Hi all, I'm Charlie. Been watching the forums for about a year now, but finally decided to join. And then finally decided to post tonight.
My background in modding lies in comfort/safety mods--but rather than tell everything I've done, I'll summarize one of my rides. This is allowed and okay, right? Eh, if not, just skip it.
'79 GMC Suburban (350 V8, topping out at 109MPH *drool*, got 14MPG if I was driving nicely or half that if I was playing), replaced front bench seat with one from a '94 Chevy to include headrests and a better seatbelt system. Dropped the 'burban three inches for lower center of gravity, and increased the diameter of the rear tires by 2in for greater stability. Rigged an engine heater for easier winter cranks, and--I kid you not, placed a home stereo system in the back, with working record player (never tried it while driving as I wasn't that crazy). Mind, this was all back in my last year of high school, so speed and power was the Big Thing. Idiot 'friend' thought it would be funny to pour something in the oil, so the engine seized. Oh, please note that due to my tinkering, I increased the MPG by 2 at the top. When I got it, it was capping at about 12MPG.
My current project is a '93 Geo Metro Hatchback (auto, 3-Cyl, horrid green, recessed lights, etc). It had a blown head gasket, and a slight bit of warping on the head, but that was easily taken care of. I'm qualified and experienced to work on it, but due to current time constraints, I took it to a trusted mechanic friend to handle repairing that. My plans, at this moment are fairly extensive, and cover all four of the standard categories: Efficiency, Cosmetics, Comfort, and Safety. Oddly enough, a good deal of these cover more than one category...
=To-date electric cooling fans
=New radiator
=Dual oil filter relocation
=Rewire the car electrical system
=LED lights (brake, turning, interior, etc)
=High-efficiency headlights (Xenon? etc)
=New paint job (Perhaps a sandy brown/tan)
=Replace recessed headlights w/ capped lights, if possible (or *make* some caps)
=Replace front seats with either racing bucket seats (four/five point harness, headrests, etc), or better seats with in-seat mounted seat belts (door mounted scares me)
=Remove/modify rear seat for greater comfort/safety, or more cargo space
=Wind-shields on rear wheels, deflectors on front wheels
=And several more things that I'm not remembering right now
Cosmetically, well... that's a whole 'nother ball of wax I want to look about before I begin mentioning it. Although I will say, it involves wood floors, and rope door handles.
I'll try to keep y'all updated on everything.