Can someone rein me in
Discussion
I've recently sold an S2000 (for a marginal profit I might add) to free up some cash for a house move. Whilst this is great, I need another car eventually despite commuting on the bus during the week.
I started out thinking about late 90's FWD coupes https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... but have since thought I need to keep my costs down further, so I stumbled upon a 93 Toyota Corolla GLi 1.6 on autotrader. After searching for how easy it would be to source parts on Google, I then came across this thread.
http://www.wheelsjamaica.com/wheels_forum/index.ph...
I'm gonna level with everyone right now, I haven't a clue fixing anything up mechanically. Equally, I don't have the budget to pour the same cash in on the engine this guy clearly has (hats off to him by the way). I do love the aesthetic though. This looks cool. My question is, how easy is it to get a car to this condition on the outside?
The curve ball is, I've seen these Corolla's available for like £800 with about 80k on but there is rust. Arches mainly and I want to be able to get this rot out, cheaply. Can it be done? I'm more interested in wrapping a car rather than spraying it, again for cost, will that save me cost on the repair? Wrapping over filler afterwards? Am I even talking any sense?
One thread on here I've read poses a few solutions to the OP's problem of general approaches to rusty arches but I'm wondering if there's a way round it if I wrap the entire car after. Unlike the guy in the post, I'm not worried about getting my money back on sale, I just want to keep my costs down on what would become a very different looking car on the road - and to budget (all in I have about 1200 bar)
That thread is here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...
To re-iterate, I have no current experience with repairs but am patient and will have a go at this if it's something I can follow from YouTube. I really like what this Kiwi lad has done even though he has done it with bells on, I'd like a further toned down version to this OEM+ Corolla, and most importantly to cost.
Am I talking sh*t or is this realistic?
I started out thinking about late 90's FWD coupes https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... but have since thought I need to keep my costs down further, so I stumbled upon a 93 Toyota Corolla GLi 1.6 on autotrader. After searching for how easy it would be to source parts on Google, I then came across this thread.
http://www.wheelsjamaica.com/wheels_forum/index.ph...
I'm gonna level with everyone right now, I haven't a clue fixing anything up mechanically. Equally, I don't have the budget to pour the same cash in on the engine this guy clearly has (hats off to him by the way). I do love the aesthetic though. This looks cool. My question is, how easy is it to get a car to this condition on the outside?
The curve ball is, I've seen these Corolla's available for like £800 with about 80k on but there is rust. Arches mainly and I want to be able to get this rot out, cheaply. Can it be done? I'm more interested in wrapping a car rather than spraying it, again for cost, will that save me cost on the repair? Wrapping over filler afterwards? Am I even talking any sense?
One thread on here I've read poses a few solutions to the OP's problem of general approaches to rusty arches but I'm wondering if there's a way round it if I wrap the entire car after. Unlike the guy in the post, I'm not worried about getting my money back on sale, I just want to keep my costs down on what would become a very different looking car on the road - and to budget (all in I have about 1200 bar)
That thread is here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...
To re-iterate, I have no current experience with repairs but am patient and will have a go at this if it's something I can follow from YouTube. I really like what this Kiwi lad has done even though he has done it with bells on, I'd like a further toned down version to this OEM+ Corolla, and most importantly to cost.
Am I talking sh*t or is this realistic?
If your objective is an immaculate 90s car the only sensible way to go about it is to find an exceptionally well preserved low mileage example which has been garaged all its life, serviced properly and cleaned frequently. If you start with a rusty well-used car you are into restoration territory. It will cost you a fortune and require skills you don't have. You might have to spend a couple of grand or more and wait quite a while for an exceptional car but that, I guaratee you, is the cheapest way.
Toyotas seem to go for ever, or at least offer the potential for cheap motoring at the end of their lives...
My own experiences:-
D reg petrol Corolla bought at 112,000 miles for £80 ran clean with just oil and tyres till timing chain snapped at about 138,000
P reg petrol Picnic bought at 154,000 for £350 still running clean with just oil and tyres, currently at 234,000
No depreciation worries for me !!!
My own experiences:-
D reg petrol Corolla bought at 112,000 miles for £80 ran clean with just oil and tyres till timing chain snapped at about 138,000
P reg petrol Picnic bought at 154,000 for £350 still running clean with just oil and tyres, currently at 234,000
No depreciation worries for me !!!
Toyotas of the 90's run forever, I had 2, a 92 Starlet and a 98 Corolla, both sold while still running well simply because I fancied a change, the Corolla after it had given me 7 years and 100,000 miles of motoring on top of the 70,000 it had when I bought it, they could both still be going for all I know.
If you want to learn a bit about spannering I can heartily recommend them, get yourself a Haynes manual and undertake jobs when you have time for them to go wrong (ie at weekends) and also when you know there is a motor factors open and someone who can bring you (you will have forgotten something or need a tool you don't have) I learned how to do oil changes, filters, brakes etc... on my Corolla and even though it was basic stuff, the lessons learned have given me the confidence to tackle bigger stuff on later cars.
If you want to learn a bit about spannering I can heartily recommend them, get yourself a Haynes manual and undertake jobs when you have time for them to go wrong (ie at weekends) and also when you know there is a motor factors open and someone who can bring you (you will have forgotten something or need a tool you don't have) I learned how to do oil changes, filters, brakes etc... on my Corolla and even though it was basic stuff, the lessons learned have given me the confidence to tackle bigger stuff on later cars.
It's fixable... said:
Toyotas seem to go for ever, or at least offer the potential for cheap motoring at the end of their lives...
My own experiences:-
D reg petrol Corolla bought at 112,000 miles for £80 ran clean with just oil and tyres till timing chain snapped at about 138,000
P reg petrol Picnic bought at 154,000 for £350 still running clean with just oil and tyres, currently at 234,000
No depreciation worries for me !!!
Depreciation doesn't worry me either not on a car at this end of the spectrum. I got talking to a garage who deals in old Toyotas mainly he said he might be able to source me something to spec if I gave him a rough budget. I've also been looking at an old volvo 440 1.8 too. Dont know much about them/reliability etcMy own experiences:-
D reg petrol Corolla bought at 112,000 miles for £80 ran clean with just oil and tyres till timing chain snapped at about 138,000
P reg petrol Picnic bought at 154,000 for £350 still running clean with just oil and tyres, currently at 234,000
No depreciation worries for me !!!
patmahe said:
Toyotas of the 90's run forever, I had 2, a 92 Starlet and a 98 Corolla, both sold while still running well simply because I fancied a change, the Corolla after it had given me 7 years and 100,000 miles of motoring on top of the 70,000 it had when I bought it, they could both still be going for all I know.
If you want to learn a bit about spannering I can heartily recommend them, get yourself a Haynes manual and undertake jobs when you have time for them to go wrong (ie at weekends) and also when you know there is a motor factors open and someone who can bring you (you will have forgotten something or need a tool you don't have) I learned how to do oil changes, filters, brakes etc... on my Corolla and even though it was basic stuff, the lessons learned have given me the confidence to tackle bigger stuff on later cars.
OK Thanks for the tip. I just wanna do the basics. Going back to the original post I had seen a 93 Corolla but the arches were rusty so probably best I leave that one and find something with as little bodywork issue as possIf you want to learn a bit about spannering I can heartily recommend them, get yourself a Haynes manual and undertake jobs when you have time for them to go wrong (ie at weekends) and also when you know there is a motor factors open and someone who can bring you (you will have forgotten something or need a tool you don't have) I learned how to do oil changes, filters, brakes etc... on my Corolla and even though it was basic stuff, the lessons learned have given me the confidence to tackle bigger stuff on later cars.
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