When the answer needs to be pre-1976...

gamby wrote: With a good budget, sounds like a resto-mod is in order. Old chassis to skip smog w/ newschool engine and suspension tech to keep it headache free. I wouldn't have much desire to deal with an old car on a daily basis. That said--Porsche 911/924?

You'll be able to find a pre-1976 911, but a pre-1976 924 might be fairly hard to find (1976 being the first year and all that...).

I don't see why an old car should be less reliable than a newer car per se (people did drive them to work back then, too) but it'll need more looking after for sure.

I'm thinking Mopar A-bodies too. Cheap, surprisingly balanced handling for a large American car, and the slant six or 318 is nearly indestructible.

Mercedes r107, the only issue is 1971-1975 were d-jet EFI cars that has expensive compontents, but you could always MS it. One guy online did MS on his 450sl and I guess it came out really well.

Once MSed you just need to sort the suspension to make it handle. These guys put a chevy engine in and bigger wheels and sway bars, but it came out pretty good. Here is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4CgrNcbi1M&feature=related

73-77 GM colonnade styled cars.

what about an early nova?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2047996355.html http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2055439447.html

dope wagon

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2052652380.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/2048245728.html
Daily Driven and $2k

stroker wrote: Fox body Mustang? A-Body Mopar?

fox body started in 79.

Mustang 2 ran from 74 to 78 and had a 302 in 76. I would get a 74-76 pinto and put a 302 in it. Use the parts from a mustang 2 to put it in and have fun. I know that I do.

I saw the Fiat 850 spider, how bout a 124 spider? I mean the Alfa was tossed in there and a Fiat is alot cheaper to own/maintain (same rust problem)

Rabbit/Scirocco?

Small bumper Pinto.

Small pickup truck.

pres589 wrote: Capri

Another vote for MkI Capri. Drove my '72 when I lived in California for the same reason.

A 2.0 is very reliable and easy to get parts for. A 2.6 is more fun, also reliable but much more difficult to get parts for if you need them.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: A 2.0 is very reliable and easy to get parts for. A 2.6 is more fun, also reliable but much more difficult to get parts for if you need them.

Swap to a car 2.8 instead and start piecing together the bits that make a five speed manual swap as painless as possible when the time is right.

I should probably part out my disolving '73 so someone more deserving can have such tasty bits as the barely used Team Blitz steering rack or the Crane 432111 cam...

For $2000, a daily-driver Spitfire isn't too hard to find. "Reliable" is a relative term, but even when stock, there isn't much that is more fun. Things just seem faster when you're 4" off the ground, surrounded by SUV's and fearing for your life... You pretty much drive one like you're riding a motorcycle (with only marginally more protection)... assume you're not seen.

I'd say Volvo as well, but for $2000, finding a reasonably rust free one may be tough.

The interesting thing about California is that a lot of older rust-free intersting stuff get bought and shipped elsewhere. I met a German guy a few years back that made a pretty decent living buying up older German, English and some American cars and shipping them to Europe.

Of all the cars mentioned about the one thing we still seem to have in pretty good supply is 914's. There are a lot of first gen Mustangs around (not at challenge prices), but almost no Mustang II's.

I third the Fiat 124. Make sure it is rust free, clean the grounds, and change the timing belt every 20 to 25,000 miles and it will be very reliable.

I DD/commuted 4 years of college in a ratty 76 that only ever gave me one ounce of trouble.. the timing belt jumped a tooth or two when starting in subzero weather. A did bent a valve slightly, but the car still got me the 120miles home.. it just refused to start the next day

ReverendDexter wrote: What's the answer when you live in California and are sick of dealing with smog checks? Bonus mode: Findable for challenge money. Hard mode: Driveable when found for challenge money. God mode: Don't require any major component swaps to be fun/reliable. Immediate thoughts were Zs and 510s, but both of those are either in budget but beyond repair, or pristine and at zomg-lol prices. Corollas and Celicas come to mind, but Corollas are increasingly hard to find, and Celicas really need a motorswap to be engaging. Maybe a 2002? MG GT? RX4? Corvair? 914? Falcon?

The 1st gen Celicas don't ALWAYS need a motorswap to be fun, depending on what trim you find. Any that will be "engaging" from a power perspective won't be found for challenge prices in good shape, though.

The 18rg motors are fun, and a 20/22r motor will motorvate a 1g Celica nicely anyways.

What about a Datsun 2000?

I find it hard to believe that dealing with smog issues on a car could be more of a hassle than dealing with keeping ANY pre 1976 car running as a daily driver! I know that CA is tougher than the rest of the states, but I think that we tend to romanticize how good the "good ole cars" were. I remember "daily driving" a 1973 MGB GT back in 1978, and I put Daily Driving in quotes because getting it to run on a daily basis was a supreme challenge! I had a '68 Camaro at the time as a back up car (it wasn't yet an icon!) and it wasn't uncommon to have neither car start on a semi-cold morning! In 1976 a 5 year old car was a very old car! Now a 5 year old car is just starting to be broken in and they are reliable past 200K miles. In 1976 a 100k car was really impressive and it took work to get there!

Get an old Miata and put up with dealing with emissions once a year, and drive it the rest of the year!

In reply to Sofa King:

Cold enough in Cali to not have either car start? This seems suspect. I was running a '73 Capri with a real lumpy cam and no chokes in the carb through Kansas winters until 2001 so I'm not sure what you were doing there.

You could always man up: http://www.365daysofa.com/

In reply to pres589:

I didn't say that it wasn't possible, I said that I didn't think that it would be less hassle!

I am guessing that your "73 Capri took more loving care than say, a 95 Miata! For what it's worth, my MGB GT didn't need weather as an excuse not to start. It was a daily adventure, sort of like a slot machine, every morning. The Camaro wasn't as bad, but starting it was more art than science.

In reply to Sofa King:

Maybe something to do with Germans building the components, especially electrical? Bosch > Delco >>>>> Lucas could be a new equation to explain this theory.

The opel GT is also in that time frame.. as are the very early Fiat X 1/9s, Original Minis, and the Saab 99

Opus wrote:

stroker wrote: Fox body Mustang? A-Body Mopar?

fox body started in 79. Mustang 2 ran from 74 to 78 and had a 302 in 76. I would get a 74-76 pinto and put a 302 in it. Use the parts from a mustang 2 to put it in and have fun. I know that I do.

D'OH!!

BMW 2002 all the way. The 2002 has a history of being turbo'd so it's better for resale if you go that way

or x 1/9 if you're gonna swap it