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Jun 11, 2020 20:54:43 GMT
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106 all the way. cheap , simple , agile , frugal , nippy and are a proper hoot to boot! but of course i am biased. how about another of my favorite french mini's.. a renault 5? there are still a few (original) fiat pandas kicking around , could be a good call too?
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating '80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip '97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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Jun 11, 2020 21:12:21 GMT
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Rover Metro/100
Great to work on and tinker with.
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Specialist Bodyshop & Fabrication Classic, Retro, Prestige & Custom Small Repairs to Concours Restorations Mechanical Work Vintage to Modern
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 656
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Jun 11, 2020 21:51:08 GMT
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On the polo front how about this on this very here website...(nothing to do with me but buying and selling these used to supply my beer tokens) 6n2Easy to work on, reliable, plentiful and cheap parts/accessories/upgrades and frugal to boot...
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Last Edit: Jun 11, 2020 21:59:07 GMT by jpr1977
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On the polo front how about this on this very here website...(nothing to do with me but buying and selling these used to supply my beer tokens) 6n2Easy to work on, reliable, plentiful and cheap parts/accessories/upgrades and frugal to boot... What he said ^^ Good parts availability as still plenty knocking about on the road, plenty in scrap yards and being German, parts are still stocked by main dealers (ebay is not always cheaper than the main dealer). They should go on forever with regular maintenance and provide solid feel compared to the French offerings, albeit with less exciting driving dynamic. That car is in the for sale section, going for peanuts.
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On the polo front how about this on this very here website...(nothing to do with me but buying and selling these used to supply my beer tokens) 6n2Easy to work on, reliable, plentiful and cheap parts/accessories/upgrades and frugal to boot... Looks ideal; running MOT'd and, looking at the MOT history, it probably needs various odds and ends sorted which gives you the chance to learn how to sort them. I've had one of these in a Diesel, it was a pretty decent little car, they do rust, (underbody corrosion noted on a previous MOT). Also the switches can be a bit naff, I was told they were Spanish made and it was a common problem. High miles for the little petrol engine but VW always made their engines very tight. It's very cheap. Worst case scenario - you need to break it. You'd get your money back and make a decent profit!
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Last Edit: Jun 12, 2020 9:22:45 GMT by MkX
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gryphon
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 330
Club RR Member Number: 157
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Jun 12, 2020 11:09:55 GMT
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I don't think I can suggest anything that hasn't been suggested, but pretty much any small 90's car is going to be a good learn to tinker car.
The best tinker car is one you love - that is what will pull you back to it when something inevitably doesn't go to plan and you get stuck with it. Don't get too swayed by x recommended this one, y recommended that one, parts are cheaper for the other one. Get the car you want to own.
Just don't buy a rusty one! My first learning/tinker car was the 944. No regrets - other than the rust.
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Jun 12, 2020 11:31:58 GMT
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Polo is a good choice, seem to rust less than many of their contempories and pretty simple mechanically, or how about an early BMW mini, seem to resist corrosion pretty well, as with most modern BMW's not as fault free as BMW would like you to think but parts are plentiful and not too expensive plus loads of secondhand body and trim parts out there, I'd go for a low mileage well cared for Mini one that's not been messed around with.
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Last Edit: Jun 12, 2020 17:28:53 GMT by kevins
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lord13
Part of things
Posts: 536
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Jun 12, 2020 12:19:10 GMT
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Vauxhall astra mk3 or 'F' depending on which designation you prefer. Cheap as chips, (most can be had for well under a grand), in 3 or 5 door form, hatch, saloon, estate, van or convertible. The 1.4 hi-torq engines are great fun, the larger 8v are great and all are pretty bulletproof. The 16v versions are plentiful and there's loads of potential for an engine swap, either any ecotech or redtop, the cav and vectra v6 can go in, the saab turbo engines go in, you can 5-stud the hubs, fit rear discs if you haven't got them, most items are interchangeable across the range, and they can be made to look pretty cool... what's not to like? Here's some shameless interweb robbing of pictures to whet your appetite...
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Last Edit: Jun 12, 2020 12:19:50 GMT by lord13
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vitessetony
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,055
Club RR Member Number: 114
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Jun 13, 2020 13:19:43 GMT
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On the polo front how about this on this very here website...(nothing to do with me but buying and selling these used to supply my beer tokens) 6n2Easy to work on, reliable, plentiful and cheap parts/accessories/upgrades and frugal to boot... This is what you want, it's FREE go and get it, do it now!
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Jun 13, 2020 13:27:44 GMT
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Best price.
