Easy answer - VW bug? Or is there something out there simpler than a bug? Maybe a 1950's truck? An army Jeep? Let's keep it post-WWII to prevent wooden horse carts with a motor and such.
Easy answer - VW bug? Or is there something out there simpler than a bug? Maybe a 1950's truck? An army Jeep? Let's keep it post-WWII to prevent wooden horse carts with a motor and such.
It hardly qualifies as a car 
but the simplest post WWII vehicle I can think of is a King Midget. They are street legal but top speed is probably around 40mph or so.
http://image.motortrend.com/f/28512280+w1500+ar1+st0/king-midget.jpg
I think modern and simple.. I think Miata.. anything before 70 is antique
American 6 cylinder vehicles, prior to emissions laws. There is virtually nothing in the engine bay.
It's hard to beat the Beetle, think of all the stuff that is doesn't have that a Ford Falcon of the same era did have: water pump, radiator hoses, radiator, driveshaft, etc.
Very simple suspension and steering.
The only way to make it simpler would be megasquirt and electronic ignition!
Yea, gotta be some sort of 'Merican truck. Engine, wheels, cab, bed, some controls, done.
/thread
mad_machine wrote: I think modern and simple.. I think Miata.. anything before 70 is antique
+1 on the Miata, especially NAs and NBs. Not a lot going on there, and pretty stupid-easy to work on.
A fixie.
I could fill a Beetle with all the parts a Miata has that a Beetle doesn't.
OK, maybe not. But I could fill a Miata at least!
ShadowSix wrote: I could fill a Beetle with all the parts a Miata has that a Beetle doesn't. OK, maybe not. But I could fill a Miata at least!
wait..fill a miata with its own parts? Is that like how I was afraid when I was very young that if you ran a vacuum cleaner over its own cord, and it sucked the cord in, the vacuum would suck itself inside out?
ShadowSix wrote: I could fill a Beetle with all the parts a Miata has that a Beetle doesn't. OK, maybe not. But I could fill a Miata at least!
Agreed. My brother in law has a trashed Miata. Once I looked it over a little, it is amazing how much electrical and computer stuff there is on such a simple little car from two decades ago.
Yeah nothing in the computer age is going to get close to the 40's-70's. My vote is a 40's pickup. Inline 6, manual gearbox with no synchros, solid axles front and rear on leafs, single-circuit manual drums.
Either VW Bug or Willys GP. The bug's suspension and steering are more complicated but the GP has a liquid cooling system. They both make the suspension on a Sevenesque look ultra-complicated.
Land Rover Series I is pretty simple but maybe not as simple as a Willys or VW.
Land Rover Series I is pretty damn simple.
I still consider '90s-era EFI systems to be simple, but I will admit I'm an electrical engineer.
mid 60s Valiant w/slant 6. early 60s Falcon or Comet.
I had two beetles. While they are simple, its nice to have a functioning heater/defroster.
Edited for stupid.
4cylndrfury wrote:ShadowSix wrote: I could fill a Beetle with all the parts a Miata has that a Beetle doesn't. OK, maybe not. But I could fill a Miata at least!wait..fill a miata with its own parts? Is that like how I was afraid when I was very young that if you ran a vacuum cleaner over its own cord, and it sucked the cord in, the vacuum would suck itself inside out?
Yes - same paradoxical danger as looping a swing over the top bar or walking up behind yourself in google maps.
Javelin wrote: Yeah nothing in the computer age is going to get close to the 40's-70's. My vote is a 40's pickup. Inline 6, manual gearbox with no synchros, solid axles front and rear on leafs, single-circuit manual drums.
Yep, pickups stayed simpler than cars until very recently. Just go back as far as you consider to be modern for the most minimalist one.
ShadowSix wrote: It's hard to beat the Beetle, think of all the stuff that is doesn't have that a Ford Falcon of the same era did have: water pump, radiator hoses, radiator, driveshaft, etc. Very simple suspension and steering.
An air cooled beetle makes a horse and carriage look complicated
I agree with all the guys saying ac beetle. I mean I can pull the engine in half an hour on my baja and drop it with just the assistance of a floor jack. I probably don't even need the jack, but I'd hate to really drop it.
I remember one weekend I was doing waterpump, timing belt, rollers, etc on my 944 turbo...cussing that car the whole way. I decided to take a break from it and work on the beetle....needed to drop the engine to fix an oil cooler leak. Working on that thing was like a vacation....so simple. Everytime I get frustrated with a repair on one of my other cars I contemplate selling them all and going with an entire collection of AC VWs!
Anybody read Truck by John Jerome? Working on a 1950 Dodge ended up sounding a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. So far I am still leaning towards Beetle.
When I joined the Society of Old Land Rover Ownership, I was told that the Series Land Rover was basically the simplest way to make a vehicle. "If you were designing a car, it would work like this". I'm not sure I completely agree, but they are pretty basic. Just like Javelin's 1940's pickup, but with fewer cylinders. Pulling the trans means disassembling the interior down to the bare frame, but that takes about 15 minutes with a screwdriver and a 7/16" wrench.
Meanwhile, my 1966 Cadillac is surprisingly complex. It's got a lot of the same luxury features we expect from modern cars, but it's all done pneumatically or mechanically. Electronics are a lot simpler!
The original Beetle is a modern vehicle?
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