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what's the best "project" car?


redkow97

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My dad has always wanted a project car, and now that he's got 3 sons through college, no mortgage, and weathered the latest rounds of layoffs at Progressive, I think he might actually be in a position to start looking for one.

The dream candidate would be a '69 Mustang Mach 1, or 428 Cobra Jet - but those are hard to find, and harder to find for anything resembling a reasonable price.

so what's the cheapest and easiest route?

desirable qualities include:

- Easy maintenance. A brutally simple V8 and a manual transmission are ideal.

- Strong aftermarket parts availability

- retro enough to be cool (i.e. 60's is best, 70's is ok, and 80's is out)

- cheap and thus, probably common...

I'd call my dad a "Ford guy," but that's a preference than can be overruled by budget (i think). But that said, cool old lincolns and mercury models would be other possibilities. It also doesn't explicitly preclude old Dodges, Chevy's, etc.

Dad seems to be semi interested in "restoring" a car, but I'm thinking a modern restoration would be more fun. Big 'ole motor with modern stereo and some minor suspension upgrades. If it gets better than 8mpg and less than 350hp, I'll be upset. :D

thoughts?

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Pops doesn't have THAT much monies.

Pops (and I) have also never done much work on cars, which is why "common, cheap, and easy to work on" where requests.

I'm open to off-the-wall responses too. Jeep CJ-7 was one thing that occurred to me. You can build one part-by-part out of a catalog. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for, except I was hoping for a muscle-car, or an old MG, or SOMETHING kind of cool and sporty.

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86 - 93 mustang 5.0

can get them cheap, and parts are all over the place and cheap

I actually just talked to the old man about a ~'92 GT convertible.

In that body style, I like the convertibles better. the 5.0 has a huge aftermarket, but it's FI, which is slightly worrisome.

worth looking into though.

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60's mustangs are super easy, carb power, and body panels are EVERYWHERE.

if you want something easy, and accessible, i'd go 64-68 mustang, especially for a ford guy.

(personally I hate mustangs)

VW's are particularly easy, but most people feel they are underpowered in stock form, and you have to do a lot of modding to add a LOT of power without breaking stuff.

I happen to know old GTOs/GTO clones are pretty easy, too...

evil_tempest.jpg

Edited by magley64
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Some help from the experts

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0510phr_nine_best_project_cars/index.html

I'm not a ford guy either. In fact, if you gave a Ford Mustang to build up, I'd go out and buy all the equipment necessary to build a large catapult. I'd place the Mustang in it, and launch it at your house!

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In no particular order:

Sebring Satellite, Mercury Cougar, Buick Riviera. Lots of cross platform support (Mustang, Challenger/Charger, Monte Carlo)

Pretty cheap to get because they aren't hot, but they've still got great lines.

I'd even go VW Bug. Easy to work on, great support, still fairly cheap to get, and loads of possibility.

If he's got a decent budget (around $10,000) then some of the replica kits are in reach, including the Model A, 32 Deuce, etc.

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Pops doesn't have THAT much monies.

Pops (and I) have also never done much work on cars, which is why "common, cheap, and easy to work on" where requests.

I'm open to off-the-wall responses too. Jeep CJ-7 was one thing that occurred to me. You can build one part-by-part out of a catalog. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for, except I was hoping for a muscle-car, or an old MG, or SOMETHING kind of cool and sporty.

so build a muscle jeep my buddy is rebuilding his 67 cj5 currently powered by a grand national motor.

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I like your style.

I'm a sucker for almost any Z car, but the 240Z is on the bucket list. I guess dropping a small block V-8 is a pretty standard build-up.

As far as oddball suggestions go:

Porsche 914. Porsche style, mid-engine fun, half the price.

1971 Monte Carlo. Not like every other Monte out there, good lines, readily available after-market parts. And it was in the movie "Fast and Furious:Tokyo Drift"

Seventies Camaro/Firebird - THE CAR THAT BURT REYNOLDS DROVE...nuff said.

Scout or Scout II.

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