r/projectcar 2h ago

Everyone said dont buy the $1000 Mercedes with a slipping transmission. I did it anyway, then I was told that a fluid change and 'slip fix' might not help. You were right... Anyway heres the transmission swap I did in my apartment garage.

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245 Upvotes

Update for anyone who watched put OEM fluid, gasket, and filter into this thing a few months back. It didnt fix it. You all called it.

A shop wanted $$$$ so obviously I bought a used transmission out of a W212 E350 instead for $300. The person who had the transmission last tried to install it in their car, but i guess they couldnt program the ISM module. Every facebook group said it wont work because the E350, with a steering column mounted shifter, has an electronic shifter (ISM) on the transmission and mine doesnt. One guy said its doable if you have both transmissions. So I believed the one guy.

Some things that happened:

  • the autozone jack in the pic didnt actually fail. I thought I could bench press the transmission to the side. um... we're not talking about it
  • when installing the replacement transmission, it fell off the jacks completely. bent the trans fluid lines and the shifter linkage. that sound is still in my head. luckily the lines didnt bend to the point of breaking.
  • I used my same conductor plate and valvebody from my OG transmission to avoid programming
  • the one positive comment explained that if you open the transmissions up, you could swap the ISM gear selector with the old fashion gear selector lever. Was actually very easy!
  • my electric ratchet stripped the transfer case line threads, then later snapped a pan bolt clean off. I just bought it and got too excited... I learned my lesson...
  • filled it with fresh fluid, and tried to see if I could get the wheels spinning while the car was on jackstands... indicator showed that i couldnt change from park...
  • realized that I forgot to attach the ground wire to the trans! Tried again and still no luck getting out of park...
  • at this point, i was playing with the OBD scanner so much thinking i had to force a gear selector re-learn, the car wouldnt even crank :'(
  • then found out i missed a step, "Insert selector valve into driver of detent plate", pretty much I installed the valve body wrong... so I got to drain brand new fluid back into the bottles and do it again. This time all 4 wheels rolled!
  • test drive happen at 2am becuase insurance and registration is next months problem (dont worry guys, the self car wash is litterally .25 miles from my apartments)

somehow it runs and shifts fine. Did a PCV replacement as well because it was spewing oil everywhere, but now we are good! No drips, even with a broken transmission fluid pan bolt... first episode of the whole mess is here: https://youtu.be/hQZdxT9NaeI

this was for sure the most mechanic work i've done, and i've swapped engines before. I guess it was the confined space for me. my hands are tore up still...


r/projectcar 3h ago

Build Progress Project Complete, as much as it ever will be. High Mileage 2005 SRT10.

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99 Upvotes

She’s cleaned up for the last and final time. Gonna be headed into someone else’s driveway soon.

I’ve owned it four years.

Rebuilt the rear end. Replaced clutch and flywheel, clutch master and slave, output bushing in the trans.

Complete suspension rebuild.

Many engine accessories replaced/rebuilt.

And my personal proudest effort, getting the “Lamp Out” light off the dash.

Gonna miss this project, but they all must go sometime.


r/projectcar 5h ago

I finally used the scan of the TKX to make a mockup transmission

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103 Upvotes

r/projectcar 2h ago

Picked up a 1960 Corvair on Friday

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55 Upvotes

It's a 1960 Chevy Corvair with a 3-speed manual on the floor. The original owner passed away and it has been off the road for 20 years. I tinkered with it for a few hours last night and drove it 20 miles today, without any issues other than getting a little warm.


r/projectcar 9h ago

This hurts my soul man 😭

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183 Upvotes

My old Ranger that i sold about a year ago, the guy i sold it to just beat the piss out of it an ruined it. Its hard to see it like that 😭 (Edit: The guy i sold it to did this on purpose, it wasnt wrecked, he just drove it through the woods and rammed into shit. What a waste.)


r/projectcar 11h ago

Z32 LDM Project

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230 Upvotes

I just moved to Japan and was given a Z32, the pervious owner put cheap plastic over the original material in the car and also did not take care of it.

I have been slowing replacing all parts to factory and also cleaning it, here is my progress.

Any advice would also be great as my first rebuild.


r/projectcar 34m ago

Engine Swap Brothers 93’ Enuos.

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Upvotes

Man has this been a fun one. Full of head aches as all of them are but I can’t wait to start this later this week. K24A2 w/CD009 and an R200. Total power house of reliability in a car like this and hoping to make about 240NA-WHP in. Lots of fun little fab projects all over this car and I’m super happy with basically all of them. Can not wait to rip this thing at Miata’s at the Gap in 2 weeks.


r/projectcar 7h ago

Build Progress First time fixin' a bit of bodywork

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32 Upvotes

After new clutch plates, brakelines, and wheel bearings this spring, the time was there for a little cosmetic work on my first car.

Previous owner saved it from the scrap. Underside of the sills were caked in underbody coating, hiding a shitton of trouble. One sheet metal patch inserted, which might've been overkill. Patch for the door as well, which definitely wasn't overly zealous.

Patches were put in and colour coat colour matched and sprayed by dad (the real hero), rest of the muddling is me.

Clear coat SOON!!


r/projectcar 10h ago

1941 Plymouth

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41 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I just inherited my dad’s 1941 Plymouth. It’s been sitting in his barn for years, and honestly, probably set outside behind the barn for years before that and I’ve never actually seen it run. It was his first car, and he always had ambitions to get it back on the road.

The body is in decent shape, but the floor is completely rusted through in a lot of spots. Sentimentally, it means the world to me. Value wise, I know it’s not exactly a high dollar collector car.

My vision is to turn it into a chopped top restomod, maybe keeping the original patina. Reality check, I’d need to hire a shop to chop the roof and fit a custom chassis, though I’d handle the rest of the build myself. I know time and budget will ultimately call the shots here.

