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Looking to buy a 2nd car, project/tuner.

Z

z33mike

Junior Member
I was just wondering what would be a good car to buy if I want to learn more about cars? Basically I want a reasonably priced car that I wont cry about if I fuck up so I can learn about modding cars for performance and possibly build a decent car for autocross. Right now I have experience maintaining cars only (do my own brakes, oil, etc.... things like that). I'm not going to be a forum newb and say i'm looking for something and not say what I want it for so i'll be descriptive.

I do autocross, am new to it, and if this car is good for that its a plus
Must not be FWD.
Looking for something lightweight with good handling.
Pricerange $5000-8000, have 6k to spend and lots of cash in reserve in case i really fuck something up.
Don't really want a V8 but if for a beginniner that is the best path to take I wouldn't mind but I would prefer a turbo car, want experience with a FI engine.
Something that I can eventually achieve 250+ RWHP with if the car is small/lightweight.
Other than that it would be nice to have a 2nd car that can seat 4 (2+2 is acceptable) as an alternative to my Z.

Anyways i've asked a few of my friends and looked around and have had these suggested to me:
Mustang Fox Body - aftermarket support and knowledgebase, though I heard it has not so great handling... more of a straight line car. It doesn't fit with what I want I would consider this for the experience alone. Someone who lives near my parents is selling a 86 svo which interests me, however.

Corolla GTS - friend is selling one, considered it until a few people told me it has a weak chassis that might not work with my performance goals unless I want to put serious money into fixing that issue. Otherwise this would be perfect though its ridiculously overpriced for such an old car IMO and i also dont know how hard parts are to find for this car. The car my friend is selling already has some work done to it (weight reduction).

Eclipse GSX/Talon TSI AWD - quite a few people have suggested this for me but i dont know if this would fit what I want to do here since i'm fairly unfamiliar with how AWD handles. Learned to drive on one 15 years ago and I dont really remember it since I rarely got to touch it.

240sx - lots of these around for cheap, know some people with knowledge of this car so that is a +. One of them knows a shop that would do a SR20DET engine swap if I wanted to go in that direction eventually.


Have any other suggestions or comments on these?


BTW I have a 350z but its under warrenty and I want to keep it a stock DD.
 
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Have a feeling a lot of people are going to suggest that car, really its where i'm leaning right now. (240sx)



Which MR2? I know someone that is not using their 80s MR2 that I could probably convince to sell it.
 
You can find 02-03 year WRX's in that range now. Tons of aftermarket support, you can quite literally change every part on it to your liking. Plus now there's quite a lot of used stuff on the market.
 
miata is exactly what you want

edit:
minus the 2+2 request
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That car is great for autocross, would consider. Pretty much this matches almost perfect for what I would want since there is a lot written about this car and it has a lot of aftermarket support.

Seating 4 is not a requirement for me, it just would be nice to have a car that isn't a 2 seater as a 2nd car since I drive one already.

You can find 02-03 year WRX's in that range now. Tons of aftermarket support, you can quite literally change every part on it to your liking. Plus now there's quite a lot of used stuff on the market.
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I'll have to check those out. Didnt think they would be in my price range quite yet.
 
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Miata or MR2.

Mk1 MR2s (n/a) can be found dirt cheap. Supercharged ones are a bit pricier, but you should still be able to find a decent one for $3-4k.

Mk2 n/a's are fantastic autocross cars and you can run endurance races with them too (last weekend I was working on a car for Racing Strong Motorsports - they're running a Mk2 n/a in the Charlotte Chump race next month). Mk2 turbos aren't bad for autox, but the n/a's classing makes it very competitive. I love my turbo and wouldn't trade it for anything right now, but it's more of a weekend-daily than it is for any specific event (I'd be way outclassed in autocross given what I've done to it).

www.mr2oc.com <- check it out and do some reading. 🙂

Finding an 02-03 WRX that has not been beat to shit might be difficult.
 
jlee said:
Miata or MR2.

Mk1 MR2s (n/a) can be found dirt cheap. Supercharged ones are a bit pricier, but you should still be able to find a decent one for $3-4k.

Mk2 n/a's are fantastic autocross cars and you can run endurance races with them too (last weekend I was working on a car for Racing Strong Motorsports - they're running a Mk2 n/a in the Charlotte Chump race next month). Mk2 turbos aren't bad for autox, but the n/a's classing makes it very competitive. I love my turbo and wouldn't trade it for anything right now, but it's more of a weekend-daily than it is for any specific event (I'd be way outclassed in autocross given what I've done to it).

www.mr2oc.com <- check it out and do some reading. 🙂

Finding an 02-03 WRX that has not been beat to shit might be difficult.
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Thanks for the info, I will check that site out.
 
I'm far from a guru, but I owned my '86 for over 3 years. I'm almost to 3 years with my 91 turbo, so if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up. I am JLee over there as well.

MR2OC is one of the best message forums I have been on - you do need to register, but reading the FAQ's and some threads in the autocross and road race forums should give you a lot of information.
 
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jlee said:
I'm far from a guru, but I owned my '86 for over 3 years. I'm almost to 3 years with my 91 turbo, so if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up. I am JLee over there as well.

MR2OC is one of the best message forums I have been on - you do need to register, but reading the FAQ's and some threads in the autocross and road race forums should give you a lot of information.
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You make me miss my turbo rwd japanese car real bad :'(

The sound of the engine sucking in air, turbo lag got you waiting in anticipation ad then the big sling shot that catapult you is pure euphoric.
 
Miata or Nissan or Toyota RWD, basically any of them.

Stay away from DSM, they're money pits and the AWD models are particularly touchy, glass diffs/trannies.

EDIT : Wrx is good as well, but do check out the tranny well, and look for one that is bone stock. Apparently the 2nd gear likes to go out, and this happens a LOT easier if someone adds a bunch of power, which is fairly easy to do. STI had a much stronger 6-speed unit, but I doubt a respectable clean-carfax STI is gonna be in that price range for a while if ever.
 
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