Which repro unibody would you choose?

For bodies... Muria or Stratos

For frames... that is what DOM tubing is for. We only need the icing for the cake 'round here :)

Keith Tanner wrote: 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.

I'm not speaking of now, but say 20-25 years from now.

It's exactly that - guys who wanted the Iconic Car back in the day, and now they have all sorts of disposable funds. The AE86 has the assistance of Initial D/Gran Turismo/etc. albeit a decade later than new. And there'd have to be other supporting markets as well - drivetrain, suspension, and such.

The AE86 has been called a modern day Escort, though, and there's enough demand for MkII Escorts that people have bought show cars to cut up to make rally cars, since cheap examples are thin on the ground. So: Maybe. If it happens, it won't be now, but in a while.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: For bodies... Muria or Stratos

Stratos has been done (is still being done?). I forgot the name of the company, but IIRC the reproduction is so exact that the cars are considered to be continuations, not replicas.

edit because Google is my friend: http://www.hawkcars.co.uk/hf3000/index.html

And Google also got me this: http://www.listerbell.com/

And there are more, too...

In reply to Knurled:

Hawk

http://www.hawkcars.co.uk/hf3000/index.html

And wow are they cheap. And I know where many of those donor parts could be acquired. I'd use a Honda 3.5l drivetrain myself, just to be a weenie.

Hmm. 15k pounds (of COURSE it has to have all of the Group 4 flares/spoilers) plus shipping times currency conversion plus locally sourced parts = still nope. But a HECK of a lot cheaper than buying an actual Stratos.

That's before getting into the issue of me being at least a foot too tall to drive a Stratos.

Knurled wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: 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.

I'm not speaking of now, but say 20-25 years from now.

I understand that - but as a guy who was of the correct age when the CRX and GTS were new: they weren't aspirational. The hot cheerleader drove a CRX, not the captain of the football team. Original GTis are more likely to be in demand in that level, but more likely we'll be seeing cars like the gorgeous 635CSi pulling big money. I agree, some of the Subarus will likely do it as well, but not ones sold in the US.

In 25 years? Let's look globally. China and other developing countries are going to continue to develop, so people who may not have been able to afford a car today are going to possibly be able to buy one then.

What is the popular model car in China right now? A Buick?

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Interesting, I'm almost exactly 10 years younger that you, and I think you might be right. In my age range we all wanted NSX's, Supra TT's, 300ZX TT's, FD RX-7's, turbo AWD DSM's, Integra Type-R's, maybe a Cobra Mustang or a ZR1 or a 911 Turbo. But all that hot j-tin hit right when we were in middle school and high school, the previous iterations of most of those cars were a lot less impressive.

Of course, everyone at my high school actually drove j-bodies and pickup trucks (poor, rural school district, the "rich kids" drove newer used j-bodies), but we still wanted those cars. I don't remember anyone lusting after Miatas or CRX's and my Mk1 MR2 was not considered a cool or interesting car by more than a couple of my classmates.

ShadowSix, I'm in the same age range as you, and I was thoroughly unimpressed with all of that import junk. What I wanted was a '69 Firebird...

mad_machine wrote: 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.

I wonder if the new wealthy Chinese will develop an appreciation of classic cars. It is interesting that when the Japanese market boomed in the 80's they started gobbling up all the vintage cars they could, but this has not happened in China.

My boss is working with a group of chinese investors trying to set up a high end car business here in town. They want to do vinyl wraps, wheels and suspension kits for Ferrari/Maserati/Aston/Maybach..whatevers. When it was suggested that they check out our showroom to see some of the vintage Ferrrari's et al on the floor they responded with "Why would anyone want to look at used cars?"

To these guys a 62 Ferrari 250 is just another used car. My boss who worked in China for a few years says that everyone he has met over there shares that sentiment.

What about 2nd Gen Camaro/Firebirds?

I was going to suggest Fiat 124 but somebody already answered that.

2nd Gen Dodge Charger?

In reply to Knurled:

LOL @ "import junk," maybe you have an "old soul." Note that the Mustang Cobra and ZR1 were on my list.

Anyway, I don't mean to say we weren't interested in classics, I had a friend that was obsessed with BBC Corvettes, and I think old Lincolns, Buicks and Oldsmobiles are great looking cars, but following Keith's line of reasoning, I was thinking about the new cars in the '90's that I think were "aspirational."

Edit: of course today I would kill for a '69 Firebird 'vert! I think it would make a great cruiser, but that was not something I thought/cared about in HS!

2002 configured to fit a WRX AWD drivetrain

All-weather sleeper.

ditchdigger wrote: To these guys a 62 Ferrari 250 is just another used car. My boss who worked in China for a few years says that everyone he has met over there shares that sentiment.

I ran into that when I dated and almost married a girl from Mainland China. I had a beautiful 76 Fiat spider in red with the black interior. She hated it because it was "old"

She also only liked gold coloured cars because they looked Rich

I can see Fox bodies being repopped. I couldn't find straight front ends when they were new and can imagine its worse now. Even the 4 cylinders in my area had all understeered into something solid at some point.

Dynacorn is only a few parts away from being able to re-pop Mopar E-Bodies. With the kind of money rusted out 2nd gen Chargers are selling for these days, I can't imagine those are far behind on the development schedule.

But I tend agree it's the guys with money 20-25 years from now that we have to predict... and that's going to be tough. I don't think it's out of the question that cars like the AE86 may increase in demand in coming years. But another thing to consider is the overall longevity of today's cars compared to cars of the 60's, 70's and 80's. The main reason they are getting re-popped is because cars tended to rust a lot faster back then.

Knurled wrote: http://www.frpautomotive.com/frp_240z_shells_clubs.html

~$4K for a rust free z-car. Not bad.

aussiesmg wrote:

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

+1

Yep, 68-70 Charger and gen 2 F-bodys.

On the 'out there' side of the coin, 55-57 Chevy Pickups, 65-69 Corvair, and 60-64 Impala's

I totally forgot about original 240 Z cars, too...

Rabbit?

In order for the concept to work, you need to have a critical mass of rusty cars that are being restored.

The 240Z is the only car that I see that fits the bill. The shell would also appeal to the resto-mod crowd.

Knurled wrote: http://www.frpautomotive.com/frp_240z_shells_clubs.html They make Mk1 Escorts too.

Before I read your post, I was thinking "240Z. I wonder if anyone makes those?"

How about Datsun 510s? Also FWIW, back when I had my Dastun 620 pick up, I found that reproduction cabs and beds were being made for them, and being sold in non US markets.

I know that I'm one of only a dozen or so people that would pay real money for it, but I'd love a SAAB 99 ems body with modifications to use a 16v turbo 900 as a drop in donor. Only a few small changes to the 99 shell would be needed.

E-Type Jaguar and my earlier-mentioned 356.