i got some money to blow on my car, what should i do:

paint, the clear coat is running right now so i need new paint

turbo, i got a 2.8l, kinda want more power

rims, mine suck, i want alum. rims

subs, 2 12s and an amp to go with my deck and 6x9s.

i only have $1500, what should i get?

 

You could get the paint job and rims/tires for 1500 easy.(maybe the subs too!)

Maaco like 400-500 paint... Tire rack 3-400(75-100 ea for some nice ones) tires, leaves 6-7-800 for rims. Some nice 16/17 inchers... or spend another $100 on adapters(50 ea pair), look through some mini truckin mags and get the adapters to fit 4th gen rims... OR you could skip the adapters and get the 2 for 1 deal at Best Buy that they have all the time and get the Subs too!.

 

Replace timing chain & rebuild distributor, and upgrade ignition.
Hi Po Exhaust.
Fix brakes/suspension
Find THE MISSING TRIM RING!!
Have a paint/prep party with your friends. You supply sand paper, body filler, food & liquids.
Hire the CUTESET GIRLS IN SHORT SKIRT OUTFITS to serve drinks & food!
PAINT CAR @body shop (let them finish your prep work)
Buy new tires & wheels with left over (used 16"/17" factory upgrade aluminum wheels are dirt cheap!!-try $400 for 1996 Camaro 16"/17" w/factory good rubber!-that fits!).
Sell your old wheels & tires for a few bucks & gain the space back, too
Enjoy the ride.
I'll bet you'll have about $500 left over.

 

If you do your own bodywork, Maaco will paint it for exact cost of paint plus labor, mine was $205 + $25 for color change and it shines awesomely. I imagine you could do the work and pay them to paint it for about 300 or less. If you don't mind Pep-Boys Futura tires (hey, I get great traction on wet roads), you can spend about 50 a piece. And if you like the lesser cost American Racing rims, about 60 each. Search ebay for stereo deals. I got 2 10' rockford fostgate subs in a box for 100, amp for 20.
So for a bargain...
paint 300
+ tires 200 and change
+rims 250 or so
+stereo stuff 150
-----------------------
900.00

If you want higher quality or not so generic stuff...
Higher quality Maaco paint+bodywork $500
Better tires $350
Cooler rims $350
------------------
1200.00
+great subs+amp (at a deal)
--------------------
You might be able to do all of this with that 1500 you've got!
I wish I were you.
Bastard.

 

done
done
done
done

pic is 3 monthes old

got 4 new tires new dist/ignit/cables/plugs etc rebuilt rear end/brakes new high pref muff, pipes. THAT DANG TRIM RING!!! Where can i get new ones?

 

You've done all those things and now you have $1500 to spend & you only want a speaker or paint job?
Hire the Pretty Girls to feed your friends drinks and food.
Have friends Sand/Prep your car, then you deliver it to the body shop. Make sure the Prettiest Girl pick you up in her car! Let the body shop guys you want to impress the Pretty Girl!
Find some CD's to invest in.
The ones in the bank!
Should have about $1000 left over!
Find the optional wheels for dirt cheap.
www.CapitalWheels.com
www.performancewheeloutlet.com
Me?
I'd invest the money and find cheap used wheels & great tires.
You know how to save money. Use that knowledge to make more money with that $$ leftover to invest.
I just had two tires delivers today for my 1974 Corvette
2-225-70-15 Goodyears, $193/delivered.
I use the stock 15 x 8 steel ralley wheel.
On older Corvettes, they always "fit right!"
I sold the mags that came with the Corvette for $200! Those mag wheels never fit right.

 

I would look into some rims.. Limit yourself to like 100 a rim, and figure another 100 per tire and a lot of it is already gone. Do not waste the money on a stereo now. Make it look and run right, I tell you this from experience. Look at the car like this: if I had to sell it today what would I get my money back on, Nice paint, and a good solid running car, no one really will ever give you a penny more because you have a kick *** stereo, all it says is the car was abused... IMO....


If you do go to macco like my buddy did, do the prep work. We did and it has lasted 3 years so far. We sanded everything, removed all the molding and trim. All they had to do was spray white. We even primed the car. Now after three years it looks great fomr 10 feet, but as you get closer it shows it's quality, but still looks good freshly waxed up..

