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Best project cars7/3/2023 ![]() ![]() This basic design lived on for years as the 240 series: these seemingly indestructible vehicles are still a regular sight on the road today.ĪLSO READ: Everyday heroes: 20 classics you can commute in On the plus side, this generation of Volvo will go on for ever with basic maintenance and, once again, is easy to work on – so no big bills. Leave the early pre-1962 versions with the 6-volt electrics and drum brakes to collectors: you want the bigger 1800 engine, 90mph-plus top speed, disc brakes at the front and overdrive if possible, which means mid-’60s onwards.ĭon’t overlook the boxy Volvo 144 (pictured below) which, 50 years on, looks more appealing than it did when new with its six-light styling and thin bumpers.īoth models are solid and safe, of course, but a bit hefty to drive and not particularly light on fuel if you’re used to a 60mpg city car. Starting at £5-6000 for a running project, these big Volvos make a great first classic, with excellent survival rates and a fine record for reliability and rust resistance.įour-door Amazons offer top value as estates (pictured above), while two-doors are relatively rare. Pre-1980 versions with a four-speed box are probably worth avoiding, but either way these are easy cars to live with, so long as you can keep the rust at bay.ĪLSO READ: 20 undervalued classics from the 1970s Spend £20,000 and you’ll be buying the very best, possibly even a Turbo, the model that gave the 924 some real credibility. There are still plenty about and prices start at just £3000. It has nothing like the macho cachet of the 911, but is instead more of a little sister to the 928, with a rear-mounted gearbox for superbly balanced handling and a rather uninspiring, but effective, four-cylinder engine. Produced from 1975-’85, it was originally designed for Volkswagen as a replacement for the odd-looking 914, and has rather an anodyne shape itself, for Porsche at least – and one that incorporates both a hatchback and tiny rear seats. The original affordable Porsche (then and now), the 924 was the firm’s first front-engined, water-cooled sports car. They’re easy enough to own, but parts supply can be patchy for these sort of ‘everyday’ Fords, compared to an MG or a Triumph. There is huge nostalgia associated with the model in all its forms and the Cortina MkIII (pictured) and MkIV are still very drivable, particularly if you’re into a more ‘urban’ style of classic – with the irony factor of the vinyl roof. The big lumpy stuff – Zephyrs and Zodiacs and the like – are cheap in metal-for-the-money terms, but they’re also thirsty and unwieldy oddities in the hands of the novice. That said, if you stay away from anything with two doors and any kind of competition pedigree, there are some reasonable buys out there. As a result they’re now relatively rare, given how many were made – and correspondingly pricey. Nobody ever thought an Anglia, Capri or indeed a Cortina would ever have any value, so few were preserved or treated particularly kindly. The Fords of 40-odd years ago seem to have a momentum of their own in terms of pricing. ![]()
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