Some car enthusiasts spend incredible amounts of money bringing their favorite vehicle back to factory condition. Many of these vehicles will be the icons of our past, such as the Volkswagen Bus, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, the Ferrari F40, and all kinds of classic muscle cars and sports cars. All of that is great and allows future generations to see pristine examples of the olden days of car design. But this shouldn’t be limited to just automotive legends. What completely ordinary car would you painstakingly restore to its original condition?
The answer to this question varied throughout the Autopian virtual offices. Matt Hardigree responded with the car that’s in the topshot, the 1994 Ford Escort GT. Shitbox Showdown prize fight promoter Mark Tucker responded with a 1979 Fiat 128, telling us that the car brought back childhood memories – that’s the actual Tucker-family Fiat pictured below! Me? I’d painstakingly restore my 2012 Smart Fortwo.
Yes, I know, it’s not that old of a car. But a younger version of me took that poor car for granted, forcing it to tow U-Haul trailers all over the Midwest for over 20,000 miles. Then, I subjected the little lad to three Gambler 500 endurance rallies, put it into tug-of-war battles against diesel trucks, and bent a subframe trying to pull a Toyota Tacoma out of a mud hole. I’ve burned the clutch, driven it through creeks, and the car even taken a bullet and been on fire, too.
I treated that car like a truck and now that I’m older, I’m facepalming myself over it. Sure, I proved that Smarts are unbelievably tough machines, but my unfortunate test subject was my teenage dream car and the car that taught me that I could do anything I wanted to do. One day. I want to make things right with my little Tucker by bringing him back to factory spec.
One of my favorite stories of restoring an ordinary car is the story of Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges’ restomodded 1993 Acura Legend. Ludacris bought the Legend used in 1999 before he became a legend in his own right. For many people, a used luxury car is just a stepping stone to something bigger and better later on. But Ludacris is a car enthusiast in every sense of the term, and even though he has more than enough money to buy cars most of us could only dream of owning, that ’90s Acura holds a place in his heart. Ludacris even featured the car on social media, parking it next to far more expensive private jets.
In 2015, the car was wrecked, but instead of letting Luda’s beloved Legend die, Acura restored the vehicle to its original factory condition and then modded it to his liking. An Acura Legend with 255,000 miles would be a beater to anyone else, but Ludacris doesn’t care – he loves it. The car even still makes occasional appearances on social media!
Here’s where I turn things to you, dear reader. What totally and completely ordinary car would you devote all the money, sweat, and tears required to restore it back to factory condition?
92 Isuzu Amigo in White.
I know I should say my Yugo, and even though I’ve stockpiled some parts to do so, it presents very well as is and being the rare black color, most people have told me to just leave it alone.
So I’m going with an all-wheel-drive Pontiac 6000. I wanted one of these so badly, back when you could still find them around on occasion.
“It’s not a train station, you don’t have to yell…we’re in a tiny car”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNX0fG1wHC8
1970 Toyota Corona Mark II with the 1900cc engine. Four door. In green.
I’m a sucker for early 90s GM crap, so my shortlist would be a final generation B-Body or early GMT-400. Strong preference towards a Roadmaster Estate or Suburban. I’d really like an Impala SS – I was a gnat’s hair from having one as my first car as my great uncle had one and recently passed. My dad wanted it for himself so I was a good excuse, but the estate wanted too much for it and my mom vetoed the plan – but those push the boundaries of what I’d consider “completely ordinary”.
Alternatively, a second gen Dodge Neon. Not an SRT or R/T… just the regular Neon. It was my wife’s first car and we both really appreciated the simplicity of it.
This reminds me. What ever happened to FordTempoFan from the old site?
I’ve wondered that too. And wasn’t there actually a “performance” version of it even?
Ordinary car? I would go with something small, light and dead simple and restore it to all original to enjoy the intentions of the designers and engineers that made it. I find too often nice pure visions get screwed up as they evolve through updates and they lose their charm.
Candidates: first gen VW Golf, first or maybe second gen Honda Civic or Accord, Renault 5.
Sadly I lack the alchemy skills to turn iron oxide into a running car.
TBH my current car, it’s never stranded me once and still gets me where I want to go and I love it, it was my first new “adult” purchase, but it looks all of it’s almost 20yr age. 06 Scion tC (supercharged!).
if money and time are no object? I would also throw in the 2010 xD I had gotten new for my mom at the time and she still uses it now, but wants a new car, and I want to restore the xD (in rare factory purple!) and save it for my niece as her first car.
A 1970’s Datsun Roadster. 1600 or 2000.
I had a ’68 1600 during one summer and one mandated full year off from college (fucking up academic recovery from that is still a frequent nightmare topic) that was repainted but really needed and deserved a full restoration. That would be one of my picks.
Second generation Subaru Forester XT; looks like a toaster, goes like a WRX.
My dad had one. Even my mom told him he drove too slow!
My 2009 Hyundai Accent L hatchback! I LOVE it, even if it is a basic, no-options Korean ecobox.!
My Cruze Eco. It was a rare configuration from a unique period of post-bankruptcy GM. It showed what could be done with a compact car to make it more fuel efficient. Although I’ve taken decent care of it and put in quite a bit of money in the past year. New suspension, new turbo and fixed a bunch of fluid leaks. That’s more maintenance and replacing wear items than restoration in my book.
