Looking for a classic hot hatch 78/79?

drunkmonkey

I'm looking for a quick run about car that'll hit classic status this year or will do in 2009...

The only one I can think of is the Golf Gti is there any other quick cars out there about to hit classic status and €50 road tax?


thanks
dm

RobAMerc

Alfasud - if you can find a goodun

maybe the Lotus Sunbeam or Chevette hsr - but I imagine you'd pay for a goodun.

Henry Ford III

Not in a hatchback body. The Golf was the earliest hot hatch. Perhaps a Chevette HS or HSR, but they were later. XR3 etc were also later.

The Golf GTI was launched in 1977, and sporting rivals around them would have been more orthodox rwd saloons such as the Ford Escort RS2000 etc.

A good MkI Golf GTI will be tricky to source.

Ferris

A very rare one would be a 2002 tii touring, expensive tho.

Not a hatch but the Triumph Dolomite Sprint had performance close to the GTi.

Is the Capri a hatchback? Also Reliant Scimitar.

Max_Damage

A Talbot-Lotus Sunbeam would be good choice. It's been a while since I seen one of them on the roads. Definitely stands out from the crowd.

S.I.R

a 1977 toyota starlet would be grand 1.3 manal carb.... rwd and a fair bit of poke as the car is light....

green-blood

don't see the point, get an early 80s 1.8 MK1 gti, the road tax is 500 or so, but the car will be weasier to source and cheaper than a a late 70s car. You shoudl still be able to get classic insurance too.

Blue850

How about trying to find a non-rotten Mk1 Ritmo 105TC or the hen's teeth 125TC

DaveM-sport

Pugeot 205 GTi maybe? thats a proper hot-hatch:D

It'll be difficult to find any old Starlets for a reasonable price that aren't rotten:(

I reckon a 205 if you don't care about the concentration needed to drive a 205, they would be the one to get or if you want abit more refinement, a Mk2 golf might suit you nicely;)

zed_head

Nice Ritmo ! Extremely rare these days as the tin worn killed most of
them.
By far the easiest car to find in this category would be a Mk1 GTI. They
actually came out in late 1975 but weren't released in the UK until late
'77/early 1978 and these were all left hand drive. It wasn't until 1979
that the RHD models were available. These ones have metal bumpers and
smaller lights at the rear (with a few more minor differences). These
early cars are very very rare these days. Most of the GTi's left are the
post 1980 model. They would be a good choice if you can find a good
one.
Cars like the Chevette 2.3 HSR, Talbot-Lotus and even the RS2000 will
be more expensive to buy (in good condition).

DaveCol

Not a hatch either, but what about a Mini 1275GT?

MercMad

DaveM-sport wrote: »

Pugeot 205 GTi maybe? thats a proper hot-hatch:D

It'll be difficult to find any old Starlets for a reasonable price that aren't rotten:(

I reckon a 205 if you don't care about the concentration needed to drive a 205, they would be the one to get or if you want abit more refinement, a Mk2 golf might suit you nicely;)

.....but he's looking for a "classic", i.e over 30 years old. the 205GTi came out in 1984 I believe!

shagman

I never really thought of the Scimiatar as a hot-hatch, It has a hatch I suppose and is certainly Hot (3L V6) but more of a small estate ....well really a class unto itself oh and the volvo P1800ES. My Scim will be up for sale soon if you're interested. When did lancia delta integrales come into the world mid eighties???

Esel

Don't bank on a 1979 car becoming a veteran with cheap tax, no NCT required, cheap insurance etc.

A poster here in the last few months seemed to have a good source who said the government are strongly considering freezing the cut-off date. I'd go for 1978 or earlier to be sure.

Don't ask me for a link - I'd just have to do a search, same as you!

carchaeologist

Blue850 wrote: »

How about trying to find a non-rotten Mk1 Ritmo 105TC or the hen's teeth 125TC

I always thought these cars look savage,pity they dissolved like a disprin....

zed_head

I never heard of a 125TC !
They only came in 105TC and 130TC ?

hi5

Two of my favorites of the time are


1979 Chrysler Sunbeam TI.

1976 Renault 5 Gordini.

v300

DaveCol wrote: »

Not a hatch either, but what about a Mini 1275GT?

A very respected shape, and parts are still easy to come by.

Yea, I'll second DaveCol's recommendation, a hot mini is the "biz".

Blue850

zed_head wrote: »

I never heard of a 125TC !
They only came in 105TC and 130TC ?

Mark 2 Ritmo /Strada Abarth 2.0 was the 130, Mk1 2.0 was the 125 possibly LHD only

zed_head

Oh I see. I thought the only Mk1 was the 1.6 105TC.
How about the 128 3P !

v300

Re Ritmo 125TC

The Ritmo Abarth 125TC was introduced in Europe;
it was never officially sold in the UK, as the position of the exhaust
downpipe would have clashed with the Right Hand Drive steering gear.
The 125TC was a heavily modified and revised 105TC with a 1995 cc DOHC
with 125 bhp, ventilated front discs, a new ZF gearbox, revised suspension
settings and strengthened components.
The 125TC version had top speed of 188 km/h (117 mph) and it could
accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.7 seconds.
Significantly the Abarth models were the last true Abarth cars to be
assembled on a separate Abarth production line following the Fiat buyout
in 1971, thus ensuring the car of Classic status.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ritmo

eamon234

MGB GT - the original hot hatch! You can pick them up pretty reasonably at the moment heres an example:
Great fun to drive and one of the most practical classics around

carchaeologist

eamon234 wrote: »

MGB GT - the original hot hatch! You can pick them up pretty reasonably at the moment heres an example:
Great fun to drive and one of the most practical classics around

True,easy to get parts for, and small and compact and RWD,though not a hot hatch in the classsical sense.

