Question Time Oppo: Project Cars.

"Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis" (Dwhite95) 10/28/2014 at 17:01 • Filed to: None

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Lets say you are going to buy your first project car. You know what tools are but are by no means skilled with them. What car do you get? The Beetle has been the definition simple wrenching, but is there something else that fits the bill as well.

Disclaimer: I am not looking for such a car, just curious.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:04

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A pre-1990's truck.

Jayhawk Jake > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:05

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As I have no idea how to wrench on cars, I might argue that something new is a good option.

No, it's not a 'project' car like a restoration, but modifying modern cars isn't all that difficult. Find something with a strong aftermarket, do some power modifications/body changes/regular maintenance and learn that way.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:06

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I'll agree with the air cooled VW, be it Beetle or Bus. My Celica isn't too terrible to work on either. If not an air cooled VW, something from the 70's-80's as it's still fairly simple and doesn't have all of the electronic stuff of newer cars.

RWS Motorsport > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:07

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My old Peugeot 205 was put together like lego. Rusty lego mind you, but still. With a pretty basic socket set you could reduce it to a set of component parts without too much difficulty.

That was a good learning car.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:13

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My MR2 has been good so far as a first project car. It didn't need to be brought back from the dead, but there's been plenty to do on it and it's been a great learning experience so far.

desertdog5051 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:14

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If you understand the basic mechanical principles of analog systems, those are the easiest to fix/modify. No fancy equipment to buy and pretty easy to diagnose. A ton of information available online. Parts are simple to install. There is a certain satisfaction in working on such simple systems vs. hooking up a box and having it tell you if you did it right or not. When you set up an old style ignition system, you have accomplished something.

Coty > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:15

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Nope, you got the best answer right out of the gate.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:18

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If you live in Brazil, this is the only answer that isn't a Beetle.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:20

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If you are not skilled, any car is going to make you crazy. I posted about some guys at a restoration school who don't know what a set of points and a rotor look like. It is a learning curve and at a certain point you just have to dig in with whatever car you have. As you get more experience with different cars, you start to see similarities. My MkIV VW products have had coil pack issues. But now when someone says they are having ignition problems I can give them some educated advice. Having worked on VW/Porsche flat 4 and six engines, I am familiar with pushrod tubes and their failure/importance. Having worked on Triumph engines I am familiar with thrust washers and how to figure out if they are worn or missing.

tl;dr....get a car and a decent set of tools from Sears and go for it with whatever car you have. Start learning. I am 46, you guys have the internet now. I had a Alfa back in the mid 80's and I had to learn Italian to read the manuals. Y'all got it easy!

Steve in Manhattan > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:26

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Seems to me that these were made just before things got overly complicated:

DailyTurismo > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:31

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A classic, of course, but the Beetle is such a miserable driving experience that you will hate life. For an entry into project car ownership I suggest an early Mustang (64.5-70).

They are immensely cheap, and the aftermarket support is colossal.

djmt1 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 17:33

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Firstly I thought you were talking about the game.

Secondly I'd get something disposable.

Something like this:

£1000. Cheap.

Lots of Salvaged cars: Cheap parts.

Year 2000 car. So still basic but does have electronics so can get experience dealing with old and new cars.

Already built to go fast: Should handle modifications with out falling apart.

This all means when it does go wrong you can move on with out any attachment.

Coty > DailyTurismo 10/28/2014 at 17:38

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lolwut

Frank Grimes > DailyTurismo 10/28/2014 at 17:46

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how long have you driven aircooled beetles? miserable? no way.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 18:06

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Pfft... all these good suggestions for easy to maintain-to-maintain classic cars.

This is taking the easy way out. They're not true projects.

If you want a true project car where the project might never end , I suggest this:

http://jalopnik.com/four-1971-citr…

Though I suggest you offer an amount that is less than $3000 per car.

:-D

Scary__goongala! > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 18:10

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240z for me

Mosqvich > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 18:17

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An orignial Fiat 500 (if you can find one here in the US that needs restoring).

RallyWrench > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 18:31

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The problem is that many of the "easy" classics are now worth more than they used to be. I bought my first BMW 1600-2 for $600 almost 20 years ago, and it was a great teenager project car. You can't find a running 2002 any more for multiples of that. The Bug is a good one, but most of the available parts are junk, and as endearing as they are ( I personally love them), it's pretty difficult to actually make them good at anything other than looking neat. Cars like the BMW Bavaria can be rewarding and are pretty cheap, or the later 320i. A Mk1 VW Rabbit/Golf is good too. Even some Datsun 510s can be found inexplicably cheap, and they're pretty much a carbon copy of the 2002.

Jedidiah > DailyTurismo 10/28/2014 at 20:46

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The Mustang isn't exactly pleasant either.

Anything built off a compact chasis from that era pretty much drives like shit.

GM intermediates are probably the best driving—they weren't limited as much by cost restriction as the compacts and they have a platform that can be built up easily into a decent performer.

Jedidiah > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/28/2014 at 20:50

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GM G-body or A-body. Massive aftermarket, decent chasis that can be built up into a competent performer, affordable, v8, rwd. Need I say more?

Jonee > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 10/29/2014 at 02:10

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An AMC Gremlin. They're cheap, unique and bone simple. Parts are easy to get. You can't kill the motor and if you do, there are a million to replace it. And, it's easily upgradeable.

n54 & s38 > RallyWrench 10/30/2014 at 18:18

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Truth. Try finding an E30 that isn't beat to shit for under $5k these days. On the other hand, E36s are pretty cheap and plentiful these days...

RallyWrench > n54 & s38 10/30/2014 at 18:21

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That is exactly why I didn't mention the E30. I've owned one and love them, but everyone seems to forget how good E36s are.