Overhaulin'

Any advice on this hobby I'd like to try?

I'm going to be 18 next year, I've loved cars all my life. I was thinking about saving up and next year buying an old car pre '72 for tax exemption for restoration. I'd love to be able to fix one up and take it along to rallies and fares. My father wanted me to follow suit and get an old Land Rover like he did. But I think even on classic insurance that will be a bit expensive, yet it would be cheap to fix as the parts are everywhere. I was thinking about an old Mini. Anybody else done this, anybody with advice on which car I should use as a project, preferable a British Classic. Must be tax exempt. By the way I'm from the UK

Public Comments

1. get an old mini cooper :)
2. Get an old morris minor. The pickups look awesome and are fairly cheap. there are so many things you can do to them and parts are easy to get most of the time. I used to have a 56 model (last year of split windscreen) and loved it to bits.
3. yea tha mini cooper is a good idea, a mg b, midget, are good too, a autin-healy, or japanese, like the 240z is pretty cheap and a lot of affer market support, some of them you could find very cheap in a restorable condition, and they are goin up in value every day, look for a magazine called Classic Motorsports, is aswome, they have a lot of articles and advice on classic cars.
4. since you are from the uk, the land of leaky and crappy cars, i would suggest an early 60's austin healey bugeye sprite. parts are all over the place, and they look cool when you are driving it. girls will love you and you will have friends you never knew about. keep it british racing green, tan interior and top, and maybe with a white rally stripe down the center... but just a bit off center. you can easliy find research materials on these cars online. paint schemes and colors, ect. in the usa they aren't too expensive. 70's cars aren't worth as much... and many car clubs cater to the sprite. email me if you have any questions... bigkev_96118@ yahoo.com
5. I've restored several old cars - yes, it's a very satisfying hobby, but don't underestimate the size of the task you are taking on. Much, of course, depends on the condition of the vehicle when you buy it - try to find one that has a basically sound body but which needs work on the mechanics. Poor bodywork can be a nightmare when you strip it down and find there's worse than you thought! Land Rovers are lovely and great fun, but very specialised and parts can be expensive. It's a big one for a first project. Mini's have the advantage of being very popular with plenty of spare parts. However, I've restored one myself and found the real problem was access to the engine bay - it's so tiny you finish up with raw hands and having to buy special tools to reach into certain areas. It really was the biggest pain I ever worked on. For a first project, can I suggest a Triumph Vitesse/Herald/Spitfire/GT6? They are all based on the same floor pan; the chassis is separate and even complete basket cases can be repaired quite easily. The body can be removed from the chasis and many body parts are simply bolted on which makes them far easier to replace. With all of them, the entire bonnet, including front wings, folds forward for access - you can literally climb in! Which makes them brilliant to work on. The Herald would be the cheapest and simplest; next is the Vitesse (2 litre engine can be very quick!); next is the Spitfire; finally is the GT6 - fast and really great fun to drive, a real sports car. Have fun and good luck.
6. Britbloke is right. Land rovers ain't the best idea for your first motor, although if your old man had one then he could give you a hand. Minis are a good idea there everywhere, easy to work on, cheap and relatively easy to get the parts for. Like any old car rust will be the biggest issue when looking for an old car to do up, don't let that put you off as patch panels are easy to get hold of, be prepared because you will be spending most of your time on bodywork. I love old motors and am doing a restoration myself at the moment, but im not into british classics just american. I would check out ebay under the classic car section your bound to find something there that needs work.