First Car - Advice Needed

[Ford_V8]

Well I'm nearly 16 and have saved up enough pennies so that I can afford a car while I'm on my Ls. I am looking at either getting a later model e-series (either EF/EL) or an earlier model shitheap (EA/EB) and possibly having a crack at an AU conversion and a general tidy up. The only catch is that I'm wanting to learn in a manual and hence buying my own car rather than driving the folks' cars. I am leaning towards an EA as I have looked for EF/ELs in manual and the only ones I have come across are on the **** side of the country. So my questions are, what sort of price range am I going to be looking at for a full AU conversion including BBM, thermos and all neccessary accessories? And...What sort of timeframe will I be looking at? I will be getting my Ls on the last day of term 1 so will have a full 14 days (morning to night) to work on it. My mechanical knowledge is fairly good, I've got a Cert II in engineering studies and Cert II in automotive something or other and am pretty good at piecing things together. So I'd like to hear any opinions/suggestions you may have, Thanks. Also, bugdet will most likely be <$5,000. Cheers

[975PIU]

deffinatly get an EA 5 speed, 1500 for a real good one. Budget another 2 k for an AU conversion with the works, try get an HP XR6 motor, then spend the rest on a nice cam (surecam) and extracters + exhaust and you will be laughing, and be the envi of all your mates with there V6 commodores.

[gthofan]

$5000 just for the car? or including the mods aswell

[holmsy]

i would suggest looking at new P's laws beacause by the sounds of it if you go ahead and mod away by the time you get your P's you wont be allowed to drive your car. but i may b wrong

[gthofan]

Originally Posted by holmsy

i would suggest looking at new P's laws beacause by the sounds of it if you go ahead and mod away by the time you get your P's you wont be allowed to drive your car. but i may b wrong

thats only v8 powerplants. im pretty sure that rule comes in in june or july. so a good six banger is still ok

[Ford_V8]

5K will be the budget for car and mods, Would like to keep it as low as possible though. I was thinking an EA S or something similar would be a good start.

So $2,000 ish should be enough for an AU motor with the lot? What would that be broken down into specific cost for parts? Also 975PIU, what are the improvements of the XR6 HP motor over the stock donk?

holmsy, the new laws do state that I can't drive a car that has been modified to increase the performance. I'm going to be doing alot of driving though so I figure I may as well drive something enjoyable, and when the time comes along for Ps I will have to get rid of it I guess :P. Also, what is the verdict on labour? How long is it gonna take?

[PHoeNiX]

is that just for the 1st year of P's that your not allowed a car that has mods to up the performance or is that for the entire time? coz im gonna be doin more to mine still. i rekon wait till ur 18. that way ull be able to spend all ur money on a better car and may be able to get an EF/L XR6 or Ghia or somethin for the same price ur lookin at now. i made that mistake and could be owning a ghia right now....but have a GLi....

or go with an EA and mod like crazy and garage it, get a shitbox for ur p's and keep doin up the EA to be HOT when u can actually drive it....

[Nostalgia]

You lost me when you referred to the Earlier model (EA-EB) as sh**heaps. With a bit of research you may find some of these models were actually better than the "follow up" models. Not power wise but if it wasnt for these EA-EBs then the later models would not have evolved. Yes i am a EA lover !

[ebfalcon13.5]

Originally Posted by Ford_V8

or an earlier model shitheap (EA/EB)

cant beleive you said that

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by ebfalcon13.5

cant beleive you said that

Yeah its shocking isnt it. You should know your cars before you bag em.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by EAadam

You lost me when you referred to the Earlier model (EA-EB) as sh**heaps. With a bit of research you may find some of these models were actually better than the "follow up" models. Not power wise but if it wasnt for these EA-EBs then the later models would not have evolved. Yes i am a EA lover !

Yeah, harsh dude.

Not listening anymore.

[ebfalcon13.5]

Originally Posted by EAadam

Yeah its shocking isnt it. You should know your cars before you bag em.

yep...we both posted at 10:38 ! lol you just beat me to it haha

[holmsy]

i would suggest saving your money as well but as you say you want your manual license but dont have a manual to learn in.

but you can get your manual license without practicing much in one. i did 1 week of lessons in a manual and then got my license.
beacause we dont own a manual either.

[Psycho Chicken]

Before all the EA owners get their knickers in a twist, perhaps he meant a dunga EA/EB.

Personally I'd go that option. Get a half clapped out EA/EB to learn manual in, then spend you money on something decent when you get your P's.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

Before all the EA owners get their knickers in a twist, perhaps he meant a dunga EA/EB.

Personally I'd go that option. Get a half clapped out EA/EB to learn manual in, then spend you money on something decent when you get your P's.

True maybe i bit the bullet too soon, lets see how this thread pans out.

[XRated]

You can pick up neat EBII Fairmonts for as little as $1.5k. Add on $1k to slip in a manual, new clutch etc, put aside $1k for decent springs and shocks, $1k on wheels and you'd be laughing!

Stuff an EA shitheap

[Psycho Chicken]

EA shitheaps are the bomb.

[needfordspeed]

EA S-packs rock, they're one of my favourite e-series for sure, and it's also pretty easy to find a manual one, get one, I used to have one and I loved it, they're also very light so if you got a AU motor, cam, extractors, exhaust it'll go pretty good!

