Ok heres my secret, witch if your into the lifestyle its no secret......
Know everyone, Dont make enimies make friends....Make sure you do as many non-returned favors as possible, it will finally come back to you.....Allways be willing to find someone else a good deal, remeber all the good deals you find even if they arnt for the type of car you drive.....Buy parts at U wrench it and sell them on Ebay for too much.......Hussle up whatever you can for sidework, and do all your own work........I've spent about 14K on a non running 240sx and if I had got someone to do the labor I would be well over 20 thousand dollars......Work your way up.......And i cant stress enough, KNOW EVERYONE.........Make it your buissness to know everyone....With no connections, you got shit......