What's the best No-Cost/Low-Cost Mod you have made to your car?

[bento]

so as a broke student who is always looking to change my car to my liking, i often think about mods to our cars that can be done with little to no expense. first ones that come to mind are lowering, spinning the tach, drilling out an airbox (if that's your cup of tea), jamming a broomstick through your cat, etc.

what are the best mods you guys have made that involved little to no expense (let's say less than $100)?

thowing away excess weight? something cosmetic? putting an extra tip on your muffler? the whole flowmaster thing?

Okay Low-Costers, let it fly.

thanks,

david benett

[Bigbartguy]

tough question.....now you've got me wondering if ANY thing that I've done cost under $100. hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm.

new Porsche emblem for front hood - no one else noticed but I did. $35 (added bonus of getting to put the old Porsche emblem on garage wall)

Momo shifter knob. Feels better and looks good. $50

In the process of rebuildling my rear luggage shelf/dash. That should run lesss than $100.

Tim
1985 Targa

[Milu]

1) Momo gear knob.

2) Stripping and refitting interior to get rid of a trim rattle and adding some extra sound deadening felt at the same time.

[JonT]

You could find a used bra for under $100. That is a nice addition for appearance to cover up dings/scratches etc. This is a little more than $100 but a short shift kit is a huge bang for the buck IMHO. Do it yourself for less.

Wayne's Book "101 Projects for Your 911" is an INCREDIBLE bang for buck! Money saved in the thousands...

[Rich L]

1) Dead pedal

2) High watt headlamp bulbs and relay

3) Swepco

4) SCWDP sticker

[Joeaksa]

1. Remove the "bowtie" on the A/C vent and get some real airflow in the interior! Cost was 10 minutes labor...

2. Replace the 17 year old shocks with Bilstein units. It was not "cheap" but when you look at the cost per mile or day, its very inexpensive and made the most difference in the way the car feels of any mod or upgrade I have done. Cost was $450 or so and a half day labor....

3. Remove the old exhaust including cat and replace it with SSI heat exchangers and a stock 73 muffler. Made the car sound and rev like it should and never fails to put a smile on my face when I start it up. Cost was about $1000 and well worth it...

Joe

[Superman]

Take door panel off and lube door mechanisms.

rear wheel spacers (23mm?). SCs' rear wheels look anemic unless you do this or get wider wheels/tires.

Remove A/C.

Change to early heating system eliminating the blower motor and about a mile of hose

Replace the spare tire with two cans of Fix-A-Flat and a tire repair kit (plug type). I kept the compressor.

Pull the door buzzer relay.

Mount a fire extinguisher in the cab. Mine is short engough to fit against the tunnel near the passenger's feet without restricting passenger seat movement. Looks cool, protects the car and scares my passengers.

[GeorgeM]

Scan ebay Parts and Accessories daily and be patient. Some great deals I got (under $100):

Autothority chip: $80
Wings Engineering Third Foot: $55

and a heck of a lot more for over $100, but all great deals.

Other stuff:

A Bursch cat bypass is a little over $100.
Flush brake fluid and replace with Super Blue
Stainless braided brake lines
Rebuild brake calipers yourself

Check with your mechanic for used parts. I got a modified stock muffler with a turbo twin pipe welded on for free.

[czwbkx]

BigBartGuy, What'cha doing to the rear package shelf? Mine is a disaster - the PO cut the speaker grills out!

[Doug Zielke]

Pulling the plug on the O2 sensor (SC's only) for a major improvement in driveability.

Joining the ranks of the SCWDP (thanks, Leland for making it happen!)

[pwd72s]

Dunno if it's the "best"...but an easy and nearly free dress-up? Sand, stain & varnish (actually I used varathane) the wood floor boards under the carpeting. Nobody ever sees 'em, but I know they are there...still in great shape after all these years...a nice walnut stain, covered with a semi gloss protective finish..

[Sean Hamilton]

Changed the dim headlamp bulbs for the Osram Bilux Halogen Silver giving another 50% more light. They're great and cost me way lass than $100.

