Classic American project car source.
Discussion
I’m looking for a reasonably cheap classic America project car (<£5000 if possible, but definitely <£10000)
Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
tpodbury said:
I’m looking for a reasonably cheap classic America project car (<£5000 if possible, but definitely <£10000)
Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
"Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam"? - I think you are going to be incredibly lucky to find one of those in the condition you need, for between £5K~£10K.Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
They're becoming hard enough to find in the USA, let alone in the UK, and most the sellers in the states know they're becoming more and more sought after, and are asking silly money, even for basket cases!
tpodbury said:
I’m looking for a reasonably cheap classic America project car (<£5000 if possible, but definitely <£10000)
Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
Well, funnily enough...Preferably a non-running rolling body that’s not a total wreck but needs restoring. I’ve scoured the internet and usually spend a good 2-3 hours on Carsandclassic.co.uk.
Can anybody recommend a company that either sells classic American cars in need of restoring in the UK, or that imports them along with all paperwork required. Most of the ones I find on eBay or gumtree are barn finds but are in such good condition they’re going mostly for £25000 and over.
I’d appreciate any information on either a company, legitimate website or auction which specialise in selling worn out classic American cars.
Would be looking specifically for muscle cars (Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam).
The aim would be to then rip the old guys out and give it a modern heart. Don’t judge.
Thanks.
There's an outfit quite near me – with which I otherwise have no affiliation – called All American Imports. Google them. There's a solid '71 Mustang there with a crap interior and weedy-looking engine that I quite like the look of, excepting that I don't want another project, which this one definitely is. (The description on the site is for a Thunderbird though so you'd have to phone for details.)
I must admit that SM is tempting. (The Citroen, not whips etc
)Think you'll struggle to find anything vaguely "muscle" worth having in the UK between 5 and 10k - prices for stuff already here are pretty steep and the exchange rate is making fresh imports equally pricey.
If you are prepared to think more laterally, these guys up in Grangemouth are well worth a look - can recommend personally as I've bought two vehicles from Jimmy and found him to be totally straight to deal with.
Something like this might just be ideal...
Pull the cab and bed to get to the rolling chassis, build it mechanically as you want, throw the cab and bed back on, enjoy!
If you are prepared to think more laterally, these guys up in Grangemouth are well worth a look - can recommend personally as I've bought two vehicles from Jimmy and found him to be totally straight to deal with.
Something like this might just be ideal...
Pull the cab and bed to get to the rolling chassis, build it mechanically as you want, throw the cab and bed back on, enjoy!
4rephill said:
"Barracuda, 60s Camaro, 60s GTO, 71 transam"? - I think you are going to be incredibly lucky to find one of those in the condition you need, for between £5K~£10K.
They're becoming hard enough to find in the USA, let alone in the UK, and most the sellers in the states know they're becoming more and more sought after, and are asking silly money, even for basket cases!
^This.They're becoming hard enough to find in the USA, let alone in the UK, and most the sellers in the states know they're becoming more and more sought after, and are asking silly money, even for basket cases!
Expand your searching to the USA for a start, looking for something in the UK is not going to turn up what you are looking for in your budget.......but also be prepared that even search in the USA is not going to get something that isn't a basket case for your budget.
Here you go...........would be about £5-6k once shipped to UK.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale...
Not going to be cheap to restore though with the body issues. You'd want to source the required repair panels in the USA at same time and ship them with the car to save some money.
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale...
Not going to be cheap to restore though with the body issues. You'd want to source the required repair panels in the USA at same time and ship them with the car to save some money.
There is a father and daughter company with a base somewhere near Derby but at this moment I cant remember there name.
The father lives and has a huge yard in San Diego, the daughter lives on a farm somewhere around Derby, they specialise in repatriating british and european rust free cars for restoration but will source and ship Americana if thats what you want, other than that as 99T said there is Jimmy in Grangemouth, he advertises on Ebay just Americana.
The father lives and has a huge yard in San Diego, the daughter lives on a farm somewhere around Derby, they specialise in repatriating british and european rust free cars for restoration but will source and ship Americana if thats what you want, other than that as 99T said there is Jimmy in Grangemouth, he advertises on Ebay just Americana.
What is your budget for the build? I’m assuming you want to do an LS swap? Thats most of £5k just on a motor and all the pulleys/mounts/oilpan/harness ect. Then you need a transmission, a TKO600 is about 3/4k , and you’ll want Willwood or similar brakes so another £1k or 2 there, might aswell fit a vintage air AC kit and Dakota digital gauges, another 3/4k.
I bought the cheapest chrome bumper c3 corvette in the world as a basis for my resto mod and imported it from the states. Car was absolutely rot free but had 40+ years of being hacked apart to fix before I could even think about any modifications. Original budget was 20k, i’m now 25k in and will be lucky to have it completed for under 40k and thats retaining the mildly built 350ci motor it came with, an LS swap with a 5 speed manual makes it a 50k build.
The car was £7000.
I bought the cheapest chrome bumper c3 corvette in the world as a basis for my resto mod and imported it from the states. Car was absolutely rot free but had 40+ years of being hacked apart to fix before I could even think about any modifications. Original budget was 20k, i’m now 25k in and will be lucky to have it completed for under 40k and thats retaining the mildly built 350ci motor it came with, an LS swap with a 5 speed manual makes it a 50k build.
