Renovating Hondas for Income & Fun

I was working on a friend's newly purchased but beat up 1987 Toyota Celica
yesterday. What a blast. Has anyone ever tried to make this into a (small)
for-profit hobby, where you buy beat-up Hondas, do a little body and under
the hood work, then re-sell it at a comfortable profit? What are your
sources for the beat-up Hondas?

 

Used car lots have been doing that for years...

Professor
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honda parts are pretty pricey - a retired guy in my neighborhood
rebuilt wrecked hondas in his 2 car garage - seems to be more money in
buying fairly late model low mileage wrecks and redoing those. Still a
lot of hard work, tools and knowledge required to do it and then you
have to sell it yourself - lots will skin you alive. Think there maybe
easier ways to make a buck.

 

Assuming you are in this (more) for the "blast" factor, than making a (living)
profit. Just watch your local classified adds, and keep your eyes open whilst
out driving around town.

It's all good until you buy that one car that turns you upside down. Now you
may think, you're too smart to buy a turd, but it happens to the best. So "IT
WILL" happen to you sooner or later.

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Yes, this is a good point. I'm just not sure how often this might happen.

My acquaintance bought this 87 Celica (which does leak something oily onto
his driveway) for $250 from a friend's neighbor who just wanted it off her
property. I figure $250 is about my limit for experimenting in a venture
like this, so I'd be looking for clunkers while probably driving around
town. I'd probably go with strictly Hondas. I am so far not impressed with
the free online help (e.g. online manuals and parts sites with drawings) for
Toyotas. There seems to be more free and online with Hondas.

Also, no way would it make me any significant money. It would indeed be
mostly for the "blast" factor.

 

Ever wonder where all your recycled newspapers go? They end up in the
rocker panels of Civics on used-car lots everywhere.

 

i wouldnt try to make a living off it, but if i had the space, itd be
fun to do for "beer money"

just try to find a clean one that needs a head gasket. lots of people
will decide the car is "too old" to fix and sell it for a bit more than
scrap value. and get REAL good at head gaskets

 

true story-

back in 1990, a friend drove out here with his 81 mazda 626 (RWD, 4door,
5spd, 90k miles). blew a head gasket when he got here. decided he didnt
like SoCal, and flew home, left the car. i cleaned it up, and attempted
my first head gasket! got it running again, and was going to sell it and
give my friend whatever i made, minus the cost of parts.

welp... it had a fuel leak. engine fire in the driveway, not worth
fixing any more. sucks. junked it.

but i did gain the knowlege, which was worth way more that the couple
hundred i put into that car.

 

F'real.

This old 87 Celica got me thinking: Maybe I should buy only used Hondas (or
Toyotas) in the future. I have said for a long time that buying new
generally is as economical as buying used, as long as one drives the car
into the ground. But shucks IF I can buy a used Honda in good shape for
several thousand less than new, and then keep it running well myself, then I
sure would rather leave that several thousand invested. (Maybe that's a big
"IF" though.)

Plus, if I bought new, I'd have nothing serious to maintain for a couple of
years!

Regardless, my beloved 1991 Civic at 167k miles is clean, running great, and
still getting terrific miles per gallon, averaging about 40 mpg.

 

sure, i'll do it if the price is right. so far this year, i've got a
free 90 civic that needed a set of plugs to make it start & a throttle
position sensor to clear the code. sold that for a 4 digit sum.

same for a crx. not quite free, but almost. needed a new water pump.
only. just sold, again, 4 digits.

one down side is getting a snotty letter from a.a.a. when you have more
than 3 vehicles towed in any 12 months, but hey, i'm exploiting their
system & they know it.

don't do it for profit tho elle - just fun & [self] education. the pita
is selling them again 'cos in the cheap car market, there's a lot of
people feel compelled to haggle way beyond the point where it makes any
sense. and don't do any bodywork. that takes /so/ much time, it's just
not worth it unless it's strictly for self-education.

oh, one last thing... keep steely resolve about not keeping them!
especially if you end up getting one in better condition than your own.
next thing you know, you'll have clunkers all over your front lawn and
the neighbors will be dropping in for banjo lessons.

 

Great anecdotes, ideas, and suggestions, Jim. Though I still might aim for a
little "beer money" profit. Thanks.