 

TomP's bodywork extravaganza for Maaco can be read here: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=100797

Now I'd say if you have $1500, to help you out with bodywork, spend $500 on a shop air compressor setup. You can find decent 5 HP motor, 110 volt (not 220!), 20/25 gallon tank units from Home Depot or Sears for about $300. Get a 6" air d/a sander from http://www.harborfreight.com or http://www.northerntool.com for $60.

Oops, actually, northerntool wants $33. http://www.northerntool.com/cgi-bin/...5&prmenbr=6970 I've used mine (from harbor freight) with the eccentric lockout set, and yes, it works just like a grinder. Glad to see that northern says the same thing can be done!!

Then... (drumroll) think about a paint gun! Gravity feed is the gun the pro's prefer; HVLP costs a bit more but you can have (A) a smaller compressor and you (B) waste less paint, so supposedly, the extra cost of an HVLP can pay for itself in less-wasted-paint. If anything, buy a $20 pressure feed paint gun, and just shoot a primer/sealer with it.

I did my car with a power drill and sanding disc- and it took forever, and I burned a drill out. Now that I have air tools, it's so much easier- and FASTER! Then you can buy air tools, too... nothing beats an impact wrench. Keep in mind that you don't have to, and shouldn't, go to bare metal if the paint is good. A scuffing with 320 will do the trick.

So $500 for a compressor setup (compressor, hose, oil, d/a sander, impact gun, blow-off tool (dust removal)), $50 in paint/sandpaper, and a $300 Maaco paint job is $850 gone. Leaves you with $650 for rims/tires or a sub setup. And if you buy rims the same diameter as yours, you might even be able to re-use your tires.

By the way, the "old school" way of thinking, the same way I used to think, of putting 2 12" subs into a car, is gone. My buddy works in car audio and has done amazing custom setups with one 10" sub in a sealed box with a big (200-300 watt RMS, not peak) amp! Use ebay! Crutchfield also lets you do 4 payments with a credit card if you spend at least $200. Get a quality amp, not Pyramid or Jensen or Legacy or BOSS audio or Crunch, and a quality sub, and you'll have some great bass.

For instance (I love thinking of ways to spend money, haha), http://wwww.crutchfield.com sells a Rockford Fosgate Punch 200S for $200, it does 200x1 RMS bridged, bass boost at 45 hz. Or there's the single channel Kenwood KAC-819, with an adjustable low-pass x-over (set it around 90), does 150x1 RMS. Might be the better deal for the adjustable low-pass. Then they sell a MTX T612A 12" Hatchback Subwoofer, a 12" sub in a sealed box, for $200. But don't forget you'll need DECENT wires, spend at least $30 for a 2 channel set of RCA's, and $30 for power wires. Crutchfield is a bit overpriced, but they allow the payments with a credit card...

I'd totally skip a turbo; no way you could get something done for $1500 by a shop. You'd have to buy a turbo, mess with brackets and exhaust piping and everything else- nobody's even done it yet, so there's absolutely no guideline for cost, even if you do it yourself!

 

Where you from dude? I got an Alpine amp, .5 farad cap, and 2 12" Kickers I'm looking to sell. The 12's are even mounted on a board that fits over the rear well. I know, that's the worst way to mount them, but money was tight.

I also got a set of 15" wheels I could sell cheap. Pics of them on my car are on my site, which really should be updated.

 

Let's Vote;
Who says

PRETTY GIRLS, FRIENDS PREP CAR FOR PAINT, YOU SUPERVISE. ONE DAY PROJECT.
MAKE SURE PRETTIEST GIRL PICKS YOU UP AT BODY SHOP.

Or

Spend money on tools and stuff and backaches.

I have recently found out how much you CANNOT do with a large home compressor and a DA.
I have a 30 Gallon upright, 5 HP Campbell Hausefell thing.
DA runs outta steam kinda quick.
Then unit refills with air.
Kinda discouraging, but your project takes longer.
End result is still very good.
You need two air tanks, One full of air, other filling it, all the time.

Sometimes having no "space" for projects, makes you more efficent.

I vote for being surrounded by Pretty Girls all the time.