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by needfordspeed

EA S-packs rock, they're one of my favourite e-series for sure, and it's also pretty easy to find a manual one, get one, I used to have one and I loved it, they're also very light so if you got a AU motor, cam, extractors, exhaust it'll go pretty good!

Yes EA S-packs do rock. Finally someone who appreciates a good package.

[ebfalcon13.5]

EA-ED=best

[ROOSTA]

I don't understand the point of doing up and EA-ED with an AU motor and going to all that work just to sell the damn thing when you get your p's..

Wat makes you think you will need more power than a stock EA-ED manual has when you are on your L's??

I would suggest buying a cheap manual vehicle of any sort.. Make do and Learn and get your licence in that while saving cash.. then sell it off to someone else in the same situation and upgrade to neat clean car.. Falcon if you must..

Kids these days.. LOL

Cheers,
Nik

[needfordspeed]

Originally Posted by ROOSTA

I don't understand the point of doing up and EA-ED with an AU motor and going to all that work just to sell the damn thing when you get your p's..

Wat makes you think you will need more power than a stock EA-ED manual has when you are on your L's??

I would suggest buying a cheap manual vehicle of any sort.. Make do and Learn and get your licence in that while saving cash.. then sell it off to someone else in the same situation and upgrade to neat clean car.. Falcon if you must..

Kids these days.. LOL

Cheers,
Nik

Listen to this guy!

Don't even think about modding it if you want to sell it anyway. I done that and I ended up loosing ALOT of money.

[ebfalcon13.5]

save your money just drive your parents car till u get your p plates. you dont need a car of your own if you cant drive it on your own, you dont even have L's let alone P's...just save your money dude it will be better in the long run

[Ford_V8]

Thanks for all your input, just to clarify, pyscho chicken is on the right path, when I said an EA/EB "shitheap" I actually meant a "shitheap" as in one with a motor on the way out, bumpers held on with duct tape (or cable ties ) etc. I haven't got anything against the older Eseries and I don't think we've ever owned anything other than eseries fairlanes and the odd falcon. Hence my orientation towards buying one. Anyway I might end up saving the money for when I'm 18, but by then I don't think I will be able to drive anything with more power than a one legged hamster judging by the way things are going atm.

[pHaT`eL]

LOL @ one legged hamster!! Just go any manual car, as long as its cheap and has rego/rwc.. Save up and maybe go for an ED/EF/EL XR6/8 with a manual when you turn 18..

[GhiaEB]

$300 toyota no matter what you do to them they'll just keep running... Ah the joys of SA no RWC required

Cheers

Ben

[EDXR6T]

EA S pac manual would be the go.

Ive seen very clean examples go for $500 on e-bay and the trading post.

But if your going to sell the car when you turn 18 I suggestyou dont sink all your cash in to it because you wont be making it back.

I think you will find a stock 3.9L with a 5speed (in decent condition) will be more then a enough power for you whilst on your P's.

And if your worried about the new rule's coming in. Go the sleeper route

BTW. You can get complete AU engine's thats BBM, all Accessories bar gear box for $600 at a certain wreakers plus another $200 for a set of EL thermo fans and a davis craig thermo swich.

[XRated]

I'd buy an EA S-Pac/Fairmont factory 5-speed. Use that when you first get your licence to bash around in, pull apart and learn the ins-and-outs. Then when you're ready, upgrade to something a bit more refined like a nice ED-EL XR/Ghia (if you stay early E-Series).

[Ford_V8]

Originally Posted by EDXR6T

EA S pac manual would be the go.

Ive seen very clean examples go for $500 on e-bay and the trading post.

But if your going to sell the car when you turn 18 I suggestyou dont sink all your cash in to it because you wont be making it back.

I think you will find a stock 3.9L with a 5speed (in decent condition) will be more then a enough power for you whilst on your P's.

And if your worried about the new rule's coming in. Go the sleeper route

BTW. You can get complete AU engine's thats BBM, all Accessories bar gear box for $600 at a certain wreakers plus another $200 for a set of EL thermo fans and a davis craig thermo swich.

Yep would love an S pac. As far as losing money goes, that's one of the major contributing factors as to why I want to go with something cheap, because I don't think EAs are going to depreciate anymore, whereas if I buy a later model ghia or similar then I will lose money on the car itself. And modifications are going to be the same price whether I'm 16 or I'm 18. And I will end up modifying a car if I wait for my Ps anyway, so if I buy a car that's not going to depreciate much more now it will be cheaper than buying a car when I'm 18 that will still lose alot of value. Anyway I hope that made sense lol. I doubt I'd end up selling it actually. The new laws define high power as anything above 125kw/tonne, which equates to 187kw for a 1500kg car. I doubt I'm going to want/need much more than that while I'm still inexperienced anyway.

Originally Posted by GhiaEb

$300 toyota no matter what you do to them they'll just keep running... Ah the joys of SA no RWC required

Cheers

Ben

I'd rather stick to Ford. Reason being, should anything go wrong I can buy a parts car for a couple of hundred. Haha, don't falcons hold their value well :hihi:

Anyway thanks everyone for your help. I think I'll be on the lookout for an EA S pac manual. So if anyone has one up for grabs give me a buzz.

Cheers

[ebfalcon13.5]

Originally Posted by GhiaEB

$300 toyota no matter what you do to them they'll just keep running... Ah the joys of SA no RWC required

Cheers

Ben

really...how does that work