New sports car... or project car?

[TechBoyJK]

I recently bought a 2011 ford fiesta as my daily driver.

I'm going to be able to pay it off soon, and I'm starting a new job that pays much better than my current one.

I traded in my 2004 bmw z4 for the fiesta because I beat it up pretty bad and didn't want to own it once the warranty expired.

Now I'm trying to decide what I'm going to get for a weekend/fun sports car. I won't buy anything for another few months, but I want to start thinking this through now.

I'm torn between potentially getting a new or slightly used corvette, but I could only afford a somewhat base model. I love them though. I've always wanted one since they moved to the new body style.

I may consider a new Z4, but probably not.

Another thing I'm considering is doing a project car. If I buy the vette or z4, I'm just going to leave them alone, but I love modding.

At the top of my list is getting something like a mid 90's 300zx and completely overhauling it. I have a few friends that work on cars and could help. I'm talking about stripping the interior, laying dynamat, rewrapping the interior, custom stereo, rebuilding the engine, turbo, exhaust, wheels, suspension, brakes, everything.

What would you do? If I go with the new car, it's warrantied. It's ready to go. But it's just another stock car that anybody could buy.

If I rebuild a car, it's mine. It will be custom. I could be proud of it.

Thoughts?

 

[thedarkwolf]

miata come on do it. Everybody else is .

What are you planning to use the car for?

 

[alfa147x]

Do you have a budget?




S2000

 

[manimal]

I recently bought a 2011 ford fiesta as my daily driver.

I'm going to be able to pay it off soon, and I'm starting a new job that pays much better than my current one.

I traded in my 2004 bmw z4 for the fiesta because I beat it up pretty bad and didn't want to own it once the warranty expired.

Now I'm trying to decide what I'm going to get for a weekend/fun sports car. I won't buy anything for another few months, but I want to start thinking this through now.

I'm torn between potentially getting a new or slightly used corvette, but I could only afford a somewhat base model. I love them though. I've always wanted one since they moved to the new body style.

I may consider a new Z4, but probably not.

Another thing I'm considering is doing a project car. If I buy the vette or z4, I'm just going to leave them alone, but I love modding.

At the top of my list is getting something like a mid 90's 300zx and completely overhauling it. I have a few friends that work on cars and could help. I'm talking about stripping the interior, laying dynamat, rewrapping the interior, custom stereo, rebuilding the engine, turbo, exhaust, wheels, suspension, brakes, everything.

What would you do? If I go with the new car, it's warrantied. It's ready to go. But it's just another stock car that anybody could buy.

If I rebuild a car, it's mine. It will be custom. I could be proud of it.

Thoughts?

I love modding cars. Its wonderful to peel back the patina of time and make a tired horse young again. That being said there is alot ot be said for jumping in and going like stink.

If you like open top roadsters like the z4 have you considered putting a boosted hot tamale in a little car like a miata or something similar? Sensation of speed is wonderfully magnified in little pocket rockets!

Nice thing about ATG is you have a wide breath of choices of build threads to peruse. Make sure to check the z32 300zx thread somewhere on this forum...


/whistles

 

[StepUp]

I have a 300zx that has been overhauled on the interior, but needs love mechanically. I might be willing to sell if you are interested.

 

[slugg]

If I had money to play with, I'd buy an NA Miata (pre-1999) and mod the crap out of it. Here's what I'd do:

- full coil over kit
- adjustable swaybars and end links
- light weight wheels and badass tires
- roll bar
- chassis stiffening (frame rails + butterfly brace)
- big brakes
- supercharger
- sound system with easily removable amps and subs (for weight)
- whatever visual mods your heart desires

If you REALLY want a unique car, drop an LS1 into a Miata.

A buddy of mine is selling his blue Z4 in Tampa, FL. If you really want a car you can tinker with, it's not a good option. As much as I love the Honda S2000, it's almost maxed out at stock configuration, so there's not much room for tinkering.

What is your budget and goal?

 

[hanoverphist]

If you like open top roadsters like the z4 have you considered putting a boosted hot tamale in a little car like a miata or something similar? Sensation of speed is wonderfully magnified in little pocket rockets!

or you could get this gem for under 6 grand!

and recustomize it as your own. there are lots of build projects all over the country to mess with.

 

[hanoverphist]

If you REALLY want a unique car, drop an LS1 into a Miata.

hardly unique when theres tons of websites online dedicated to doing it, and more people showing up with those than the old rat rods at shows. if i were going to make a pure power car, id look around for an old PoS shell and drop a crate 350 in it. probably able to do that for less than the miata costs. or mebbe shell projects are just cheaper here in az?

 

[Black2na]

I say go for a project car the knowledge gained from building and the pride in your car from said build is awesome. I like the.Z32 300ZX idea. There is however going the 1997-1999 c5 vette route cheap To buy. and a massive parts source and silly power possibility. And the miata is an awesome idea. mr2 spyder is also. Ive driven both hard like the spyder a little better but the miata is a riot. Could always do an e36 M3.....(HIDES) in all seriousness the e36 m3 has come down quite a bit in price. Well that's my .02

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Project cars break a lot! Unless you really enjoy wrenching and troubleshooting a lot more than driving then I would say to get a project car.

Its also hard to fix wet noodle like rigidity, squeeks, creaks, and rattles that 20yr old cars have. You came from a plush Z4 - I'd stick with something nice that you can enjoy when the mood strikes you.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Project cars break a lot! Unless you really enjoy wrenching and troubleshooting a lot more than driving then I would say to get a project car.

