good track car?

[flood]

I've recently gotten into autocrossing, but I dont like beating up my daily driver (735i). It does great, albeit its a little big.
So, I want to get a car soley for autocrossing. I'm not looking to spend much money at all.
The requirements are:
rear wheel drive (for drifting! )
cheap! (<1k if possible)
easy to work on
cheap to fix
good power
not too big/heavy

Handling is pretty low on the list of priorities (besides, its fun to try to keep it under control). Safety is almost a non-issue since in autocross there is nothing but cones to hit. A low center of gravity would be nice though.
Anyone have some recommendations?

 

[Mutilator]

Until I read the part about not spending much money I was going to say Corvette Z06.
How about an old Miata? I think they're supposed to be pretty good at autocrossing.

 

[notfred]

1986 ford Mustang SVO

Rear wheel drive (with limited slip differential)
um, not $1,000 but you can find them for 3-4 grand in decent shape.
Easy to work on: it's a ford.
cheap to fix: most of the parts other than the special SVO parts can be found on a million wrecked 79-93 mustangs.
200hp 2.3 turbo 4 cyl.
weighs in just under 3000lbs I beleive.

It'll pull about 0.85gs on the skidpad.

 

[vi edit]

And old ass RX7 or maybe an old Datsun 280z (is that the right number?) Mabe an older supra.

 

[blahblah99]

An 89 240SX, can be had for under $1k, EASY as hell to work on, has a 53/47 weight distribution, and can weigh under 2400lbs if you strip out everything.

 

[StageLeft]

If it's under $1k you'll need to fix it a lot :Q

Miata would be a good one.

 

[CraigRT]

240SX or Datsun for sure... very for sure.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Porsche 914! Best handling car ever made. Period. (As a 914 owner I'm obligated to say that.) Seriously though, the things do amazingly well at AutoX. Mid-engined, light weight, you can get a lot of power (relative to the weight) for a fairly small amount of money. Unfortunately, a 914 for AutoX will run you about $3,500 to $5,000. Great track cars though.

ZV

 

[vi edit]

Forgot about an old MR2. The non-turbo ones were dog slow though. But a turbo would be much out of your price range.

 

[Beau]

<--- Just picked up his '82 Porsche 924 ($800, good condition)

I'll pick up my 914 in about 3 weeks.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Beau6183
<--- Just picked up his '82 Porsche 924 ($800, good condition)

I'll pick up my 914 in about 3 weeks.

Almost forgot about the 924/944. They can be had fairly cheaply and they handle very well. The 944 is a little better for AutoX because the flared fenders on the 944 allow you to fit wider tires.

ZV

EDIT: The 914 is cheaper to fix though.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
And old ass RX7 or maybe an old Datsun 280z (is that the right number?) Mabe an older supra.

That's pretty much what I was going to say. My bro picked up a 2nd gen RX7 with a blown motor for $400. Cost him about a grand to get a new motor in it. Strip out the insides and you've got a perfect 'cross car. Add a roll cage and skid plates and you've got a cheap, fast rally car (this is what he'll eventually do with it).

 

[BatmanNate]

I have an older supra, but I've never tried any rally stuff with it. (It is my daily driver after all) Handles nicely on the road, though.

 

[flood]

Hmm, I'll look into the Rx-7 and the 240.
I didnt know the 240's came that cheap.
I'd be a bit worried about the rx-7 breaking down, but i'd love to own one.
How do the two compare as far as working on them and the cost of parts?
I'd imagine the rotary engine would have fewer things to break, and they'd be easier to replace?

 

[flood]

bump?
how bad is workin on a rotary engine?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: flood
bump?
how bad is workin on a rotary engine?

Have you ever put your hand into a blender and then tried to use the bloody stump to read brail? Well it's harder than that.

--

Or so I presume

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: flood
Hmm, I'll look into the Rx-7 and the 240.
I didnt know the 240's came that cheap.
I'd be a bit worried about the rx-7 breaking down, but i'd love to own one.
How do the two compare as far as working on them and the cost of parts?
I'd imagine the rotary engine would have fewer things to break, and they'd be easier to replace?

Actually they're both cheap and bulletproof for the most part. Plus you can rev the snot out of them....great fun.

 

[boyRacer]

... everyone pretty said everything i was gonna say. Have fun!