Going to great depths to find parts for as cheap is a major part of saving as much money as possible on a project car. Sometimes this means installing cheaply made, poor-quality parts to put it together. Other times it means scouring donor vehicles for every part you could possibly use. YouTube channel Speed Academy subscribes to this latter idea, and this recent video proves that said scouring has absolutely no boundaries.
I can’t say I’d be up for dealing with mouse droppings and mold just to nab a few minor bits. They were, though, and picked up a center console stack, some seat hardware, minor trim pieces, and a battery tray. Respect to them for doing so with this heap of an EK Civic.
The footage and commentary aren’t for the faint of heart. There’s mouse and/or rat shit for as far as the eye can see. There’s more mold than fifty antique stores combined. This EK has seen better days and has probably spent the past year or more sitting with its windows down, completely exposed to the cold, brutal Ontario climate where Speed Academy is located. Very cold winters and very hot Summers are rough on all things metallic, and nowhere is that better demonstrated than on this well-worn Honda’s bodywork. There’s so much deep rot.
And yet, Pete of Speed Academy was able to find a few useful items, completely free of charge. A friend offered the car to him as free for the pickin’ before it went to a scrapyard. This is actually a useful lesson in resourcefulness in itself: If you’re on a tight budget with your project, getting your hands on a free or ultra-cheap non-running donor car could be a solid way to strip needed parts. Then, donate it, hire somebody to tow it to a junkyard, or tow it yourself. There’s still a tiny bit of scratch to be made in a bare shell, which could help recoup costs.
This strategy could be very useful. Even pulling bits as simple as retainer clips, minor trim pieces, wiring, bulbs, or other miscellaneous items could help. Depending on the age of the car, those things might no longer be in production or are very hard to find in clean, functional condition. My editor Andrew Collins can tell you all about that.
I guess what this means is I might have to crawl through rat shit, and possibly also set it on fire (no really, watch the video) like Pete does to scavenge much-needed parts for a future project. It looks like keeping ICE cars alive will be all kinds of interesting when the new car market consists mostly of EV appliances in the fairly near future.
