Delays
Parts fail to arrive on time, and you find yourself renting a car to get to work
while you wait for the package to ship. When it does, the parts you ordered
for your U.S. version Mitsubishi Evo 8 turn out to be for a Japanese version
Evo 7 and don’t fit. A local fabricator says he’ll bail you out and make the
necessary changes, but he disappears and closes down shop for a week while
he’s at the races. When you get the part back, it still doesn’t fit, and now it
can’t be returned. You place another order for what you believe to be the
correct part, paying an arm and leg for expedited shipping, but the part you
need is on back order. When it finally ships, they send it cargo freight from
Japan instead of the international priority shipping you had paid for. You’ve
now had the rental car for over two weeks. . . .
If there is one overriding theme that rings true for every level of car
modification — regardless of the car make or model — it is to plan for and
expect dramatic delays, parts not fitting, and the need to spend a great deal
of money, sometimes many times the original amount anticipated, to make
things work as planned. Delays, botched orders, faulty parts, and unexpected
twists and turns are all part of the scenic journey that is modifying a car. In
the end, you have no one but yourself to blame because this was, after all,
elective surgery (the car would have been just fine without the latest and
greatest performance regimen that you have laid out for it). With a bit of
foresight, at the end of the project, you can sit back and have a laugh over
the trials and tribulations. However, it is always easier to laugh it off when
the stakes have been kept manageable to the best extent possible, and the
risks to your own personal sanity and wellbeing are kept in close check.
As a contingency plan, at the very least have the following when modifying
a car:
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Extra time to get the project done
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Extra cash reserves
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Good friends nearby who are willing to lend a hand or just moral support
when needed
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An alternate mode of transportation
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Access to online resources (message boards and forums) to check for
answers and leads — even at 2:00 a.m.
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A cell phone for the inevitable frantic phone calls from the side of the
road or in front of the closed shop that was supposed to have your
car/parts/service finished
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A bottle of aspirin and a sense of humor — you’ll need both