Looking For a Cheap Sports Car

[horns666]

Don't get busted doing this. I know guys who made this mistake..they were not happy!!!

http://www.automotiveblogger.net/dude-you-bought-a-girl-car/

http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Dude_you_bought_a_girl_car

..just lookin' out..

[CharvelRocker]

Guess that rules out the Probe hehe...

And I've looked at that list. The Miata also has appeared on a list of the top 10 cars for Douchebags IIRC And man, I remember those NX-2000... I always thought they were a fat Geo Storm, but it can't hurt to look at one of those either, as well as the Mitsubishi Starion/Dodge Conquest. Less fugly than the Daytona too hehe.

I've checked out 3000GT, but their insurance is fairly high, so I had to rule them out. Parts for them also cost an arm and a leg.

[quiksilver]

Porsche 944. The naturally aspirated ones are cheap. The Turbos are quite a bit more $ but also much faster and very well balanced. Both are great cars, and great looking cars, too.

[WAR IN D]

Don't know if you could find one for under $4K, but the 93 Toyota MR2 would be my choice. They imported them through 1995 but the 94's and 95's are much more rare and command a nice price when you can find one. You can generally find the 91/92 MR2T cars for under $4k, but the 93 came with a better tranny, improved rear suspension and bigger breaks. It's got a 2.0 Liter I4 turbo putting out about 225 stock (3SGTE engine rather than the 2.2 3SGE motor) and with minor mods can be bumped up pretty inexpensively. I had one up until about three years ago but I sold it before I moved to Atlanta (would not have passed emmisions there). It covers most of everything you're wanting but it does take premium gas. It's RWD, five speed, wasn't too bad on insurance (but YMMV depending on your age and driving record) and was very reliable. I put about 60K on mine while I had it, and besides routine oil changes, etc. all it ever needed was a timing belt. I did some basic mods to mine including a K&N intake kit, boost controller (set at 15 PSI, stock was 9 PSI), down pipe, full 3" custom exhaust and MSD RPM module to control the TVIS plate. Never dyno'd the car, but I esimated it was about 300 HP at the crank. Great thing about this car was it had V8 power when you wanted it, but got 4 banger gas mileage out on the highway. The problem is finding them.

[clifffclaven]

I pay $550 a year for full coverage all year 'round for my FFR MKII Cobra..and it eats anything on the street.

plus people love it..especially girls.

..

well, any car anyways...

[horns666]

well, any car anyways...

Yes, and I found some fine specimens..

The Chevy Chevette..well it's a "Vette"..

Hey some of these had V8s..the Gremlin "tennis shoe".


Exploding on rear impact..my fave, the Pinto..

Pussy will be falling out of your pockets..in this Yugo..

It's a Pacer and its beige..what more can you ask?

This actually rules IMO..and its called a Trabant!!!

Geo Metro..0-60 in 15 minutes..good on gas!!

These are the best I can come up with..the rest is up to you!!

[Flatpicker]

Yes, and I found some fine specimens..



This actually rules IMO..and its called a Trabant!!!

Ahh, The Trabant. The best Russian car they ever made. Had a 10 year wait list and not a bit of steel in the body.
You can duplicate the sound of slamming a Trabby door closed by hitting 2 empty milk bottles together.

You are better with a good set of chucks...

[Inazone]

Not sure if Nissan is still on your list, but the rusting issues are definitely the case. I bought a then-new 200SX SE (basically a two-door Sentra) in 1997, and just two years in, it started rusting . . . from the inside out. A co-worker of mine bought a Sentra a couple years later, and we talked about it, but he was optimistic that it was a fluke. Nope, his was rusting down the inside of the driver's door and then along the bottom in no time. Nissan wouldn't touch mine despite the warranty, not even going 50/50 with me. Not sure if this other guy ever pursued getting it covered.

I had fully intended to get a 240 after the 200 was paid off, but I ruled out Nissan due to poor customer service. I'd bought four cars from that dealership and decided that if they didn't want my business anymore, I'd go somewhere else. The 200SX never gave me any mechanical trouble, but every 200/Sentra from that era that I see on the road now is a rust bucket. I realize that this is Minnesota and we use road salt throughout the winter, but I "downgraded" to a 2001 Kia Sportage after the Nissan, and the only rust after seven years was on the cheap spare tire rack and in a spot where my drummer gashed the paint down to the metal with a cymbal stand. That never even spread, where as on the Nissan, I could almost watch the rust grow.

