Old Morris Minor/ Austin 7

I'm looking to buy an old car in bad condition to be "done up" as a present and the motor websites seem to only have cars in good condition available. Can anyone recommend how i would go about finding a car like this?

Buy some of the classic car magazines,practical classics is one of my favourites.The mags usually have good classified ads in the back.Buy the best you can afford because when you start using your"good"classic you'll find plenty of doing up!!!

Keep an eye on ebay.co.uk, the UK version of the site.
There is a Ruby ([broken link removed]) on it at the moment. It is also good for parts.
I want a Chummy, but lack of a garage and the probability of an unhappy wife! have me on hold at the moment!

Caff is right about buying a good one. You will buy a 'good' classic for much less than you will spend on doing up a bad one.

Also of interest:
www.austinsevenownersclub.com
www.austin7club.org

Towger

THanks for the tips. Thing is we don't have a very big garage either but i was hoping we could construct some sort of a shed in the back garden for the winter months to keep it in. Is this a viable option and is there some way to cover it in the meantime to keep it from rusting?

I have some limited experience of this, as my dad used to have a couple of old motors when I was a teenager (Fordy Model Y and Woslseley 15/50). You will need a proper garage or shed to keep such a vehicle in especially if you are planning to do some work on it yourself; storing outdoors or under a cover is not practicable. There are a number of vintage and classic car clubs around which give good advice and members will advise on specific cars and where to buy parts. Mechanically these cars (pre 70s) are not keep a complicated and you'll find the skills required to keep them on the road very readily accessible. Best advice though is to buy the best you can afford in terms of condition. You'll soon find your evenings taken up tinkering with frost plugs and brake lines, repairing old upholstery and polishing chrome! And don't expect to use them for anything other than the odd rally and Sunday driving.

saw this on adverts yesterday, could be up your street.
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=19012&cat=all

in general most classic car owners will recommend that you buy the best condition car you can afford for the following reasons;

- only car over 30yrs are vrt and road tax reduced
- you will find a bad condition car will eat a whole in your pocket
- very few garages in ireland will deal with classics (paint, body work)
- pretty much all parts need to come from the UK
- things take much longer to fix than we all think...

90% of classics on Irish roads today are imported (all ZV regs are imported) so its the best place to get either good one or bad one....

Have a look at the classic section on boards for more help.... http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=514


Also have a look at buyandsell.ie (customs/classic section)

Ebay can be great but mostly is not for classics as you will be under pressure to go a see the car before you bid ...

Another source is the classic car clubs...Morris Minor club in ireland is a very well organised and http://indigo.ie/~morismnr/

I have an old car-trailer which is built on a Morris Minor axle/wheels. Needing bearings, I remember visiting a guy out near Dublin Airport who specialises in overhauling MMs, selling spares etc. You might get him through the MM Owners' Club maybe.

have found a car-now Im looking for a model replica to present to him at his birthday party. Anyone know of a shop in Dublin that might have such a thing?
Thanks...

wow - that was quick

What did you get and where ?

Model shops : there one on nassau street to the left of Kilkenny design that has a small selection --- think they had a minor last time i looked....
Other option is ebay , usually 100s of models there...

There's a model shop in Hawkins Street (not far from O Connell Bridge) - Mark's Models.