Suggest a project for me please
Discussion
An imminent house move means that I will soon have a garage again and thoughts are inevitably turning to a project. I have some ideas but I feel like I may be missing some nice options. The ultimate goal is a to have a usable classic that I'll be equally happy driving or polishing on a sunday morning. The driving side of things will need to lean towards sporting rather than comfort and a little bit of poke is always welcome. Rear wheel drive is my usual preference as well. On going budget isn't fixed but I won't have tonnes of money up front for a purchase. Maybe £2k tops unless I wait a while. I prefer working with oily bits that bodywork though I accept I'm likely to encounter some of the latter one way or another.
In an ideal world I'd probably pick any of the following but I'll give you the reasons why I've ruled them out so you get an idea of what may or may not work for me.
E34 M5 - I like my BM's but this is ruled out on grounds of size. The garage is an oversize single, I think about 10 ft by 21 ft but I want plenty of room to work around the car, work bench etc. I'd also be concerned about potential on-going costs slowing things down.
MK1 Escort - always wanted one but their values have soared and priced me out of the market. I'd want a 3dr and they seem to start at double my budget.
Westfield - I want another one but whatever I build is likely to be used by my wife a little and this just doesn't fit the bill unfortunately. Prices also seem quite high these days.
Possible options at the moment:
MK1 MX5 - Seems a bit default somehow but my wife loves them and they're easy to work on and very cheap to buy.
Porsche 944 - I always fancied one of these but I'm aware that the cheaper ones are nearly all non-turbo and non-s2. I don't want to pour my blood, sweat and tears into something with a niggling doubt that I'm starting with the wrong model. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough?
All ears for more ideas...
In an ideal world I'd probably pick any of the following but I'll give you the reasons why I've ruled them out so you get an idea of what may or may not work for me.
E34 M5 - I like my BM's but this is ruled out on grounds of size. The garage is an oversize single, I think about 10 ft by 21 ft but I want plenty of room to work around the car, work bench etc. I'd also be concerned about potential on-going costs slowing things down.
MK1 Escort - always wanted one but their values have soared and priced me out of the market. I'd want a 3dr and they seem to start at double my budget.
Westfield - I want another one but whatever I build is likely to be used by my wife a little and this just doesn't fit the bill unfortunately. Prices also seem quite high these days.
Possible options at the moment:
MK1 MX5 - Seems a bit default somehow but my wife loves them and they're easy to work on and very cheap to buy.
Porsche 944 - I always fancied one of these but I'm aware that the cheaper ones are nearly all non-turbo and non-s2. I don't want to pour my blood, sweat and tears into something with a niggling doubt that I'm starting with the wrong model. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough?
All ears for more ideas...
smiffy220 said:
Opel Monza? I would suggest a Manta, but you'll have bodywork to do on one of these, I should know, had 4!
Cheers for the suggestion. Must admit, they don't really pull the heartstrings but seeing as they tick most boxes I think definitely worthy of further consideration. Gad-Westy said:
smiffy220 said:
Opel Monza? I would suggest a Manta, but you'll have bodywork to do on one of these, I should know, had 4!
Cheers for the suggestion. Must admit, they don't really pull the heartstrings but seeing as they tick most boxes I think definitely worthy of further consideration. I really like them, want one to go with the Manta ideally. Nice early one, without the digital dash. Straight Six 3 litre, lots of velour inside, and a nice solid motor!
Sierra XR4i or XR4x4 not worth a look? Not a Mk1 Escort, but would probably hit budget ok.
Grab this Beta Coupe for 500. Do the welding for, say, 600 to 1000, or maybe less, get an MOT, and then enjoy. A 2 litre injected Beta is a great car to drive.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C369454
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C369454
PS: that Beta is one of the late cars, that was much better built than the early ones, using better quality steel.
The FWD handling feels almost like RWD, a trick that Lancia perfected, and the relative lightness of the car, coupled with relatively narRow tyres, make its handling far better than that of the typical modern, heavy, over tyred FWD hotbox. Betas have a lot of style and kerbside koolth factor. The seats are usually comfortable, and the instrumentation is comprehensive. Look out for electrical gremlins. Th five speed gearbox is robust, but check how first to second feels when cold.
The Lancia twin cam engine is a rooty tooty joy, and hard wearing, if you do the cam belts every so often.
Get this car sorted and it could be worth 4k to 6 K.
The FWD handling feels almost like RWD, a trick that Lancia perfected, and the relative lightness of the car, coupled with relatively narRow tyres, make its handling far better than that of the typical modern, heavy, over tyred FWD hotbox. Betas have a lot of style and kerbside koolth factor. The seats are usually comfortable, and the instrumentation is comprehensive. Look out for electrical gremlins. Th five speed gearbox is robust, but check how first to second feels when cold.
The Lancia twin cam engine is a rooty tooty joy, and hard wearing, if you do the cam belts every so often.
Get this car sorted and it could be worth 4k to 6 K.
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