THSCC Forums

So the miata is on the chopping block. I have a line of people waiting to
look at it and buy it. Since I might be making a move to hotlanta, I
figured I would wait another year to start my spec miata thing. Plus I
still want to win in the damn subaru before I sell it

I have about $5000 to spend on a beater. I would like to spend less of
course. It will either be a

A) Tow car, in which case it will be an expedition

or

B) A fun, fairly quick, cheap, reliable, good looking, 5sp, sporty car
with a back seat

Since I already know what I will buy if I choose option A, what kind of
car should I get with option B?

So far, I have on my list
1) 1992 Integra GS-R
2) 1994 or 1995 Integra LS (can't afford new body style GSR)

Of course I would rather have the GSR, but I only found 2 within 300 miles
and the better one of the two seems to be sold. They are both $4000. The
cheapest GSR in the newest body style I found was $6000 and thats past my
budget. I would rather keep it at $4000 even though I would stretch to $5000
for a nice car.

I was also thinking about a nicholson style Sentra SE-R, but they seem to
be made out of unobtanium as there is only one within a 300 mile radius and
it has like 10000000000 miles on it.

Last but not least, I was thinking about hitting up some auctions in the
area, to see if I could find something there.

Cliff Notes: Need a fun, fairly quick, cheap, reliable, good looking, 5sp, sporty car with a back seat suggestion for a beater.

-Tom

Used 2nd and 3rd gen Supras are plentiful, fun, cool and cheap. You could even find a turbo model in that price range.

I hear Karl is thinking about unloading teh 454 powered Suburban, it might be an option vs the Expedition.

3rd gen Celicas are also cool cars, a bit slow, but reliable, and cheap.

You could almost get into an early, high milage Lexus SC300 in that price range!



Scott

NX2000?
older G20?

_________________
2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

Can you really get an expedition for <= $5000? Wow.

As to the other question... hum... Civic Si with back seat in place? Old Mazda 323 w/ the turbo? Older Eclipse/Talon AWD Turbo?

Hum, might hit up Ron Spencer. I know he was *toying* with the idea of selling the Talon. Not sure if he was serious or not.

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Diane (Hall) Bundas
1992 Spec Miata #48 - 1997 Chevy Tahoe - 2007 Honda Civic Coupe

I'd by what Jason now has two of.. 240sx. Good power, torque, rear wheel drive, viscous LSD (in some), and a backseat. Moving to Atlanta? Miranda not liking the Raleigh area, or do you want to be closer to her STi? - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

3rd gen supra is my favorite so far
I had an old 240sx and didn't like the car. I had an 1989 though, so maybe the newer ones don't suck. I guess I should take jasons for a drive...


If I get a tow car I can spend more $$ because I can write a bunch of it off on taxes


She's getting to go to Emory to finish out school and then law school for almost free since her mom works there. It works out to a no brainer vs. paying for school at UNCCH. If she goes down there, she'll be there for a few years and I would miss the STI!

-Tom

I was going to suggest one, but I've already been accused of being a 240sx cheerleader.

You're more then welcome to drive it, as long as the timers are turned off first.

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In need of car.

Easy!

Mustang six or V-8. Back seat. Sporty. Quick (even the six). Reliable (or easy to fix anywhere with cheap parts). Good looking. Readily available anywhere. RWD. Goes in snow with a set of Graspics or Blizzaks on cheap wheels. Pick your year, pick your color, pick your engine, pick your price.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Ditto on that one. Pick up a '91-'94 of either one and you have yourself an SE-R with a different body. The NX2000 has slightly bigger brakes in the front if memory serves me correctly, but the rest of the car is the same. On the other hand the G20 is the same chassis, maybe slightly different suspension tuning, but the same power plant, and my guess is it will be much less abused than the typical SE-R or NX2000. My 92 SE-R served me well up to right before I hit 221k on the odometer.

E30 BMW 325is - you can find a pretty decent one for $5K. Look between 1987 and 1991. Back when I was car shopping in '02, I found an 87 325is with 76K miles for $6K. It was very nice. They are fairly plentiful, and not horribly expensive (for a BMW) to fix.

If you're willing to back down on the power a bit, go the Karl Shultz/Jordan Denhoed route and get yourself a torque monster 325es

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

Say what? Not my idea of torque. Right Les?

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Point taken...

Let me rephrase. A 325es is darn torquey for something that's not an American V8. If I'm remembering correctly, it only had about 130hp, but it did have ~170 lb/ft of torque. From what I've read, it's actually pretty responsive to chipping.

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

Just get a 325e and put the is head on it. 2.7 liter motor with the 2.5 liter head makes for a great engine i hear.


However the best choice is clearly a Geo Storm GSi.


Since when is a beater a 5k car. My car was 3500 total.

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2006 Civic Si - #24 HS for 2015

2005 GMC Sierra
1991 318is Garage Ornament

Tom, you could just buy the mirage from me.

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In need of car.

1986 Toyota corolla GTS, also known as the AE86. 125 thumping HP, RWD, and i think the weight distr. is 51/49. Iv read not only are they great drift cars but that they are just good cars in general to learn your limits and how to hold them. Think they were made from 1984-87. I almost picked one up the other week, but turned out it wasn't it.