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?
Mark, I’m with you on the Peugeot v Porsche match, and it was actually a pretty close tally, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Since the Pug isn’t in the finals, I went with the Geo because working on an engine under a seat does not sound like fun and the tail section of the Previa seems a little too Burning Man Orgy Dome to me.
Scirocco!
Van, decked out with a sleeping bag, cooler and porta-potty. That way you’re all set when it breaks down in the middle of nowhere where the stores close at 6pm and you have to wait all night to get parts.
I would go the crazy route and turn the Scirocco into a TDI or TD Scirocco. It is actually easier than you may think.
Previa. It’s the easiest route to some sweet tea and pudding cups.
I pussed the easy button.
The Porsche is by far the coolest. It’ll be fun like an episode of Garage Squad! Who’s with me? What… nobody? Fine, van I guess.
I would definitely put the Scirocco right,including putting it to euro spec,and put some HTN Rennsports or something on it. Doesn’t seem like it would take too much to get it running either.
No way am I settling for the van. My choices would be Scirocco, Storm, Porsche, Van in that order. I don’t think I could get the Porsche going in 1 month, but it would be cool. The Scirocco and Storm would both be a fun way to get around I think.
Privia but keeping oil, trans fluid, filters , coolant, and head gasket in a can, plus clutch in a bottle in the vehicle. If the storm was cheaper and miles then maybe it. But not that one.
I’m a VW fan, and I appreciate minivans, but I never thought I would utter the following sentence: “I’ll take the Geo Storm over the 944!”
The Geo has the best ratio of work-required:fun-when-working, mostly because the numerator is so low. I’m going to be an outlier here, though, and take the VW. I have a soft spot (not in the top of my head, smartass) for them, and getting that one up and going is at least possible for me, which is not the case for the 944. The van is, well, a van. Bonus: I can sit on the front bumper and eat tacos while the old folks stroll by.
Yeah, restoring a car is about motivation. I think I’d be more enthusiastic about working on the Scirocco, even if it might require more work overall.
The correct decision is the Previa, but I’m voting for the Scirocco. I like them in general, and it’d be a challenge to get it roadworthy in a month. Taking it on a roadtrip immediately is probably a bad idea, but that’s the daydream.
Isuzu and a new set of seats.
Supercharged, mid-engine, all-wheel drive. Need I say more?
Would not have predicted I’d vote Geo, but here we are. I feel kinda dirty. But cleaner than if I was touching some of those other rolling bio-hazards.
I’m going with the Easy Toyota.
I pretty much bought the same Porsche about 10 years ago for $1500. It was a 1983 944 in black with a blackish spray painted fender and moldy weather seals. I was having my midlife crisis and thought it would be fun to fix it up. I paid first and asked questions later and when I took it to a friend who works on German cars he promptly identified the engine block was cracked and that amazing high I felt while driving it was from exhaust leaking into the cabin. I promptly abandoned my mid life crisis and resold the car for $1500 to a much younger guy who hopefully fixed it and got some enjoyment out of it.
Since I’m headed to the Smoky Mountains after the show, I’m not going to be the one slowing everyone else down in those twisty mountain roads. Plus driving 1300 miles at highway speeds in a van with a taped on window will create sounds that the stereo is unlikely able to drown out and that would likely make me more insane than I already am, possibly enough to buy that Porsche.
The other three would be more than adequate for some spirited use of steering wheel, gas pedal, and brakes. The 944 would obviously be the best choice for that, but even with my EE degree that rats nest of wires scares me. I have no interest in a second gen Impulse, just the first. I like Sciroccos almost as much as the 944s, so Vdub it is.
The Van for the cheap lodging, or the Porche because I will end up with a better car.