So, I got my r56 S in march, love it, but Ive alway wanted a porsche.

Im 16, and me getting my own new mini was a blessing. [must've been a good kid] haha

But I was looking into maybe buy a porsche from any year [1960-1990 probably], for like 1-2k. This is possible. I found a couple great ones on ebay motors. Except i wont have the money untill the end of the summer. I have tinted my windows on my mini, got a new shift **** and a gps for it, and feel comfortable where my mini is at, since there arnt to many preformence mods out there yet. So since i love cars, i thought this would be a great idea.

Has anyone else done anything like this? Any thoughts/opinions?

 

im 17 and have been toying around with the same idea; end result has been though that i cnat come up with the cash (insurance is ridiculous and any spare cash i can manage tends to go to eating and dating) and i have nowhere to put another car. Instead im going the route of building my own go kart with a friend; though this idea isnt proving to ferment. I may have to find another friend a little more dedicated to the project, or just go solo

just my .02

 

yea insurance is a killer, im just gonna try to stick it out, and see how much i have by the end of the summer. Probably 1-2k, but do i want to spend it all on a porsche? hell yea. Im looking for one that would work without any parts needing to be purchased, so i could drive it home, resonable body, little rust, and manual. i found a couple on ebay, but thats just dreaming for now, i actually need to work to get that money haha. a go -cart would be great, except my school doesnt have a metal/autobody shop, and we dont have all the tools at my house for welding and such so its not a possible idea for now, where as with rebuilding a car, i can start off in different areas, get different parts when needed, paint it up, and just get the tools as i need. and it would be drivable so i can have fun in it too.

 

the idea is really cool, and thats why i wanted to do the same (though mybudget was a grand or less and was more of a 77 loncoln continental that met my standards of restoration but still able to be driven). Unfortunately to drive the car id need to technically insure it, and my parents refused to have the car sitting at my house, but maybe if i had found a porsche in teh grand range they may have felt differently.

And for either the kart or a car i dont have most of the tools either and my school has none, but the whole thing is a learning experience as i see it.

also soemthing i recommend you inquire about which i am doing around august is dual enrollment into an automotive class at the local community college. the one i am attending has all the tools id need, and a great facility where you can work on your car. im sure your local CC has a similar program

But goodluck on the porsche; if you get one def post up some pics; im a big time porsche fan here

 

Ahhhh, I would love to restore a classic 67' Mustang Fastback....but I seemingly don't have 20k lying around....

For the meantime, I plan on dumping some money into the MINI.

You are VERY lucky to have a MINI at 16...but I have to ask, did your parents buy it?

I got my MINI when I was 16, and I'm now 17 and it'll be payed off this week!

-Cody

 

If you get a 1960's vintage Porsche, your MINI would leave it in the dust.

Technology has come a long way since then. You definitely wouldn't want to trade in your MINI. You'll need something to drive while the Porsche is in pieces in the garage.

A longtime ago, when I was 16, I had a 1957 Alfa Romeo Spider. It was sort of like a restoration job, but it was fun.

 

Check out the hot rod scene. Lots of older folks there but lots who can answer your question, yes.

I battled with the idea of restoring a more classic sports car, like an MGA or TR-6 or Jaguar Mark II but ended up opting for the MINI. It does sooth the wound made by my dad when he sold the MGA the week I got my learner's permit. I don't think it is any more expensive than the restoration upon completion and it works. It works now. It works better. It works all the time.

I have a 20 year old son working on an 82 Cabriolet. He did drive it to Alaska. Never had a top on it here in New Mexico but I bought him one for the trip. He has a long way to go with it but we will be driving it back from Alaska together this summer. But I'll ask him, if he could have a new MINI instead of his VW . . . .

 

Back in '78 or so I bought a '68 Camaro shell for $100. No interior, suspension front sheet metal, front end. Bought other parts here and there. Got it running about '80 (high school graduation). Still wasn't painted. Had a 350 4bolt main, "fuelie" heads, hot cam, mechanical lifters, no emissions, only the alternator on one belt. Electric fan, fuel pump, no AC (no extra stuff to rob power). Roll cage. 15x10 rear wheels. (no 16s or larger back then). Rear seat deleted. Interior mostly aluminum skin that I sanded for a finish. I'd done a decent suspension and it actually handled pretty good. Lots of NC backroads! Painted it myself in Imron right as I was graduating college and getting married. Drove it for years and got pretty much everything I had in to it. A lot of the stuff is common now, but not back then in muscle cars.

I wish I would have had a barn to park it in or something. Didn't even have a garage, though, for years.

I've also had a jeep that was rolled. I got it running, replaced enough to make it roadworthy. Didn't worry about bumps and dents. So worked great 4wheeling.

We've got two '39 Pontiacs that I started to restore, but life got in the way. Probably selling those. The time commitment is thousands of hours on a project like that. Lots of money. And then parts are hard to find for an off-breed car.

A '49 ****** pickup that's almost done. A '51 Rocket 88 Olds-really complete, haven't started yet.

I'll second the fact that cars have come a LONG way. Whatever you pick, get something with a good supply of aftermarket parts. It's really hard if nobody makes fenders, floors, etc. Also-don't fool yourself. You'll dump A LOT of money in a restoration and you most likely won't get the money back out-unless you do the work and your work is VERY good. Buying the car is the CHEAPEST part. You shouldn't think you're doing it to get a neat car cheap-you have to do it because you love the car.

