mada_3083

next year i will be a working member of society after 4 years at uni, and as such will have a little spair $ floating around, and i was planning on building a nice little street car, a classic falcon. and it'd be built up slowly, as it wouldn't need to be driven at all till it's done. so i wanna do it right the first time

my dilema's run as such

family/ friends tell me to build an XY, which is fine with me

but i love the shape of the xa-xc coupes.

then the problem of powering it comes to mind

which is cheaper to get some streetable power out of, a 302 or 351, preferably manual tranny. Some/ most of the work will be done by me, i've got no proffessional mechanical skills, but i've kept my two old landcruisers (one diesel one petrol for variety) running on a very low budget, and i am fairly quick to learn this stuff.

any help/ suggestions would be good, and the goal is to be able to keep up with some quick newer cars (5l commo's vl turbo's etc).

and all said and done, any suggestion will be listened to (i've toyed with the idea of a turbo 6 XD for years as well)

XWish Ute

As far as choice of cars goes - buy the one YOU really want, that way you are building it for yourself and not anyone else. Go the 351 - similar costs to work it as a 302, extra torque and power is a bonus. Plus of course it is exactly the same outside dimensions.

Good luck getting a coupe though - one with a good body will cost a bit, and there are a lot of dogs out there. Whichever way you go, you will probably be up for some bodywork, so check your local TAFE for courses. Pick up some really cool skills that way.

All in all a great way to learn - and lose skin off the knuckles!

mada_3083

thanks for the suggestion... my prob includes the fact i can't decide. a decent coupe bodyis going to cost more $$ for sure, which is why i lean towards the xy... but then i see another coupe and it goes out the window, till i see the next nice XY

spoilt for choice

Klawsterfobik

Being an XY owner, id go for the XA/B coupe. Simply because if your going to be sticking to a budget, parts for the XA/B i think would be cheaper. Anything for an XW/XY is pretty expensive, good quality gaurds which still need work are fetching $100+ for 1, then you've got window glass, chrome etc. Having said that the coupe parts i would think will cost a bit, due to the GT's. Either way you go is going to cost you money.

I love the shape of XY's, especially the wagons, but the XA/XB's are a nice car, which can look very tough indeed with the nessecery work.

I agree with XWish Ute, i did a tafe course in both motor mechanics and panel and paint.
1. i really enjoyed the courses and made some great friends out of it, who've i helped out working on their cars (V8 VN Calais, VL Calias, VR Clubsport mock, VK), yer their holdens, but when it comes to my car they're right there to help me.
2. you learn masses of skills, and techniques to do your own panel beating the RIGHT way.

If you see a good coupe, grab it, but the same goes for XY's, good XY's are coming harder and harder to find.... but whats wrong with an XB sedan?

Dale

__________________
- Dale

prabbit

The guys are right, an XW/XY in good nick will cost quite a bit to begin with,
in addition there are plenty of phase 3 copies out there already, the XA/XB
coupe will be easier to find bits for and cheaper, plus the coupe is a better
body style to work with.

Personally I like the 289, but out of the 302/351 I would tend to go for a bit
of both worlds, a 302 with a good blower behind a 5 speed trans will get fair
economy and bags of stoke when you want it.

Remember over the next couple of years fuel is not going to get cheaper,
I'd toss in some lpg as well, in a couple of years you don't want to be pouring
$100 into the tank every time you want to cruise.

Regards Prof. Rabbit