Which One Are You Bringing To The Show? VW Scirocco vs Toyota Previa vs Geo Storm vs Porsche 944

This will come as a great relief to some of you, I’m sure: We’ve made it to the end of cheap project car week. There’s just one more thing to do, and that’s pick a final winner. But in order to do that, I need to give you a scenario to help you choose, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Yesterday’s vote ended up being really close. I’m surprised that more of you weren’t scared off by the photos of the Porsche’s interior in complete disarray, but apparently the Peugeot’s unknown fuel system woes were a bigger worry. Either that, or more of you really wanted to be able to say “I drive a Porsche,” and are willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

The Porsche doesn’t scare me, but I have long had a fascination with French cars. That Peugeot calls to me more strongly. And if it turns out to be a more serious fuel issue? Well, that’s what the aftermarket is for. We’ll get a steady supply of fresh unleaded to the engine somehow; it doesn’t have to be the way Peugeot did it.

So, now we have our foursome for the week. It’s time to tell you what you’re doing with them. In just about a month, Jason is hosting an Autopian meetup at a community center for old folks in North Carolina, and he expects to see some interesting cars show up. I think all four of our winners qualify to some degree. I would absolutely love to go, and I’d be willing to drive down for it, but I’m ass-deep in home renovations and I don’t think I can get away. So I’m asking all of you to choose a car to take there as my proxy. You’ve got a month to pick one of these, fix it up as needed, and drive (not ship or tow) it to Chapel Hill for the meetup. Let’s review your choices so you can make an informed decision.

1984 Volkswagen Scirocco

Difficulty: Hard

As you may recall, this old Scirocco has been sidelined for two years due to a bad fuel pump. Is that all that’s wrong with it? Probably not; two years is long enough to consider the hoses and belts suspect, so plan on changing those out before a road trip, too. And I’d be willing to bet you’ll find an oil leak or five that need fixing once you get it running. The flat tires also aren’t encouraging, but 13 (or maybe 14) inch tires are pretty cheap still.

But once it’s up and running, it’s a fun little car to drive, and sure to be a hit with a typical Autopian crowd. It should get good gas mileage, too; my old Golf with a similar engine did mid-upper 30s for MPG on the highway. There is a chance this car doesn’t have air conditioning, and an even better chance that it doesn’t work if it does have it, but the windows roll down fine.

1996 Toyota Previa SC All-Trac

Difficulty: Easy

This Toyota Previa van actually runs and drives just fine, so you won’t have to do anything besides typical used-car due diligence before hitting the road. It’s also almost certainly the most comfortable of the bunch. You might want to secure that taped-in window a little better, but apart from that, I can’t see any reason you couldn’t drive this to Chapel Hill from anywhere in the country.

But you’ll probably want to clean it out first. There’s a lot of detritus in here, and I can’t help feeling that it smells like feet, or weed, or maybe both. Can you air it out in a month? Probably. Oh, and wash the poor thing, too, while you’re at it. I don’t think anyone has done so in years.

1990 Geo Storm

Difficulty: Medium

This cute little red number also drives fine, but it barely has any miles on it, and there’s no telling the last time it was above 50 MPH. A good long road trip would probably do it some good, but there is always the possibility that something that holds up fine in town will let go after a couple hours of sustained 70 MPH. A few shorter shakedown runs are probably in order before the big drive.

Assuming it’s all good mechanically, you’ll probably want to do something about the lukewarm air conditioning and the dying radio. I think this is one of those cases where you just try recharging the A/C and see what happens. It’s old enough to be R12, unless someone has converted it, but that stuff is still out there if you ask around. As for the stereo, hit up eBay for an installation kit, and drop in the single-DIN stereo of your choice. Easy-peasy.

1984 Porsche 944

Difficulty: Fiendish

If you’re up for a challenge, this Porsche 944 model kit might be right up your alley. The seller claims it was running well just a short while ago, but it’s now suffering from a weird and annoying electrical issue. Also, the entire interior is torn apart. Oh, and it’s a Porsche, so if you can’t do the work yourself, it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg. Even if you can do the work yourself, the parts are going to be more expensive than most other cars, just because of that little shield emblem on the car.

Get it all sorted out, though, and you’ll have more fun than almost anybody on the way to North Carolina. 944s are excellent handling cars, and more comfortable than you’d think. Sure, you’ll look like the bad boy from a John Hughes movie, but maybe that’s OK too. But to get to that point, you’ve got your work cut out for you. I would expect that anyone who planned to have this car at Chapel Hill next month has some late nights full of swearing ahead of them.

I’ve always enjoyed David’s annual “I have a month to get this rusty heap to Moab” adventures, and I think it would be fun to do something similar, only with less rust and not to Utah. The opportunity may never present itself, but it’s a fun thought exercise. So, if you were planning to go see Jason at the car show next month, which one of these four would you try to get ready for a road trip there? Are you taking the easy way out with the van, going for broke with the Porsche, or somewhere in between?