If you’re a car enthusiast, you’ve probably considered the idea of customising your car. Still, a project like this can seem rather expensive, and it would take a lot of courage to tackle the idea. But if I tell you that you can customise your vehicle without having to break the bank? In fact, there are tons of low-cost upgrades you can go for that are guaranteed to make your car look awesome. And if you choose to make all of these yourself, you’ll manage to scrape away even more money while making your car look top-notch.

We came up with three car customisation projects you should be able to tackle without having to turn to professionals. Make sure you check them out.

DIY car painting – Can you do it?

A car paint job is an interesting DIY project that might just be what you’re looking for. And with good prep and a systematic approach, you should be able to make your car look amazing. Still, painting your car is going to be quite a time-consuming task and I recommend setting aside at least a couple of days in order to get the job done properly. When starting, you should first make sure the spot where you’ll be painting your car is completely clean. Also, you’ll have to wash your car in order to remove dirt and grease. Once your car is clean, you’ll have to prime it and sand it before you actually start applying the paint. When it comes to applying the paint, you’ll want to go with three to four coats in order to make the new paint look good. Just bear in mind that you should remove any powdery residue from the car before you start applying the last coat.

DIY turbo – Is it worth it?

When customising your car, you might also look into the idea of adding a turbo to your car. Basically, how this works is that you’ll be increasing your horsepower by allowing more air to flow through the cylinders. This would eventually make your car faster, which might be exactly what you want. Still, buying a turbo can turn out to be quite costly. So, why not try to make it yourself? Personally, if you don’t know 100% what you’re doing and you don’t have a mate who can tune your CPU, I wouldn’t recommend you to do this. In fact, I think that taking on this task yourself would be a horrible idea. Why? Well, doing thorough research on which turbo would suit your car the best and finding that turbo on the market is already quite a difficult task. But that’s just the beginning if you decide to install a turbo on your own. There would be a lot of attaching, connecting and securing, and even the tiniest mistake can give you a real headache.

Rocking a body kit

Installing a body kit is a great way to change the exterior look of your vehicle. These little things imitate the look of a race car, but they’re not going to turn your car into it since they don’t offer weight savings or down-force. If you decide to install a body kit, you’ll first have to choose the material you’ll go for. I recommend fiberglass since fiberglass composite offers greater strength than some other popular body kit materials such as carbon fibre. Another thing you’ll have to do is decide on what type of body kit you want. You can either install a full car body kit or go for a simple project such as adding ground effects or replacing bumpers. No matter what you decide to do, make sure you get all the parts you need. When I was tackling a similar project, I got an amazing spoiler from the wreckers, but I was missing the brace, luckily I found it online. So, make sure you turn to the web if you end up missing some of the parts of your new body kit.

Customising your car can turn out to be an amazing project. Just make sure you know what you’re doing and get all the equipment in advance. Luckily, today, the web is full of places where you can order car parts and have them delivered to your front door. And with some effort and free time, you should be able to bring your dream car to life.

Whether you’re spending the night in the woods or genuinely fighting for your survival in the deepest parts of the wilderness, having the appropriate equipment at hand is absolutely essential. You’ll need to make sure you are fully kitted out with everything the experienced adventurer or explorer would keep with them.

Remember that the items included in this list are designed to keep you alive and not to keep you comfortable. The more time you spend in the wilderness or the more experience you have in these situations, the more you will learn about what each piece of equipment can be used for, allowing you to customise your kit to suit your requirements.

Survival Tool 1 – Knife

A knife may well prove to be the most important tool of all and is absolutely vital if you hope to survive the wilderness. There are many different uses for a knife, ranging from everyday camping requirements to hunting. A knife significantly increases your chances of survival, so always have a pocket knife with you.

Folding blades are not the best choice of knife as they do not have the same amount of strength or durability as a fixed blade. Some of the various uses for a knife include cutting ropes, building weapons, opening packages, starting fires, cutting bandages and even relief from boredom.

Survival Tool 2 – Water Bottle/ Storage/Hydration System

Water is essential if you plan to survive in the wilderness and that’s pretty obvious. However, if you do come across a resourceful supply of water during your travels, you’ll need to have an appropriate method of storage.

Many people watch the movies and notice those distinctive canvas packs and presume these to be the best way to carry water around, yet this is certainly not on the preferred list of storage options. Hydration systems prove to be the most efficient form of water storage and are easy to carry around.

Survival Tool 3 – First-Aid Kit

First aid-kits include everything you would possibly need to treat an injury that you sustain in the wilderness. Without proper medical, even the smallest of cuts can prove to be a problem due to the risk of infection.

A first-aid kit should include all the medical equipment required to treat an injury. It’s quite possible for complications to arise without proper treatment but items such as bandages, cleaning wipes, plasters and other supplies will help you. Any prescribed medication should also be kept in the first-aid kit at all times.

Survival Tool 4 – Backpack/Pack

All of the stuff you’re hoping to bring with you will need to be carried in some way and the standard procedure for most people trekking through the wilderness is to keep a comprehensive backpack with them.

The more pockets on your backpack the better as you can organise your things and know exactly where to go if you need something. You can also pick up useful items along the way and store them in your backpack.

Survival Tool 5 – Cords/Rope

Rope is an incredibly useful tool that benefits all kinds of survival scenarios, with parachute cord proving to be a light, strong and space-friendly option for most. You should bring a spare paracord as well in case you plan on camping overnight.

There are many different uses of rope or cord including hoisting food away from wildlife, making splints, repairing tents, fishing line and building emergency shelters. If you want to create a strong knot or grip around an object, wet the rope first. As it dries it will tighten and create a strong knot.

Article provided by Cadet Direct, the leading surplus superstore acting as suppliers to Military Personnel, Cadet Forces and the General Public – since 1999.