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Cars from 1980

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Originally posted by: Summitdrinker
ya, if you want to drag race he could get dodge mirada etc, drop in a 360 or 360 stroker motor, either a rebuild or new crate motor, build up a tranny, etc

he would have a somewhat fast car, 13 second 1/4er is possible and still have a street driver that practical for some daily driving

all of this is not extremely tuff/complicated to do for a newbie if he takes his time and, does his homework

but you need a garage, tools plus live somewhere were you can get away with it legaly
Click to expand...

Not interested in racing. Just looking for a hobby and something enjoyable for a weekend drive I guess.

 
Originally posted by: Zach
Originally posted by: Summitdrinker
ya, if you want to drag race he could get dodge mirada etc, drop in a 360 or 360 stroker motor, either a rebuild or new crate motor, build up a tranny, etc

he would have a somewhat fast car, 13 second 1/4er is possible and still have a street driver that practical for some daily driving

all of this is not extremely tuff/complicated to do for a newbie if he takes his time and, does his homework

but you need a garage, tools plus live somewhere were you can get away with it legaly
Click to expand...

Not interested in racing. Just looking for a hobby and something enjoyable for a weekend drive I guess.
Click to expand...
Firebird or Camaro, that's the ticket.
 
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
BS. Once you rip all that stupid half assed emission stuff out they are fine and easy to work on.
Click to expand...

That would be the key. And that would also be a pain in the ass. This is a guy who hasn't worked on a car before and wants something to start with. He's better off to start with something older where he doesn't have to rip out all the emissions controls (which is technically illegal, by the way) to have a car that he can work on easily.

Not only that, but with very few exceptions, there's no market for cars from that time period. Hell, even Porsche 911's from the late '70's to the early '80's are barely worth anything. He'll just end up putting a lot of time and money into a car that he'll never be able to sell again. It's true that you always come out behind on a restoration, but it will be much more so with a car from that time period unless he goes after a GNX or something.

ZV
Click to expand...


I was thinking it would be okay to take out emissions systems, since as CrackRabbit pointed out I have no emissions testing to worry about. However, I don't know how many years I can bank on that continuing.

How much later would I need to go before there a re "worthy" cars to put time into?
 
Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Originally posted by: Zach
Originally posted by: Summitdrinker
ya, if you want to drag race he could get dodge mirada etc, drop in a 360 or 360 stroker motor, either a rebuild or new crate motor, build up a tranny, etc

he would have a somewhat fast car, 13 second 1/4er is possible and still have a street driver that practical for some daily driving

all of this is not extremely tuff/complicated to do for a newbie if he takes his time and, does his homework

but you need a garage, tools plus live somewhere were you can get away with it legaly
Click to expand...

Not interested in racing. Just looking for a hobby and something enjoyable for a weekend drive I guess.
Click to expand...
Firebird or Camaro, that's the ticket.
Click to expand...

OMG i looks huge. 🙂

Text <-- this looks bad as a link but seems to work
Text

That would be blast to drive though.




Edit: I'm glad I started this thread, because this looks nice:
Pic
Is that from 1980? Looks like a '70s car.
 
Originally posted by: Zach
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
BS. Once you rip all that stupid half assed emission stuff out they are fine and easy to work on.
Click to expand...

That would be the key. And that would also be a pain in the ass. This is a guy who hasn't worked on a car before and wants something to start with. He's better off to start with something older where he doesn't have to rip out all the emissions controls (which is technically illegal, by the way) to have a car that he can work on easily.

Not only that, but with very few exceptions, there's no market for cars from that time period. Hell, even Porsche 911's from the late '70's to the early '80's are barely worth anything. He'll just end up putting a lot of time and money into a car that he'll never be able to sell again. It's true that you always come out behind on a restoration, but it will be much more so with a car from that time period unless he goes after a GNX or something.

ZV
Click to expand...


I was thinking it would be okay to take out emissions systems, since as CrackRabbit pointed out I have no emissions testing to worry about. However, I don't know how many years I can bank on that continuing.

How much later would I need to go before there a re "worthy" cars to put time into?
Click to expand...

1973. After that most of the cars from everybody are pretty bleh.
 
The Mustang/Camaro thing has been done here, so I'll add first generation MR2 and the Corolla AE86 (also Trueno, Levin, etc) for cheap fun RWD imports with great after market support for the 4AGE engine.

Also don't forget the CRX from Honda.

