virtuamike
Diamond Member
92-ish 240SX. Then do a SR20DET engine swap. Sexy 🙂
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YACT: What's a good cheap fast car?
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flxnimprtmscl
Diamond Member
Yah, buy a 240 which prices vary for, then do a $5K engine swap (more than he wanted to pay in the first place) and you'll get a car that, while very driftable, is still not that fast and will easily get owned up on by a dsm with an mbc. 240 and SR20= Most overrated car and engine combo ever.
Get yourself an early dsm. Get one that was made before June (or was it July?) of 92. That way you won't have to worry about crankwalk. Fairly reliable car to begin with, AWD, reasonably quick (high, mid 14's) with nothing more than a MBC (manual boost controler), responds well to mods, huge support comunity, etc. All in all their great cars. Very cheap to make fast too. If you can't get one into the low 13's/ high 12's with under 3k (or less) in mods you're fvcking retarded.
Hmm, actually, yeah, the mustang _would_ be fast and you could probably get a decent GT for $5000 or so. I dunno about the firebirds and camaros, I just get the feeling that they deterioriate really really quickly.
But I stand by my 300ZX suggestion. An eclipse or talon would also be a good choice in the fast/moddable import category, but not sure that they hold up as well over time.
But I stand by my 300ZX suggestion. An eclipse or talon would also be a good choice in the fast/moddable import category, but not sure that they hold up as well over time.
GalvanizedYankee
Diamond Member
I had an 84' Supra, Blk, 5sp. Bought it with 80k on it, put another 70k on it. Nice car, as they don't came striped.
The 87's on are heavier but don't have the funny feeling trailing arm rear suspension
of the early cars. Toyota's in-line six is a bullet proof motor.
Granted it's not the zoot looking package that some others my be, but for an everyday
driver that handles well, is low maintenance, it's worth looking at if just in the adds.
As a GT type road car it will shine. The only big draw back is the MPG will not be as good as a 4 banger...........🙂
okay, so no rotaries
Nah... i'm too scared... j/k it's not too practical for me
If i really had to let one go it would be Reliability. I've had some experience under the hood and under the whole car.
I'll definately look into that. I do think they're sexy in a MILF kinda way.
tla n00b... dsm = ??? (tla = three letter abbreviation)
really liked this though... but i think i'll have a hard time financially w/ that one.
And as for $$$ under 5,000
SHoddyCOmp
Platinum Member
BMW 02 w/ S14 2.5L swap muahahahha!!!! 😀 😀 😀 that is pimp! 😛 Its been for sale more times than I can shake a stick at though, haha. Last time, it sold for $17,000 I believe, or around there anyhow. Who wants to get beat by a 27 year old car? 😀
CrackRabbit
Lifer
Your probably going to laugh your ass off at me, but a L-4 turbo Dodge Daytona, easy to mod, easy to take care of and dirt cheap.
CrackRabbit
CrackRabbit
Black88GTA
Diamond Member
My car is holding up OK. It's not the greatest handling car though, because it's pretty heavy, and my tires suck. Second pic
The nice thing about it is that it's got a basic 350 SBC/700R4 trans combo, and uses very common parts. As a result, mechanical parts for it are very widely available, and dirt cheap 😀. There's a huge aftermarket, and it's not uncommon to find a good shell of a 3rd gen Camaro/Firebird for $1500-2000. Build a motor (or have one built) to drop in there, and you've got a fast car for well within your price range. If you dropped some cash on upgraded suspension parts and sticky tires you could get it to handle pretty well too.
The vast majority of the 3rd gen F-bodies were NOT fast in stock trim though. The TBI and stock carb 305 motors were slugs. 305 or 350 TPI cars were relatively fast for the time, and the 1989 Turbo Trans Ams had the 3.8 turbo V6 used in the Grand Nationals (those were sweet). A stock LT1 (93-97) or LS1 (98-03)will blow the doors off of any stock V8 3rd gen though.
As suggested, an older V8 Mustang could be pretty good too. My 4 cyl Stang (in background of first pic) handles OK, but could really use good tires and stiffer suspension. You might be able to find a decent GT or V8 LX for around $5k.
300ZX would be nice, but you will pay out the a$$ for repairs and parts. Same with the Stealth and 3000GT. An older DSM car can be made stupid fast for very cheap, but when the AWD system breaks, fixing it costs a fortune. Stay away from anything rotary (RX7).
Good luck!
The nice thing about it is that it's got a basic 350 SBC/700R4 trans combo, and uses very common parts. As a result, mechanical parts for it are very widely available, and dirt cheap 😀. There's a huge aftermarket, and it's not uncommon to find a good shell of a 3rd gen Camaro/Firebird for $1500-2000. Build a motor (or have one built) to drop in there, and you've got a fast car for well within your price range. If you dropped some cash on upgraded suspension parts and sticky tires you could get it to handle pretty well too.
The vast majority of the 3rd gen F-bodies were NOT fast in stock trim though. The TBI and stock carb 305 motors were slugs. 305 or 350 TPI cars were relatively fast for the time, and the 1989 Turbo Trans Ams had the 3.8 turbo V6 used in the Grand Nationals (those were sweet). A stock LT1 (93-97) or LS1 (98-03)will blow the doors off of any stock V8 3rd gen though.
As suggested, an older V8 Mustang could be pretty good too. My 4 cyl Stang (in background of first pic) handles OK, but could really use good tires and stiffer suspension. You might be able to find a decent GT or V8 LX for around $5k.
