a sloppy car. i see it alot, a car that will be a fast car, like an 88 camaro that i see at the race track alot. ran 8's NA, put a huge blower on it and wants to go faster, but the car looks like ****, and the guy cant stay in one lane for the life of him. car isnt set up right and he doesnt know how to race it. hence why i send him down track by himself all the time

[79CamaroDiva]

Go for it Mike! sounds like a good deal, and worst case scenario is it doesn't work out, youll have that much more experience for next time. Sorry I won't be much help along the lines of the import program, I don't follow it. But if you have any questions for NHRA, you have my number, and I have a direct number to division 1.

[Mike]

we have a fully built motor that will be making 280-300 wheel horsepower na, a full race coilover suspension and all the other top **** you can get for imports.

we literally only need a chassis (where i come in) which will be done with perfect body work and paint. the car will have a full interior and be registered and insured.

the plan is for the car to be capable of winning shows as well as races which i figure will garner some magazine attention.......

[9secfirebird]

well, for magazine attention, you pretty much have to offer something nobody else has. which in the import world can be kind of tough sometimes because of how many cars are involved and how many cars are customized and how easy it is to customize everything. i mean yea, win races, have a nice car will get you there, but the quickest way to get there is to offer something nobody else has that people want. and always remember....there will always be someone better than you in one aspect or another. so if ya lose a race, there is always next time, if you see a car that looks better than yours, figure out what he has and see how you can use it. pretty much learn from the people around you. also, start writing to your mags now, and keep writing and writing and writing, that will get you attention for sure. also find out where they are gonna be every weekend and go there. the more they get to know you or see your car the easier it will be to pick you.

[Mike]

if you own an import, and want magazine attention.......the flavor of the week is evo

and all it has to do is look the same as last months :roll:

[Mike]

i need anyone that can to keep an eye out for a chassis for me, as the 2 i had lined up both fell through.

im looking for a 92-95 civic hatchback or civic del sol
(the body style lasts a little longer but we dont want an obd2 car)

the car can be a running car or a rolling chassis, automatic or stick, and as far as body condition goes, my only requirements are that the quarterpanels, roof, and rocker panels are rust/ large dent free.

:arrow: beer at a meet for anyone that can assist me in finding a useable chassis