Well I was over at the recycler today and saw a lone 97 Tiburon with front passenger damage, and basically just a shell of a tib with some interior. Nothing under the hood, no fenders or bumpers, no brakes or front suspension at all. all windows busted out, doors filled with bullet holes, man a serious project. My daughter has been wanting to do something different with me as far as spending time together and she is always saying when she gets her license that she is gunna take my car, well thats never gunna happen. Anyways I asked her tonight if she would be interested in learning about cars and to spend the next 2 years (or less) building the Tib from the ground up and when were done it will be her car. She is very excited and wants to do this. I can probably get this car for about $100-150 and get her back to my shop. Now before you all say its not worth the money that would not be the point of the build, first its an activity for me an Alyssa to get into and 2nd I have always wanted to build up a shell of a car. I know the recycler very well an any parts that he normally doesnt sell will come very cheap or even free along with my normal discounts for more popular items. Im gunna really look it over very well tomorrow, especially the front passenger damage.

 

Dude power to you for first of all being a AWESOME PARENT!! I will be repping you for this. Also, secondly if you need parts and end up picking up the car, there are two Tibs at the Recycler here by my Casa, and i would be more than willing to go over and pull parts and have them sent to you. I would just ask you to pay for the part and shipping. No extra charge, you would probably be doing me a favor and giving me something to do.



I am sure your child would love to work on it, I dont know a kid that would ever say no to working on THERE car from the ground up. I built a car with my father many many years ago, and he to this day will not sale it, As i joined the military and he see's it as a piece of us, and he often just goes out to tinker on it, and listen to Metalica, and reminds him of the times at which i still lived at home. Just another thing you can your child can look forward to in life, Im sure as a child it is hard to see now, but when the project is done, they will realize it has a little more value to it, then just a few figures and $....

 

I say go for it. Just make sure the damage isnt bad enough to cause drivability issues when the project is complete.

 

And you can do all kind of mood at the same time!

 

Thanks for the support guys and Turboron if I get this I may take you up on your offer. Im gunna go look the car over real well today, I gotta move on this quick cuz she is sitting in a pile to be hauled off to the metal recycler. My daughter made a connection that I didnt even think about, when i told her that it was a 97 Tib she burst out with excitement saying "thats the year I was born"... cant believe I didnt connect lol.

 

No Problem, Pm me and we can exchange numbers, that is probably the best way to get ahold of me!

 

As long as the radiator support isn't bent, everything could be bolt on/off. The radiator support means breaking all the welds on the front end. Inner fenders are also a big problem when you want to fix them.

 

I think the concept is great, but at least around here a non running RD that is otherwise in good condition goes for less than $500 most of the time. You could strip it all out to restore it, or replace parts that could use replacing and still spend tons of time on it with your daughter.



Of course, seeing it go from a useless shell to a functioning car would be more rewarding I suppose.

 

I think this is an outstanding idea! First of all any parent/child bonding is a big plus in my book, on top of that she's bound to treat the car with 100% more respect if she had a hand in the ground-up build. Also A big plus as this will build a basic know-how that many young drivers need (IE: change a tire, oil, coolant issues, headlights, etc.)





I also fully expect pics of the build

 

did sorta the same thing with my father when i was little



frame built a 72 monte, and while he sold it from under me to be a dick, it did keep me outta trouble during high school(for the most part)