300ZX would be nice, but you will pay out the a$$ for repairs and parts. Same with the Stealth and 3000GT. An older DSM car can be made stupid fast for very cheap, but when the AWD system breaks, fixing it costs a fortune. Stay away from anything rotary (RX7).
Good luck!
mAdD INDIAN
Diamond Member
reliable performance stylish
if you want it to be cheap, pick two from the above...you can't have all.
Best choice is Mustang 5.0 or F-body V8. Oh, and they do handle well. Don't believe? Go watch them at your local autox.
Also see if you can find a Neon ACR. Not fast, but quick.
if you want it to be cheap, pick two from the above...you can't have all.
Best choice is Mustang 5.0 or F-body V8. Oh, and they do handle well. Don't believe? Go watch them at your local autox.
Also see if you can find a Neon ACR. Not fast, but quick.
Black88GTA
Diamond Member
Most of the ones in this link 🙂
Look for an AWD TSI turbo. They're not too hard to spot, as everyone selling them pretty much knows what they have, and usually put it right in the beginning of the ad.
EDIT: I did that search from my zip code (MI, 48302). YMMV - literally 🙂
CrackRabbit
Lifer
Sure was, you should be able to find a good one for well under the $5k pricerange you have.
Just make sure that the turbo was fed and cared for well.
CrackRabbit
Thegonagle
Diamond Member
What did Ornery just say? 😀
Anyway, how about a Mazda MX6 V6? Or a Ford Probe, which is the same thing underneath?
Celica GT-S' are fun too (great drivers know there's more to fun than fast alone).
If you need something reliable because you don't know your stuff when it comes to car maintenance and repairs, you shouldn't be dipping back to the 80s. In fact, you probably shouldn't go older than 8 years. And you certainly shouldn't be looking at sports cars with over 100,000 miles.
flxnimprtmscl
Diamond Member
DSM= Diamond Star Motors. Joint venture between Plymouth, Eagle, and Mitsubishi. The Plymouth Laser, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the Eagle Talon are all the same car. All produced out of the same plant in Ohio or someplace in the midwest.
Technically all DSM's are boosted because the NA versions of those cars aren't really DSM's. All the N/A cars (naturally aspirated) sport the 420a which is the engine Neon's have. All the boosted models sport the Mitsubishi 4G63 which is the God of 4 cyl performance as far as I'm concerned because the amount of boost it will take in stock trim is revolting.
Anyway, the boosted Mitsu versions are the GS-T (FWD turbo) and the GSX (AWD turbo). Fore Eagle it's the TSI (FWD turbo) and the TSI AWD (self-explanitory 🙂 ). As for the Plymouth versions, I have no idea so check in to it.
Anyway, if I were you I'd get something made before June (I believe) of 92. All later versions have re-designed oil squirters which usually don't lube the thrust bearing enough and cause it to fail which = crank walk which = you're screwed, time for a new engine. The date of production should be printed on the sticker inside the driver side door jamb iirc. If it's not you can tell by a bulge on the drivers side of the oil pan. 6 bolt motors (the one you want) bulge out on the drivers side. Seven bolt motors (you don't want these) curve in on the drivers side. I think that's it anyway. Might want to check into that as well and make sure it's not vice a versa.
Hope this helps.
Technically all DSM's are boosted because the NA versions of those cars aren't really DSM's. All the N/A cars (naturally aspirated) sport the 420a which is the engine Neon's have. All the boosted models sport the Mitsubishi 4G63 which is the God of 4 cyl performance as far as I'm concerned because the amount of boost it will take in stock trim is revolting.
Anyway, the boosted Mitsu versions are the GS-T (FWD turbo) and the GSX (AWD turbo). Fore Eagle it's the TSI (FWD turbo) and the TSI AWD (self-explanitory 🙂 ). As for the Plymouth versions, I have no idea so check in to it.
Anyway, if I were you I'd get something made before June (I believe) of 92. All later versions have re-designed oil squirters which usually don't lube the thrust bearing enough and cause it to fail which = crank walk which = you're screwed, time for a new engine. The date of production should be printed on the sticker inside the driver side door jamb iirc. If it's not you can tell by a bulge on the drivers side of the oil pan. 6 bolt motors (the one you want) bulge out on the drivers side. Seven bolt motors (you don't want these) curve in on the drivers side. I think that's it anyway. Might want to check into that as well and make sure it's not vice a versa.
Hope this helps.
Dudez0r i've posted this already.
90-94 (though, 92-94 are the easiest to mod and work on) Eagle Talon TSI AWD, Eclipse GSX, Plymouth Laser RS(?).
The Dodge Stealth/Mistubish 3000GT VR4 are very crappy cars compared to the above, they come with twin turbos and are slower than the above which only have single turbo.
Edit to respond to above: Crankwalk isn't a big problem, it happens to about 1/100 DSMs. The best is to get a first quarter 92, it has the 6 bolt/4bolt combo, best of both.
BatmanNate
Lifer
I have an '87 Supra Turbo w/ the 5 speed & sports package and it pretty much fits your bill. It's quick, handles well, is RWD w/ LSD, relatively cheap (got mine for $2500 @ 110k), very reliable (although make sure the head gasket is holding up on the turbo model), they look nice, and they come with a lot of options to boot. (before Toyota had Lexus, this was their showcase car) They're not too common either, and less likely to get stolen than something ricy like an Integra.
Although for your budget you might be able to sneak in one of the LT1 z28's depending on mileage.
opticalmace
Golden Member
he said reliable 🙂
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