One important factor to consider when choosing an older car if you want to actually have fun on a project car, is after market support. What kind of nostalgia surrounds that car today, and how alive is the do it yourself market for that car? Being stuck with a niche car that nobody cares about will have you out of a car often while you hunt down rare and high cost OEM parts from scrap yards and it will try your patience. Choose something that is as or more popular today as it was 27 years ago.

Imports were beating the snot out of domestics in the 80s. As mentioned, it was a terrible time for American auto makers transitioning to fuel injection, computers, emissions control, etc. In fact it was the 80's that lead to the reliability stigma that plagues American cars to this day and what earned Japanese cars their standards in reliability. American manufacturers were trying to retrofit new systems onto older designs to ease the transition, save money, etc, while most Japanese cars were then designed from ground up to incorporate the new features of the era as standard features (multi port fuel injection, etc).

While things are drastically different now and any new car made today will last forever if you take care of it, the reliability bashing and bias against American cars that you see often today, is a direct result of the 80's.
 
It would have to be something that would be easy to do an engine swap on. Because like everyone is saying, early 80's engines were crap with the horrible emissions hardware.

The first ones that popped into my head after the standard Camaro/Mustang suggestions would be Porsche 928 or a Datsun Z car. I would bet that there is an engine swap kit for a 928 to small block chevy conversion, and I know there is one for the Z car.

A lot of Porsche guys are probably freaking out right now, but you would save a ton of money just doing the conversion instead of trying to find a new 928 engine. Not to mention you would lose a lot of complexity and it would allow any redneck mechanic to work on it if you needed them to.

EDIT: Found one: http://www.renegadehybrids.com/928/928.html
 
Originally posted by: exdeath
The Mustang/Camaro thing has been done here, so I'll add first generation MR2 and the Corolla AE86 (also Trueno, Levin, etc) for cheap fun RWD imports with great after market support for the 4AGE engine.

Also don't forget the CRX from Honda.

One important factor to consider when choosing an older car if you want to actually have fun on a project car, is after market support. What kind of nostalgia surrounds that car today, and how alive is the do it yourself market for that car? Being stuck with a niche car that nobody cares about will have you out of a car often while you hunt down rare and high cost OEM parts from scrap yards and it will try your patience. Choose something that is as or more popular today as it was 27 years ago.

Imports were beating the snot out of domestics in the 80s. As mentioned, it was a terrible time for American auto makers transitioning to fuel injection, computers, emissions control, etc. In fact it was the 80's that lead to the reliability stigma that plagues American cars to this day and what earned Japanese cars their standards in reliability. American manufacturers were trying to retrofit new systems onto older designs to ease the transition, save money, etc, while most Japanese cars were then designed from ground up to incorporate the new features of the era as standard features (multi port fuel injection, etc).

While things are drastically different now and any new car made today will last forever if you take care of it, the reliability bashing and bias against American cars that you see often today, is a direct result of the 80's.
Click to expand...

Fuel injection didn't become the norm till the late 80s early 90s. In 1980 the imports had shitty carb setups and rat's nest vacuum lines just like the domestics other then a few with mechanical fuel injection.
 
I've had this thought about buying a car from 1980 for the exact same reason as you....I'd personally love a 1980 911 like this one on ebay.
 
My 911 is an '80.

There are plenty of things that you can do on them yourself, and none of it is really too complicated if you're patient (which I'm not, so the shop does engine/suspension stuff)

Parts are hit and miss, some things are really cheap, others will kill you. There is quite a big used/dismantler/BBS market though, so a lot of stuff can be found if you're willing to look.

For instance, knobs on the interior, $3, fog light lenses, $6, power window switches, $15, new distributor, $900.

Mine has about 150k on it, and I drive the hell out of it when I'm in it and it's held up just fine. Just had a friend spin a bearing on his '81, but that was after 150k+, unknown maintenance of previous owners, a year and a half of hard driving since he's had it and it's 6th track day. Everyone was actually even a little surprised that it let go, there aren't usually too many big problems.

But, that might be too much of a $$ commitment, so how about something like a 924? Not the prettiest, and not all that fast, but can be had <$5k, and are very well balanced and fun for tossing around.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

My first car was an '80 T-Bird, and while it wasn't the best body design in the world, I had a lot of fun with it and it was easy to tinker on.

Another idea, if you're brave and have a lot of time on your hands you could look for an Alfa Spider convertible. Fun cruiser, Italian sound and design, pretty decent motors once you get them figured out.
 
