Just bought my Grandma's old Astina...

[Clean_Cookie]

if i had $1500 and it had 1 year rego i'd buy it. I don't know what for but i've spent more on crap i never need so it won't be the first

quote of the year!

[doctor_bob]

Holy crap wow! Thanks for taking the time to make that huge write-up! There's some really meaty stuff there, I'll be sure to reference what you've said. Went and spoke to my dad today; things have progressed fairly quickly since involving him as I did not realise the wealth of knowledge there (!) He used to rebuild cars for pocket money when he was younger with his dad; did not know this before today. He's an electrical engineer so it just never occurred to me to ask, and I've never had a car that wasn't just a boring run-about which required any more than oil changes and minor servicing like changing brakes and fuel filters (which he did teach me, I guess it should have clicked at that point he knew his ****)

I very much appreciate the bottom line advice, and am fully aware of the potential financial and/or time consumption ramifications. This went through my head before I even entertained the idea. I have a 2001 corolla which is my normal run about and I'm not planning on selling it any time soon; this will just be for fun. I guess you could say it started because of the amount of memories attached and the love for this particular car I've had growing up with it...cue the 'feasibility study'... but at this point its evolved beyond a simple desire and I'm seeing a great opportunity for dad to pass on his knowledge of cars, and a chance for me to actually hang out with him as an adult (went to boarding school so didn't get to do the usual father/son stuff for the most part). Plus I want to keep this thing for a decent amount of time. I used to have a mazda 626 of the same era (eaten by a falling limb in a storm) and just feel like I'm back home again in this. As for insurance... well it should be fine. I've been on golds for nearly 10 years and never had a crash at any point in my life, so I'm not too stressed about premiums..
TL;DR: I hear you both, but I'm not discouraged because that isn't my motivation (and I'm probably a smidge older/wiser than I come across on forums :P)

Originally Posted by rodhog

If I had $1500 and it had 1 year rego I'd buy it. I don't know what for but I've spent more on crap I never need so it won't be the first

Hahaha you have no idea how true this is (down to the dollar). I got it for exactly this reason. But then I started thinking about how much I liked it once I started driving it...

Anyway...

Hell. Maybe. We'll see what happens when we start looking at cars this weekend. Dad was saying we'd probably be best off rebuilding the auto tranny/grandma's engine back into whatever we strip and sell that instead of being stuck with parts & scrap metal, but also said to keep an open mind in case we see one that's better all around while shopping. Either way I'm kind of excited about the idea of spending countless hours swearing at things and engaging in general mens business with my dad

Did I say thank you enough?

Thank you everyone! You are all way too nice and helpful. I'm not sure I'm on the internet anymore o.O

[Clean_Cookie]

Welcome to agt...that pretty much sums it up... And yeah reselling the motor and box into a new shell would be an idea but then you'd be paying for a body in saleable condition rather than a wreck/ poor quality body/interior. Or buy dukes car and join the dwindling BA club. haha.

[doctor_bob]

Originally Posted by Clean_Cookie

Areselling the motor and box into a new shell would be an idea but then you'd be paying for a body in saleable condition rather than a wreck/ poor quality body/interior..

True. Pro: I do get to test it all out on the road first. Con: what you said. Middle ground: I haven't found anything other than roadworthy cars so far. Maybe my google-fu isn't compatible with automotive wrecking; I'm totally open to any suggestions but couldn't find ANYTHING.

[Clean_Cookie]

We have all you can carry days at one of the locam wreckers. Alternators and gearboxes are excluded but pretty much $50 for anything. Could be cheap if you scored the loom, ecu, all accessories and whatnot for $50 and then sourced a block cheaply... Does this exist outside brisbane?

[BG1.8sp]

No not at all.... We have double charge days... Happen pretty frequently.... It's where you grab a part... Go to the counter and charge double what it's worth!
Lol

[derb]

Great to see such a large amount of progress so far. Granted, its only verbal, but it sounds like your dad is keen to muck around on cars again. I wish my dad cared about cars like that.

