Cheapest way to a fast car?

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: Ultima
Say you have a limited budget, and you want something that will be able to get down to the 12-13 second quarter mile, while having good handling on the road (so no big boats OR econoboxes), decent gas mileage during regular driving (so no 454's), and good reliability (hmm.. no ford? ). What would you go for? What do you think would give the best bang for the buck? Mustang, 240sx, rx-7, talon, Camaro are choices, but the 240sx would be expensive to do, the mustang/camaro not the best for road-handling/gas, and DEFINATELY not insurance, and I dunno about an old rx-7 or a talon when it comes to reliability. Guess you have to make a trade-off somewhere though. What would you pick?

If you want reliable high 13s with low insurance, find a 5-spd '95 Maxima GXE/SE and do the bolt ons (VI, y-pipe, intake, chip) or find a Taurus SHO.

If you want 12-13 but with high insurance, DSM, Mustang, F-body is your best bet.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: Ultima

What about the Mustang 5.0? About how much power can that engine take on stock internals? Does it take to turbos or superchargers well? Those cars aren't so bad, and they look half-decent in black too. I like the look of a Camaro more, but I'd rather not get the same car that a friend of mine already has and that another one may be getting.

As for the talon.. I'm always swinging one way or the other on that. I hear about these really fast talons that only got a couple grand put into it and then I read someone else's story about how their transmission broke and thei AWD transfer case locked up or some other horror story.

Hmm, I'd think I'd go with the Mustang. I'd really like to try an RWD car as I've driven FWD up till now. Think powerslides

Well not only do I have a turbo caravan but I also have an 89 5.0l Mustang . The mustangs had forged pistons up till 92 so they should do alright with superchargers. I haven't researched how much psi they can take stock yet but I am sure Tyler knows since he has one on his . Both the van and stang are real fun to drive but in different ways. The van because its a lot faster then people think so its fun to screw with people and because police pay no attention to me what so ever . The mustang because of its massive lowend tire ripping torque and after being in a minivan it feels like it handles like a BMW. My insurance is $350 a year for the van and $450 for the mustang a year for liability only but I am sure if you are under 25 that price difference is going to be a lot higher.

One of my friends has an 88 CSX-T (dodge shadow thats had the shelby treatment) and its been intercooled and had its little mitsu turbo replaced with a garret and that thing is FAST. He was running around 17psi and it was suppost to run in the low 13s but he raised the boost a little to much for the fuel flow he had and blew the 2.2l so he just replaced the bottem end with a 2.5l. You had bad luck with your shadow but these cars do hold up fairly well when you don't screw them up yourself but the really nice thing is even if you do they are super cheap and usually easy to fix. There main problems are sensors going bad and headgaskets which you have already delt with.

BTW I wouldn't consider $10k cheap

 

[nan0bug]

The ricer answer : Buy some stickers and a spoiler

The domestic answer: PUT A 350 IN IT!

 

[Ultima]

Well, you are right, 10K is not cheap. That includes the cost of the car though, and I wouldn't be spending that 10K all at once. I might not even do anything besides getting the car this summer, those mustangs seem a bit pricey even for 90' - '92 models. Ah well, we'll see I think I will go the mustang route, it probably will hurt me on gas but it will also be a lot of fun, RWD, lots of torque, and I'm sure I'll have fun souping it up I'll just have to watch out on bumpy roads with that rear suspension...

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf

Originally posted by: Ultima

What about the Mustang 5.0? About how much power can that engine take on stock internals? Does it take to turbos or superchargers well? Those cars aren't so bad, and they look half-decent in black too. I like the look of a Camaro more, but I'd rather not get the same car that a friend of mine already has and that another one may be getting.

As for the talon.. I'm always swinging one way or the other on that. I hear about these really fast talons that only got a couple grand put into it and then I read someone else's story about how their transmission broke and thei AWD transfer case locked up or some other horror story.

Hmm, I'd think I'd go with the Mustang. I'd really like to try an RWD car as I've driven FWD up till now. Think powerslides

Well not only do I have a turbo caravan but I also have an 89 5.0l Mustang . The mustangs had forged pistons up till 92 so they should do alright with superchargers. I haven't researched how much psi they can take stock yet but I am sure Tyler knows since he has one on his . Both the van and stang are real fun to drive but in different ways. The van because its a lot faster then people think so its fun to screw with people and because police pay no attention to me what so ever . The mustang because of its massive lowend tire ripping torque and after being in a minivan it feels like it handles like a BMW. My insurance is $350 a year for the van and $450 for the mustang a year for liability only but I am sure if you are under 25 that price difference is going to be a lot higher.

One of my friends has an 88 CSX-T (dodge shadow thats had the shelby treatment) and its been intercooled and had its little mitsu turbo replaced with a garret and that thing is FAST. He was running around 17psi and it was suppost to run in the low 13s but he raised the boost a little to much for the fuel flow he had and blew the 2.2l so he just replaced the bottem end with a 2.5l. You had bad luck with your shadow but these cars do hold up fairly well when you don't screw them up yourself but the really nice thing is even if you do they are super cheap and usually easy to fix. There main problems are sensors going bad and headgaskets which you have already delt with.

BTW I wouldn't consider $10k cheap

 

[nan0bug]

Originally posted by: Ultima
Say you have a limited budget, and you want something that will be able to get down to the 12-13 second quarter mile, while having good handling on the road (so no big boats OR econoboxes), decent gas mileage during regular driving (so no 454's), and good reliability (hmm.. no ford? ). What would you go for? What do you think would give the best bang for the buck? Mustang, 240sx, rx-7, talon, Camaro are choices, but the 240sx would be expensive to do, the mustang/camaro not the best for road-handling/gas, and DEFINATELY not insurance, and I dunno about an old rx-7 or a talon when it comes to reliability. Guess you have to make a trade-off somewhere though. What would you pick?

I don't know where you hear the Camaro isn't good for handling. Maybe a stock Camaro, but the Z28's have great handling.

Edit: I read your other posts and saw that your friend told you. Your friend probbably has either a non-Z28, or a Z28 that was passed down through at least 2 generations of young, dumb kids who beat the crap out of their cars (which happens alot with 5.0's and Z28s) My friend Matt's Camaro Z28 handles like a dream, and 70-80 mph on back roads is a walk in the park for that car, and that was before he upgraded the suspension.

The quickest and cheapest way to a quick quarter mile is an older F-body paired with a new LT1 engine, period. Start there, and build as you go. There's a reason that everyone says 'put a 350 in it'. They're easy to work on. Readily available parts for upgrading. Proven ability. Negatives? I can't think of any. Just make sure you find one that hasn't been beaten to death, or be ready to fix everything that HAS been beaten to death.