I had an idea recently to restore an old bike to its former glory and make some modern, good looking, improvements along the way. I want to to do this mainly so I can learn how to work on my own bike, but in my own time, on something that won't matter too much.

But, where's the best place to find a rusty old wreck that probably doesn't run? So long as the problems aren't too drastic, I'd be happy! eBay occasionally throws up something good but 90% of the time the bike's are miles away!

Also, any tips for what bike to work on? I was thinking of getting an Enfield as I'd be able to order new parts from India if I needed to.

Try Classic Bike magazine. You get people selling project bikes in the classifieds, or you can find one that doesn't need quite so much restoration. If I had a garage I'd be looking at doing this myself, so good luck Pete.

Be advised anything British, old, 500cc or over and broken down into bits in several T-chests is likely to be worth £1500 before you start.
One of my neighbours had such a bike, a pre unit Triumph 650, he put it back together did a tour of Ireland with it and sold it for £2500)
He currently has the Kwaker GT750 I had for sale a few weeks ago in several thousand pieces on his garage floor, and intends touring Europe with it next year.

just had a little look on ebay.......no old royal enfields, just the Indian rubbish...however, quite a few A10, Matchless, AJS on there.....the BSA A10 looks a bit of a mess, but well worth a look and it could be just what your after

That BSA A10 does look spot on:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BSA-Classic-Motorcyc...1QQcmdZViewItem

My imagination is going mad with ideas to restore it but also do a bit of a subtle custom job to it as well. Will keep an eye on it, wish it was in Leicestershire though! lol

ffs mate...go for it...im sure there must be someone on here that has a van and will pick it up for you, its not as if you have to test ride it first

it does look a bit of a mess though...but in saying that, I chopped an A10 back in the 70's ......er....yep i know it wasnt legal to ride it

good old bikes these

I just had a look on E-bay, there appears to be enough A10 spares to build one from scratch.
(If you do a restoration make sure the bike has the centre main bearing sorted. There has been an aftermarket improvement available for decades).

I'm tempted by it, but it's a bit more than I was hoping to spend. Want something a touch cheaper in the first place and then spend the rest on getting it perfect. As nice as that A10 is, it looks bloody expensive to get sorted lol

Three years ago when a distant relative of mine died, the executors found a 500 Velocette and sidecar in his garage. The bike had been there so long unused a tree had grown through it. Despite this someone paid £1500 for the wreck.

its suprising easy to get parts for A10's, a m8 of mine's dad had a 55 A10 that had been in the family from new, it was used daily up until about 5 years ago, the guy is sadly dead now and his other son sold it for peanuts totally original and had a factory fitted sidecar and fairing thingy
your probably better off finding a british bike, some old jap bikes are getting very hard to find bits for, my Z650 ground to a halt for months because the clutch release was knackered and you just can't get them new, i ended up having to buy a whole bike!
good luck i hope you find a good, sensible priced one

yeah i gathered that mate, but as its a long term project and you'll probably spend most of your time strippin and cleaning and prepin for painting....so at the end of the day, overall cost is erelavent. cos you'll have the one and only

Useful addresses here:- http://www.richmondsathome.co.uk/suppliers.html

Whatever you pay, you'll end up paying out double again in parts, paint etc . . . and unless you do a concours job you won't get your money back. What you will have is a unique bike you will be proud of. Apart from modern bearings etc, get rid of the original electrics, japanese switches etc may take a bit of work adapting, but it's worth it. If you come to Pewsey, come over for a chat.

Yea, that's why I'm looking for something vaugely cheap. There's a garage in Loughborough that builds custom bikes, I may see if they have anything I can buy off them and maybe use their services for fabricating parts.

Have you considered a more 'recent' classic? An RD250 or KH250? Probably easier/cheaper to get hold of and parts are still reasonably priced