On a drive the other day I was thinking about car improvement budgets and how I hate them. Specifically I hate how I can’t justify a lot of what I want to do to my vehicles because it is cost prohibitive or has a low return on investment (ROI).
So I thought of a game. Well really a thought exercise. What would you do to your cars if money wasn’t super important. I’m not talking fuck-you-put-a-Ferrari-V12-in money but like... reasonable funds that exceed your current capacity?
I’m doing a poor job describing what I’m after here, so I’m just going to start...
Land Rover
The Land Rover is the vehicle to benefit the most from this. Specifically there are a ton of mods and improvements I’d want to do that would cost of fortune but not really improve it much, or might even make it worse.
I think I’d go with...
- Hail damage fix - $1000
- Repaint roof - $1000
- Roof rack - $1500
- Front and rear lockers - $4000
- Interior spruce up - $500
If I was REALLY going nuts, I’d look into an engine swap to something larger or more efficient, preferably both, but I don’t know where to begin on that...
Saab
The Saab, like the Alfa, will probably get all of these things... one day.
- Full body respray - $5000
- New interior (headliner, carpets, seats) - $2000
- Engine Rebuild - $1000
Someday...
The Alfa
I’m not counting “fix the engine” as that is in this year’s budget.
- Hardtop - $1000
- Full body strip and repaint - $4000
- New interior (dash, seats, carpet) - $1500
- Fix AC and heat - $3000
Not sure I’d ever actually like... USE the AC, but I’d like to have it.
The Jaaaaaaag
The Jag is nearly complete but in a perfect world...
- Manual swap - $????
- Minor body work - $1000
- Undercoat - $500
- New headlights - $2000
- Powder coat wheels - $500
The Volvo
Initially I couldn’t think of much to do here, but the more I think about it the more I think the Volvo deserves some love too... some very ambitious love.
- Uprated intercooler - $????
- Larger turbo - $????
- AWD swap - $????
- Minor body work - $1000
Because come on... if you had the money why wouldn’t you try and hit the figures from the Polestar concept?
Alas
A lot of this is fun to think about, but those funds make much more sense being used elsewhere.
The Volvo may eventually get a better intercooler.
The Landy will certainly get the paint and body work and maaaaaaybe a rear locker one day.
The Saab will eventually get what it needs too, as will the Alfa.
The Jag will get... sold.
But hey if anyone wants to cut me a check for $40k it’d make for some great hashtagcontent :-P
What would you do?