Sons first car

My boy's starts driving this year... he likes eh to ht holdens...this was independent decision of his and not driven from my end...He has however seen the pictures of my resto's of an eh Special, HK Brougham and Ht Premier..so I was really chuffed when he announced he would prefer a straight six holden sedan to fix up and drive - he figured this would be "cooler" than a hyundai or something..I was very pleased as I thought if he builds his car he won't drive too mental as to break it...anyway we sat down and started looking at cars and OMG the prices...lol now working out where is the best place to find an original barn find type of deal that he can resto mod (so don't want to hack up a preserved original one) but on the other hand don't want something that's going to be a 40k build... would EH Owners clubs or places like that be good place to start? Anyone got experience other than Unique Auto's mag as to sniffing out a good solid foundation car (no need for a motor even) so we can put it in the shed and take our time building it over the next 2 to 3 years?

not sure what our budget is but have a look at this
http://australianmusclecarsales.com....ht-premier-186

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Originally Posted by JT

not sure what our budget is but have a look at this
http://australianmusclecarsales.com....ht-premier-186

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Mate! Thanks for that.... good to know they are still out there...I'll give them a ring...

I know this is not what you are thinking about but I made sure my sons' first cars had airbags, ABS and crumple zones. Safety before nostalgia. Sounds like you two need to do a project car together but for a daily drive the safety features add up. #1 wrote off his first car parking it under a ute at 60kph. A few bumps and bruises and nothing permanent. All the bags went off and pretensioners did their thing. The car was a mess. I would hate to think what would have occurred without those.

I think the other way if your Son knows all those additional safety features are there he may drive it accordingly!

Or if he's helped build it, he may be more likely to look after it (and consequently himself)

Doesn't take into account all the other muppets out there in Modern cars driving around with 0 skills though...

Not sure if I'd put a loved one into one of the old cars as they weren't good in an accident back then and most are likely to have unseen structural weaknesses so even less likely to give a survivable outcome in a mid to low speed crash..

If I had to choose something I'd go a bit later model at least they have some Mass to them.

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Originally Posted by JT

not sure what our budget is but have a look at this

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Originally Posted by JT

http://australianmusclecarsales.com....ht-premier-186

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srsly 19K, fmd, I've got one in the paddock with a truck tarp over it, might have to built a barn to put it under and away from prying eyes

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Originally Posted by mjrandom

I know this is not what you are thinking about but I made sure my sons' first cars had airbags, ABS and crumple zones. Safety before nostalgia. Sounds like you two need to do a project car together but for a daily drive the safety features add up. #1 wrote off his first car parking it under a ute at 60kph. A few bumps and bruises and nothing permanent. All the bags went off and pretensioners did their thing. The car was a mess. I would hate to think what would have occurred without those.

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Originally Posted by IJ.

Doesn't take into account all the other muppets out there in Modern cars driving around with 0 skills though...

Not sure if I'd put a loved one into one of the old cars as they weren't good in an accident back then and most are likely to have unseen structural weaknesses so even less likely to give a survivable outcome in a mid to low speed crash..

If I had to choose something I'd go a bit later model at least they have some Mass to them.

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As above , but I do believe in street cred, I remember this chick at high school who's oldman bought her a HR Ute, she was cool by default
Buy him a Cross 6/8 as the 8 are P plate legal, and he'll have the best of both worlds, safety and a ute for coolness plus 4 doors for mates

I can't see $19,990 value in an old 6 cyl Holden either.
If I wanted to spend $19,990 on a classic car I would be looking at many other far better, more exciting cars than one of those old things.

That would be about as exciting as owning a Morris Minor.:spew:

Let him learn to beat up an old shitheap before a nice old car. 4cyl mid 2000s Camry, full of airbags, cheap to run and aircon.

Save the coin and buy an old classic as a side car, will be far more appreciated

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Originally Posted by zorro

Let him learn to beat up an old shitheap before a nice old car. 4cyl mid 2000s Camry, full of airbags, cheap to run and aircon.

Save the coin and buy an old classic as a side car, will be far more appreciated

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Totally agree. I still use 2000s Camry's as my daily's. Cheap to run, easy to service, uses bugger all fuel, safe and everything usually just works. Get a good model one $3k.

Is that ad a joke? They write 'still smells new'

Lol....

As above, for a daily get an ecobox with some airbags/ABS etc and get another car to restore.

2 main problems with only owning a classic...

1. You cant take it off the road for extended periods to do repairs as he will need it everyday, this means rebuilding an engine for example is difficult.
2. Classic cars are fantastic on a summers afternoon... at 6am on a Monday morning in heavy rain there not so much fun.

Also, be aware of just how expensive and how much work is involved in rebuilding one of the classics. On the plus side, you'll get your money back (Compared to syncing big dollars into a VT-VZ).

Cheers