[Don Plumley]

I like this thread - for less than $100 (each):

1) Motive Pressure Bleeder and ATE Superblue
2) Fire Extinguisher Bracket
3) A/C Center Vent Kit
4) Mobil One tranny fluid (I have a G50, otherwise Swepco)
5) Repair Door pockets
6) Clean the haze out from the inside of my headlights
7) Turn gauges (free)
8) Battery Vent Kit
9) Hand-painted Center caps
10) Paint brake calipers
-> Actually, the best project I ever did was change the tranny oil - mostly because it gave me the confidence to start working on other projects.
(Most of these are listed on my Projects Page)

For a little more than $100:
1) 930S Wheel
2) Wheel Spacers
3) Paint chip repair (I had custom two-part paint and clear mixed)

Waiting to do:
1) Front Struts
2) Pads and Rotors
3) Ride Height, Corner Balance and Align

Best Thing I've done with my Car:
1) My First Autox!

Can't wait to see other low-budget ideas!

Don

[LeeH]

Refinished faded Targa bar & faded fresh air intake $40

New tail to deck lid gasket $25

Wet sanded hood $5

Various polishes and waxes $20

Nissan Super White touchup paint $3

Back to black $3

Griot's Garage leather conditioner $8

Sharpie permanent marker for lug nuts $2

While not a modifications, all this was done for around $100 and took the car from one that didn't measure up to one that is very presentable.

Sometimes I can't believe how much my attitude toward this car has improved since doing these things.

[david c.]

I would say the two most fulfilling jobs done to my car were the work to the shifter mechanism (new bushings, factory short shift kit, new knob) which was pretty cheap. And, R/R the pedal cluster, fit new bushings, clean up, etc. Although my mechanic did this to my car of his own volition, I would have done it myself. It's relatively straightforward. But, the difference in driveability of these two improvements/restorations is UNBELIEVEABLE. I highly recommend than anyone with an older, high-mileage car do this stuff.

Regards,

David

[silverc4s]

I can't remember the exact cost any longer, but I would say that the BEST low $ mod I ever did was to buy & install retractable front 3 point belts in my early cars. For those of you that have not as yet done this, it greatly enhances driving comfort, looks, and I am SURE they are safer than the 30+ year old rotted fiber belts we had in there originally.

Other low cost mods:
clean & rustproof battery boxes
change to gel cell batteries.
Have the front ball joints replaced
Add Turbo tie rods & bump steer spacers
Remove windshield wipers (who takes a non galvanized car in the rain?)
renew all fuel lines
New plug wires
electronic points system
H1 or H4 headlamps
short shifter & new linkage bushings
clean pedal box & chg bushings
for 69 to 73 cars w/o sport seats - upgrade to something!
Add Momo shift knob & put original away in a safe place
Change to Momo wheel or equiv & put original away
Put in a real radio and put original away
There I am done now......

[cegerer]

Best upgrade for my 911?

1) Hiring somebody to take care of my yardwork so I've got more driving time.

2) See #1

-- Curt

[Joe Bob]

Pop off valve, for CIS

Braided steel brake lines

Shift knob

Short shift kit

ATE slotted rotors

Ferodo pads

Pagid pads for race day

Rebuild kits for front rotors

[makaio]

1. Auto Power roll bar- $100 at Parts Heaven swap Meet last year.

2. Swepco-$35

3. Removed A/C crud.-Free

4. Re-conditioned Blaupunkt CD player-$99 @ Costco

5. Loyds Floor mats $90

6. Turning speedo so I could see it.-Free

7. Replacing damaged Green distributor wire-$35

8. Fender mounted cool scoop-$90

9. Switched oil temp gauge to numerical style-$90

10. AJ USA Dead Pedal-$60

11. Having mixture set $30

I like the idae of the Black sharpie marker to touch up my lug nuts! Good idea!

[jclc]

I think this is a Great thread, too!

Add aluminum plate inside each door to prevent 'slim jim' access- $0

Make extended bolt head for the upper starter nut, so its easy to loosen bolt to install starter -$0

Surface upper valve covers and vent cover on belt sander to stop oil leaks -$0

Degrease engine compartment with Super Orange- $20

Replace 3/4HP with used 1.5 HP starter -$65 (Ebay)

Add external cooling system (used parts from Ebay) -$300

Replace worn and noisy 915 tranny with new used one (fromEbay)- $550