Easy Old Cars to Own

BoxheadTim wrote: Where would you look for an AE86? Just out of curiosity, like?

jaxed, and search tempest

most are listed in craigslist. Prices vary WILDLY... a clean car with no mods can sell for about $2500, but occasionally the "little old lady owned" one pops up for $500.

rust is a big problem on the east coast and snow belt, other areas... not so much

• over a Miata....
  1) carry tires, tools, jack stands all inside the car with you. OR wife, g/f and both her stuff AND your stuff

2) 4AG engine 112hp stock, easily buildable to 170 without boost, and well over 300 with boost.

Miata+....
1) better handler, more "sports car" feel - exposed?

2) Mazdaspeed + over TRD (at least right now)

I was able to take a 900 mile road trip* WITH my wife(vacation cruise through Oregon) a cple years back.... can you do that with a Miata???

• • http://forums.club4ag.com/zerothread?id=36180

additonal photos... http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j143/oldeskewltoy/Corollin%202008/

Lots of great suggestions. I'd say the absolute main thing is to stay away from any rust. (I hate rust) on anything you choose. There are always rust-free examples of whatever you decide on and it will make your life much easier (car-wise). If/when you think you might like something in particular, do a search, here and on the 'net in general, and see what kind of issues the car has. Each car seems to have it's own thing to look or lookout for.

And, as always, THIS is your #1 site for any car questions!

g/l and have fun shopping -almost my favorite part.

Stan

friedgreencorrado wrote:

96DXCivic wrote: Am I weird that I don't think most of the cars that have been mentioned in this thread are classics? In no way do I think a Fiestas or Miatas count as old or classics.

I noticed something weird this weekend at The Mitty. I've never considered my Corrados as "classic", because they came out when I was already an adult. Yet, I had four or five people stop me in the infield and ask me if they could take pix of the one I brought (the prettiest one, of course..after all, that's kinda what The Mitty is *for* ).time really shrinks when you get older. You kinda lose track of how younger people look at a car, even one from the 90s (which to me was *yesterday*.. ).

I know what you mean. My daily driver, that consider a new car, is 12 years old. I'm getting ready a sports car that is 20 years older than a Miata, so it's really hard to consider the Miata a "classic" or even old car. And that MGB is already a decade NEWER than my other project car, the '63 Comet. Which, in the hot rod world I hang around in, is consdered almost to NEW to own.

I still remember the furor when the MGBs went to rubber bumpers... And now a car 2 decades NEWER is considerd a classic. Man, I need a drink.

My stock answer: Volvo Amazon (122). Dirt simple to work on, good reliability, spares readily available, good aftermarket support for improved handling. No convertible, though they do come in WAGON form. ;-)

If you had to have a convertible, I'd say a VW bug, Kharman Ghia, or Porche 914.

Chris_V wrote:

friedgreencorrado wrote:

96DXCivic wrote: Am I weird that I don't think most of the cars that have been mentioned in this thread are classics? In no way do I think a Fiestas or Miatas count as old or classics.

I noticed something weird this weekend at The Mitty. I've never considered my Corrados as "classic", because they came out when I was already an adult. Yet, I had four or five people stop me in the infield and ask me if they could take pix of the one I brought (the prettiest one, of course..after all, that's kinda what The Mitty is *for* ).time really shrinks when you get older. You kinda lose track of how younger people look at a car, even one from the 90s (which to me was *yesterday*.. ).

I know what you mean. My daily driver, that consider a new car, is 12 years old. I'm getting ready a sports car that is 20 years older than a Miata, so it's really hard to consider the Miata a "classic" or even old car. And that MGB is already a decade NEWER than my other project car, the '63 Comet. Which, in the hot rod world I hang around in, is consdered almost to NEW to own. I still remember the furor when the MGBs went to rubber bumpers... And now a car 2 decades NEWER is considerd a classic. Man, I need a drink.

Maybe "classic" is the wrong word? Maybe that's why so many people are starting to use "collectable". Something that stood out from its contemporaries, but not yet old enough to be classic? The Miata & E30 would certainly be in that bucket..

96DXCivic, you wanna weigh in on this? (I saw your other post, easier to talk to both of ya at once)

BTW, purely as a matter of courtesy, I do believe the OP is female (from the first post: 'So some of you might be thinking what does she mean by "older"....').

In reply to pres589: I had to look up what E30 meant, and I just read berkeleying (and threw me at first but figured it out) but thanks for splaining it to me!

So if older Brit Cars are easy to repair, is it true that its all the time?

In reply to erohslc:

why thx erohsic, she is a female, and looking to buy a car that isnt yet classic maybe but older and workable to keep for years and reach classic stage! I'm catching up with all the posts and it sounds like you guys(any girls?) have been working on cars all your life

Like many others I have trouble considering some of these "old" cars.

I do however know where there's a really nice 1950 Studebaker that needs a new home :) VERY simple to work on, bring a hammer.

