1st project ideas

I'm slightly biased but the Triumph Herald has got to be one of the easiest cars to work on. Huge parts availability, and cheap too. Big knowledge base in the UK also. As you can weld, the rust shouldn't trouble you either.

There are lots of choices, all of which would be ideal as first projects, but it all depends on what you want.

For example, just to name a few, Morris Minor, Volvo Amazon, Spridget, & various Triumphs would all be good first projects imho. However each can be 'better' than others once finished, depending on how it will be used. E.g. a sidescreen Spridget makes a fantastic fun car, but is pretty useless for everyday use, especially if it were to be kept out in the street, whereas a Minor is a great A/B road car, but no fun at all on the motorway.

Or is the project itself the main factor - e.g. the fun of searching for spares at autojumbles etc, or do you want to be able to have new parts available by next day mail order?

If those two are in your head, Id probably stick with one of them, Namely the triumph i think... As said theres a huge parts availability, And they are relitively cheap.

Its also a more open chassis to work on, The anglia being a monocoque body with a enclosed front end makes structure repairs a nightmare if its your first try...

The triumph is more open and gives you the ease of moving things out of the way, plus your more likely to notice issues upon buying it.



That said, The list is endless and in all honesty its totally irrelivent what you get... Everything has its ups and downs and positives and negatives.. Just buy a car you like. As solid as possible and restore it.. If its not something YOU like then you ll lose interest very quickly.

If you like Herald's mechanicals then what about a Spitfire ?
Personally I prefer my current A35 (owned 10+ years) to my previous Minor as more "old fashioned" to drive.
Standard 8/10 are underated cars.
I know you want British but don't dismiss Beetles as you'd be excluding a great car.

Paul H

I've got an Anglia which I've had for years and restored. They rot like hell and prices are shooting up, so not necessarily ideal for a first project unless your budget is a bit higher. Unfortunately, £1000 will only buy you one that needs a fair bit of structural repair these days.

If you like welding then hows about a rover P5 or P6?
If you can find a V8 one............hmmm