I have always wanted to become more of a gearhead, but never really pursued anything to nourish that interest. Lately I have been thinking about customizing my own vehicle - something inexpensive, and easy to work on. I basically want t beginner car. Eventually if I enjoy this as a hobby, my ultimate dream car to work on would be a datsun z.
Know of any good resources - books, videos, etc. - that could help me learn or get more acclimated to the custom car hobby?
Dude, do a key word search, Google stuff and you will find that there are forums for honda/accura and specific cars in their line-up, like the Integra. Integra's are easy to work on (a bitch to change the oil filter though), and they have all kinds of aftermarket parts made for them. Take an Integra for instance, you can buy the car for a few thousand and get a decent one with plenty of life left in it, and then add headers and sway bars and shit if you want as you can afford it. Plus there is a shit ton of online support available to help you in customizing your car, everything from drive-line to stereos to which seats to use in the online forums. Or you could get the Datsun
Depending where you are, stay away from Honda/Acura's. Too much theft for very little torque. Get something else Japanese, Toyota only has the MR2 and Supra, Nissan has a few decent cars, Subaru, etc etc. The first question is whats your budget for the car itself? If its under 4-5 grand, Honda/Acura is a good start. If its more, start looking elsewhere.
Get the datsun dude. If you buy a old/used one, sign up on a few forums, and do all the repairs and maintenance yourself, you'll learn fast. I learned how to rebuild my engine on my old Toyota pick up with alldatadiy (all data is the program ASE certified mechanics use), a few forums, and some verbal advice from a friend. Bottom line, if your really passionate about cars, you'll figure them out.
Older Ford trucks can be fun as well. I got my 88 f-150 last year and have learned quite a bit from it. First thing was rebuilding the engine. That was a interesting process for someone learning as they go. Like others have said, no matter what your choice is, join some forums and use that wealth of knowledge. Trust me, it saved my ass.
I wouldn't start on a datsun as your first car...or at least not one with a stock engine. There were a lot of changes made after Datsun became Nissan. If you have your heart set on a datsun z, maybe fine one with a KA24 (240sx engine) or SR20 (Sylvia engine) swap already done, both run high compression and are very easy to build
And remember something about those flamers, don't waste your time with it. Skip past their post and right on to the next one.
if you wanna start working on a simple yet loveable car, get a mk3 (93-99.5) Jetta, Golf, Or GTI. The 2.0 is super reliable, and the vr6 will keep with most present cars. plus they have the vwvortex, which will keep you from turning your car into a heaping pile of ricer shit. also, there is no point wasting time and money on a honda product. they look cheap, feel cheap, sound shitty, and are slow. not to mention they ALL get stolen. and if you look towards american RWD, be prepared to miss the road often, this country has barely grasped the concept of proper cornering up until the last 5-6 years.