This might be my unusual favorite so far. I remember the whole bit being Chevy showing it could get hybrid-like economy out of a pure ICE engine, right?
It all seemed so uncharacteristically GM, not only caring about that kinda thing (esp then), but even more so, going all in after something. GM almost never does that.
Yes, they were competitive on fuel economy with the VW Jetta TDI without the grenading HPFP or car-totaling exhaust system. They were 8 mpg behind a Prius. 42 mpg vs 50 mpg is a difference of 23.8 gallons per 1000 miles versus 20 gallons per 1000 miles. And being stick shift offered a completely different driving experience.
Toyota celica gt-s 1982 or 83 liftback. They came in real colors. The were awesome little 80s wedges with pop-up headlights. They weren’t particularly fast. They did handle nicely. And teenage me had a blast trying to kill its cheaper brother the ST coupe. Loved that car but man, I lusted for the gt-s with its mouse fur seats, sunroof and the back window louvers.
I love ’80s wedges too (that’s why I own a Nissan 200SX). An 82-83 Celica GT-S is also one of my favorites. I almost bought an 83 Liftback years ago, but it had a little too much rust for my taste.
My 1983 Celica GT coupe might be my favorite car I’ve ever owned. If I could find a liftback just like it, I would buy it in an instant.
I’d love a perfect 1992 Mazda B2600i extended cab 2wd pickup. For my mom, a Honda CRX.
Our 1973 Ford F100 shortbed pickup. Painted brush-stroke-white, it was the family junk hauler while I was in high school. Even with the 300 six cylinder and three-on-the-tree transmission, I felt like I was King of the Road driving it. It participated in high school parades, was once ridiculously overfilled with logs (to the point that I could barely drive it home with the front wheels bouncing along the Colonial Parkway), and taught me how to go to junkyards to source cheap parts. I even drove it overnight from Virginia to Panama City Beach for spring break with the heater on “blast” the whole way to avoid overheating. That beast never once left me stranded. Sadly, I heard that it eventually ended up as a glorified trash can in the back of some farm.
I’d love to do a full frame-off restoration of my Ranger. It’s in good shape, no rust, no substantial mechanical issues, but to bring it back to like-new condition would be great.
Aside from that, any first-gen, non-rusty Taurus or Sable. Or my dad’s ’75 Civic CVCC.
1937 Oldsmobile. I had a crush on it when I was in high school in the late 50’s, my parents wouldn’t let me buy it. yeah, I’m 81 years old now but I still love that grill.
Kids Heart Sil80. Its pretty much the only car I’ve ever thought of trying to purchase and leave bone stock. Basically anything I else I get, I’ll likely dick around with something, or possibly everything.
Pick any 90’s or 00’s Pontiac and I’d restore it and maybe even modernize the powertrain. Specifically, I’d get one of those Grand Prix GTP with the supercharged V6 and ram air intakes.
Also, every 00’s NASCAR edition Monte Carlo needs to be saved. There I said it.
I’ll you one better – just any Monte.
Even the sliced aorta taillights (sorry Jason) final version. I miss man-about-town personal coupes.
Agreed 100%, PLCs are my jam. I hope they come back with everything going electric
ugh am I allowed to restomod it?
I would pick from one of the cars I’ve owned:
86 Toyota Corolla SR5
83 Dodge Charger 2.2
92 Chevy Camaro RS
I always wanted to get that Camaro back and shove an LS2 or LS6 in it.
My dad’s project car was a 71 Chevelle that he put an LS2 and 6MT in. He basically did to that car what I wanted to do to a Camaro (same paint color and all)
My 91 escort gt, fun little car that has probably been cut up to make a racer.
Both my first vehicle (2006 Dakota) and my current car, my Compass.
Despite how much of junker my Dakota was, it wasn’t really my fault, and it was nice to have a truck that was easy to get into. Sure, gas mileage sucked, and it rode like crap. But it still holds a piece of my heart.
And my Compass? That thing has taken enough abuse that people still wonder how I managed to keep it all together for this long. I think for a throw-away car, it’s done incredibly well and bringing it back to how it was supposed to be would just feel right.
1983 Mercury Cougar LS. It needs to be white, have a silver padded landau roof cap, TRX wheels, and that sweet crushed velvet interior in blue.
Nissan NX2000, Honda del Sol VTEC, or Toyota SW20 MR2 Turbo. All in White or Green. I want a small sporty T-top or Targa car.
I always forget about the del Sol, and I shouldn’t – what a great choice from a time when there was a market for simply fun cars. I miss those days.
1992 2-door Geo Metro hatchback! I had a white one that obviously was a crapcan, but I had so much fun in it doing all the economy car things (lean forward while going up a steep hill, grab 3-5 friends and literally pick it up, install a decent sound system in it complete with a power amp and 12″ woofer that actually lowered my MPG, etc.)
Good choice! I had 3 Geo metro’s (not all at once) as the 2nd car throughout the 90’s. Honest, fun little cars. I still admire their simple, sleek, clean styling to this day.
Geo Metro for sure! On the hunt for a 89-91 right now. Really like the dash and taillight design on those years. Too bad they got the rust issue that leads to the control arm coming off. A money tree could help with some serious fabrication though.
Oldsmobile Aurora. The last gasp of a fabled brand, a glimpse of a future that never arrived, and a beautiful car even now.
Nice pick! The styling of the 2nd Gen is still fresh looking for that era