Let's leave the Camaro and Mustang aside for a moment. Let's also assume you're spending "your" money to invest in a production run of repro frames/unibodies. Which car would you choose based on popularity, commonality of donors and parts, etc?
We were talking the other day and it seemed to me like the 914 would be a good candidate but there aren't many donors left. The 911 would seem to be too expensive. How about C2 Corvettes? 2002? E9's?
http://www.frpautomotive.com/frp_240z_shells_clubs.html
They make Mk1 Escorts too.
Knurled wrote: http://www.frpautomotive.com/frp_240z_shells_clubs.html They make Mk1 Escorts too.
oh I did not need to know that, damn you
http://www.frpautomotive.com/frp_Escortmk1_page.html
Repro Corvette frames are already available. Even has a stainless option.
The 911 would probably be a good candidate. Especially the early years (67-73) because those rust pretty well and they are valuable, so worth an investment. And they are popular in vintage racing, so likely to get crashed.
If it has to be cheap, it has to have be VERY popular. They did a run of repro MGB and MINI bodies already, so that's out. The BMW 2002 could be interesting of it's the early round taillight bodies.
Maybe Volvo P1800? They are popular, the mechanicals are super sturdy, so the body is usually the problem. And they rust like the best british classics.
Also, the Alfa Spider? A bit like the MGB, but they seem to be more pampered for some reason, so not as rusty.
beetle?
I think the thing with repro bodies is that there has to be an existing and thriving interest in the cars.
Repro Mustang and Camaro bodies work because you already could practically build a car from all-new parts. There also exist no small number of companies who make different suspension setups for your existing shell. So, there's really no donor required except for purposes of trying to register the car, which will vary depending on location.
And even if you do have a donor, a reshell makes sense because you can easily spend $25k on bodywork alone in making 50 (!) year old metal straight and clean again. Assuming that the metal is even all there.
An FRP unibody? 
... Uh, lesse... this turned out to be such an awesome idea when Lotus pioneered the concept in the '60s... Yikes. Why not a paper mache unibody?
Steel. Yes. Would buy. FRP, not something I'd buy. Ever.
does it have to be an exact reproduction?
because if not, i'd take a stock looking carbon fiber 74 Monte Carlo body on a newer NASCAR road course chassis...
I sure would like to build a 3.0CSL clone with modern running gear...
An aside, I say $25k as a figure because that is roughly how much the new ponycar shells are selling for.
So, with that as a guide, you have to ask, what other cars are out there that people would be willing to spend $25k on (or more! lower volume = higher pricing) in order to have a "new" shell?
911 looks to be the one. Not sure about the others.
Build me an AMX body that uses c5 corvette suspension and I will take out a second mortgage tomorrow to buy it.
Same goes for a Jag E-type, Talbot Lago, or 60's Aston Martin.
356 Porsche
Alfa Romeo Giulia/GTV/GTam shells . Finding a spider to donate running gear wouldn't be hard.
E-body Mopars....
Beetle is the most obvious choice to me, especially an early split or oval window. Even considering the huge number of beetles made, they're all pretty old now and rust with a vengeance.
I would love to see an early Nova (62-65) but the 66-67 has more of a following. In any case I don't think a 68-74 Nova is far off since it shares plenty of stampings with the early Camaros that Dynacorn is already making. Plus Novas are getting harder to find in good condition.
DeadSkunk wrote: Alfa Romeo Giulia/GTV/GTam shells . Finding a spider to donate running gear wouldn't be hard.
This. There are hardly any left that don't have major rust and poor bodywork, even the ones people are selling for $30k+
CRX
S13 or S14
AE86
E30
Fuel some new trends not just the same old ones
Miata.
Don't laugh, I bet it happens within 10 years.
Between rust, Spec Pinata, and crappy stance jobs, how many clean NAs do you think there will be in that time?
911 and CRX are the obvious two.
Lots of enthusiasts for both - the 911 by its long production run, the CRX by its huge production volume - and lots of rust problems.
Lancia Deltas that don't rust would be cool.
If you actually want to make money, 911 or 356. Or some other big money car, like a Charger/Challenger. The CRX and Miata aren't worth it. There might be a lot of enthusiasts for those cars, but there aren't any big dollar restorations. Nor are there likely to be for a while.
Keith Tanner wrote: The CRX and Miata aren't worth it. There might be a lot of enthusiasts for those cars, but there aren't any big dollar restorations. Nor are there likely to be for a while.
Or probably ever. They weren't iconic enough for people who wanted one when they were younger to go and spend a crap-ton of money to have one when they're older. (Rule of thumb: Would you spend $50-100k for a good example of the car?)
Maaaaybe the AE86 could get there. Maybe. Not likely but maybe.
GC body subaru impreza
that would make a lot of rally folks happy, but not the most free spending lot.
Lots of subie drivelines exist, but the bodies of the older stuff are getting quite rare.
Early Porsche 911 & use a wrecked SC or 3.2 Carrera as the donor car
the problem you are going to have with some italian cars is that Pininfarina will not sell their dies. Over the years people have tried to buy the dies for the Fiat 124 Spider, but Pininfarina would rather store them for eternity rather than selling them off.
The market is going to be in cars that the current guys with money (say in their 60's) wanted to have when they were in high school. The AE86 only appeals to drifters, to guys with real money it's just a cheap Toyota. Same with the CRX and the Impreza.
The exception is the availability of LBCs like Minis and MGBs, but that's because British Motoring Heritage got their hands on the original (worn) tooling.
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