Need Advice

[monty]

Hi all,
hope this is the best section to post in...I'm looking at purchasing a FC or similar for weekend cruising ect but know liitle about these great cars so I need some help
I have been looking around a bit but I suppose I don't know what is a good buy or how much $$ I will need to spend.

1. Im not looking for a car that is modified but if it has some mods done to it I won't rule it out.
2. If the motor is original or near to it will I have to get it converted down the track (or does this not matter e.g. what fuel will it need to be converted too) and if so what would I be looking at and what would be required?
3. Im not a mechanic so for work carried out I will have to pay out for or for the average driver is this type of car not recommended?
4. At the moment I have a budget around 15k, what could I expect for that $$$?
5. Any comments or suggestions will be great.

Sorry for the noob questions but it's all well and good to go out and buy a car but I wan't to understand what is involved.

Thanks, Gary.

[snuff69]

G'day Gary   Welcome to the forum.  Mate if you do a bit of looking you should get a pretty good car for 15k. If the car is modified at all you should check if it has all the paperwork certificates ect for trouble free rego. I run my standard grey motor on 95 octane with a lead replacement and it runs great, but as they are fairly low compression a lot of people run them on 91 octane with no problems. If you buy a workshop manual for your car you will be suprised how much mechanical work you can do yourself even if like me you don't have much mechanical knowledge. For stuff you can't or don't want to tackle find a mechanic a little older and they'll probably tell you " I did my apprenticeship on these things". The best bit of advice I could give would be to buy the best body ( ie least rusted ) vehicle you can find because rust repairs paint ect chews up lots of dollars.   Hope you find something.   Dave

[mcl1959]

I also endorse what Dave has said. Have you driven a stock early Holden?
If not you should contact a local club and attend a run in order to get some appreciation of just how different they are to drive and maybe even get a drive in someones car.
Grey motors are fairly simple and run on virtually any type of petrol, so this will not be a problem

Being a member of this forum and especially a member of a car club can be a rewarding experience.

Ken

[monty]

Thanks for the comments Dave & Ken, I will take them on board and I have been looking at the FE Car club in SA so as I get closer to a decision I will make contact with them.
Good idea to get up close to one of these as I have not driven one before but as a kid my dad had one so it's something I've always been interested in (now I have time on my hands).

[Wayne]

Hi Dave
I would recommend that you join the club before you buy the car as I did that and I was able to find a good car through the club.
It was not advertised at all
WAYNE

[freddyc]

the FE/FC forum is a bit like "avon" its all about networking. The more people that know what you want the more eyes you have on the ground. I got a phone call before the nats and was given a Fc ute, collected it when I got home. He rang the townsville early holden club, who said Fred is the FC man.

[FC0058]

Monty

I am a SA club member, we hold club meeting on 1st Tuesday of the Month at, TOC.H Hall, Delaine Avenue, Edwardstown.

I concur with all the comments people have made so far. There are some good cars for sale at the moment especially if you are prepared to travel. Members from other club can be quite helpful with interstate cars so don't be afraid to ask if anyone knows a particular car, or if some one is close by an can have a look at it for you. most car lovers are look for a good excuse to have a look at another car and will provide good honoust feedback and advise.

If you want to have a drive of an FC and you live close to Ingle Farm let me know and we can take mine for a drive and go over some of the thing to look for.

Regards Jim 

[MattFC]

Hi Jim, is your FC the two-tone green one? FCO-058? If it is, you drove past my work the other day, very nice. Sounds good too.
I'm thinking of making the trek down for the next meeting as well, my ute hasn't been touched in about 8 months and i'm in desperate need of some inspiration to get things back on track.

[Stewy]

Hi Matt and Gary,

Would like to meet you both at the next meeting for a rundown on what your up to.
There is always plenty of knowledge on tap and people that have been there done that.

This is Jims.


Cheers Stewy   

[FC0058]

Hi Matt
Yes that would have been me I drive the old girl to work 3 to 4 days a week, yeah she looks ok from a distance and Jack myer headers on an old grey do have a sweet sound so I have been told, sounds good from inside and sounded great going around the mountain at orange nats.

Cheers Jim

[monty]

Hi Matt and Gary,

Would like to meet you both at the next meeting for a rundown on what your up to.
There is always plenty of knowledge on tap and people that have been there done that.

This is Jims.


Cheers Stewy   

Hi Jim and Stewy,

Thanks for the offers it's something I will be doing soon so I will make conatact with the club. I not quite ready to buy one yet but I am interested as getting as much info as possible. When I do go down the track of buying the car joining the club will be high on my agenda. But in the meantime I will look forward to coming to the meetings and finding out as much as I can.
Thank you to all for your help!