Sporty car for less than 5 grand. Update: see 1st post!

  • Thread starter Thread starter savage388
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Yes classic insurance is cheap but it's tough to get at your age. Maybe one of your parents can use their name. Good choice on the car, it's really one of the best bang for your buck cars. You will want to find an 87-92 5 spd 305 TPI car. RPO code G92 would be nice too. The smaller motor will help with insurance, and a well optioned car like that ran only a couple tenths behind the same year 350 TPI in the 1/4 mile. If you have any questions PM me and sign up on thirdgen.org

My username there is 88WS-6
 
88GTA
Yes classic insurance is cheap but it's tough to get at your age. Maybe one of your parents can use their name. Good choice on the car, it's really one of the best bang for your buck cars. You will want to find an 87-92 5 spd 305 TPI car. RPO code G92 would be nice too. The smaller motor will help with insurance, and a well optioned car like that ran only a couple tenths behind the same year 350 TPI in the 1/4 mile. If you have any questions PM me and sign up on thirdgen.org

My username there is 88WS-6
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I'm not too picky on options as far as performance as long as it's a z28 or iroc as I may do a carb swap with headers and the usual bolt ons. Rear discs would be nice though, I guess making the upgrade wouldn't be too hard though. Btw I'm on thirdgen.org my name is the same as here.👍
 
I'd suggest a miata or mr2. Those are very sporty cars with older models that might be in the 5k range, not sure on prices though. :(
 
Awd DSM maybe???

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savage388
What are trying to say?
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MR2s are prone to very sudden oversteer from what i hear, it can happen so quickly that only an experienced/skilled driver would have the reaction and precision to reign it in without going into a tank slapper.

And insurance is all about crash rates. The insurance on all muscle and pony cars for teenagers is high because statistics have shown that kids crash these cars. A lot. and like any normal teenager with a v8 under their left foot it's usually speeding. So in general, engine displacement is proportional to insurance price. but not always the case.

Another car that has insane insurance rates is the nissan 240sx, from the fact that these cars are crashed a lot by kids trying to do a doriftoooo in the high school parking lot and smash a pole.

And about the DSM, just get it out of the way that you will never, ever, ever find one worth buying if you have any sense of reason about your money.
 
SpartanG
MR2s are prone to very sudden oversteer from what i hear, it can happen so quickly that only an experienced/skilled driver would have the reaction and precision to reign it in without going into a tank slapper.

And insurance is all about crash rates. The insurance on all muscle and pony cars for teenagers is high because statistics have shown that kids crash these cars. A lot. and like any normal teenager with a v8 under their left foot it's usually speeding. So in general, engine displacement is proportional to insurance price. but not always the case.

Another car that has insane insurance rates is the nissan 240sx, from the fact that these cars are crashed a lot by kids trying to do a doriftoooo in the high school parking lot and smash a pole.

And about the DSM, just get it out of the way that you will never, ever, ever find one worth buying if you have any sense of reason about your money.
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Hence why a 3rd gen seems to be the lesser of evils. I'm still kind of hoping that the awful blue book of a third gen will effect the insurance rates. Plus liability is a must, I'll take my chances.
 
savage388
I'm not too picky on options as far as performance as long as it's a z28 or iroc as I may do a carb swap with headers and the usual bolt ons. Rear discs would be nice though, I guess making the upgrade wouldn't be too hard though. Btw I'm on thirdgen.org my name is the same as here.👍
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All irocs had disc rears. Going carb from TPI is usually a step backwards, but full exhaust is a must.
 
Unless you are planning on turning the engine into a drag motor, there is no reason to dump the fuel injection from a later 3rd gen. A good intake and exhausts will add a couple dozens horsepower by themselves.
 
88GTA
All irocs had disc rears. Going carb from TPI is usually a step backwards, but full exhaust is a must.
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Toronado
Unless you are planning on turning the engine into a drag motor, there is no reason to dump the fuel injection from a later 3rd gen. A good intake and exhausts will add a couple dozens horsepower by themselves.
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Being that I plan do do quite a bit of engine work in the future I'm attracted to the simplicity of a holly with a non computer controlled distributor, as problems are much easier to diagnose and cheap to resolve than in a pre OBD-II efi setup. I also like the clean look without all the bs wires and vacuum lines, as well as the smog equipment( egr, smog pump ect). If I get a TPI car I'll weigh my options more but until then I'm leaning toward the carburetor option.
 
