I was asked to make a 3D 1983 Malibu car cake for the groom and although I want to take this challenge on, I am by no by hand? Do I have to do fondant or could I do frosting with some fondant accents? What type of cake recipe should I use that will hold up well? Any ideas/thoughts/cheat sheets etc, would be MUCH appreciated!!

There are some recipes on here that are great for cake carving. You need something that is stable enough to hold its shape when you carve it. Your best bet is to make square or rectacular shaped cakes. Then make yourself a template by printing out what the car looks like and transfer it onto cardboard. Use that as a carving guide so you can get your dimensions right. When you print it, you want to blow it up to the size you want so that your cake is carved at the right size. Then after you carve it, give it a coat of buttercream and set it in the fridge to get good and cold. Then go back and drape your fondant over it and use your fingers to shape it to the cake shape. If you want the car to be on "wheels" then I suggest you carve out the wheel wells and stick in a fondant wheel on a skewer that goes to the other side of the cake like an axle. You can also use two skewers for it if you want. Then you can put on other fondant details. Use tylose in your fondant so some of the items that you need stability to will stand up. And good luck!