A little help in locating a certain car.

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JCE

JCE

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My brother and I are basically done with the '85 MR2 minus body/interior work and exhuast and now we're looking for another project to get started on. Problem is we want to go pre-1985 and most to all of the used car searches for cars in my area (Dallas, TX) don't allow a search for cars older than 1985 or 1983. So can anyone give us a hand please? Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

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Some FYI, here's the criteria for what we're hoping to find:

1. Rear Wheel Drive*
2. Manual Transmission*
3. Body has to not have rust or serious body damage
4. Something non-American (would only consider a Fox Body Mustang '87-'93 or 3rd Gen F-body '85-'92)
5. The car itself with or without engine/tranny--or with the engine/tranny but not running, the car can't cost more than $750 to buy.
(Optional) 6a. Made between 1972-1983
(Optional) 6b. Would prefer a Nissan/Datsun or Toyota product.

*-Means is it a must have

I'm hoping to find us a Z car, RWD 4th Gen Corolla (1979-1983 we do not want an AE86), 1st (FB) or 2nd (FC) gen RX7, or maybe a Datsun/Nissan 510 Bluebird--probably won't find in the price range but might get lucky with someone else's project that they can't finish. If any of you know of any older Japanese/European cars that are RWD that could be a decent project for not alot of $$$ let me know. I found a 1990 Volvo 780 2dr Coupe' that's RWD but lost the auction. I still want to do the LS1+FC RX7 swap but that's for me later down the road when I have a higher paying position at the dealership.
 
I don't have an actual car in my possession to sell, but a general suggestion:

E21 (75-83) BMW 3 Series: The 320i is the model you would want. It has a 2.0L injected 4cyl (M10), with approx 125 hp, pretty reliable. 323i's were the european injected 6-cylinder models (approx 140-150 hp), and can be found in the U.S., although would probably be out of your price range. You could perform an engine swap with this engine to a 320i body if you wished. RWD, MT, eveything you want, a fun to drive factor as well. I bought my 320i parts car, which would have made a good project car or a rough runner for $300.

(hp figures from bmwinfo.com after a quick google search, may be somewhat off)

Volvo 242(2 door), 244 (4 door) : Cheap, reliable, will last forever, RWD, MT avaliable. Turbos are semi-fast, but may require some work if in your price range.
 
Ebay Motors would probably be a good place to start, as you can search with the parameters that you require.

...May I suggest the old Toyota Celica 1600GT?
 
Come straight up here if your looking for early eighties Euros...we've got a local yard that's stuffed full...and i've seen more old beamers and benzes around here...

i know a guy with a "hard to find in the US" american Market STARLET up here
 
Hm. well, you could try a VW. By that I mean a Bug. They're the most tunable cars in the wolrd, with enough aftermarket parts that you could almost build one. only problem is finding one in good condition, or one in okay condition that the seller is willing to sell for okay condition price, instead of good condition price. The other problem is it's not fun to drive stock. You really have to hop it up, but there are guys selling re-built and new early Porsche motors and transaxles that would really perk up the ol' Vee-Dub.

Another I've seen is the Porsche 924/944. You can usually get one for under 10K running, but I'm sure there's a beater somewhere, and if it don't run, it'd be in your price range for sure.
 

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