Allan, thanks for the mail.

There is no rush for a car, as I have use of my fiancee's Ford Ka or my mum's automatic Neon!!! :eek:

OK maybe there is a rush!! ;)

I think I've decided (:eek:) that my tinkering car will be a Charade!!! :D

Another vote for a 205 they have plenty of bits to tinker with and can take a bit of abuse :D

tinker with noisy heater 10 points
tinker withcrap brakes 10 points
tinker with non working driving lights 20 points
tinker with dicky starter 30 points
tinker with stiff clutch cable 40 points

I've had a charade and they're great. But for tinkerbility with loads of cheap tuning parts a mini is where it is at. Plus you have to do the mini thing once in your life, they may be decades behind but Andy you don't know what you're missing, they're addictive. If it needs welding walk away, or if its just a plate get someone else to do it :D

If all you want to do is play and not actually need one for transport do the mini mate :D

After having a Citreon ZX which developed a faulty ECU, I promised that I would never buy French again... then I bought a Peugeot 306 and that had some quirks, so I really mean it when I say I will not buy a French car again! ;)

The Charade is top of the list at the moment, but joint second is a Mini or a Beetle! :o

The Charade has a turbo and should be new enough not to require welding of any fashion, which kind of appeals at the moment! :)

The thing is a Charade may need little work so what will you learn?

If you want to advance some mechanical aptitude then get something with carburettors and not injection / ECU driven ignition. Get a Beetle with the Solex or Zenith carbs and convert it to Bosch Kjet-tronic injection. Nice project. :)

You'll be more hesitant to work on a Charade than a Mini or Beetle.

Surely buying a carburetted car just so you can learn about carburettors is a waste of time as every car you ever drive in the future is going to be Fuel Injected.

Fair enough if you want to learn for the sake of learning but it is hardly going to be much use in the future. If you had a friend who wanted to learn about how to use a PC would you recommend they install a copy of Windows 3.1?

Also didn't they only ever sell something like 500 Daihatsu Charade GTti's in this country?

I'm sure the Charade will still need bits like brakes, cooling system, minor engine work, wheel bearings, etc.

It will also allow me to change bits and pieces in the name of tuning! ;) Hopefully the bits I've learn from tuning a Subaru will help me! :)

I just don't want to tackle bodywork! :o

At the end of the day, if I can't find a Charade I want, there are still plenty of Beetles and Minis out there!

[Edited by Andy Tang - 12/23/2003 2:06:48 PM]

To be fair I have tinkered with carbs, at uni a mate got me to help him clean some twin webbers that we re-jetted for a 1.6 mk2 Escort! :)

It was hoot watching the mpg drop from 35 to 9!!! :eek: :D

I was more getting at them being easier to trouble shoot. The injection side of things is only getting the fuel in. To get a grasp of basic mechanics you could rip the engine apart and stick it back together without much trouble but injection and ECU faults on newer cars can be a little more troublesome for a beginner.

MK1 Golf GTI
205 GTI
R5 GTT

Depends what you want to learn? Presumably you want to learn about turbo engines so perhaps an old turbocharged renault or something?

Turbo engines are no different to a N/A petrol engine apart from the compression.

Taking into account that where Andy wants to learn about mechanics he doesn't want to go to the level of material hardness / composition and a combustion chambers profile or a piston top face profile isn't critical

[Edited by dosenöffner - 12/23/2003 3:50:02 PM]

... and they fact they have a turbo and associated plumbing.

Have a look at the drainpipe on the side of your house. Hardly rocket science.

As for the turbo, drive turbine and compressor turbine. Big deal.

He wants some mechanical knowledge. Having a turbo will do little to discovering the fundamentals of how a car works.

Hardly a selling point. Only makes the learning process more expensive if there is anything wrong. It is no longer a cheap project at that point.

None of it's rocket science is it? It's all a learning process.

Yep.

It is a funny term. I spoke to a chap from NASA about a year ago. He used the term 'It's not rocket science'.

I couldn't resist correcting him. :)

The Charade is ideal for home tuning and its fun finding things that work as upgrades at the scrappies. Saab 900 intercoolers, Mazda 323 GTX RHB-5 turbos etc.

They are also pretty reliable but are easy to work on for home servicing. Parts are quite cheap but not as cheap as other cars but they are reliable so you can spend more time fettling and less time fixing them.

Plus with a few mods they are great for sprinting and my mate was beating Civic Type Rs in the Toyo Tyres Production Saloons series plus other bigger cars too.

AlalnB

Might have one for you very soon Andy. Been contacted by two sellers today and after Xmas is normally a good time too.


AllanB

VW MK2 Golf 8v.

MK1 better but most are rotten now & many panels are not stocked any more by OEM co's let alone VAG...

Best option by far...MK2 golf GTi

Many parts interchangeable with non GTi models at any scrapy

Euro Car Parts sell most OEM panels are parts you could want.

Massive aftermarket & 3rd party following

£800 - £1000 will get a J plate with not too much rot!
:D

astra or a nova

novas easy to do, cheap, all the parts are interchangable and for your budget you could build a 2.0 16v one

Golf... 16v if you want to go quicker... 8v if you want to tinker on the cheap.. :D

Andy just got a call and got offered a great car. So good I may have it myself but if I don't I'll give you all the details very soon.



AllanB

Allan,

How many would that take you up to then? :eek: ;)

Maybe I could buy one of your 'spares' ;)

Eaten and drunk too much to think straight at the moment!! ;)

Enjoy the rest of the holiday and I look forward to hearing what is out there! ;)

Cheers
Andy

PS - I've done the Golf thing and towards the end I was dissapointed with the performance it offered!! :o

Golfs are obtainable, nippy & easy to work on.

Not the fastest but then again thats what a scooby is for.. :D

I don't disagree with the Golfs, but it's something I've done before and fancied a change!

Golfs like the classic Imprezas is something I don't want to do again!! :o

That would make 3 GTtis and an Impreza !

I'll try and view the car this weekend and will let you know


AllanB

There are lots of "better" cars (GTis, XRs, etc) for £500-£1000 but, if you really want to learn, then a Mini has got to be your best bet. So much scope for DIY! I've been doing up my Minis since I was 16 and you can still do it for peanuts (relatively). It's an ideal choice if you want to learn welding because that's the most expensive part of keeping an old Mini going! But you could even get yourself a pre-cat (1992) Cooper 1275cc carb for well within your budget these days.

P.S. When my engine went a couple of years ago, I picked up a real corker second-hand. 84bhp on the rolling road, as quick as an 8-valve Mk3 Golf GTi (I have evidence!) and it cost me £100 ! A HUNDRED QUID !!

DJNafey (always grinning in the Mini) :)

P.S. Yes, I do have an Impreza WRX but I still refer to the Mini as "the fun one" !

Andy they all seem to be going at the moment and prices are on the up. I won't be able to get to the one in Weymouth now for a couple of weeks so you might want to follow it up yourself in the meantime before it goes.

I just stuck two up on the site and one sold in 24 hours and the other on look slike it will be gone in a week or so


AllanB

ive got a 1983 mk1 golf gti cab for sale m8 but i want a bit more the £1000 iam after £2200 but if u want to tinker abit u will get £2800 in the summer for it;)

[Edited by scooby-si - 1/3/2004 2:02:27 AM]