Has Anyone Took A Old, Battered Car And Restored It?

[Heff]

I was thinking last night how fun it would be to take a old battered fiesta and restore it. Thinking of doing a Mk1 or mk2 or if I can't find any of them (Thinking I'll be able to) I'll settle for a MK3 :D I think it would be fun, I've always wanted to learn about cars and how they go together so it would be a great learning experience :D And at the end of it I'll have a old school car that is something different on the road. Has anyone done this?

Heff

[Parkesie]

Do it its great fun but be prepared to get very mucky very skint and your wife gf etc to leave you.

Ive restored a triumph spitfire and ran a 30yr old vauxhall cavalier for a year.

Go for a mk1 or 2 they can be worth a suprising amount when in good nic. Mk3 not worth it unless its a rs1800 or turbo.

[Heff]

Don't mind beng mucky, I'm skint anyway haha and she won't leave me :D So I think it sounds good haha :D Have to wait about a year to I finish college :D

You got any pics of the spitfire?

Heff

[stef123]

no but i would absolutely love to restore a car, or even build a kit car for that matter.

my biggest fear other than money would be finding a good car to start with. sourcing parts for such an old car must be a nightmare also

something to keep me busy and for when im at a loose end looking for something to do, might consider a 'project' in the future though

[Heff]

But that is the fun part, hunting, ringing and searching to find the correct parts and piecing all together untill 12-18months maybe more down the line you have a brillaint restored 1980's odd car that you can use on weekends :D

Heff

[stef123]

But that is the fun part, hunting, ringing and searching to find the correct parts and piecing all together untill 12-18months maybe more down the line you have a brillaint restored 1980's odd car that you can use on weekends :D

Heff

well yeah thats a good point, other than that i would need somewhere to do it as i dont have a drive at my house although she does

[Parkesie]

progress so far it goes stops and has no rust :) however its all stopped at the expensive and time consuming bit, paint.

[Heff]

progress so far it goes stops and has no rust :) however its all stopped at the expensive and time consuming bit, paint.

Wow what is that? And where did you get it?

To Stef123: I know that's my only problem :( Hopefully i'll be working full time next year and will maybe be able to get a place of my own maybe with a nice big garrage to do it in if not then I'll have to wait till I'm older :(

Heff

[ford focus edge]

Ive always wanted to do this with a mk2 16v golf gti in black with the proper bbs alloys and the garfield in the back window OR a proper gene hunt 1980's UR quattro idealy a 20v in red with the 4 rings on the door and "quattro" wrote on the back window haha absoutly love the older stuff would even restore a astra gte 16v.

From experience my dad and his friends, uncles etc find it funny how us younger lot prefer the older stuff that they grew up with than the new stuff out now that were growing up with. Yeah all the saftey stuff means you can go faster but it completly takes the fun out of it all take my dad for eg he used to have back in the day gte astra's, an rs2000 and a cav gsi 4x4 now hes got a mondeo st220 but he prefers all the older stuff because yes there slower but there such a laff to own the mondeo is a shockingly brilliant car you can take serious liberty's with it and it will do as its told but but theres no fear lol.

Sorry to ramble but ive got a bit of a fetish and a longing to do something like this maybe not to start with but eventually .. if i were a rich man

[Parkesie]

Its a 1974 triumph spitfire with the hard top fitted and a bonnet from a 6cyl. Great fun to restore and a hoot to drive.

[DAS]

i restored a mk3 fiesta. its a really simple car. perfect for learning on. and parts are very cheep and easy to get.

[Heff]

i restored a mk3 fiesta. its a really simple car. perfect for learning on. and parts are very cheep and easy to get.

I was thinking about doing a mk3, but want to do something even older haha

@ford focus edge: haha I never thought about it like that, I would never think of going and buying a mk6 and restoring it haha

Heff

[Michael P]

according to most, i have an old, battered car that has not been restored, ask Dan, Flic, Mark Alex, Amdrew, the list goes on.

HOWEVER, i would love to be able to do this one day, take my sweet time doing it and end up with something lovely at the end of it.

Good luck with yours! :)

[Gazjs]

If I won the lottery or got hold of a lot of money I would love to.Get jealous at the thought of my work mate restoring his Talbot Sunbeam Lotus :(