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating '80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip '97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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Jun 13, 2020 15:04:32 GMT
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Free is a bargain, was at £150 tbh
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Jun 13, 2020 15:12:21 GMT
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On the polo front how about this on this very here website...(nothing to do with me but buying and selling these used to supply my beer tokens) 6n2Easy to work on, reliable, plentiful and cheap parts/accessories/upgrades and frugal to boot... This is what you want, it's FREE go and get it, do it now! Yep, rse into gear time. You can insure it for a day to collect or pay to put it on a transporter without even going there. That means you keep your £1K to buy tools and parts.
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jonk
Part of things
Posts: 154
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Jun 13, 2020 21:23:19 GMT
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Would an mx5 squeeze into budget? They’re very easy to do simple maintenance on, parts easy to find, fun to drive. They are extremely rust prone of course especially mark 2s but you may find a good one.
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Jun 13, 2020 22:19:34 GMT
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These are little gems, Suzuki Ignis 1.3.
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Bicycle x1 Alfa Giulietta (now wife's) Alfa 156 BMW 630i
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,409
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Jun 14, 2020 12:26:33 GMT
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These are little gems, Suzuki Ignis 1.3. I borrowed a my brothers Ignis Sport a couple of times and it was an absolute hoot to drive! I keep looking at the temptingly priced 1.5vvt 4grip models. They must be incredibly grippy! Tom
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,546
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Jun 14, 2020 13:52:45 GMT
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Can't really go wrong with a 106 tbh, the parts are still available they generally are cheap to buy, cheap to run, good to drive (if you haven't got big feet/tall) handle well ad very easy to upgrade. Watch out for rust on the boot floor area, and front chassis legs. i have a rust free 106 Zest, cost me £200 about 10 years ago, gave to my sister who ran it for years, then my brother ran it, then i ran it again for a few months. we must have put 30-40k on it and very little went wrong and if it did it was cheap to fix. Now currently awaiting some loving and the donor parts from a very rusty 106 Quiksilver. Boot floor side joins are just gaping holes, its a mess. cost me £150 and will yield loads of spares for the zest and for my Citroen Ax's......can't go wrong with small 90's French hatch
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These are little gems, Suzuki Ignis 1.3. I borrowed a my brothers Ignis Sport a couple of times and it was an absolute hoot to drive! I keep looking at the temptingly priced 1.5vvt 4grip models. They must be incredibly grippy! Tom Funnily enough I had a 4grip about 18 months ago, front wheels slip then the backs join in, in snow/ice it felt like rear wheel drive 😁 It certainly surprised me with what it would get through and you could despite only having 90 odd bhp feel the cam change, fabulous little cars.
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Bicycle x1 Alfa Giulietta (now wife's) Alfa 156 BMW 630i
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I had similar aims to you. Something cheap and useable that is so simple you can get involved with maintaining and modifying. I grew really tired of modern cars being expensive and complicated so turned to having retros full time. I'd agree with most of the above but thought I'd add some of my own experiences:
106/saxo - super cheap to run and pretty fun to thrash around. Parts are peanuts to buy. Beware of rust in the back end, slopping gear changes and issues with the rear beam/axle. 1.1 is good but 1.4 better (if you can find one).
205 - I love mine. They are not perfect, but easy and cheap to repair. Excellent handling and peppy engines (petrol). Under £1k is lower end now, so buy carefully (similar issues to 106/saxo).
Fiesta MK3/MK4 - prices of MK3 are climbing and it would be hard to find a decent one below £1k. What about a MK4? Cheap to buy and the zetec engines are great (1.25/1.4). Sadly, rust in the back wheel arches would be the killer here.
I hope you don't my ramblings! The good news is, all of my experiences of retros has been positive. I'll never switch back to a modern car! Keep us updated!
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,409
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Fiesta MK3/MK4 - prices of MK3 are climbing and it would be hard to find a decent one below £1k. What about a MK4? Cheap to buy and the zetec engines are great (1.25/1.4). Sadly, rust in the back wheel arches would be the killer here. I can't comment on what they're like to work on, but its a Ford so how hard can it be?! However my mother did have a Mk5 1.25 for a while and although it was pretty rusty it was really fun to drive. I took it down to my then Girlfriends once which involved about 60 miles of B roads through Shropshire and Herefordshire at night. It was brilliant. You could really chuck it about and the little 1.25 engine was really revvy. Sadly the rot killed it.
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VW Lupo or Polo 6n2 would be my suggestions. Lupo can be had on T plate, the mk1 arosa (same platform basically) can be had from 97ish. If you can sneak up to 2001 Y plate then the 3 pot TDI or agricultural SDi keep on giving with £30 tax. Petrol non GTI versions the gearboxes are weak and pedal boxes are weak, the window mechs and switches are weak, but can be made very funky and individual for cheap. 1.8t or 1.9TDI conversion would sort out the grunt factor if you were serious about it.
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Last Edit: Jun 15, 2020 8:06:41 GMT by sausage
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