My first car was a 69 VW bug, I bought at 16, from a hippie Brazilian guy, named Fuckundo, that delivered pizza at the Pizza Hut I worked at for $150.
I didn't have a DL, as my grades were crap, and my folks wouldn't let me get it cause thier insurance would skyrocket.
Every fender was smashed, it leaked a quart of oil a day, there were no brakes, and all of the tires were bald.
I got some fenders from a local u-pull-it, shaved the turn signals, trunk handles, door handles, did a ton of body work on it, put in a new interior, tinted the windows while I had em out, lowered the front end, KYB shocks, a 1600 dualport motor w/ a two barrel carb, headers and stinger, converted it to alternator, stereo system, new tires, new brakes. All together I put alot of $ and elbow grease into that little car, which I never did register, or even drive on the street. I ended up selling it for peanuts to a kid, when I moved back east. Since I hadn't registered it or transfered the title from when I bought for four years he ate all the costs, which turned out to be more than he paid me for it. He still has it 20 years later.