[Mad Mat]

Originally Posted by derb

Great to see such a large amount of progress so far. Granted, its only verbal, but it sounds like your dad is keen to muck around on cars again. I wish my dad cared about cars like that.

^^^^^same here ^^^^^

[doctor_bob]

You know, the ease at which he agreed to it, I think it was as though he'd been wanting me to come to him with an idea like this for a while. Even agreed to not tell mum what we're up to (it was her mothers car)

Originally Posted by rodhog

Big problem for all Blue slip passes - Seat belts. 90% of old 10 year old cars drivers and passenger seat belts don't retract all the way. = FAIL.

I checked this out this morning, they all retract all the way very easily except the drivers which does retract but much slower... does the speed and strength of retraction matter or just that it goes up on it's own?

It's funny, I was always borderline OCD with making sure the seatbelts were always fully retracted after a drive in all my cars. Good to know that instinct wasn't in vain

[doctor_bob]

Ah bugger. Nope, RTA is a pain in the ass after all; phoned their technical enquiries and yep, requires engineer cert because the power output will exceed 15% gain. It's not just CC capacity they are talking about but engine power output too. I don't want to risk having something I can't put on the road at the end of it...

Maybe I should reconsider the advice to trade up... I could do it at a profit probably. But this goes back to the thing, that I was kind of looking forward to this as a project since having my dad on board :/

[derb]

Maybe your old man has a few contacts in the industry and might know someone who can be a little more friendly when getting the engineer's cert?

[doctor_bob]

Maybe... Thinking whether or not I needed to get it certified was sort of step one in deciding if it was feasible; everything I've read and all the advice received suggested I didn't so far... but alas.

How much can that part set you back, assuming it goes relatively smoothly?

[derb]

No idea for NSW. Between $80 and $200 here in QLD for a mod plate which is similar.

[Clean_Cookie]

What the. The rules need checking with a certified engineer but if you upgrade anything safety wise which was in the sp and normt the sohc, the motor was an option therefore no mod plate req. In qld. Thought at least that rule was the same. I'f however you put a motor not available in that series, the power rule would apply among other things.

[BG1.8sp]

See... I was pretty certain you would need one!
So things you would need to do is the SP brake upgrade, make sure your suspension is in good nick.
Engineers slip wont be that expensive for a simple swap like that... Probably $400 ish
Actually more like $500 including brakes and engineers slip.

[doctor_bob]

The advice from the RTA and the mechanical friend both suggested talking to an engineer before laying down any money to get some official words on the topic.

That's the official list:

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...ulletin_01.pdf

Don't suppose someone has had some experience with anyone there...? I'm going to try and make some enquiries through my wife (she has some family connnections to various automotive types; mostly panel beaters but there could be some referrals to be had) but again would welcome any suggestions...

[BG1.8sp]

Will ask my brother who he got to Engineer certificate for his extensive suspension work. Guy was really good... Knows his stuff!

[doctor_bob]

Well, the wife connection delivered

...except, after a long conversation with some people who do this sort of stuff for a living, I'm looking pretty seriously at the advice regarding "if you want to go better, start better" and sussing some MX-5's at the moment...

...But I still got <3 for the BG

[derb]

Well, I can't sat I wouldn't buy an MX-5 if I could afford it, so see what's out there.

[doctor_bob]

Yeah, those MX-5s are pretty much to die for from all the ones we tire kicked this weekend. Very spirited little cars. I think that will be the way to go. Slightly less practical than the Astina, and I'll have to adjust my driving style for the rear wheel drive... been a few years there... but they do pretty much what I'm looking for "out of the box" (minus the nostalgia + awesome project-ness + popup headlights) and at the end of the day that will get me back in a fun manual quicker... (bought a bloody auto years ago to get the wife to drive, she's still on her L's and I'm sick of it) I think I'll give nan's car a thorough service & detailing then sell it; give it a good head start for staying alive for a while longer (and maximise my return on investment...)

edit: you guys all seem really cool, would I still maybe be welcome to lurk on these forums and perhaps join in on some driving shenanigans should they come to pass? or would an MX-5 make me an outcast and a traitor? :P