Lock down recreation classic car ownership - anyone else doing this? Share the fun and pain

Love your car...my dream is a TR 3.

 

Yes
I wanted a V8 mustang gt, like 2017-2019 white with the black wheels.
Wife says no and called it a snoyd mobile.
Then I looked at corvettes. The nice ones, to me, were 45k.

So we ended up with a 2011 BMW Z4. Retractable hardtop. Grey with red leather. 25k miles.
6 speed manual navigation winter package. It is Amazing fun to drive. 3.0 6 cylinder very basic torque pulling engine.

Satisfied my 64 yo crisis....for now..

 

You’re a little modest calling that N55 turbo six a “basic torque pulling engine”. For inline sixes, BMW sets the bar.
Great automobile

 

'99 XJR: Goes fast, and goes round corners too

 

'YOLO' as the Young Folks say- and luckily I live out in the sticks, so no LEZ/ULEZ issues with a Euro3 car (yet..)

 

These two are your winners, in my opinion. You won't go wrong with a '60s 4-door hardtop. While the Deuce and a Quarter may be more luxurious, I would vote for the Bonneville. I suspect that it is more rare, and just the fact that Pontiac is gone should increase the nostalgia factor. A good cleaning should do for now, and a slow restoration while you use it will add value.

The search so far seems to confirm your original statement that there isn't much that is appealing available in the $3500 to $4000 price range.

 

Mine, too. I could afford one back then, but not today.

A few of my cars by CharlieO posted Nov 12, 2007 at 10:12 PM

 

Someone gave me a TR-3 parts car back in the 70s. It was brush painted in blue, had a broken heart with an arrow through it painted on the driver's side front quarter, and the word "Fool" in white, gothic lettering painted on the driver's door. I couldn't tell you why, but someone was motivated to do that.

It didn't have a title, but some kid bought it from me, mainly for the frame. He'd wrecked his in an accident that bent the frame. The TR-3 frame is riveted and welded "I" sections and the whole frame could easily work under a small 1/2 ton pickup truck. How on earth could you bend the frame on a TR-3 and not die in the process?!?

 

I used to be a car guy and had all these kinds of fantasies, these days I have become more practical.
I have been putting money into our home, we just finished a major remodel in December, before the lockdown.
I have spent much of the lockdown since March repainting the inside. Next project is pressure washing the outside and more painting.

If I were to take on a classic car project it would likely be the restoration and electrification of a classic MGB.
Have always wanted an older MGB and what better way to bring a classic into the 21st century than electrification.

 

The MGB would be a great candidate for electrification. There is a show on the Motor Trend network that features a shop in the UK that does EV conversions. They have done a few vintage sports cars, and I don't feel that they have "ruined" any of them. There isn't a shortage of MGBs, so why not? If I had unlimited funds, I'd go for a Jaguar X-type EV.

 

They're asking 8000 for the Bonnie, which is a fair price given the condition. But I bet there's some negotiating room there.

They're asking 5 for the Electra. The description says it was inherited and they've go no place to store it. The first person to show up with 3500 cash in hand will probably drive it home.

The Buick is very plush and very classy, and would most likely offer the least amount of trouble. (Newer, well maintained. The AC even blows cold). It's tempting.

But that Pontiac is really special.

 

You are exactly right. That Buick looks like it would benefit from a good weekend of detailing, and you would be good to go. What's stopping you? I bet that car will be worth at least 5 times as much a decade from now.

 

Not as august as some of the fancy stuff already posted~but this 544 will be a beast by the time the lock downs end! floors finally going in, firewall next~

 

My own classic ('77 911) has been shelved with an issue beyond my meager skills for quite some time. Needs about $4k usd to make it right, and dropping that given our current shared state of affairs seems foolhardy. It causes me quite a bit of anxiety/regret when I have to go to the garage for something and see it there just sitting. I really wanted to do something during this period where we're all at home a lot more, but it's really not a job I'm comfortable DIYing... an engine/trans out affair and I lack the required equipment/tools to get it safely decoupled from the car let alone the know-how on what to do after. So there she sits until the world stabilizes a bit and I scrape the cash together. Bummer for me.

Love some of the cars in this thread anyhow. I grew up surrounded by British sports cars (several MGBs, Triumphs, Healys, one 59 XK150 fhc), always a soft spot for me.

 

I don't have the time to read all the posts above, In response to the OP:

Both of my cars have the orange engine light burning continuously, for 5 years or more. One of them is a German-badged built-in-Spain small commercial vehicle. One of them is some kinda Korean (?) small family car.

That light is on there to make sure you take it to an 'authorized garage' every year. It is a money-making device. The garage turns it off, and tells you they have done tests and made adjustments. And they charge you accordingly.

Just keep driving.

 

If any of you need parts for a Maserati Quattroporte, circa 2010, it appears to me that Settlemire's on US 72 in NE Mississippi has taken one in.

Just got a glance, I sure hope I am mistaken, but the profile is hard to get wrong from the side.

Meanwhile, we saw about a dozen Ford Model Ts out there along US 64, in the western part of Polk County, Tennessee. Now, there's some intrepid guys - as some of the Zeta storm debris was still on the lines through the curves. What was goofy was, later we saw some Model As also - but they were being trailered.

 

One's a roadrunner, but imagine taking a white, 4-door Plymouth Satellite and putting shackles and cherry bombs on it.
She called those guys Snoyds. I still want a '19 Mustang GT Premium...