I got both my Tbirds for cheap. Got the Turbo Coupe with the 190hp 2.3L Turbo/5 speed for $2,000 and the V8 car (which you can see I've modded) for $1500. Takes a bit more work to get the V8 to be fun, but you have the whole Mustang aftermarket at your disposal to do so. The Turbo Coupe is awesome even stock, but make sure you get a 5 speed one as the autos were detuned big time. Also, as someone who has driven 3rd gens and Fox Tbirds, I will say that the Tbird is a much more solidly built car from my experience.

V8 car:
tbirdrecolored.jpg


Turbo Coupe:
TCwashed1small.jpg


Potential:
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MR2 AW11, they are cheap (just watch out for rust), an extreamly reliable engine, and parts are cheap. They are no more dangerous than a Ferio, it's just these last long enough to really push the limits. You can get nice ones for under 2k and Supercharged ones for 3K and up. Tuning and upgrades are out there as well. Great MPG, but lacking rear seats.

MR2 SW20, a good car, but I wouldn't get it unless it's a Turbo model, which is hard to find period let alone stock. Most likely out of price range, but if you find it get one. Same general positives and negatives as the AW11. The NA has decent MPG and the Turbo does alright.

MK3 Supra, you can find a good one for under 2K. Because of improper torque specs many have blown head gaskets. It's an easy fix, and doesn't really hurt much at all. It just lowers the price Me and my brother in law put 3K into the motor (got the car for a grand, did all the installs ourselves) and ended up with a very fun car. NA with 250HP, 280ish torque, with (stock) short gears equals great fun for 4K. They are becoming rare, but are a tuner favorite, so if your going to get one, now's the time. You can find nice Turbos form 4k-5k, be it a 7M-GTE or 1JZ-GTE. Easy power to be made in the turbo models.

I know it's all Toyota's but they are what I know.
 
Antonisbob
'80s Fire bird, Camaro or 'Stang.

All the rice in this thread makes me :yuck:
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I'm going to end up getting an iroc-z camaro. Mechanically they are sound and as a bonus they just look plain nice. I also like the simplicity factor because I hate having a cluttered engine bay with vacuum lines and emissions stuff everywhere. As soon as I get one all the Eco stuff is coming straight off including the air system and smog pump, and a holly 650 double pumper is going on.:D Then I'll go hunting for civics.:D:D
 
^agreed.

Rice is more of a look. Just because it is JDM doesn't mean it's a ricer. A ricer is a Civic with a supra rear wing, a GTR look a like front lip, and a hood with usless vents and scoops.

Tuning is tuning, no matter what kind of car it is. Just because someone has a built up Mustang doesn't make them a cheesburger, like wise a built Honda, Toyota, Mazda, or Nissan isn't automatically a ricer.

@the op. Good luck with the IROC, hope you find a good one.
 
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Antonisbob
'80s Fire bird, Camaro or 'Stang.

All the rice in this thread makes me :yuck:
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Can't you just stop it. You seemingly can't stop pointing out that almost every non-american car is awful and "rice"-y (if it's from a JP manufacturer). You could please believe that yourself, but it just isn't true. Now, the thread starter is going to get a Camaro (am I misunderstood?)... But who are you kidding with that nonsense? Sure, you like your inefficient pushrod V8s, but there are quite a lot of great cars out there. /rant

But of course this won't matter due to that you've probably been hearing this earlier, and still not cared one bit about it.

Terribly sorry for going off-topic. I'd agree with what oopssorry said, but I'm no expert on the NA used-car market. And get the engine with fuel injection, you'll lose a few horsepowers, but you'll probably have lower emissions. ;)

/semi-enviromentalist. :lol:
 
I only saw the Intergra and the Miata on the first page, I have no problem with 1st and 2nd gen RX-7's.. in fact I quite like them. But good luck finding a cheap priced, low milage one these days.

savage388
I'm going to end up getting an iroc-z camaro. Mechanically they are sound and as a bonus they just look plain nice. I also like the simplicity factor because I hate having a cluttered engine bay with vacuum lines and emissions stuff everywhere. As soon as I get one all the Eco stuff is coming straight off including the air system and smog pump, and a holly 650 double pumper is going on.:D Then I'll go hunting for civics.:D:D
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You've got the right idea! Good luck with the car.
 
Antonisbob
I only saw the Intergra and the Miata on the first page, I have no problem with 1st and 2nd gen RX-7's.. in fact I quite like them. But good luck finding a cheap priced, low milage one these days.
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And what is wrong with the Integra or Miata for cheap platforms to have some fun in? Both are highly regarded for their handling and after market support, and having driven both quite a bit, it is easy to see why.

Honestly, you might want to consider broadening your horizons a bit more.
 

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