A friend of mine recently gave up on building the ultimate Datsun 510. Or, more accurately, just the ultimate part. He decided, instead, to build the Datsun just to enjoy driving it.

A friend of mine recently gave up on building the ultimate Datsun 510. Or, more accurately, just the ultimate part. He decided, instead, to build the Datsun just to enjoy driving it.

It seems like everyone wants to build the ultimate something. At what point, though, do you lose the qualities that made the car special? As a 911 fan, I’ve often dreamed about what I would build if money and time were unlimited: twin turbo, sequential gearbox, full tube frame, carbon bodied, etc. I then realized I was no longer thinking about a 911. I now had a full race car that happened to contain some 911 parts.

Based on that thought and some of my own experiences, here’s some questions you should seriously ask yourself before you begin building your “ultimate” vehicle:

- Do uou like the car stock? If you don’t like the car stock, you’re never going to like it.

- Decide what your car will be used for. That coil-over suspension with three-inch drop may be the hot set up for the track, but how will it handle those speed bumps in the parking lot at work?

- Consider the legality of your mods. You might be able to live with yourself driving a car without smog controls, but the state won’t be as understanding.

- Decide on a realistic budget at the beginning. Don’t assume you’ll be able to get a big discount at the parts store or website because you’re a nice guy. You don’t want to get half-way through your project and run out of funds.

- Talk to people who are “in the know”. I don’t care what mod you’re doing; someone has done something similar in the past. Talk to them and learn from their mistakes.

- Do your own thing. After you’ve talked to people (see above), remember that this is your car. Don’t be one of those Internet forum sheep. Do what makes you happy. Don’t back away from something you want to do just because others will say it’s “played out”.

- Be safe, always consider what you are doing, and consider your safety and other people on the road. Those super cool 80 watt blue halogen bulbs may make it look like daytime in front of your car, but the guy in the on-coming lane will be thinking he’s staring at an eclipse.

- Have fun. That’s the whole point here, isn’t it?