what's a good classic for a novice to restore?

But all cars rust and all are welded together, unless you go pre war... The Mini is of simple design and was originally designed to be assembled by un skilled welders (until the unions had palpitations...) and just about any panel is available.

Mechanically the only assembly that caused difficulties were (replacing) the rear radius arm bearings and setting up from scratch the backlash for transfer housing gears. Even the gearbox was basically the Minor / A40 box on it's side in a new housing.

GTI?

Can't find any cheap ones to restore, they all want silly money no matter what the condition. On Ebay there's a 1.3 Driver and that's still over £600.00

Mark S.

If you're going to restore one, you're best off starting with a cheap, base model, then adding the GTI bits yourself.

Best place to look for one is going to be the local papers etc., as prices tend to be inflated elsewhere.

Does any one of us set their sights that low, that a completed project ends up as condition 2? Cheers, Bill.

Not particularly complicated, but many of the available replacement panels are handmade and of highly variable quality. I've seen plenty which have been messed up by amateurs, so maybe not so straightforward after all.

Already covered this one, to my mind THE best place for a novice to learn. The others I know little about (other than reputation) until

I want one of these too, but I have a feeling I'd soon be out of my depth, not least financially..... certainly not a break even project.

Well Spitfires are certainly cheap to buy, £250 will get you a decent starting point, Cheers, Bill.

I wouldn't call that restoration, more like modification.....

requirements

Like a 2CV? Might not be everyone's cup of tea admittedly, but a 2CV with a rotten chassis can be picked up for £100 or less. New Chassis £300 ish, all other parts are readily available and cheap. You could do a very good job for £1000 with a little time and effort, and they're great fun to drive :-) Easy to sell too if you wish to.

They've got simple mechanicals, it's not too complicated to replace the chassis even for a novice. No special tools needed. No lifting gear needed apart from a couple of strong friends to help you lift the body off and on!

Mike

Both, really, depending on the state of the original car.

I'd pay £2,000 for a Spit that was in *genuine* #2 condition. Sadly, most advertised as such, aren't.

Well my first car was a 1.3 MkI Driver so... ;-)

Coudn't afford the GTI insurance back then and my Manta project is too big for the time I have, ie. it's rotten and already been bodged up. :-( That's free cars for you... Mark S.

Are TR7s difficult?

Not if you take them to a good crusher.

Just about everything I've read reckons the Mini isn't an easy car to restore bodywise regardless of good spares availability. The one most people say is, is the Minor. Hence, I suppose, its popularity.

VW Camper. No idea how difficult they are to restore, but all parts look to be available, wrecks are very cheap but sound ones are way overpriced, IMO. Of course you'd need to _like_ the things, or perhaps not if you're planning to sell it afterwards anyway. I may be a little biased here, but it's also my impression that the standard of your work won't matter too much as the sort of people who buy them aren't likely to notice!

Or how about a Maestro van? I reckon in a few years, good ones will become quite sought after.

Austin Sprite/MG Midget might be worth considering - parts easily available, mechanically as simple as a Minor, probably worth more at the end of it. MGBs, I guess, might also be worth considering for much the same reasons.

The Minor is many time worse than a Mini IMO.

Any car that doesn't have a chassis is going to have problems, the thing with the Mini is that all the suspension mounting points are on the subframes, this simplifies keeping everything in the correct alignment (obviously the subframe mounting points need to be kept in the correct place but you can use the subframe(s) to aid that goal when positioning new metalwork) IYSWIM.

It is noticeable Marina/Ital and even Allegro prices are rising, Mk1/2 Cortina prices generally falling in particular 1600e prices are far below what they were few years back (but Cortina Lotus prices are bouyant), Triumph Toledo/1500 prices are bargain basement while higher up the price bannd Lotus +2S (nice cheap one on ebay right now) is still a good buy especially if you want to do a Spyder Zetec conversion although they are a nighmare to work on. Like wise the later versions of theElat Excel with galvanized chassis are god buys(avoid early Excels/Elites at all costs)

In article , The Blue Max writes

Not especially, though the DHC is a lot harder to restore than the FHC. Parts availability is OK, but not as good as some. I confess I didn't even try to repair mine when the rear suspension hangers rotted, but that was more because I had three other on-going restoration projects and no space.

In article , Jerry. writes

How about a series 1 Passat? Great cars to drive, still a few around. Oh, and I just happen to have one up for grabs in my driveway :)