Driver's Corner > Classic Cars
What Vintage cars are good to restore?
Doc G:
Thanks to the webmaster for granting my request.
Before I got so hooked w/ the present up-scale models, I had a passion w/ the vintages. I don't know but the "face" of the vintages really attracted me esp the Morris 1100 & the Ford A models. My passion even got deeper when a patient of mine asked me a favor to help him scout for Vintage cars preferably 60's to 70's models that are good to restore. I took a lot of pictures from a 1969 Mazda de Luxe to a Toyota Corolla 1977 2door. I was hoping that my pictures would approve when my patient gets to see it but to my dismay not of my shots tickled his fancy! It was either less appealing or restoration of the car would be too expensive. I reviewed the shots I took & most of the cars were not a total wreck & just a few parts needed to be replaced. So what's the problem then? My patient said " depende sa model Doc.Hindi lahat ng Vintage Cars are good to restore."
So I am asking the opinion of the Car experts here. What Vintage is good to restore?
al_motor:
you can never go wrong with european "people's cars":
vw beetle
vw golf GTI mk.1
mini cooper
fiat 500
citroen 2CV (current trans show winner) and citroen DS
renault dauphin
BMW isetta
or american muscle cars and hotrods:
dodge charger
dodge challenger
ford mustang (but this is getting a bit too common nowadays)
chevy camaro
chevy corvette stingray
'30s ford coupe
old chevy or ford pickups
or british sports cars:
triumph
AC
MG
TVR
marcos
sunbeam
daimler
jaguar
aston martin
ginetta
or even old japanese cars:
nissan fairlady, fairlady Z
honda S-series
mazda RX7 gen 1
old toyota sports coupes (sprinter, celica)
isuzu bellett, GTR, 117, piazza
mitsubishi galant GTO
can't go wrong with euro cars:
old mercedes SL's, pre-50s sedans
opel GT
BMW 2002, 507, old 6-series
alfasud, alfa spyder, giulia, giulietta
porsche 550, 911
italian exotics like lambo miura and some ferraris
GhostHunter:
A vintage car restoration project would be worth while if the vehicle has some noted history to back it up. Restoring an old car simply because its old will not end well.
A good vehicle to restore would be the Datsun 240Z. It came out in the 70s as Datsun/Nissan's try at a sports car and it sold well and it started the "Z" car heritage where the 350Z is the current Z car. Nissan even had a project a few years ago where they bought back old Datsun Z cars and restored them to their showroom condition. Some owners didn't stop at simply restoring old Z cars. They also upgraded them with more modern technology like more powerful engines and better brakes. Given these parts aren't normally seen, it doesn't take away much from the car's looks but vintage car collectors say it is sacrilege to do such to a vintage vehicle since it removes the history of development in the car.
Doing a bit of research about the car's heritage will give you a feel if a certain car is worth spending the time and money on it. It will also help if you contact collectors and vintage car clubs so they can help you in certain aspects, especially getting hard to find parts without costing you an arm and a leg.
Doc G:
To: al_motor,
Thank you for the long list :D. You sure know a lot of vintages.
To: Ghosthunter,
Yah it's a good start to know 1st hand, the history of the car before any restorations are done. At least you'll somehow get an idea why certain parts were made as such & that the car should be restored in that manner . Thank you. Your answer is very well explained. :)
al_motor:
someone's been watching a bit too much of anime again these days. hehehe.
will his next custom plate be WANGAN? or AKIO? lol
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