Silvera

Not a "hot hatch" in the true sense of the word....but -

a. it's a hatch
b. it will/does qualify for 'vintage' status
c. easy to work on/repair

Opel Manta

carchaeologist

Does the ford capri qualify too so??:D

VWPowered

Scirocco Mk1 GTI lower than a golf and handles better, better aerodynamics too, still a good 30mpg+ car in todays world;)

hint : 76-78 had chrome bumpers 78-81 had plastic:rolleyes:





cheaper alternative to the mass produced golf:cool:

niceirishfella

I reckon Sciroccos ROCK!
Nice retro vw look to em.......is there much parts available for em?

VWPowered

golf 1 mechanics, suspension, drivechain etc etc

good websites like www.sciroccoregister.co.uk is full of enthusiasts and always has parts for sale on there. expected to go up in price with the introduction of the mk3 next year... a better car than the GTI but with the same features was the Storm just for the UK market came with leather and GTI engine,

great cars..





black or tan leather depending on colour of car




seems to be more of these on the road prices vary from afew hundred to afew thousand, another classic rarer and better than the Golf GTI

kindalen

i'd love one of these late 70's vw's. would uk be best place to scource one?had a mk1 gti so this would be a little different...but a nice weekend car.

niceirishfella

Thanks VWpowered,

nice pics and good info.
what would a good one set ya back in the uk?
a 78 model say?

VWPowered

even good roccos can be had for little money on ebay.co.uk

OR TRY HERE /°

http://www.sciroccoregister.co.uk/phpbb/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2

VWPowered

oops

carchaeologist

The scirrocco is a nice motor,but the early mk1 golf with the early dash with the pointed clocks will always be a favourite of mine!!

manta mad

heres one for ya !

1978 opel manta sr coupe. she,ll be 30 on the 6 august this year





getting harder to find a clean one now

I must say i like the mark one scirrocco .
had a mk 2 for a while & that was a nice car to drive .

found a pic (well sort of )

drunkmonkey

manta mad wrote: »

heres one for ya !

1978 opel manta sr coupe. she,ll be 30 on the 6 august this year

Does the Manta Qualify as a hot hatch?(border line sports car : ) I really do hope so.....:D as that means the Datsun 240 & 280z cars are also contenders...


a 1978 240z had 150bhp, real wheel drive an 0-60 of 8 seconds and I think it looks the bomb.....



I really think the thread should be renamed "looking for 78/79 rocket ship? ":D

p.s

nice scirocco, what year?

zed_head

That Datsun Z is very tasty ! I need to start doing the Lotto.....so many
nice cars to be had !

zed_head

I'd say you'd be lucky to find a '78 Scirocco these days let alone one with
a GTi motor. The GLi I think sold in bigger numbers. When it came to
handling though journalists of the time favoured the Mk1 Golf. Also the
Mk1 Scirocco was a rust bucket as it was built by Karmann (rust proofing
was practically non-existent). That's why so little of them exist today.

Brian Hennessy

The guy who suggested the 128 3p was right, a true hot hatch. Didn't the Ritmo come later (than 78/79)? I'd love another 3p, great fun, rusted like mad though. The oroginal hot-hatch? Very difficult to get now though.

Henry Ford III

Z cars rusted very quickly too. The one pictured above is either a Samurai version or heavily modded I think.

zed_head

Nearly all cars from that era rusted, just some slower than others. Even
cars like the Mk1 Golf rusted in the end albeit years later.
The Ritmo came out in 1978 but you'd have hell of a job trying to find one
of any age now. Same story with the 128 3P. Although I used to see a
blue one around here in Cork up to a few months ago.
I'm sure alot of cars have grounds for the argument of the "original hot-
hatch" but I think ultimately the Mk1 Golf GTI will always be associated
with that term.

Blue850

I used to have 2 of these , 127 Sport, 70BHP from 1049ccs, little screamers



and I have one of these too, a 1300GT

zed_head

Very nice !! The Sport is the real eye catcher. I remember they used to
do them in orange too and silver. A real blast from the past !

carchaeologist

How about one of these, modern,fast and sexy!!



Gotta love the digital clocks!!I have an 89 turbo converted one, with these seats...(just waiting for her to become classic now)

Comfy stuff!!

Max_Damage

They may not be the most reliable, but they are meant to be a laugh to drive:



Some models even had a 'talking' dashboard!

carchaeologist

I think they only made 50 black ones like the one above...

Max_Damage

carchaeologist wrote: »

I think they only made 50 black ones like the one above...

Don't know about that, but the Turbo models are particularly rare these days:



Only about 500 were made. That said, I'd still go for an MG Montego than a Maestro.

carchaeologist

Heres one i saw at the Retro show last year at Santa pod,it was mint!!

Henry Ford III

Thread has slipped to the mid or even late 80's.

macplaxton

^^^^ whs a lot of drifting OT here.

Golf or Scirocco would seem to fit the bill nicely.

Can I get away with a tepid hatch? - Austin Maxi 1750 HLS.

(You can make them hot with R-series Maestro bits, as the E-series engine is very closely related to the R-series)

Eric318

I used to have a Renault 5 Alpine (or Gordini as it was called this side of the sea). That was a great little machine, not much in common with the "normal" Renault 5 once on the move.



This is a great website: http://www.r5gordini.co.uk/

carchaeologist

Or the inflated version...

with this in the back...