Love for the Unloved: Banger Fodder

[WillCarter]

All this talk of Street Machine over the past few days has got me thinking. Back then, a lot of the stuff getting the treatment was the type of thing that could be bought for peanuts and was somewhere between 15 and 20 years old. Banger fodder in other words. Nowadays, stuff like that gets ignored or worse still, scrapped. The old banger is a dying breed, but what if that changed? A prime example is the Mk4 Fiesta. Okay so it lacks the style that a fifteen year old car had in 1992, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have potential. Launched in 1995, the oldest examples are now not far off twenty years old (terrifying) and as cars go, they don't come much cheaper. Reasonably tunable and supposedly pretty quick when transplanted with a 1.7 from a Puma they provide many of the things that fodder of the nineties provided in a compact and fairly reliable package. So what's not to love? With some out of the box thinking you could have a cool and funky daily for a few hundred quid, a true Street Machine if you ask me.

[WillCarter]

Courtesy of our own Octagonal Paul.

[octagonalpaul]

You're right, stuff that's not old but not yet retro are the ones to look out for, stuff like Skoda Felicia, Renault Clio, Mk1 Fiat Punto, they're all incredibly cheap with potential.

[spandelly]

Theres a lot of near retro stuff out there for peanuts. I saw an early 306 s16 go for about £400 not long ago with tax and test. don't forget the bigger stuff either. Later shape saab 900s can be had for nothing and my old gen 5 accord coupe was a 95 so that isnt far off and I think they came out in 93/94 and that was a beast.

[mk14dr]

[WillCarter]

[Deleted]

Daihatsu Move could be a strong contender. Similar things like the Wagon R can be got for next to nothing even for a reasonable one.

[craig1010cc]

I've been pondering the same thing since the street machine thread came up. The interesting thing (to me anyway ) on this thread is, with the exception of the daywooo, all the ones above fall under 'having the formula' applied to them.
And there is nothing wrong with that (indeed I am considering a mk4 fetsa TD as a possible future daily as a result of your chop Will), but they don't really differ from the mainstream modified cars. If they wore a VW badge they'd be at home in PVW, rather than street machine.

I think that is a result of tastes changing over the years and the fear of IVA as well as I can't see anyone building a roof chopped corsa combo or similar and I think the budget pastel paints and wild graphics have now been replaced with mattes and satins plus graff paint.

You could even argue that the rat-look or 'tramp' drift scene is the modern equivalent of the budget end of the street machine cars as they sit so opposed to the 'mainstream' modified cars and are built for fun and personal taste (ish)

[WillCarter]

Jul 23, 2013 7:18:37 GMT craig1010cc said:

I've been pondering the same thing since the street machine thread came up. The interesting thing (to me anyway ) on this thread is, with the exception of the daywooo, all the ones above fall under 'having the formula' applied to them.
And there is nothing wrong with that (indeed I am considering a mk4 fetsa TD as a possible future daily as a result of your chop Will), but they don't really differ from the mainstream modified cars. If they wore a VW badge they'd be at home in PVW, rather than street machine.

I think that is a result of tastes changing over the years and the fear of IVA as well as I can't see anyone building a roof chopped corsa combo or similar and I think the budget pastel paints and wild graphics have now been replaced with mattes and satins plus graff paint.

You could even argue that the rat-look or 'tramp' drift scene is the modern equivalent of the budget end of the street machine cars as they sit so opposed to the 'mainstream' modified cars and are built for fun and personal taste (ish)

I agree but at the same time... don't. I agree with the fact that maybe if the rules were the same as they were in Street Machines heyday then we might see more extreme stuff such a roof chops, pickup conversions and targas. However I don't agree that you necessarily need all of that to make something that falls within the Street Machine philosophy. A lot of the cars that appeared in Street Machine (particularly in show reports, readers cars etc.) were done on strict budgets and didn't allow for extreme mods so relied on bright paintjobs and low ride heights to get the job done. Even the wheel choice didn't seem so important then (which as we know is the expensive bit these days) and you could be rolling in something ridiculously cool with £50 wheels on it. Take this Saab for example which ended up on the cover, externally atleast I can't see much more than some trim removal and a hefty drop. The wow factor comes in the paintjob, which in this era or rattle can paint jobs is probably even easier to achieve than it was then. Nothing overly extreme or different, but instantly recognisable as a Street Machine car. What's to say that this, applied to a Volvo 440 for example wouldn't have the same effect?

