I've just about got my 1981 Mini I bought in highschool for $600 NZD back in one piece. Wasn't going to touch the engine originally but thought why not, so almost 20 years later with almost everything aside from the shell refurbed or replaced here we are. It's been expensive and slow and I'd have been better off now having put the money into a house deposit instead. But now I know a fair amount about rebuilding a 45 year old car and I have about 10k in specialty tools I will probably barely use again, so I guess there's that.
Have you documented the rebuild process? It would be cool to see if you have a write up when it’s done. You might post it here. I think restoration and repair projects by HN users are great to see here when we get them.
Thanks for the encouraging words! I've got a large folder of photos and videos I've been meaning to do something with, this could be the catalyst that needed.
Sorry to burst bubbles, but I've been in a few: The new cars really do drive better. Smoother shifts, better engines, effective climate control, better seats, just more comfy, more driveable, more responsive, even feel better. This isn't like vintage pens I'm afraid, where old meant high quality materials. Old cars are mostly just crappy (barring a very small set of outliers).
I think it boils down to the fact that cars represent the pinnacle of engineering for that time period. Engineering only gets better with time.
In general, I agree. However, many older cars were small, light, simple, and raw - characteristics that have largely disappeared from modern cars. Automatic transmissions from the mid-90s and earlier generally sucked, though good old manual transmissions are not much different from good modern ones.
As an example, I owned a W126 S class from the late 80s, and it was fun in its unique way and no modern cars replicate its experience. It had somewhat heavy and very feedback rich steering feel, and Porsche-like firm and tactile pedal feel, while having a super supple ride over the most awful roads with SUV-like ground clearance and tremendous suspension travel. The car was also super simple and reliable; my 300SE had nearly 400k km with all original powertrain when I sold it, it never let me down, and it weighed less than a modern A class or CLA. While not as safe as modern cars, it was exceptionally safe for its era and comparable to normal cars of the early 2000s for crash structure safety.
The W140 (I used to own one too) had a much better powertrain, but it lost the raw tactile scrappy nature of its predecessor, and nor could it handle super awful potholed roads as well as the W126. There are no modern cars that combine the rich raw tactile control feel and super supple ride the W126 had.
Look at cars like the BMW E30, or Mercedes-Benz 190E (W201), or the superbly engineered workhorses that the W123 and W124 were. There are no modern cars that replicate the genuinely delightful driving experience of those.
Oh yes, preach the gospel of the W126. I had a 1986 300SD for a while, and I’d own one again in a heartbeat. I’ve never felt safer, or cooler, driving a car. You had a gasser, which I bet was faster than mine, but the sound of that diesel spinning up the turbo was something else.
I agree about the W123 as well. I’ve owned half a dozen of those. For a couple generations there it seemed that Mercedes had cars just about solved.
My daily is a W126 with the OM603. It's getting harder every day to find parts (when I need them, which is infrequent) but it's worth the hassle because like you say there is nothing modern that has the same combination of feel and ride quality. Or visibility! I can parallel park this car (long wheelbase too) in tiny spots easier than a modern compact because you can actually see.
I've got a W140 with the M120 and a W123 with the OM616 and a 4-speed too, and while they have their charms (especially the W123) nothing tops the W126. It truly was not just the finest production sedan Mercedes made, but ever made by anyone. (Other contenders being the W100, the W140, and the Lexus LS.)
> However, many older cars were small, light, simple, and raw - characteristics that have largely disappeared from modern cars.
I feel parent's point still stands.
Sure, you won't be able to go to a random Ford dealership and go home with a small light and simple car, but there are plenty of modern car accessible through a modicum of effort. Even buying something new abroad and bring it back home will probably be less hassle than restoring an old car.
I wonder if buying a kit car would still be simpler, for still better results.
I don't agree. I was in the market for a European offroad SUV just recently and the most looked after models are between 1995 and 2005.
The gear, the V6 boxing motors, the massive steal frames, the actual pulling power and that all on 13 litres.
Newer models have 3 thousand sensors I haven't asked for, can't even reach common repair things without special tools, effektive usage hasn't changed or depends on hybrid (which is a joke for pulling), repair parts are 5-10 times as expensive, you loose half of the cars worth first time you visit a forest ...
Mid 90s acura transmissions were great for me. Shifts really solid and stiff. Stiff clutch with clear engagement point. I drove 2015ish era manual transmissions too (nissan and vw) and they were jokes in comparison. Gear shifter felt like a toy, like it was plastic or something even though I know it couldn't be. Clutch was way too light with engagement point not as crisp and a lot lower in the pedal travel too. Worst of all you couldn't feel the rpm of the engine at all in your hands or feet like in the 20 year older acura.
I bought a new car and have since decided I would prefer an older car.
* The features are annoying and you can't disable everything you don't need. I had to download an app and by a connector to disable the warning message that told me not to crash everytime I turned the car on. There's still plenty of things that I can't disable. If I want to turn off the centre console (which is most of the time), it's several clicks through a clunky ui.
* It only looks nice when it's clean and keeping a car clean is not something I want to invest my time in.
* It's too powerful, so I can't really give it a bit of a push without going well over the speed limit.
* it aluminates the logo onto the sidewalk when I park. Very embarrassing.
* it's heavy which you can feel (despite it being a tiny new gen car).
I preferred my old beater that I could just thrash around. It's worth having to deal with some sort of mechanical problem every now and then.
