Over the last 10 years I've been keeping 2 "project" cars on the road.
First is this 1993 Accord that I bought for my oldest daughter to drive for college. It was pretty sad looking with oxidized paint, rusty hood, rusty 14" wheels with skinny tires. On the plus side, it ran (sort of) and the interior was absolutely mint. I replaced nearly everything under the hood (including, eventually, the engine, after my daughter Chernobl'd it with no coolant
). It's not half bad for a college kid (actually, it's now on it's 2nd college kid).
Then there's my work truck. I wanted something that could carry a lot of gear, that I could "have fun with", and that I wouldn't worry about scuffing up a bit. Found it on Craigslist in early 2009, paid $2400 and it was...rough. It was a bone stock cargo van, like an empty tin can on wheels. The previous owner was a young guy who used it to carry his motocross bikes. In addition to the terrible $250 Maaco black paint job, he had taped over the lights with electrical tape to "make it look cool". Mrs_Jackson burst out laughing when she first saw it, and I knew it was the right vehicle.
The list of badly planned and poorly executed repairs and mods I've done is too long to mention. Even though my bosses hate it, I've been all over the country with it, several times...all at 52 cents a mile, thank you very much haha! With 349k miles on the clock, it's obviously being sustained by it's own inherent evil. A waitress in rural Tennessee nicknamed it "Ol' Rapey" which seems fitting. I have indeed had a lot of fun in this idiotic vehicle.