rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 After recently buying my zed I'm now too scared to do anything with it in terms of complicated mods, just in case I mess up big time and my girlfriend castrates me. As a novice when it comes to the automobile, my knowledge is limited to driving them, washing them and putting that expensive stuff in that makes it move. So what I was thinking, as a bit of a project was to get a cheap car and do it up, learning as I go along. Problem is I don't know what's best to do this with; I know minis are pretty simple and plenty of people spend time doing them up. Also, since you have to insure SORN vehicles it would have to be something with a smallish engine that's cheap to insure; anywhere from an 800cc to a 1400cc. So, any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mk1 MX-5 Anything from £500 upwards, get a good one for around a grand, parts are cheap and there's loads of guides out there to help you if you get stuck. A great car to drive as well. You've got is wrong about insuring SORN vehicles though, you either tax + insure or you SORN and don't insure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mk1 MX-5 Anything from £500 upwards, get a good one for around a grand, parts are cheap and there's loads of guides out there to help you if you get stuck. A great car to drive as well. You've got is wrong about insuring SORN vehicles though, you either tax + insure or you SORN and don't insure. +1 on all of the above. Another option could be an e36 bmw. I've had several of these and they're easy to work on, and parts are cheap. I work in Knutsford by the way... i've literally just come back from the town center in my zed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mk1 MX-5 Anything from £500 upwards, get a good one for around a grand, parts are cheap and there's loads of guides out there to help you if you get stuck. A great car to drive as well. You've got is wrong about insuring SORN vehicles though, you either tax + insure or you SORN and don't insure. I did this with a Mini that I bought for £50 and stripped down every part and re-built it but I spent a totally disproportionate amount of time dealing with rust related issues rather than the mechanical bits. I would be +1 re Ekona's MX-5 idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 There aren't really any reasonably solid cheap minis left unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Anything from £500 upwards I wasn't looking at anything more than this to be honest; I was thinking of getting a breaking one too. I imagine the feeling of getting it running by your own hands is pretty excellent You've got is wrong about insuring SORN vehicles though, you either tax + insure or you SORN and don't insure. I've definately been misinformed. Glad to know it I work in Knutsford by the way... i've literally just come back from the town center in my zed. I like in Pickmere, but I imagine no-one would know where that is, so Knutsford is the next line on the address, work in Birchwood myself so get to cruise down the M6 every day in my zed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mx5 is clearly an easy choice but it can get expensive of you do intend to shift it on after and the hoods goosed......looking at the thick and of 350 quid. Other than that I think they're pretty cheap parts wise and loads of room in the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Dude, why not get yourself on a mechanics course at your local college I can't for the life of me understand what the hell you are thinking Spend £s on a shed, strip it down then rebuild it, is that just for knowledge? Buy a zed workshop manual, cos what you learn stripping a shed won't necessarily be the same on a zed. Anyway, what do you want to be able to do? Are you modding a zed mechanically? I don't get it sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Break a Zed and it costs £000's to sort, plus it's your only car. Break a shed and you're only down the cost of the shed. I think the OP is doing it exactly the right way, mechanics is mechanics really once you've got the basics down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky370z Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 MX5 is a good shout, 200SX's are good too as they are always freakin broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 This is the problem, I don't know exactly what I want. In the long run I want to have enough knowledge and expertise to be able to fix most minor and some major problems with my cars and also make modifications, whether it be bodywork (e.g. fitting wings), electrical (e.g. installing a satnav), engine (this is where I lack most knowledge, so much so I can't even give a reasonable example of a mod I might make, I'll go with fitting a plenum spacer). I leave the house at 8:00 and get home at 18:00, me and my gf have 2 dogs and 4 horses so time isn't something I have during the week. It's more a few hours at the weekend when I have the time. I also have a shogun but I wouldn't want to tinker with that either as I need it for getting to the stables, the roads are NOT suitable for the zed if I missed it up. I'm not short of cash and don't spend my money anywhere else (other than the pub and snowboarding) so spending it fixing a shed/breaking a shed isn't a big deal. If I can get it running and sell it I'd be happy. Ideally I'd get an mx5 or something relatively cheap like that, which has failed an MOT and so I know what it is that needs fixing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 i'd say mod the zed, its not a difficult car to work on, and there is plenty of info on here. better to start off on small jobs and work up. best bet is to get someone round to do it with you. learn more through doing. and you have the confidence boost of having someone with you. if you aren't currently mechnaically minded you might struggle finding a car that needs some work. and end up with a bombed out car. if your going the shed route then old mx5 or mr2 mk1 or mk2 the mr2 is mid engined and fairly easy to pop the engines out of to work on. and old enough to get a haynes manual for. plus the marqee forums for them are bursting with knowledge and the people are pretty decent. you might even be able to pick a turbo and learn all about FI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 How about a classic? Something that isn't sought after so is cheap but might need work to be roadworthy. They are normally simple, bits can be plentiful and it could be interesting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 How about a classic? Something that isn't sought after so is cheap but might need work to be roadworthy. They are normally simple, bits can be plentiful and it could be interesting.... What did you have in mind? Jag and Mercs would be fun but I imagine expensive for parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 They are, and you'll spend most of your time hunting around for the silly bit of electrics that playing silly buggers rather than fixing anything mechanical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Depends what you like! Something BL and rimmer bros will keep stock so makes life easy. But anything really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllyB Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Pug 205??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 How about a classic? Something that isn't sought after so is cheap but might need work to be roadworthy. They are normally simple, bits can be plentiful and it could be interesting.... What did you have in mind? Jag and Mercs would be fun but I imagine expensive for parts Having had a hand in restoring a few old cars, I would advise against it if you only have a few hours available and don't want to spend a fortune. They can soon become a time and money pit! The suggestion of an MX 5 for a bit of fun sounds good. What about getting something that has had a light bump ( always fancied this myself ) Look at Spawn's thread. That aside, I live just down the road from you in Macclesfield and have been working at Lostock Gralam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 I live just down the road from you in Macclesfield and have been working at Lostock Gralam. Nearly bought a car from Lostock the other week. It was an Alfa Romeo sportwagon. Breaks didn't work though and only found that out when we went out for a test drive. Got a shogun instead for the same price. The Mx5 sounds like a popular choice. I shall have a look this week. Gonna see if I can get one sometime in May Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmacnair Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Look at Spawn's thread. Got a link to the thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Look at Spawn's thread. Got a link to the thread? viewtopic.php?f=176&t=59299&view=unread#unread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 jags are great for learning how to fix things on. i have an XKR and something is always breaking on it its my first flurry into classic cars, i thought it a nice intermediate step before full on money pit level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haytonz Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 i know it might sound stupid but what about a smart car you could totaly transform it on the inside outside and uder the bonnet,,,if they even have one plus it would be a nice pressent for your wife to do shopping in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haytonz Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 this is a good exsample of a smart car done up inside. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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