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As a youngster, I clearly remember helping my big brother fix a second hand car that had been given to him, a real rust bucket – trully! It was towed to my parents house with engine parts in the back seat and the holes in the floor pan – holes big enough for you to fit a tennis ball through! Not the kind of used car that you would give as a gift really, but for a teenager the allure of an iconic dream machine was really too hard to resist. I think he must have had big dreams of the coastal road with surfboards on the roof and Rolling Stones playing in the background, because I’m not too sure that there are many (if in fact any) teenagers who would gaze upon the rust heap as a favourable gift. Thankfully we weren’t your normal family, and we were very lucky to have a Dad with probably the finest workshop in the suburb if not within a 100km radius. We had access to; sand blasters, angle grinders, 4 sorts of drilling machines, spray painting guns and all manner of smaller power tools – probably 2 of a kind! We all set to work, this old used car was taken apart piece by piece, “brushed”, polished and put back together again: every single part of it. It was a huge mission, not only rebuilding the engine, but the body work was a giant task as it was riddled with rust that needed to be ground out, sand blasted, body puttied, sanded, smoothed and then finally re-sprayed and buffed. It was tedious back breaking work, but it happened (edged on by the surfers dream). I recall being very interested and I helped where ever I could, probably got in the way a few times, but small hands are needed when bolts drop down into small tight places! Things were looking good, after many months and every single weekend, the van was progressing well – the motor had been taken out (that's another story), new parts found or old parts cleaned and the interior cleaned and rebuilt and seats replaced. The the rear of the van had become a bed complete with a few wet storage compartments, for used wetsuits (or whatever). I remember the evening it all came together! The motor was turned over a few times and the old van spluttered to life! Great cheers and celebration in a thick cloud of smoke – we had slain the beast!! Freedom at last… Now of course most normal families simply do not have the expertise nor the inclination to completely rebuild old cars. Often guys would say that they “know engines”, but the reality is that cars are so advanced today, that few people really know their way around – its rather bewildering! I don't advise buying a “just needs new plugs car” if you’re on a budget, it's far too expensive and time consuming to try and DIY – unless you are a mechanic of course. However for most average people, looking for second hand cars for sale are going to come right by visiting their local second hand car dealer.
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