The car was £7000.
OP. Feel free to PM me. I live in Charleston, SC. Been here 15 years and am friendly with the natives. A friend and I would be happy track something down if you like. No charge or anything. Thrill of the chase and all that. I can store a car at my house prior to it shipping from Charleston. Deliver it to the port for you.
It will be hard to find anything semi decent in your price range to be honest.
PM me, happy to help in the spirit of PH.
It will be hard to find anything semi decent in your price range to be honest.
PM me, happy to help in the spirit of PH.
I'm not sure why you'd want a roller or a rust bucket. I've tried to restore a Rover P6 here in the US and stopping every time you have to get parts is a giant pain in the rear. If I may suggest. How about a Mercur XR4TI?
There's nothing available in the UK like it.
There's nothing available in the UK like it.
Edited by alabbasi on Friday 24th April 05:51
Wow thanks for the responses everyone. It’s all very useful to me and I appreciate any input. Yeah I’ve looked both in UK and USA. Correct that most of the stuff already here has been restored and fetches a hefty price. Thanks for the links to companies too ! I’ve often been put off by the cars with body panels missing and didn’t think about shipping new ones over with them. These are all the details I’ve not factored into my searching. Thanks again for the feedback!
alabbasi said:
I'm not sure why you'd want a roller or a rust bucket. I've tried to restore a Rover P6 here in the UK and stopping every time you have to get parts is a giant pain in the rear. If I may suggest. How about a Mercur XR4TI?
There's nothing available in the UK like it.
Aside from the Sierra XR4i. There's nothing available in the UK like it.
If you’re on Facebook, just join any of the American car groups. They’re full of small time dealers importing stuff.
Also, if your swapping the running gear, there are plenty of 6 cyl Mustangs about.
Dazaa said:
What is your budget for the build? I’m assuming you want to do an LS swap? Thats most of £5k just on a motor and all the pulleys/mounts/oilpan/harness ect. Then you need a transmission, a TKO600 is about 3/4k , and you’ll want Willwood or similar brakes so another £1k or 2 there, might aswell fit a vintage air AC kit and Dakota digital gauges, another 3/4k.
I bought the cheapest chrome bumper c3 corvette in the world as a basis for my resto mod and imported it from the states. Car was absolutely rot free but had 40+ years of being hacked apart to fix before I could even think about any modifications. Original budget was 20k, i’m now 25k in and will be lucky to have it completed for under 40k and thats retaining the mildly built 350ci motor it came with, an LS swap with a 5 speed manual makes it a 50k build.
The car was £7000.
Yes that’s correct the aim would be to LS swap (not sure if this is as popular in the UK as it seems to be in USA). It’s a long term project which I’m not looking to start for at least another year. Thanks for the additional costs and recommendations for brakes. I bought the cheapest chrome bumper c3 corvette in the world as a basis for my resto mod and imported it from the states. Car was absolutely rot free but had 40+ years of being hacked apart to fix before I could even think about any modifications. Original budget was 20k, i’m now 25k in and will be lucky to have it completed for under 40k and thats retaining the mildly built 350ci motor it came with, an LS swap with a 5 speed manual makes it a 50k build.
The car was £7000.
tpodbury said:
Yes that’s correct the aim would be to LS swap (not sure if this is as popular in the UK as it seems to be in USA).
It's not uncommon, but not as common as in the USA, as generally people in UK prefer the more period look, rather than the ghastly pro-touring look seen on the popular US TV garage shows and in car meets over there.Each to their own though, and you cant knock the LS series (especially the newer stuff) for their grunt and delivery.....but they sure ain't pretty to look at.
Just an update..
I’ve stumbled upon this website
https://realdealsteel.com/c-1105811-bodies-1967-69...
It’s not restoring but they supply metal bodies. It’s the first time I’ve found a site like this. If anyone else was looking for classic American car a to work on, this could be an option.
Long term of course.
I’ve stumbled upon this website
https://realdealsteel.com/c-1105811-bodies-1967-69...
It’s not restoring but they supply metal bodies. It’s the first time I’ve found a site like this. If anyone else was looking for classic American car a to work on, this could be an option.
Long term of course.
Why not spend a bit more and get a rust free one from Arisauna or Texas?
How about this West Texas Porsche 911?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/24757532...
How about this West Texas Porsche 911?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/24757532...
Edited by alabbasi on Tuesday 28th April 08:02
Replacement Shells have been around for ages,
if one all ready owns a top spec but terminal corrosion affected car, them maybe it could be the most economic way of getting the car rust free.
You'l still spend £30K plus.............................. and reshelling is a big job job, takes up loads of space and takes a long time!
Plus your investment will be as original as Triggers Broom..............................
if one all ready owns a top spec but terminal corrosion affected car, them maybe it could be the most economic way of getting the car rust free.
You'l still spend £30K plus.............................. and reshelling is a big job job, takes up loads of space and takes a long time!
Plus your investment will be as original as Triggers Broom..............................
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