Take a ride in an early 70s "land yacht" and you'll get an idea what "comfy" really means. All newer cars regardless of actual type somehow seem to be converging on a "sporty" feel, which is very different.
I'm not certain why folks are talking about cars they've restored to working order, the kind that get taken out on weekends when the weather is just so, as if that's the same class of vehicles the article is discussing. I used to know someone who owned a bunch like the article describes. To him it was an investment. Some had undergone expensive restorations like the article describes, they were meticulously stored, people were paid to maintain these not-driven vehicles, etc. Well, this guy wasn't young, but he died kind of unexpectedly. In a few weeks he went from not feeling well to gone.
So the family sold the cars in one auction at one of the big events like the Concours d’Elegance. This was not a sale timed to maximize the return but rather a sale to free the family from the obligations of ownership. Even so, it was 30 or so vehicles and they went for about $70 million.
The cars in this article are more like artwork investments. These may get three miles added to the odometer in the course of a year with multiple event showings or loans to museums. The cars are absolutely drivable but they are not driven.
There's a great car restoration business near us. The sole proprietor is in his late 70s and refuses to take on any apprentice. Says he refuses to train his competition. Sad that all those years of experience and skill will go to waste.
For somebody in their 70s, a more productive viewpoint would be to be passing on a legacy. Even with a long healthy life, competition should no longer be a big concern.
For most of human history, refusing to pass down your skills to the next generation was seen as a profound moral failure. A waste is putting it lightly and emblematic of the individualism of the times.
"the $77 billion classic car industry"? That's from here.[1] For $4699 you can buy a copy of the full report.
The market size estimate may come from defining a rather large range of cars as "classic". The average auction price of a "classic car" is $45,000.[2] Not sure what definition they're using, but we're not talking about what goes to Pebble Beach.
I've seen firsthand the attrition in restoration work. It's in a pretty sad state. My dad runs the garage his dad started in Kansas City decades ago, and his business partner is in the back half of his 80s. They're rushing to get work done and knowledge transferred before it's gone forever, but he's always telling me about people who have had to stop working, or died. I can never believe what people are paying to get work like chrome plating or upholstery done or the wait times. I wonder if there will be anyone left by the time we get around to restoring one of our own.
Ironically, if it's a mid-century domestic, there is probably better parts availability, especially aftermarket, than anything made within the last decade or so.
Readit News
I think it boils down to the fact that cars represent the pinnacle of engineering for that time period. Engineering only gets better with time.
As an example, I owned a W126 S class from the late 80s, and it was fun in its unique way and no modern cars replicate its experience. It had somewhat heavy and very feedback rich steering feel, and Porsche-like firm and tactile pedal feel, while having a super supple ride over the most awful roads with SUV-like ground clearance and tremendous suspension travel. The car was also super simple and reliable; my 300SE had nearly 400k km with all original powertrain when I sold it, it never let me down, and it weighed less than a modern A class or CLA. While not as safe as modern cars, it was exceptionally safe for its era and comparable to normal cars of the early 2000s for crash structure safety.
The W140 (I used to own one too) had a much better powertrain, but it lost the raw tactile scrappy nature of its predecessor, and nor could it handle super awful potholed roads as well as the W126. There are no modern cars that combine the rich raw tactile control feel and super supple ride the W126 had.
Look at cars like the BMW E30, or Mercedes-Benz 190E (W201), or the superbly engineered workhorses that the W123 and W124 were. There are no modern cars that replicate the genuinely delightful driving experience of those.
I agree about the W123 as well. I’ve owned half a dozen of those. For a couple generations there it seemed that Mercedes had cars just about solved.
I've got a W140 with the M120 and a W123 with the OM616 and a 4-speed too, and while they have their charms (especially the W123) nothing tops the W126. It truly was not just the finest production sedan Mercedes made, but ever made by anyone. (Other contenders being the W100, the W140, and the Lexus LS.)
I feel parent's point still stands.
Sure, you won't be able to go to a random Ford dealership and go home with a small light and simple car, but there are plenty of modern car accessible through a modicum of effort. Even buying something new abroad and bring it back home will probably be less hassle than restoring an old car.
I wonder if buying a kit car would still be simpler, for still better results.
The gear, the V6 boxing motors, the massive steal frames, the actual pulling power and that all on 13 litres.
Newer models have 3 thousand sensors I haven't asked for, can't even reach common repair things without special tools, effektive usage hasn't changed or depends on hybrid (which is a joke for pulling), repair parts are 5-10 times as expensive, you loose half of the cars worth first time you visit a forest ...
I preferred my old beater that I could just thrash around. It's worth having to deal with some sort of mechanical problem every now and then.
Much like the McLaren F1 has a cult following, yet no traction control or turbo.
So the family sold the cars in one auction at one of the big events like the Concours d’Elegance. This was not a sale timed to maximize the return but rather a sale to free the family from the obligations of ownership. Even so, it was 30 or so vehicles and they went for about $70 million.
The cars in this article are more like artwork investments. These may get three miles added to the odometer in the course of a year with multiple event showings or loans to museums. The cars are absolutely drivable but they are not driven.
Deleted Comment
The market size estimate may come from defining a rather large range of cars as "classic". The average auction price of a "classic car" is $45,000.[2] Not sure what definition they're using, but we're not talking about what goes to Pebble Beach.
[1] https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/classic-cars-market
[2] https://www.classic.com/insights/hagerty-2025-market-in-4-ch...