Cars - For Car Enthusiasts

Think about what part of the world you are in. Consider what is common in your local area.

I am in the United States, and am biased for sure, but I certainly recommend an old American 60s-70s car. Like, a beat up one that probably doesn't run or drive but has most of the parts for it, you can usually find them for pretty cheap as long as you aren't in California. I mean, there are still deals here in California, I got my 68 for $1500 a little under 10 years ago, but the deals are a lot rarer here because everyone thinks "numbers matching" means anything, or that their $15k "muscle car" commuter with a glass pack is a Barret Jackson show car worth $100k.

No computer controlled parts to worry about, extremely simple design for braking system, power steering, transmission, etc. Plenty of room in the engine bay that nearly all repairs can be done without removing the engine from the chassis. Almost all of them share a lot of their parts with other models. For example, my 68 Ford shares almost all the mechanical components with Mustang, Granada, and F series pickups of the same year, meaning the parts are extremely common and cheap. A new brake cylinder for the rear drums is $8 USD, for example. If you don't know anything about cars, something totally wrecked that might not even run is probably a good pick. Even if you manage to destroy something, its not like you are going to cost yourself a fortune to fix it. Some of them are smaller, like the Corvair, Vega, and Dart, so they won't eat your entire garage.

Jeep is another one, if you can find them for a good price. Dodge, Chevy, or GM. I would say probably avoid Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth, or any other company that doesn't exist anymore, because parts will likely be harder to get and more expensive because of it.

You might also try an older Datsun or Toyota, but older models of those makes tend to think every single one of them is a prime candidate for a "drift tuner" and they are not going to be cheap because of it. Also, might be hard to get parts for it for the same reason.

I would recommend staying away from most European vehicles because they are often much more sensitive, or anything built after like, 1991 because those cars have computer systems that can overcomplicate learning the basics. Its better to learn on something simple and then upgrade later on, IMO.

If you want to be more modern, KIAs and Hyundais are a lot simpler in terms of working on them compared to other makes I have worked on, and they tend to lose their value pretty fast, so an older one might be cheap enough for you. Don't know about parts availability though, but I would say not likely to be good.

Do not use your daily as your project car, unless you are prepared to be doing roadside repairs. Or if you know what you are doing and are experienced, then its probably not a problem. But I wouldn't recommend it for someone learning.