What car deserves the "Singer" treatment

Maniac0301 wrote: OK take an Elise and put an AW11 body on it.

I want this more than a Singer Porsche.

E30 3-series. The M3 is already commanding 6-figure prices. If you were a young Wall Street Trader in the 80's, you lusted after or even had a 3-Series. Now that you are the CEO of the company, you would drop $400K on a Singer 3 Series to take you back to your youth.

I think 240Z is the answer here.

For giggles I'd love to see a Corvair, or Studebaker Avanti.

Another vote for the 240Z. Classic looks, it's old enough to be desirable by non-car people, and it's a significant model in that it was the first successful Japanese sports car and the first car to make that kind of balanced performance available at a lower cost.

pinchvalve wrote: E30 3-series. The M3 is already commanding 6-figure prices. If you were a young Wall Street Trader in the 80's, you lusted after or even had a 3-Series. Now that you are the CEO of the company, you would drop $400K on a Singer 3 Series to take you back to your youth.

E30 M3s are actually selling for 6 figures?

Seems to me that the base car has to be last 60's, early 70's for it to really work well.

So for a BMW, 2002 would be a smart choice, where you can easily drop in a very potent later I4. Maybe a 2800 CS, where a very modern I6 would go nicely.

240 is spot on, IMHO.

There are enough Pro Touring Mustangs and Camaros out there.

GTV with a more modern 2.0l TS, no bumpers, some GTAm like fender flares (just not as far).

Corvette would be interesting.

Euro Capri would be very cool, with a 3.5l Ecoboost motor.

The problem I see with the Datsuns, is that they're too cheap right now. It's not difficult to find pretty solid versions for under $15k, and the nicest examples go for $25-30k.

To justify all of the work and man hours required for a Singer type of conversion (custom body mods, perfect paint/glass, redoing/upgrading all of the electrical and plumbing, improving the entire drivetrain/brakes, brand new custom interior, etc) you have to get well into 6 figures when you sell it. I don't see a ton of people willing to pay that much for a Datsun, especially when really decent versions sell for under $30k.

That being said, Datsun prices seem to be on the rise, and I can see a more grassroots/restomod approach working without going into a full custom like a Singer. The selling price would obviously be lower than what Singer puts out, but the time and money spent on it would be lower too.

Am I the only one who kind of wants to scan every part of a classic 911, send the drawings to China, and see how cheaply you could produce the Harbor Freight version of a Singer? Vinyl floor mats, no options, just the least expensive replica the resources of this planet could possibly make.

I would call the company Stinker

I'm going to say 240Z and stick to my guns with it. There's been a number of really high-profile builds in the last few years (Fugu-Z anyone?) and they've been all over magazines, games, movies, even Hot Wheels. Prices are going through the roof, there's not a lot of them left, and they are iconic and beautiful to even non-car people.

Classic muscle cars/ pony cars. at least those are the ones I figure would justify the cubic $ investment with their selling price. I think it will be a couple of years before the Z gets there. This is an opinion.

Ferrari 308. Take all the suck out of owning one of these beautiful cars.

Any Ferrari from the 1980s.

edit: mblommel beat me to it

The problem is the Porsche ticks all the boxes that hardly any other does. It was a very fast car for the time, it has plentyof aftermarket to make it faster. It was sold in large quantities. Many people had one. Many people still want one. Many people still own one. It was inexpensive to buy at one time. You can still buy these on Craigslist and not some fancy auction.

About the only car that could remotely pull this off is the 240-280z. But they are getting rarer and not as well taken care of like the porsches. You need to find a car that is a "I'll store this in my garage forever", but "it's not terribly expensive.

I wonder what Singer would do with a non-911 Porsche? 914? 928? 944?

Also, the z cars need a cross between rocket bunny and ZG nose styling. Old looking, but also modernized.

Trackmouse wrote: The problem is the Porsche ticks all the boxes that hardly any other does. It was a very fast car for the time, it has plentyof aftermarket to make it faster. It was sold in large quantities. Many people had one. Many people still want one. Many people still own one. It *was* inexpensive to buy at one time. You can still buy these on Craigslist and not some fancy auction. About the only car that could remotely pull this off is the 240-280z. But they are getting rarer and not as well taken care of like the porsches. You need to find a car that is a "I'll store this in my garage forever", but "it's not terribly expensive.

Remember that the vintage 911's he uses raced in Trans Am against Alfa GTV's and BMW 2002s.

(they were out of the series when the 510 came along)

The thing about the 911 is that it kept ramping up in performance. And still does. In a similar configuration.

If we could put the new Giula v6 into a GTV, that would be a pretty hot car.

AE86.

Toyota 2000gt replica, mkiv supra tt

Mazda FD RX7

Nissan GTR R34

I personally love the idea of the ae86, fc/fb rx7, e30/e36, mki mr2, etc...

The rest just won't ever actually reach a six figure value.

Sky_Render wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: E30 3-series. The M3 is already commanding 6-figure prices. If you were a young Wall Street Trader in the 80's, you lusted after or even had a 3-Series. Now that you are the CEO of the company, you would drop $400K on a Singer 3 Series to take you back to your youth.

E30 M3s are *actually* selling for 6 figures?

Only at the very, very, very top of the market. Like a 91 EVO model that's perfect in everywhere and has 15k miles or less on it.

I'm probably in the minority, but 80s pony cars.

I would love to see well done, clean, tricked out fox bodies and 3rd gens

You know deep down you would want them to do the Singer treatment to one of these.

Remember back in the late '90's, Nissan itself was reselling factory restored Datsun 240z.

I think this is currently happening with Jeep Grand Wagoneers.

I'd like to see MR2 Supercharged carrying the ultra rare HKS Twincharge kit (turbo and SC)

What about iconic compact cars like the Mini and Fiat 500? I know modern versions of those cars are mass produced but think just how hip you could be with a more weather proof and livable version of an original Mini.

Jensen Interceptor?

Alfa Romeo GTV:

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