The Camaro was the first and last FUN car I've had. Wife had a GTI for a while. I've had bikes to tide me over. My long wait to being able to finally buy my MINI is hopefully coming to an end SOON!

 

polizi, my parents and i split it.

 

I helped my Dad when I was a teen...years ago. We rebuilt a MG. Very cool car for it's time.

 

Rebuilt a 69 Bug when I was a kid and loved it. It was a slow process mainly due to funds, but it was fun. I highly recommend this if you have the space and parents approval. You learn a lot and it can keep you out of trouble.

 

I restored a 1937 Ford 5 window coupe at the age of 16. It all depends on what shape the car is in, what resources are available, how much money you can afford. I spent 2 1/2 years doing a ground up. The only work I farmed out was the final paint. I went to body shops and hung out and learned a little, learned to weld from a friend of my dads, I had help along the way, but 90% of all the work I performed. It is not an easy task and nothing ever fits the way it should, but can be a very rewarding process. If you have a shop available in HighSchool get in it, that alone will save you countless hours of work plus you will have someone available to lend a hand and get a grade for working on your own ride that you would have done at home anyway.
The nice thing about this is I got to start with a car that was in running condition and was pretty much rust free.

 

hey ftg. couple questions

A. while you were fixing it did you have car inssurance on it?
B. What did you do to it?

im going to try to get a porsche , and have seen a few, that are 1kish, and are running, and little rust.

 

thlaxx you don't say what kind of porsche. Look carfully for rust on 912 914's in that price range. They can be difficult to fix without a donor car. If your not sure and just want a porsche(perfectly understandable, I myself have been looking at ferrari 308's just cause I have wanted a ferrari since I think just after birth). You might want to consider an 80's 928 or 944. I have seen these in your price range with good bodys but be warned it is a porsche so even if you do the mechanical work yourself it's gonna be expensive.

But please don't take this as discouragement. I have spent much time and much money sometimes on cars that I probably shouldn't have. But I had fun on every one of them.

Enjoy it now later on things tend to get in the way.

 

I've helped my old man a little restoring/modding his 71 Dart. And right now, if I ever have any time, I'm going to try to help him work on his 70 AMX. Thats right. There's an AMC fan on here.

 

Back in high school, a friend had a hot-rodded AMC Ambassador! EVERYTHING thrown at that motor!

 

Holy cow! A '51 olds 88!!!! rocket v8 w/2 barrel carb?!?! please dont tell me its a fastback, cuz then i'll really envy you...

Dang, ive been lookin' for an '88 2dr or fastback for a while. my father has a '52 olds 98........its hard to find a '49-'51 super 88 in fix'r upper condition here in california. Plenty of chevys, hardly any dang oldsmobiles...gotta go back east.....All ive found thus far are complete restores or full customs that are outta my $ range...

anywho, sorry for the small hijack, must go change my pants now....

 

Sorry-4 door. But everything is there. All the trim, oil bath air cleaner, 6V, the works. Came from rural Colorado. The weather there is GREAT for old cars-as long as they didn't get salt from the roads (this one didn't...).

 

yea i was looking at the 944's-looking good. i just love the shape of the porsche and the car in general, and for some reason i have seen quite a few of them in that range.

 

At 15 I helped my neighbor restore his 1953 XK120 Jag race car. He did the body and chassis and he let me do the engine (double over head cam, porcelain headers, etc..). At 16 I restored an MG 1100 2 door sedan with "hydrastatic' (sp) suspension (No, I don't know why). At 17 I started on a 1955 Pontiac, then Uncle Sam needed me in Viet Nam...so I went.

If I can do it, so can you....Les

 

haha sounds good les!
i was looking on a porsche site of avrg selling costs of their older moldels and looks like unless im extremely lucky with some fluke deal, i would be getting a 944, a 924, or a 924 turbo. The one thing im debating which is frusterating, is the car inssurance. If im working on it, and not driving it really, do i really need it asap? I would be spending nearly all my summers money on it so i couldnt exactly pay for it at that moment too haha.

 

A. There was no reason to insure it since I had it apart in the garage.
B. I pulled the body completly apart. Rewired the entire car, bought a totaled out 86 Iroc with a 350 TPI and auto tranny. Transfered the engine, tranny, wiring harness, seats, and the front K-Memeber into the 37. I stripped (by hand) every bit of paint off the car. I used a rebuilt 77 Caddy rear end. I smoothed out the running boards, added tail lights and working turn signals in the front and rear. In 1937 they only had a left rear turn signal. I had to replace the glass in half of the car. I also used the A/C, PS, and power brakes. I used the wheels off the Iroc as only one of them had to be replaced. I also added two 10 inch Kicker subs behind the seats. I used a 15 gallon fuel cell. This car was bought by my dad 3 days before I was born. I talked him out of it since it had been sitting since I was around 6 years old. I actually begain playing with it at 15 and finished it shortly before I entered the Marines at 18.

 

 

If the car is not drivable and not on the road there is no need for insurance. I assume you will be pulling engines and transmissions and gutting the car. I did the same w/ a 1968 VW convertible with my dad and it took 16-18 months and was expensive to be done right. I would expect to probably spend upwards of $10-15k for restoring a Porsche properly.

Do you self a favor and get a 911 though... When you are done it will be **much** more desirable.
Good luck and have fun,
k

 

I restored this 1964 Mini Cooper just after high school.