510 as a daily driver?

Hi people, I need to sell my street miata in the spring. I need something with a back seat since I am not allowed (nor do I think it's a great idea) to put my 2 month old daughter in the miata. I still have my sawzall miata (soon to be supercharged) for autox, track days, etc and something to tow it with, but I need a DD that gets reasonable mileage and has a back seat. I've always loved the look of 510's but they are pretty rare around here due to rust. I don't mind going south to get one, but I would need to know how they would work as a DD for summer only. I've never had a car with working AC, so I'm not concerned with having it in the future. Other cars I'm considering are MGBGT, BMW 540/6 speed, and a cortina if I can find one. It doesn't have to be a great autox car since I already have one. It doesn't even have to be a great kid car since it will not be the regular kid hauler. I could spend up to $5k for the car (or $9k for the 540 since my wife likes them). What do you think? Where should I look (not actually looking unti spring)

4 door E30.. with small kids folding down that seat to get to the back gets old FAST.

If you deal with snow, make sure to get one that has an LSD, mine dosent and im thinking about starting to look for one after fighting the thing.

Check out the Ratsun Forum for some advice and pricing.

The L-series motors are Mercedes based and dead reliable, everything else is typical old car stuff.

They are fun though! Dad's 77 200SX was a blast and dead reliable. Sat for a year and survived a 6-hour enduro at Seattle International Raceway (Pacific Raceways) with hardly a whimper.

I wish to do a similar thing but with a nice clean AE86, as I have my Crown Vic and Celica for all my automotive play times. But I really feel bad putting a clean AE86 in the rain (or any hard to find car), I have no qualms at all with the Vic mainly due to the fact that a complete rust free chassis can be had for under $1000). If it's anything like classic Toyota's, that $5000 should easily get you a clean reliable 510. I got my 73 Celica for $5500 delivered with a full race engine and fully upgraded suspension.

If it's about kid safety, I would think a Miata beats a 510. Sure, the 510 is a 4 seater, but the Miata benefits from 2 decades of safety advancements.

I agree than an E30 is probably better than either, while decently capturing the spirit of the 510.

EDIT - I see the 540i6 on your list. I had a '99 that I loved.

Turbo Volvo?

Those 540s are pretty nice...

Wow, 510 or 540, nobody can say you have tunnel vision, you're ALL OVER the place. Haha, I'm tormented by similar decisions all the time. I'd say go with the 540 for a dd. You already have a buzzy fun toy for the track.