I know you said you are not into jeeps etc.
But, I would recommend a 80 scout 2. They are easy to work on, and parts are available. Plus they changed the body style in 80 and only made that style for 1 year. You wont see many scouts around and if you do it is rare to see one from 1980.
Take the top off and just cruse around, it is not like you have to take it off road, and as a bonus, it is nice to have a truck as a second vehicle for towing or hauling large items.

my 1980 scout

There is a classified section of the forums here - you can find everything you need:
binderbulletin.org
 
If you can find one, perhaps a 1979 MG Midget would fit your needs? Little convertible with good millage and handling. Probably a fun car to drive would be my guess?
 
get an 80 maibu 2 door no engine no trans, then put your own engine and trans in from early 70's. find a 350 cehvy with a 4 barrel carb... make it nice build it up right, 350 turbo trans with shift kit.

good enough to peel out... plus not many of those out there. gm = cheap
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf


Fuel injection didn't become the norm till the late 80s early 90s. In 1980 the imports had shitty carb setups and rat's nest vacuum lines just like the domestics other then a few with mechanical fuel injection.
Click to expand...

Asian maybe, but European marques were almost all injection ( k-jet, but injection none the less), from the cheap VW rabbit all the way up to ferraris.
 
Originally posted by: Colt45
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf


Fuel injection didn't become the norm till the late 80s early 90s. In 1980 the imports had shitty carb setups and rat's nest vacuum lines just like the domestics other then a few with mechanical fuel injection.
Click to expand...

Asian maybe, but European marques were almost all injection ( k-jet, but injection none the less), from the cheap VW rabbit all the way up to ferraris.
Click to expand...

Those were the few I meant with mechanical injection. I have no idea wth K-jet is 🙂. Never really messed with any of the European cars.
 
Originally posted by: MysticLlama
Scouts rule too. 🙂 Seconded.
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If you're going to get something like that, might as well get a Jeep CJ-7. More parts available. You can actually be every single piece of a Jeep from the aftermarket and MAKE one if you wanted to....not that it's a very efficient or cheap way to do it.
 
First car I had was a 80 malibu. Loved that car. NOT! Stay away from the 229 v6. They had problems with the oil pumps. The 231 was better. Plus, you could always find an old stage 1 kit for it and have a nice sleeper. 😛 Second car was a 80 monte carlo. Loved that car. Beat the snot out of that car and it never failed me.

I kinda miss those old cars. And the sad thing is, we couldn't put colecter plates on the car when I owned em. hehe

 
Originally posted by: Colt45
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf


Fuel injection didn't become the norm till the late 80s early 90s. In 1980 the imports had shitty carb setups and rat's nest vacuum lines just like the domestics other then a few with mechanical fuel injection.
Click to expand...

Asian maybe, but European marques were almost all injection ( k-jet, but injection none the less), from the cheap VW rabbit all the way up to ferraris.
Click to expand...

Screw k-jet. Screw it bloody. I had an 87 cabriolet. Car was 400 bucks, but the parts to fix all the issues were 500+. Screw that jazz. Carburetors ftw.

I just got an RX7. Should be a fun time.
 
I have first hand experience driving a 1980 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon. It was my first car and it was a hell of a beast. No one in the school parking lot had ANYTHING like it, not even close. It was an auto V8, it wasn't fast but it sounded nice, some muscle behind it. Built like a tank, and looked good. Rally rims and all. Haha, I remember the windows in the back couldnt be rolled down.

You could pull it up to a light and people would think it was a big POS, but when you gave her, she went. They are pretty cheap too, I bought mine for 2 grand CDN about 6-7 years ago. I had to sell her because of the gas milage, $$ for a 16 yr old and moved to a 5 speed 90 integra. I miss the old wagon to this day.

 
Originally posted by: bigshot
I have first hand experience driving a 1980 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon. It was my first car and it was a hell of a beast. No one in the school parking lot had ANYTHING like it, not even close. It was an auto V8, it wasn't fast but it sounded nice, some muscle behind it. Built like a tank, and looked good. Rally rims and all. Haha, I remember the windows in the back couldnt be rolled down.

You could pull it up to a light and people would think it was a big POS, but when you gave her, she went. They are pretty cheap too, I bought mine for 2 grand CDN about 6-7 years ago. I had to sell her because of the gas milage, $$ for a 16 yr old and moved to a 5 speed 90 integra. I miss the old wagon to this day.
Click to expand...

Personally if I had a stable of cars I'd make sure I had a big V8 powered wagon or hearse.

 
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