Refreshing an entire car

[xRIEx]

There's a lot of PH love for old cheap barges (and other cars of course) and often much discussion of the potential bork that goes with them. Is it possible to get a sub-£1K luxury cruiser and get it (almost) to a condition of the £50K/60K/70K car it was when new (and good for another big wadge of miles)?

I'm thinking reconditioned engine (AQG brings up XJ engines for about £3K (or less) fitted), gearbox and suspension refresh for starters. The interior might need some work, say, recovering the seats, what sort of price would that be?

Is it viable or just too much hassle?

[SV8Predator]

Buy a better one with a really nice interior (say, £2K) and then put another £2K in a special account for breakdowns and maintenance. There, I've just saved you £20K.

[LuS1fer]

The main bugbear is going to be bodywork. many will have established rust that can't be cured forever on the underside. then you have all the bushings etc.
Something American might be viable with a good crate engine but the refurbishing, if you did it yourself, would take forever and when the final one was done, the first one you did would probably want redoing again.

Stuff like that bubble car that Wheeler Dealers did is more attainable because it's small.

My own view is that the cost usually comes up to similar to a fully restored car anyway so you may as well buy a restored one.

There are, of course, some low mile gems out there that are reasonably priced and relatively immaculate.

[SebastienClement]

I have done this with both my MG TF and Rover 800 Vitesse. I spent about £11k on the MG and the rough side of £20k on the Vitesse.

Worth it though

[v8will]

SebastienClement said:

I have done this with both my MG TF and Rover 800 Vitesse. I spent about £11k on the MG and the rough side of £20k on the Vitesse.

Worth it though

That amount of money on either of those cars wouldn't be my cup of tea, interested if you have any pics though.

[carter711]

SV8Predator said:

Buy a better one with a really nice interior (say, £2K) and then put another £2K in a special account for breakdowns and maintenance. There, I've just saved you £20K.

I agree.
Any other way is just setting light to your money.

[SebastienClement]

v8will said:

That amount of money on either of those cars wouldn't be my cup of tea, interested if you have any pics though.

Will get a thread up in readers cars for them both - have been meaning to for a while!

The Vitesse has sentimental value too, so it had to be done!

[balls-out]

In many cases the engine is the least worn out part, it's all the odds and sods that wear. Windows motors, suspension bushes, electrical connectors, air con pumps, door rubbers, seat springs, hand brake cables, brake calipers, the list goes on and on and on. You can't make an old car 100% like a new one.

[JREwing]

SebastienClement said:

Will get a thread up in readers cars for them both - have been meaning to for a while!

The Vitesse has sentimental value too, so it had to be done!

I'd like to see that Vitesse. It's a rare man who'll do that sort of work to one.

[0a]

SebastienClement said:

Will get a thread up in readers cars for them both - have been meaning to for a while!

The Vitesse has sentimental value too, so it had to be done!

Wow... But I guess some guys lose £20k on day one when the drive out of the Ferrari showroom.

The £20k on the Ferrari sounds more sensible to be honest, but please post pics!

[crosseyedlion]

I don't see why not. I've wanted to do this myself. It's called restoring :P

My approach would be:

Start with a barge with superb engine/gearbox and diff. (miles not so important, but something with those bits strong could be had for 2k ish)

Dismantle the car completely (Just time)

Get the bare shell perfect (probably respray) If the same colour, and all the prep is done by yourself on the already bare shell (with doors etc...) It could come in under 1k.

Retrim front seats, steering wheel, armrests (anywhere thats lost texture/worn) - get the rest of the leatherwork restored. 1k (ish...surely)

Replace any plastics (ie. buttons) that show any signs of wear, along with any other interior odds and sods (less than 500)

Replace/refurb all the bushings, springs, dampers and droplinks (could be under 1k if diy)

New rubbers and seals everywhere. (under 500)

New Brake lines, discs and pads (500)

Get all mechanical components clean and repainted/coated (mostly time)

Refurb the wheels, and some quality tyres all round (1k)

Machine polish lights, dismantle if nessecary.

Rebuild the whole thing, protecting every connnection on the looms, cleaning up every terminal, cleaning every component that goes back onto it. (time...lots of) - and new exterior trim. (200)

Not to forget giving it the service of its life when putting it back together. (500 in lubricants, filters, greases, plugs...)

Like I said, a restoration, only I get what you mean - big barges that arent classic yet.

Basically, if I threw about 6 1/2k + 2k for a decent starting point at an old e38 bmw 740i (for example) and a LOT of time. I'd end up with an as-new 70k+ luxury car for £8-9k.

And have a whole lot of fun doing it...Thats got to be the motivation. I'd be to sentimental by then to use it daily.

[ging84]

only be worth doing on a rare car to start with
635csi maybe but ideally something rarer, certainly not a late 90s 7 series, wouldn't even be worth the money you put in parts, ignoring the hundreds of hours of labour you'd be putting in

[crosseyedlion]

ging84 said:

only be worth doing on a rare car to start with
635csi maybe but ideally something rarer, certainly not a late 90s 7 series, wouldn't even be worth the money you put in parts, ignoring the hundreds of hours of labour you'd be putting in

Possibly, but I'd much rather drive an as-new late 90's 7 series compared to a 3 year old focus. And, the very best ones do fetch very good money now (5-10k...sometimes more) I'd say it wasn't financial suicide, provided you don't put a price on your time.

And the reason it wouldn't be silly money is that the parts aren't pricey at all.