Euro hot rods

Im thinking of getting an acvw and building a cheap volksrod to daily. Can any of you folks think of any other cheap cool euro cars that would make a good looking hot rod type car? And as an added bonus I have around $2000 to spend.

Thanks Robert

First thought that sprang to mind was a Volvo P1800. A little more than 2 grand, but not much. You could probably find one that needs a little work for close to that. Leave the rust (call it patina and lift your nose up in the air) as an added cool-factor. Any old Volvo would be a cool place to start, or Saab. Certainly uncommon

Volvo PV544

The Swedes have a pretty strong hot rod culture. You could get some ideas and help on that front

Amazon wagon

oldtin wrote: Amazon wagon

Big time.

Any Amazon IMHO.

Morris Minor? Probably been done loads of times.

Minors are well liked as a basis for a hot rod over here in the UK and you can get plenty of conversion kits to drop in a slightly less anaemic engine. Not sure how much they'll cost by the time they've made it to the US though.

amazon ftw

Josh wrote:

oldtin wrote: Amazon wagon

Big time.

Ohdeargod. I'm going to need a minute before I can stand up. Ditch the vato-zone "racing" seats though.

Some Cobra buckets would be awesome in that.

Fiat 500 / Topolino? May be hard to find, but they were a car that really was often built as a hot rod in the '50s.

any british roadster thusly:

^ that's a Sprite ifyacanbelieveit

I've seen some very cheap BMW 2002's on the CL in Richmond lately.

Like this one:

Not rodded up yet but the potential is there.

if you want to do a dub... I suggest a type3 squareback/Varient. You do not see them done all that often. Similar in looks to the Amazon, but easier to find. and easier to build up some power for them

problemaddict wrote: any british roadster thusly: ^ that's a Sprite ifyacanbelieveit

More info? Intriguing...

Saab 95. Cheap to buy. Simple. I can't wait to really tear into my '68.

Buddy of mine had one of those. Simple. Right up till it's time to mess with the flexible transmission mount bolt...

Do they have a similar "cafe racer" vibe with the cars too?

I've still got this slightly daft idea of taking a BMW 02 series and sticking the 1.8l 16Ver out of a 318is in it, complete with five speed etc.

Probably MS it up then using bike throttle bodies and with a decent exhaust you should be about 20bhp down on a 2002 turbo with nicer power delivery. Before starting to try and get more power out of the engine.

Paint it an "invisible" colour like silver, leave the body standard, put some nice wheels on and 70s-style bucket seats in it.

There was a Minor panel van for sale around here not long ago I REALLY wanted to get and warm over.

Depends on what your idea of "hot rod" is. Most of the good ones have been mentioned above, but really anything can be hot-rodded with the right intentions.

Bryce

Just about any old Mercedes with a small block would be sweet.

Speaking of nice hot rod Volvos:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/28/hot-rod-jakob-a-stunning-tribute-to-first-volvo/

Mark