Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[tommyholding]

Hello
iv got a love for anything vintage and since iv just got better rate of pay and my girlfriend going to uni in a couple of mouths I’m going to have a bit more money and a lot more time on my hands, so I considering buying a car to tinker with. iv looked at a mini's but there to common, I like triumph spitfires, mg midgets, moggy minor, beetles ect. but I’m still not sure and very inexperienced but willing to lean, I’m ok with my hands and I’m in a trade so I’m sure I could pick things up. could anyone advise me on a car that as reliable as possible for a classic car and that I can spend most of my time on the interior and exterior rather than under the bonnet, I don’t mind being under the bonnet for small things and I understand I will I just prefer to be doing something vain. and if you could give me an idea of what I’m looking at paying up front that would be great, cheers.

Tommy holding

[admin]

Is a sporty little car going to be suitable, or do you need a saloon?

The big plus with Spitfires is their super engine accessibility - the entire front end hinges forward, making maintenance much easier than on many other cars. They also have excellent spares backup, and some good owners clubs which are handy for learning about the cars, and their foibles!

It also depends on whether you have a garage. I personally wouldn't advocate keeping an old soft-top car outside, they invariably leak water. This can cause problems with damp (=rust) in the floors, damp carpets & trim, and leak onto your lap when driving. If the car is to live outside, then perhaps a saloon is a better bet (a Minor is as good a choice as any, if perhaps an 'easy' option). Minors also have good spares backup and club support.

You should find good examples of Spit and Minor for around £2-2.5k

I've started a separate thread about choosing your first classic, might be worth having a read. There are also some articles on the main oldclassiccar site (link at the top of the page) which will be of use.

hope this helps
Rick

[tommyholding]

yeah I had a read it was really helpful cheers I think I will take a aa mechanic as id rather pay him that buy a duff car! I don’t mind a saloon or a sports model, although the spitfires look very good and its nice to no I wont be taking the engine apart to often! Just one more thing if you could, are places like eBay a good idea or would you go another rout in finding a car?

thanks again

[buzzy bee]

Hi

I love ebay, but I think you should view any car in person before comiting to it. If you are getting an AA bloke to check it out, then ebay is just another means of advertising to you isn't it?

Cheers

Dave

[admin]

I agree with buzzy, it'd be best to see the car in question (especially with a Spit as so many are home-mechanic'd with varying results!!!) before buying. Not that I follow such good advice myself too often, but for a first classic, tread with care is the best bet - and get to know what to look for, before shelling out on a pro inspection and save yourself some £. If you can reject a lemon on your own (ie spot a duffer), then you won't always be paying for an inspection.

Let us know how you get on - if you find a possible buy online, post a link here and we can have a read of the ad for you

R

[Uncle Joe]

A good idea for you would be to make a short list of cars, not looking for anything in particular. Then try to shorten the list by doing what you are doing, ie making contact with a forum such as this. We could then suggest some of the good and bad points of the cars.

There is a lot of experience on this forum, and we all have our most liked cars, as well as least liked! So it should lead to an interesting discussion!

[tommyholding]

Hello,
After your advise iv posted a few examples I found on eBay, and advise/opinions would be much appreciated, iv looked at the ideas of renting out some storage and managed to get a nice garage with a farmer I know so that wouldn’t be a problem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CLASSIC-TRIUMPH-TR6-FOR-SALE-RELISTED_W0QQitemZ190052214536QQihZ009QQcategoryZ29760QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I love this one, as long as the works that’s been done is ok as the admin mentioned before! Still a few engine things to tinker with and a lot of bodywork and interior, which is great. But it looks really powerful, is that always a good thing as id like a true classic?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Triumph-Herald-13-60-saloon-with-upgrades-Full-MOT_W0QQitemZ230050508420QQihZ013QQcategoryZ29760QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Like this one as well, seems just bodywork and interior so that’s a plus point again, really like the style of the car!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRIUMPH-SPITFIRE-1500-OVERDRIVE-BRITISH-RACING-GREEN_W0QQitemZ230051007801QQihZ013QQcategoryZ29760QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This one looks good but i'm worried about the relative low price and mot?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1976-MG-MIDGET-1500_W0QQitemZ220047806003QQihZ012QQcategoryZ29757QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Big fan of this, and the mot makes it appealing, i’m just a bit a big fella and not sure if id fit?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-WESTFALIA-CAMPER-VAN-T2-BAY-WINDOW-LHD_W0QQitemZ140053522049QQihZ004QQcategoryZ18303QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The last one I promise, but certainly not least, just mot’d and a big project, but again look a lot of not engine related and if I could get it done it would be a lot of fun!

I know this is a long thread but thanks for any help you can give

Cheers

tommy

[admin]

Hi

Quite a variety in your line-up, both in terms of type of vehicle and price!!

the TR6 looks well, should go for strong ££, unfort is quite a late one so doesn't qualify for zero-rate roadtax

the Herald might be a better first classic, ie easier to work on and cheaper to run than a TR6

Not sure about the Spit, if a dealer isn't selling it with an MOT, and is instead listing it as a resto project, then might be a bundle of work. The listing mentions lots of welding to the sills, tie bar underneath and so on, so it really is a full body restoration by the time you start digging out the rot

The Midget looks ok but again you'd need to budget for having the (minor) rusty bits attended to properly in the near future.

The VW is ok if you like them (I don't particularly)

I think you should narrow down your search a bit more, find a particular car you want, then research online and in the magazines, get a handle on their problem areas, values and so on, then go out and look at some examples in the metal

hth
Rick