I have found myself in a bit of a pickle here. I currently have three cars:
1) 98 Neon ACR Coupe (DOHC). Fresh Mopar 2.0, ex STS local trophy winner. ~30k miles. Pretty much all bolt-ons, Koseis, Moroso Pan, Konis, etc.
2) 96 Neon Sedan. 150k + Miles, SOHC MTX, 30+ MPG. Very little rust. New struts, A/C, and top end.
3) 91 Mustang LX Notch. T-5, 5.0. Solid AZ car.
The sedan puked a thrust bearing. I have about 1/2 of a mint (33k mile, all new accessories/brackets) PT Cruiser 2.4 which could go in it. I was holding onto the block to build a 2.6 Stroker and ITBs for the ACR. Was considering putting the 2.4 into the Sedan depending on how bad the bottom end is on the SOHC
The ACR is fresh rubber (and maybe a Koni rebuild) away from being a locally-competitive STS car with some good driving.
The Mustang is going to paint in April and is otherwise stock. It kind of fell into my lap. A near-mint car for challenge money. A friend of mine has a 3k mile 10.7:1 SVO 351 block which could be had for pennies on the dollar.
I really need a reliable DD for work. I travel 150+ miles per week on business, not to mention to-and-from office.
Do I:
a) Continue with faux SM build with Stroker and whatnot for ACR.
b) Keep ACR as-is and enjoy it as a cheap track day car which could be written off without too much hurt to the pocketbook and build the Stang as a Street/Cruiser/Woodward car (hey, this is Detroit after all).
c) Re-build SOHC bottom end (if not completely trashed).
d) Throw 2.4 into the sedan as a DD (or ACR's 2.0 for that matter).
e) Sell sedan, pick up another clean Cherokee XJ, P71, SRT-4 or similar?
f) Sell sedan, grow up, and actually take a loan out on a "nice" car (Marauder, CTS-V?)
g) Combination of the above?
I had a nice XJ slip through my hands today. Nice, rust-free ones do not last very long. Same goes for clean SRTs which are not $10k and over.
Also, turning the Mustang into a trackday ride seems to be a lesson in futility. It seems as thought I could invest cubic dollars into it, and still wouldn't be as nimble as well as the ACR. Not to mention the increased tires/brakes.
Disclosure, I'm a bottom-rung professional in my early 20s, trying to balance a car addiction with a social life and home-ownership in the very near future. Only reason I have considered taking on a small car payment is to build up a bit more credit. I have been paying cash for everything since car 1.
I'm open to any suggestions. Only definites at the moment is the Sedan will be fixed, ACR is getting new rubber, and Mustang will be panted. Selling the ACR or Mustang are not currently an option by any means.