Need an advice

[Maligaspe]

Hi mates,

My nephew is engaging with a  motor mechanic course and he wants do some practical things such as Tinkering and metal shaping + Mechanic + Auto electrical + dissemble and assemble at his home. so what i'm asking is, what are the affordable old cars which may suitable him for start this, as an educational way (He is willing to buy a rusty old car)? if i elaborate more, such as parts availability or complexity wise!   really appreciate all the ideas of you guys! 

Good health fro all!

Thanks!

[Twin Turbo]

Hi,

you may check news papers which need work or non - running vehicles sold at low cost.

Alternately, insurance right offs could serve you nicely too.

Cheers.

TT.

[tilvin]

3 hours ago, Maligaspe said:

(He is willing to buy a rusty old car)? if i elaborate more, such as parts availability or complexity wise!   really appreciate all the ideas of you guys! 

Indian Maruti and Tata cars easily get rust. He can try on those. May be some old Maruti Omni vans if he can get for lower price he can try on that too....?.

[AVANTE]

Daihatsu charades are dirt cheap and simple cars. There a few rusty examples for sale. Go for a G100/G101, those have more parts availability than a G10. Morris minors are worth a try too I think. The A-series engines are said to be very mechanic friendly and there's even a shop in Galle that makes brand new parts and panels for the minor. @kusumsiri thoughts on this? 

Post 1969 VW Beetles in need of restoration are sweet too! 

Edited May 2, 2020 by AVANTE

[matroska]

7 hours ago, Maligaspe said:

Hi mates,

My nephew is engaging with a  motor mechanic course and he wants do some practical things such as Tinkering and metal shaping + Mechanic + Auto electrical + dissemble and assemble at his home. so what i'm asking is, what are the affordable old cars which may suitable him for start this, as an educational way (He is willing to buy a rusty old car)? if i elaborate more, such as parts availability or complexity wise!   really appreciate all the ideas of you guys! 

Good health fro all!

Thanks!

What's the budget? There are various cars with varying degrees of decay that can be bought for different price brackets. It might be better to go with a mainstream car so sourcing parts can be easier. KEXX series Corollas, B210's or Lancers to name a few. These cars have very simple mechanics and it will be easy for him to work with it and understand the car. 

[kusumsiri]

3 hours ago, AVANTE said:

Daihatsu charades are dirt cheap and simple cars. There a few rusty examples for sale. Go for a G100/G101, those have more parts availability than a G10. Morris minors are worth a try too I think. The A-series engines are said to be very mechanic friendly and there's even a shop in Galle that makes brand new parts and panels for the minor. @kusumsiri thoughts on this? 

Post 1969 VW Beetles in need of restoration are sweet too! 

1. As he want to learn about Tinkering , Metal shaping, Mechanical & Auto electrical , need to have vast set of tools and some machines. That's a point he need to think first. Painting is missed in that list. Not sure whether he don`t like that area.
2. If the process takes more than a year, ECO test & revenue licenses are next concern. If so a early 70`s car is suitable which dont need to have ECO test to obtain revenue license. The license can renew while car is in the garage/home.
3. If he want to learn about/(knows about) imperial units and the vintage technologies Morris Minor or some other old car is suits for him. He may understand that the millimeter range nut & bolts are not the only world in motor mechanics.
4. Regarding Morris Minor & A-series engines : still plenty of old parts are available. Also there are 4-5 dealers in Panchikawatta for new parts. Once I called the said shop in Galle, they said that they make parts only for export market. But I could  easily find all parts from other places.
   • "A-series engines are said to be very mechanic friendly" : Yes. I could rebuild Minor gear box successfully. That was my first experience of repairing a gearbox. But it was not that much complex as I thought.
5. Finally, I wish him to be a knowledgeable and skilled technician & not to be a grease monkey under a mango tree.

[AVANTE]

2 minutes ago, kusumsiri said:

1. Regarding Morris Minor & A-series engines : still plenty of old parts are available. Also there are 4-5 dealers in Panchikawatta for new parts. Once I called the said shop in Galle, they said that they make parts only for export market. But I could  easily find all parts from other places.
2. "A-series engines are said to be very mechanic friendly" : Yes. I could rebuild Minor gear box successfully. That was my first experience of repairing a gearbox. But it was not that much complex as I thought. 

Gearbox rebuild? That's an awesome experience! I heard the Galle place does full restorations for local customers, is this true? 

[kusumsiri]

2 minutes ago, AVANTE said:

Gearbox rebuild? That's an awesome experience! I heard the Galle place does full restorations for local customers, is this true? 

• Here is my blog entry about gearbox rebuilding.
  • http://autolanka.com/forums/blogs/entry/81-project-moggie-mechanical-work/?tab=comments#comment-189
• I called the Galle place 2 years ago and after that answer I did not bother further. But may be they provide service to local customers now.

 

[varotone]

Since he is following a course, I believe a newer car would be more suitable. Condemned cars like @Twin Turbo suggested.

True that you can buy more mechanic friendly older cars much cheaper. But he won't have much electronics to practice. Since he is looking for a career in motor mechanics, some newer car with today's technology would serve him well. Learning motor mechanics today with a century old car would be a waste IMO.

Unless he is looking to cater for a niche market like classic cars, he'll be better off with practicing on a fairly new vehicle.

I wish him all the best and hope he becomes a knowledgeable and skillful technician!

 

[Maligaspe]

Dear Mates,

your ideas are so valuable and relay helped to consider some of areas, where never came to mind before! so that's great! and yes... since he is a student and not earning a penny yet, his budget would be bellow 500K. (To buy an old wreck and spend on spare parts on-demand basis through out around 15-24 Months). Please consider that my knowledge also very poor on this field. And I just convey all those valuable ideas to him. so again I really appreciate for your great ideas and time on this regards.

@kusumsiriWell said and thank you very much for the honest wishes of yours.

12 hours ago, kusumsiri said:

Finally, I wish him to be a knowledgeable and skilled technician & not to be a grease monkey under a mango tree.

 Good health for all

Thanks

 

[Devinda_Z]

On 5/3/2020 at 1:07 AM, varotone said:

Since he is following a course, I believe a newer car would be more suitable. Condemned cars like @Twin Turbo suggested.

True that you can buy more mechanic friendly older cars much cheaper. But he won't have much electronics to practice. Since he is looking for a career in motor mechanics, some newer car with today's technology would serve him well. Learning motor mechanics today with a century old car would be a waste IMO.

Unless he is looking to cater for a niche market like classic cars, he'll be better off with practicing on a fairly new vehicle.

I wish him all the best and hope he becomes a knowledgeable and skillful technician!

 

The Morris Minor sounds like a good platform for an exercise such as this - lots of local support and a simple vehicle to grasp the fundamentals 

That said @varotone makes a very good point. @Maligaspe if your nephew is looking to make this his career then perhaps the electronic or mechatronic side of things is where he will need to focus on when you consider what cars are like now so at the very least something with electronic fuel injection, automatic transmission, ABS and a multitude of sensors which are common place on modern cars.

 

Left field suggestion, why not speak to c******o or SLIC - they often advertise vehicles that are insurance write offs - since the primary purpose if for your nephew to learn and since cost is also a concern perhaps something new-ish which he can work towards restoring or at least just getting the mechanicals right?

If the car itself remains undrivable due to structural integrity compromises maybe he can just sell off the repaired/restored components piece meal basis at a later point if he doesn't need it?

[Maligaspe]

@Devinda_ZThank you very much for your ideas and advice about "write offs". and thank you @varotone for your wishes! 

Good health for all!

Thanks