Do it yourself: how to build a custom car

Designing and building a custom car allows you to express yourself and have something to show off.

Building a custom car can be very rewarding. It allows you to express yourself and have something to show off everywhere you go. There are so many ways to customize a vehicle.

One modification that almost all custom vehicles have is custom wheels. There are literally thousands of different types of wheels to choose from. Custom wheels come in sizes from 13” to 26”, and manufacturers are working to make larger sizes. There are also many different types of material wheels are made of. Chrome and billet are popular on trucks and SUVs, while aluminum is used more on cars. The more popular sizes for trucks and SUVs are 20, 22, and 24. Car wheel sizes depend on the type of car you have. Large luxury cars can have 18 to 20 inch wheels, while smaller cars usually go with 16, 17, and sometimes 18-inch wheels. Picking out your favorite wheels can be done at your local tire shop, or on the internet. Most places sell wheel and tire packages so you can have them all shipped and mounted together.

After selecting what style of wheel, most people chose to lower or raise their vehicle’s suspension. You can buy kits that will lower your vehicle and still keep the ride comfortable. You can also purchase lift kits for your truck or SUV to raise your vehicle higher. You can ask about these kits at your auto parts store or you can order them from the internet. Most of these kits should be installed by a professional.

One of the areas that make a vehicle stand out the most is paint and body modifications. These modifications are also more difficult and may not be able to be performed by yourself. Make sure to find a shop that you trust to do exactly the modifications you ask for. You may want your vehicle to look smooth, so what you might do is shave your vehicle. This means getting rid of all emblems and molding, removing your door handles and mirrors, and any other things you may want removed. To do this you weld the seams together, grind down the weld, and smooth it out to make it ready to be painted. These steps are better performed by a professional body person with welding experience. If you don’t want to have to weld anything, you might want to add on to the exterior instead of removing things. For this you can choose a body kit for your car or truck. Body kits come in a wide variety of sizes and styles. Body kits are made to take the place of your factory front bumper, rear bumper and side skirts. Some of them also have a rear spoiler that matches the theme of the kit. You can have them painted and then installed by a professional, or you can buy them already painted and bolt them on yourself.

Paint is another step closer to building your custom vehicle. If you like the color of your car but want to spice things up, you can have graphics added. Unless you have experience painting automobiles, it would be best to let a professional painter paint the graphics for you. If you want a complete change in color, you can have your entire vehicle painted a new color. There are dull, flat colors, shiny chrome-like colors, metallic colors, and even paint that changes colors depending on the angle you are looking at it. You can have flames painted down the side, racing stripes painted over the top of your vehicle, or any kind of image you may want. Use your imagination and there is no end to the possibilities of the paint scheme on your vehicle.

If you want to customize the inside of your car there are a few ways to go. You can take out all of the parts, paint them and put them back in. You can have everything recovered in leather, tweed, or the upholstery of your choice. If you want to be completely different from anyone else, you can have a professional use fiberglass to construct a one-of-a-kind dash or console for your vehicle. Most audio installers can do this type of work. They can make custom enclosures for any type of speakers you may want added to your vehicle also. You can have a CD player, TV screen, or even a video game system added to your vehicle to make it more custom.

Another area that can be customized is your vehicle’s performance. Whether you have a large powerful engine or a smaller, more economical engine, there are performance parts for your vehicle. The factory exhaust is easily upgraded with the purchase of a muffler system. Any muffler shop should be able to install this for you. A new air intake can easily enhance your vehicle’s performance. You can buy this part at a car part store, or the internet. Most of them come with easy to follow instructions for you to complete at home.

Just remember to check and follow with your state’s regulations on all modifications done to your vehicle.