In reply to oldeskewltoy: (shes quickly looking up what an AE86 means)

In reply to LikeOldCars:

The thing about any older car that makes one easier or harder to repair is the parts supply. If you pick something less commonly restored or owned today the supply of parts might get somewhat hard to deal with. Maybe this isn't a big issue but if, say, you have to park the car for a month while wheel bearings are shipped in from the other side of the world for a whole lot more than it seems like they should cost, that could leave a bad taste in your mouth.

The internet can really help here, find a good forum or two that supports the make & model you're interested and support gets much easier to come by.

Does anyone want to weigh in on the Whitworth issue and what it could potentially mean for LOC? I've never owned a British anything really so I don't think it's my place to dig into that meatball.

In reply to friedgreencorrado: Thx for the autoshop 101 link...I am reading furiously

In reply to friedgreencorrado: and wondering what a mitty is a nic for?

LikesOldCars wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: and wondering what a mitty is a nic for?

The Mitty

You might also want to ask this question on the magazines sister, Classic Motor Sports: http://classicmotorsports.net/forum/

I've had Spitfires and GT6 forever. 95% of what needs fixing can be done with about a dozen or so hand tools, 3/8, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8 wrenches and sockets, one each flat and phillips, a multi-meter, a tire iron, slip joint pliers, needle nose pliers. But the other 5% does happen, and some tools are specialized (hub puller, crankshaft nut wrench, etc.). If you enjoy tinkering, and can tolerate 'down time', it can be rewarding. It's like having a motorcycle, but with 4 wheels, a convertible top, and you don't fall down if you make a mistake in traffic.

Carter

and what is Whitworth issue?

BoxheadTim wrote: Where would you look for an AE86? Just out of curiosity, like?

Tristate Tuners http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91793

In reply to mblommel:

Hey M what do you mean by early small crank cars (early Miata's). And how do you know if a '99 has a #4 bearing

In reply to pres589: Old brit cars can have their quirks like uncommon bolt measures - things like whitworth standards or use of posidrive screws - Older American cars use SAE measurements (society of automotive engineers) - measures like 1/2", 1/4", etc. Modern cars typically have metric sizes. Go old enough and brit cars may have used a standard called whitworth - pretty much phased out by the 70s. Another thing with old brit cars - they have a lot of screws that look like phillips head drives - they aren't really - they are something called posidrive. Can take a little extra investment in the right type of wrenches (although I did manage to totally disassemble a 1972 mgb without a whitworth or posidrive wrench). Oh - forgive us about the lingo - we tend to talk in code with a lot of cars - things like e30, ae86 refer to the chassis design/name of a car. Once you catch on - it's actually more precise than car names like bmw 325 or toyota corolla since cars with the same name may span multiple chassis designs. We also do the same with engine names/codes (i.e. there were a number of versions of the chevy 350 - again, using the codes like LT-1 or LS provides more information. This gets really handy when you have mongrel cars made up of bits and pieces of many cars.

Avoid rust - mechanicals can be taken care of relatively easily. Bodywork is time consuming/expensive - unless you're like me and a glutton for punishment.

64-67 Mustang coupe. Small V8, stick or auto and plenty of options if desired. Prices vary wildy. A decent example will never lose value, incredibly easy to work on and timeless style. A "classic" that doesn't need to be explained, literally every single part is easlily obtained and cheap, upgradable if needed, reliable, practical and not classified as a "chick" or "guy" car as most everyone likes them.

In reply to oldtin: thanks oldtin, I am getting used to it. Like Miata's NA vs NB right? Now how can I find out about a particular issue with a model year here...and do I ck any other particular sites?

Yep. Around here you'll see threads like "learn me bmw e28s" - basically a call out for the scoop on whatever you want to know. There's a huge wealth of knowledge here. Beyond that - whatever your target, there are usually model specific forums, but it's a decent bet that people here will have an answer or can point you in the right direction. The search function can be helpful. as well.

ok thanks ...callout then..."learn me miata 1996 M edition" - did a carfax and one owner, 80k miles (first 3 years did 30k miles, next 5 yrs 30k mi, next 3yrs 4k miles! then next 2 yrs 20k mi). I cant ask the owner for his maintenance records since its a dealer selling. Carfax totally clean...can you ck with a dealer in the two states the vehicle was owned and ck maintenance recs?

That sounds like a good plan. Get a car you'll enjoy and do little stuff on it as needed (and it doesn't sound like you'll need much for this car for awhile). Go to miata.net and search "1996 M edition" and you'll get a lot of hits. Like most things, it just takes time and a willingness to learn -which it sounds like you have.

Not sure about the maintenance records, but if they're available a good dealer shouldn't be afraid to show them to you.

Stan

It was mentioned briefly, but I'll say it again. 8v Mk2 VW. Good parts supply, and mechanically very simple. I've had a bunch of them and as long as they haven't been molested too badly, the electrical system isn't nearly as fragile/troublesome as the newer VW's.