[roodyrocker]

Of all the cars mentioned, a Fox chassis Mustang still seems like the best choice to me. They are plentiful, easy to work on, lots of good aftermarket parts support whether used or new, and fuel consumption can't be much worse than one of those other smaller engined imports under boost whether turbo or supercharger. I've heard horror stories about parts pricing on the Probe, such as $400-600 alternators and starters. Plus if its going to be an open track car better check the pricing on brake rotors and pads as you'll change those as frequently as spark plugs and oil. I'd hate to see the pricing on those parts for most other cars mentioned here. Oh yeah, avoid anything with a sideways mounted engine if you do your own work on them, they're a PITA to service.

[LouSiffer]

The Fiero GT is a good choice as mentioned by Spinovious.... I had a couple including a twin-turboed 1988 GT. However, if you buy one.....make sure its a 1988 with the 5-speed.....its the only year a suspension was truly designed for the car. The previous years' suspension parts were grafted on it from the Chevette and Citation.

For hard driving, you need to learn the car....it is a little different than almost everything out there. It sticks like glue to the roads. There are still not too many cars coming from the factory that can compare performance wise with it.

Performance parts are easily available since it is a 2.8L. You can also swap in the 3.4L with very little modification. You can get a V8 kit for them, but, it makes the car really ass heavy, loses its balance, and even the 5-speed won't hold up too well with anything more than about 275/300 HP.

Also, you can pick up late 80's/early 90's twin turbo 300 ZX's at a reasonable price. I always did like these cars.

I don't consider Mustangs and Camaros as much a sports car as much as muscle cars. They don't have the refinement for handling as defined by the term "sports car".-Lou

[Cleveland Metal]

My friend runs a fox body at mid-ohio. He's got about 40k in his, and he competes easily with 100-175k cars. They all hate him for that reason alone. I can't wait to see how he'll do when he swaps out his hot 302 for a 347 he's building

Maximum Motorsports or Griggs Suspension can make foxes stick to the ground like a magnet...

[LouSiffer]

Not saying they can't handle well, they just lack that refinement off the floor. I always felt the term "sports car" refers to a car that has a balance between perfromance and handling where cars like Camaros and Mustangs are geared more for performance rather than handling from the factory. Plus, those cars don't have the typical appearance of a sports car.....they have the beefy/bold looks of a muscle car.

Just my opinion......others may have a different opinion than mine, but, their's is wrong. -Lou

[roodyrocker]

I've been to Mid-Ohio several times and shot pix for the Shelby club when they rent out the track for open track events as well as the vintage race they have there each June. Mid-Ohio is an awesome track. Anyway, one year I got to ride in an 86 Mustang that was prepped strictly for track events. It had a 410 stroker small block Ford with supercharger, Jerico 4 speed transmission and 9" Ford rear end. Plus the chassis and brakes were all equally prepped. What a ride that was! 20 minute lap
Anyway, if you are going to use the car for open track events you will quickly realize that all of them have short comings that need to be addressed before the car is track worthy. Once you start upgrading parts whether chassis/brakes/suspension or motor for more power you will realize the best bang for the buck will be the Mustang.

[85 San Dimas]

I have a 1991 Mustang GT in the driveway with 91K on the odo. I know you said no V8's but it has good tires, orig. pony wheels. Silver, red interior and at say 2700 would leave you some $$$. Paint is kind of dull but the paint is original. If you are in the Amish wonderland we're probably 3 hours apart max. It was adult driven.
I don't mean this to be ad it just worked out that way.

[Flatpicker]

Not saying they can't handle well, they just lack that refinement off the floor. I always felt the term "sports car" refers to a car that has a balance between perfromance and handling where cars like Camaros and Mustangs are geared more for performance rather than handling from the factory. Plus, those cars don't have the typical appearance of a sports car.....they have the beefy/bold looks of a muscle car.

Just my opinion......others may have a different opinion than mine, but, their's is wrong. -Lou

I thought that refinement was the reason for the GT moniker.
Sports car was high end and aerodynamics. (2 only)
Muscle car was pure beef and more interior space (2+2)