I'm wanting to get a car to work on as a project, not a daily driver but something that I can fiddle with at my leisure.
Ideally, it needs to be:
Small, as my garage is small (short).
Light, so I can trailer it easily, around 950kg max. Light also makes lifting it easier for work.
Easy(ish) to work on, an engine bay that isn't too cramped.
FUN - it has to make me smile when driving, otherwise there's no point...
Cheap, both in purchase cost and parts. I'm not giving a budget as prices are different in France, but I'm looking at the bottom end of the market.
Preferably fuel injection, though I'm not ruling out carbs entirely, I'm just more familiar and better equipped to deal with EFI.
I'd like the handling to at least compare with my Alfa 145, with a bit of work if needed.
I'm not a fan of electric power steering, don't like how it feels. No power steering is fine by me.
Engine wise, I'm not looking for lots of power, revvy and willing fills the "fun" category above. The plan will be to do a complete engine rebuild, this is supposed to be a learning experienc as much as a tuning exercise, something that has easily available parts would be a bonus.
Tuning wise, without getting in to discussion of legalities, modifying a vehicle in France is a very grey area, in that there is simply no provision for it in the legislation. So there won't be any turbos or the like, but I would like to do as much as possible to the engine internally, as already said, this is supposed to be a learning experience, the goal is not to build a fire-breathing, tarmac-ripping monster, but rather to get the best out of the vehicle as it was originally designed.
So, with all this in mind, what should I be looking at? I've been thinking Cinq/Sei, Panda, Lancia Y10, but any particular models or engines? I'm wary of older (pre 90s) cars as I don't currently know how to weld, though it's something I'm going to have to learn. I'd love an Alfa 33, but I think that will be a seperate project.
Any ideas?
Ideally, it needs to be:
Small, as my garage is small (short).
Light, so I can trailer it easily, around 950kg max. Light also makes lifting it easier for work.
Easy(ish) to work on, an engine bay that isn't too cramped.
FUN - it has to make me smile when driving, otherwise there's no point...
Cheap, both in purchase cost and parts. I'm not giving a budget as prices are different in France, but I'm looking at the bottom end of the market.
Preferably fuel injection, though I'm not ruling out carbs entirely, I'm just more familiar and better equipped to deal with EFI.
I'd like the handling to at least compare with my Alfa 145, with a bit of work if needed.
I'm not a fan of electric power steering, don't like how it feels. No power steering is fine by me.
Engine wise, I'm not looking for lots of power, revvy and willing fills the "fun" category above. The plan will be to do a complete engine rebuild, this is supposed to be a learning experienc as much as a tuning exercise, something that has easily available parts would be a bonus.
Tuning wise, without getting in to discussion of legalities, modifying a vehicle in France is a very grey area, in that there is simply no provision for it in the legislation. So there won't be any turbos or the like, but I would like to do as much as possible to the engine internally, as already said, this is supposed to be a learning experience, the goal is not to build a fire-breathing, tarmac-ripping monster, but rather to get the best out of the vehicle as it was originally designed.
So, with all this in mind, what should I be looking at? I've been thinking Cinq/Sei, Panda, Lancia Y10, but any particular models or engines? I'm wary of older (pre 90s) cars as I don't currently know how to weld, though it's something I'm going to have to learn. I'd love an Alfa 33, but I think that will be a seperate project.
Any ideas?