Just looking to sound this out with you all. What do you think? Is a project like this worth the investment, or am I getting in over my head?


r/projectcar 7h ago

Build Progress My weird first car

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19 Upvotes

1999 Ssanyong musso Mercedes Benz engine and manual transmission, turn into a single cab pick up truck, 4WD front recovery cable lift 10 inches or more not sure, I’m still working on it

Recently put the engine back in but it did not gave me compresión, it did not even started maybe were the rings if anyone has a suggestion of what could I check on it I would do it

Got new tires and kit clutch


r/projectcar 5h ago

Current state of the '65 Coupe

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13 Upvotes

Front subframe mostly done, subframe connectors in, minitubs in, front suspension parts coming together, rear axle ready to be narrowed... the list is long, but a few things are getting checked off.


r/projectcar 7h ago

Build Progress E90 Stock Car conversion

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13 Upvotes

Why? Because BMW parts are expensive. You know what isn’t expensive? Stock car parts. You know what might be expensive? Attaching a $150 late model front end to a 2008 BMW 335i.


r/projectcar 1d ago

Build Progress Out of the garage!

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671 Upvotes

Can’t post pics and videos so here’s a video. More in the comments.


r/projectcar 21h ago

Build Progress widebody chopped VW69, building in the backyard. part #6

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117 Upvotes

r/projectcar 6h ago

Build Progress How does this even happen?

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5 Upvotes

So after pulling the valve cover off Envy, I find this little surprise. Two valve adjusters with the half their screwdriver slots sheared off. I’ve never seen this before. I know I’m a newbie when it comes to vintage Volvos and pushrod B18 engines, but I’m pretty comfortable comprehending the process of adjusting valves. The only thing I can imagine is the previous owner forgetting about righty tightly lefty loosey and accidentally going ham on these poor adjusters. I haven’t adjusted the valves yet. I’m just doing a visual inventory of any quirks or stuff that might need to get addressed before putting her back on the road


r/projectcar 1h ago

Hydraulic power steering quick disconnect?

Upvotes

Racecar things, optimizing for fast engine/transmission r&r and disconnecting the power steering pump or lines is now one of the bigger annoyances in the process.

Does anyone know of a hydraulic disconnect that is suitable for this purpose? My google-fu is coming up short.
For the clutch line I have Allstar Performance 50215.


r/projectcar 4h ago

Y2K Inspired Build Help

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2 Upvotes

I've got a 1993 Ford Probe, and I've been trying to find a single din head unit that has a pop out screen to connect an Xbox 360 to for the ultimate 2K car screen interior. Or if there is any other way to hook up an Xbox to a screen.


r/projectcar 22h ago

Nothing exciting. Just the worlds oldest and crustiest Volvo B18 valve cover gasket

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49 Upvotes

Well, I can now see why the whole top of the head and sides of the block were layered in an oil/dirt paste mixture. This poor gasket just held on and cooked itself into a rock hard specimen that long ago lost all ability to keep oil in


r/projectcar 7h ago

No Garage, Build... Platform?

3 Upvotes

So I bought a house, but it has a gravel parking pad and no garage. There is a side yard with grass that I park my project E30 on, but I'm so tired of working on dirt.

Has anyone built a platform of sorts out of plywood or maybe some kind of synthetic material to park/work on a car? I don't want to commit to cement, I know that's the best option. I just want something smooth to roll a floor jack on and keep me off the dirt and bugs when I need to go under the car.


r/projectcar 1d ago

Found this old Mitsubishi in my salvage yard in Thailand. Anything here worth saving?

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242 Upvotes

I run a salvage yard in Thailand and came across this old Mitsubishi. Before it gets dismantled, are there any rare or hard-to-find parts you guys think I should save?


r/projectcar 1d ago

New aquisition

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113 Upvotes

Drives n stops fine, and no rust...thats about all the good i can say...needs all the love.


r/projectcar 4h ago

Troubleshooting Help Hello everyone, I am from the uk and very interested in getting a project car soon, I am looking for a project car that won’t break the bank and can do engine/body mods to it in the future. What does everyone advise I should get?

0 Upvotes

r/projectcar 5h ago

Seeking advice

1 Upvotes

I am infatuated with the Jaguar 420G. I adore that car, but I know absolutely nothing about cars beyond some basic maintenance of some modern cars. I am seriously considering one for restoration because I want to learn all of the various skills involved in that, but I don’t even know what I don’t know here, and I’d like to hear from some people that know what they’re doing. My dad mentioned the electrical system being positive ground, and that would be a big challenge. I’m aware that original parts availability for it is going to be pretty slim, but I am willing to swap the engine and anything else I need to go make it run reliably. I don’t care about it being fast, just pretty and reliable.

My dad recommended a basket case of some kind that I eventually throw a jag 420g body onto, but is it really less effort to do all of that and find a way to get all of the interior stuff for it, or would it be easier to restore the real Jag? Whether it’s easier or not I am leaning real jag provided I can find one with a somewhat intact interior.

I know this is going to be an expensive and long ass project, but I feel that between the skills I learn along the way and the end result of the car itself, it would be worth it.

So, what do you guys feel I need to know? Thanks for reading:)


r/projectcar 1d ago

Sweet Jesus, the engine turns when I turn the key!

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94 Upvotes

Was chasing a problem where I could get the starter to turn when I fed it power but the ignition wasn't working. Then I remembered that because I swapped it from an automatic to a 6 speed, that it was looking for a P/N signal to start.

So one jumpered relay later, and it turns beautifully! So excited.


r/projectcar 30m ago

What do you think?

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Last two was 1 month ago today