Its also hard to fix wet noodle like rigidity, squeeks, creaks, and rattles that 20yr old cars have. You came from a plush Z4 - I'd stick with something nice that you can enjoy when the mood strikes you.

my z4 had creaks and rattles.. My fiesta already has a few.

That's partly why I mentioned stripping the interior and laying dynamat. I would also use felt (to prevent plastic from rubbing). Part of the project would be to reduce road noise and make the car as quiet on the inside as possible. As much as I'd like to build it up for performance, I would also invest into the stereo. I've always been an audiophile. The honda accord I had, before I totalled it =( .... had a competition worthy stereo in it (for sound quality). This car had 3 layers of dynamat in it. We (my installer and I) gutted the interior (seats, carpet, ceiling panels, everything). It was sooooo quiet, especially on the road.

 

[Imported]

Get a 240Z

I still want one.. I've thought about selling my G35, daily driving the Miata and picking up a project.

 

[TechBoyJK]

240z... kinda a good idea. I love those cars.

 

[slugg]

If you want a quiet car, stay away from any convertibles.

But.. if you can somehow get your hands on an unmolested RX-7, that could be a sweet car if you can learn rotaries. Nissan 240SX's, when done right, are also sweet (pretty hard to find one that isn't beat to crap).

 

[Black2na]

you want a quiet project. i would actully reenforce the m3 idea its easier to make a quiet car quieter. not to mention comfort and some since of sporting. that and you had a Z4 so you have an idea how BMW does things

 

[manimal]

240z... kinda a good idea. I love those cars.

If I ever find an unmolested 240z I would pounce as well. Staying with projects from the 90s and forward usually get you better reliability and safety like airbags and abs. One of the reasons I like my current 300zx, boxster, G35 is they are very reliable once mechanically sorted.

Well at least I hope the Z is once done.



You should see my buddys orange 510 with a sr20 w/t25, now that is a fun car.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

interesting that nobody has stated the obvious yet...

MR2!!

 

[HAL9000]

RX-8's or Lotus Elise's are my bet.

 

[ballmode]

Find a high millage S2000 from older owners that don't rice it out. Add a thicker front sway bar, and some wider wheels you could track it in stock form other than pads, and racing brake fluid

 

[TechBoyJK]

interesting that nobody has stated the obvious yet...

MR2!!

Ha.. my buddy, who would help me on my car.. has an MR2 that's a project. I'd hate to be a copy cat and while I'm a fan, I want something different.

He has like 19 pounds of boost in his. It's pretty crazy.

 

[JCH13]

If I had money to play with, I'd buy an NA Miata (pre-1999) and mod the crap out of it. Here's what I'd do:

- full coil over kit
- adjustable swaybars and end links
- light weight wheels and badass tires
- roll bar
- chassis stiffening (frame rails + butterfly brace)
- big brakes
- turbocharge
- sound system with easily removable amps and subs (for weight)
- whatever visual mods your heart desires

If you REALLY want a unique car, drop an LS1 into a Miata.

A buddy of mine is selling his blue Z4 in Tampa, FL. If you really want a car you can tinker with, it's not a good option. As much as I love the Honda S2000, it's almost maxed out at stock configuration, so there's not much room for tinkering.

What is your budget and goal?

FTFY!

Just kidding! Though that's nearly the configuration of my Miata right now. It is the one that Black2NA drove, it is quite a riot and I would not do many things differently. It is a great recipe for an awesome weekend/autox car and can be done on a budget if you like.

I'm throwing in another Miata vote, be it a total rehab and heavy modding to an NA, reworking a Mazdaspeed Miata (already turbo-charged) or super-charging an NC Mita. You can't go wrong in the fun/$ (or just plain fun) category.

That last question is the most important however...

 

[manimal]

If you close your eyes and imagine your dream moddable vehicle what would it be? two seater, four, vert, rod etc.

I chose my current cars based on how badly I wanted them back when I could not afford them.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Well my budget will be higher if I buy a new car, as I'll be able to finance some of it.

If I'm going to do a project car, I'm basically going to spend what I would make as a down payment on the new car. $25k'ish?

My roommate also has an early 90's prelude that he wanted to rebuild but never got around to it. I think he's all but given up on the idea. I thought, for fun, and since he's capable of doing most of the modding himself ( could do suspension, brakes, most engine work) I might just buy the car off him and make that the project car. I could give him $800 for the car as is, buy a new engine, rebuild the tranny, put new suspension, brakes, paint, dynamat and redo the interior etc. and end up with something like this

And then maybe spend the rest of the money and buy a nice used M5?

 

[JCH13]

Just my taste in cars (I like light sports cars) but for $25k I would get a barely-used power retractable hard top NC Miata, 2006 or newer, then add the FM Targa Package as a baseline, then start tweaking and doing some minor modding from there to exactly suit my taste.

Just my $0.02, it would be a hell of a car.

I'd be apprehensive about have two project cars at the same time, one needing serious work and the other being a used German luxury/performance car.

 

[Black2na]

Just my taste in cars (I like light sports cars) but for $25k I would get a barely-used power retractable hard top NC Miata, 2006 or newer, then add the FM Targa Package as a baseline, then start tweaking and doing some minor modding from there to exactly suit my taste.

Just my $0.02, it would be a hell of a car.

I'd be apprehensive about have two project cars at the same time, one needing serious work and the other being a used German luxury/performance car.

at 25k i would go with this option as well. one HELL of a car comfortable quiet cause of the power hardtop and go like stink not to mention new enough were major issues wont be comming up often