[Bioshock]

I suppose it depends on how it's done.
My first thought was the Mondeo and googled modified ones. Unfortunately they looked more at home on Barry Boys website, with hideous bodykits and moody paint jobs. be nice if someone posted a tasteful one up

[Mystery Machine]

Jul 23, 2013 12:36:00 GMT Bioshock said:

I suppose it depends on how it's done.
My first thought was the Mondeo and googled modified ones. Unfortunately they looked more at home on Barry Boys website, with hideous bodykits and moody paint jobs. be nice if someone posted a tasteful one up

Quite a few people from here will know of my desire to 'do' a Mk1 Mondeo estate. About 2 months ago I was actively looking for the right 'base' vehicle to start with but life and other things changed and I've now got an E34 estate instead.

I am well aware of the universal hatred of them generally and the majority of Mondeo's that have been modified are usually in a style that doesn't really suit most peoples tastes on Retro Rides. This tends to further fuel the dislike of them. But I look past all that and see a car that has a LOT of potential, and the one I was planning would have been as much a practical daily driver as something I could rock up to a show in and be proud to display.

I'm my head I picture a crisp, clean white Mk1 Mondeo estate (ideally with the bluer than blue velour interior) with a hefty dose of lowering and rocking some 18" Range Rover 'Triple Sport' alloys.

The base car would cost just a few hundred. £500 max. The wheels & tyres around £200 and the suspension about £150 (brand new Passat coilovers with some DIY work) and a few days really cleaning the hell out of it to make it stand out. So for easily less than £1,000 I'd have something not only practical, but also pretty unique because most people tend to avoid the Mondeo like the plaque and would normally rather have a dose of bubonic than be seen behind the wheel of Fords 90's mid-side rep wagon.

[WillCarter]

But, if you were to go more extreme, there's no reason why a more modern car couldn't look cool either.

[WillCarter]

Jul 23, 2013 12:36:00 GMT Bioshock said:

I suppose it depends on how it's done.
My first thought was the Mondeo and googled modified ones. Unfortunately they looked more at home on Barry Boys website, with hideous bodykits and moody paint jobs. be nice if someone posted a tasteful one up

Well, this exactly it. A lot of these cars have been modified, but have been tarnished with the wrong brush. Look at the Ford Probe for example, terrible name, terrible reputation but can be bought for peanuts and would make the perfect canvas for some Street Machine style treatment.

[Bioshock]

With a few more touches, this could be very cool.

[craig1010cc]

Jul 23, 2013 12:15:51 GMT WillCarter said:

I agree but at the same time... don't. I agree with the fact that maybe if the rules were the same as they were in Street Machines heyday then we might see more extreme stuff such a roof chops, pickup conversions and targas. However I don't agree that you necessarily need all of that to make something that falls within the Street Machine philosophy. A lot of the cars that appeared in Street Machine (particularly in show reports, readers cars etc.) were done on strict budgets and didn't allow for extreme mods so relied on bright paintjobs and low ride heights to get the job done. Even the wheel choice didn't seem so important then (which as we know is the expensive bit these days) and you could be rolling in something ridiculously cool with £50 wheels on it. Take this Saab for example which ended up on the cover, externally atleast I can't see much more than some trim removal and a hefty drop. The wow factor comes in the paintjob, which in this era or rattle can paint jobs is probably even easier to achieve than it was then. Nothing overly extreme or different, but instantly recognisable as a Street Machine car. What's to say that this, applied to a Volvo 440 for example wouldn't have the same effect?

I think that was sort of what I was trying to get across that whats missing is the things like the crazy paint job, shaved handles and a bit of smoothing. Something that shows a bit more than "just" sticking a set of wheels and coilies onto a car.
The closest I can get to it at the mo is this (although it would be even more awesome with a 90's minitruck style paintjob )


But then I also love the pics/chops coming in here for cars outside the 'norm' being given the treatment.

things like


and

[WillCarter]

[craig1010cc]

that's more like it

[ettorebugatti]

Needs a different colour, but...


Volvo 440?

[Mystery Machine]

Jul 23, 2013 21:44:13 GMT ettorebugatti said:

You know how to push my WANT buttons! I'm pretty sure you know of my love of Espero's? It's equal to my love of Nothelle Classics. You've just given me a massive dose of visual torment.

[Deleted]

Maybe?