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Author: Subject: New 'fun' car suggestions please ....
Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:35 AM Reply With Quote
New 'fun' car suggestions please ....

So the Rover Mini has to go, it's giving me a bad back as I can't get the standard seat back far enough and the steering with the fat wheels is too heavy. I could modify it but it will kill it's resale value.

So, once it's been welded up (a 10 year old car and it failed on 5 major rusty bits underneath - good British build quality ) it's gonna be sold.

So I'll be in the market for another second car. Budget is £2k ish as I need the rest of the £££ to redo the driveway!), it needs to be able to be left in a car park all day and used fairly regularly, so no completely open cars, I would actually prefer a tin-top.

Over 15 years old so it has class car insurance (preferably pre-1972 so no tax!!), small enough to go in my single garage and leave me a bit of room to work around it.

Reasonable fuel economy, a body that wont need constant attention with rust. Fun and nippy to drive and relatively cheap to upgrade and improve.

Can be fwd or rwd.

So far the only car I've thought about is another Mini, but an older cheaper one that I can mess about (put proper seats in and small wheels so no more back trouble) with and that's already had the bodywork sorted.

Ideas?





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mcerd1

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:44 AM Reply With Quote
Scimitar SE5



pre 72
GRP body
4343mm long
1638mm wide
1321mm high
coil overs all round as standard
front: double wishbone
rear: 4 bar + watts linkage

all simple bits with some tunning options (including various cheap engine swaps - seen cossie 24v, omega V6 and diesels)



[Edited on 9/9/2010 by mcerd1]





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iank

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:51 AM Reply With Quote
Going to be hard finding a 15 year old metal classic that's fairly immune to rust.

Scimitar would be a bit big for a single garage methinks and not really 'nippy' but is otherwise a good choice.

For me the Pug 205 would be the obvious choice with a 1.6 GTi (IMO).

Going kit/fibreglass you've got
GTM Rossa Mk1, Mk2 or K3 with hardtops
Midas Bronze or Gold
Mini Minus

Another thought might be a MX5 with a hard-top (probably need to stretch the budget by £500 to get a reasonable one)

[Edited on 9/9/10 by iank]





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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:52 AM Reply With Quote
Can't believe I'll get a good one of those for £2k will I??





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jimgiblett

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:52 AM Reply With Quote
Not asking much are you :-)

A few come to mind:-

Reliant Scimitar (poss pre 73)
MX5
Mk1 Golf GTi (poss Cabrio)

- Jim

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iank

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:54 AM Reply With Quote
or Porsche 924, iirc they're galv bodies.





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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:55 AM Reply With Quote
Jim - what I REALLY want is your Alfa





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jimgiblett

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:56 AM Reply With Quote
Scimitar with a granada cossie engine will make it nippy. A fairly straight forward conversion apparently.

Compared with modern cars Scimitars are quite narrow.

A friend of mine pick up a nice MX5 for <£1500 complete with hard top.

- Jim

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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 09:56 AM Reply With Quote
MX5 might be an option, and the wife would drive it. Bit of a girls car though, and how is it for upgrades??





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jimgiblett

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:00 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
Jim - what I REALLY want is your Alfa


The poor girl looks a bit sorry with the interior and engine out. She is going under the knife next week

Hopefully she will be making a debut at the Laon Montee Historique next year.

- Jim

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jimgiblett

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:02 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
MX5 might be an option, and the wife would drive it. Bit of a girls car though, and how is it for upgrades??


A hoot to drive and upgrades are as deep as your wallet. Have alook at Flyin Miata

http://www.flyinmiata.com/

- Jim

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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:02 AM Reply With Quote
Cool, shout if you need another pair of hands for anything, I'm around in the evening





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jimgiblett

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:06 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
Cool, shout if you need another pair of hands for anything, I'm around in the evening


Will do (thanks for the offer). I am scratching my head on the engine mounts at the moment but I have a plan.

- Jim

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stevebubs

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:11 AM Reply With Quote
Suzuki Cappuccino
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mcerd1

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:14 AM Reply With Quote
ok this one isn't a pre 72, but you should have a read anyway: scimitar engine swap

and if the wife wants to drive you can always look into adding the eletric power steering (on almost any old car)





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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:43 AM Reply With Quote
Like the idea of the Scimitar, but there's no way I've got the time or inclination for a big engine swap job.

It would be good if it could be used on the odd track day, so maybe the MX5 with some upgrades....

924 worries me with the price of parts.

GTM's worth a look....





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nick205

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:45 AM Reply With Quote
For me it would be a 205 GTI 1.6 or 1.9 but probably a 1.6.

- better than most of it's peers on corrosion
- solid appreciating values for tidy ones
- plenty to choose from
- you'll find a good one for £2k
- cheap to run and repair
- fit's in your garage
- great to drive and comfortable
- practical for 4 adults and luggage

what more do you want...?






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coozer

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:48 AM Reply With Quote
Sure i saw a Scimitar with a BMW 525 TD in it a while back.

That would be quite good in my book....





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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 10:49 AM Reply With Quote
Yeah - I had a 1.9 about 9 years ago and loved it, worth looking at again as well.

So why the 1.6 not the 1.9?





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Benzine

posted on 9/9/10 at 11:06 AM Reply With Quote
Volvo 66
Hillman Imp
Austin 7





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dazzx10r

posted on 9/9/10 at 11:11 AM Reply With Quote
What about a VW Corrado? go for the 2.0 16v, 150bhp and sublime handling, or if your wallet could stretch to it a 2.9 VR6, superb engine 190bhp, but expensive to tune. The 16v is a fair bit lighter so gives better handling and can be tuned to about 170bhp.
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iank

posted on 9/9/10 at 11:34 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jasper
Yeah - I had a 1.9 about 9 years ago and loved it, worth looking at again as well.

So why the 1.6 not the 1.9?


Performance difference is negligible on the road, but the 1.6 revs more freely, feels more nippy and the gear ratios are closer overall a better A/B road car.
1.9 is better for motorway work though.

924 parts aren't too expensive, certainly you don't pay the 911 premium. Have a poke around http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/acatalog/porsche_924_mechanical_parts.html to have a compare to others.

[Edited on 9/9/10 by iank]





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mcerd1

posted on 9/9/10 at 11:49 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
Hillman Imp


you've got to love the Imp





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dhutch

posted on 9/9/10 at 12:09 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by iank
or Porsche 924, iirc they're galv bodies.
Saw a track/road prep'ed 1987 (good date, given im 23) 944 for sale for £2800 which a part of me was very interested in.

quote:
Originally posted by dazzx10r
What about a VW Corrado?

Or that.

Else my other soft spot is for a Mitsi Legnum.


Daniel

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Jasper

posted on 9/9/10 at 12:25 PM Reply With Quote
Imp too small, Legnum too much like my Beemer.

Quite like the idea of a 924 or 944 ...





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