Brainstorming budget project ideas...

A little background first...

First car I owned was a 91 Nissan NX2000. I was on a budget so I did basic GCs/AGXs for suspension, then RT615s on stock rims. After that I did an SR20VE swap with bolt ons. Veee-tak! Fun car. Strange front end. Autocrossed it locally ten times.

Eventually gutted the NX and put all the parts in a 92 champagne four door Sentra. More fun. Very sleeper.

Sold it and bought a single owner clean 92 240sx SE hatch. RWD fun. Put Q45 front brakes on it and nothing else. Throwing it into snowbanks sideways fun. Locking up the crap tires with light brake pedal input... fun I guess. Personal expenses not. Sold it.

Went to Florida. Found a single owner granny driven 89 Si in red. Bought it, put Konis/GCs on it. Um. Holy E36 M3. That's all I'm going to say. Was going to autocross it, but then a complicated relationship got in the way.

Don't correct me on my grammar, especially not my contractions. I write with an informal voice.

OK. I'm in college, I don't have a lot of money. I'm also tall at 6'3". I want to start a project, a fun project. Here is a list of what is important to me in order.

1) prices of car/parts/maintenance is low 2) has potential to be a rockin HPDE car while remaining a comfortable street car. for reference, i found my Civic to be comfortable. 3) will fit four people comfortably and have a trunk (aka no Miata) 4) will be unique! 5) will be easy/cheap to restore if need be 6) will be batE36 M3 fast (straight line) later down the road if I feel the need

My budget is extremely low. I'm talking $2000-$3000 low when all is said and done. I guess that's not so low seeing what some people here can do with $2008.

I fantasize about things like a Datsun 510 with an SR20DET and suspension. I don't think I can afford that though. I would do a civic again, but I feel like they are getting a little cliche.

I'm open to any suggestions. :)

E30

AE92 Corolla sedan with 20v swap

Don't shoot me for saying this.... But...

Camry. Or a Cressida.

You can find them for DIRT cheap, they both handle surprisingly well with a decent suspension setup. They're comfy. Parts are cheap (moreso for the camry.).

You want batE36 M3 fast down the road?

2jzgte/7mgte in the Cressida.

3sgte in the Camry, or if you were lucky enough to grab a V6 camry, just stick with the toyota V6s, you can make a metric butt-ton of power on those motors.

Other than that, sounds like a Civic Coupe or an E30 is the answer.

I forgot about the Cressida, I would love a 7mgte Cressida wagon.

EvanB wrote: I forgot about the Cressida, I would love a 7mgte Cressida wagon.

It's cool, i forgot about the AE92 20v idea, myself.

Which is a project i have planned for myself this next winter.

80s Turbo Volvo

I'll say P71 just to say it before anyone else.

Personally, I like the E30 or a 740 Volvo options.

TWO MIATAS!

I always thought E30s were pretty cool. Is it true that 325is are the only ones worth modding? It seems like there would be something to be had with a turbo on the 318i.

Taiden wrote: Is it true that 325is are the only ones worth modding?

Any e30 is worth modding. They're all a few weeks away from an m50/s50 swap so it doesn't really matter which engine you start with.

Taiden wrote: I always thought E30s were pretty cool. Is it true that 325is are the only ones worth modding? It seems like there would be something to be had with a turbo on the 318i.

A turbo 318 is always interesting, too.... the motor in that car is VERY low compression, and loves boost.

P71 (ex-Police Cruiser Crown Vic).

1.) $2300 or less will net you a 2001 or newer with 240-260BHP, cheapest insurance on the planet, cheapest parts on the planet. 2.) You can HPDE right out of the box (huge vented disc brakes, tranny cooler, oil cooler, HD cooling, etc, etc) and it doesn't get much more comfortable then a full-size, full-frame car. 3.) Fits 4 6'+ adults in total comfort plus another 6 in the trunk. 4.) It has pushbumpers, how much more unique do you need to be? 5.) They made millions of them! Every junkyard has donors, every parts store has everything in stock, on the shelf! 6.) Less than $500 in mods will net you 14-second 1/4 miles at 95 naturally aspirated without killing fuel economy (17 city/25 hwy). Tuner, CAI, cat-back is all you need. Keep in mind this car will do 95 in 2nd gear... For when you really want to go properly fast there's tons of Mustang speed parts that bolt up, including superchargers and turbo kits!

P71 wrote: P71 (ex-Police Cruiser Crown Vic)

every time i mention a p71 as the next family car my wife kinda rolls her eyes haha... i still want one :)

RWD volvo turbo is fun and you can get decent power pretty easily... turbobricks.com for more info... both I and the wife would like another one :)...

if I wanted to buy an E30.. it would be either of the IS models.. either 325 or 318...

an E or ES would be good for an engine swap

p71

I checked out some videos of the P71 on youtube. I'll be honest, it doesn't seem that exciting.

I'm checking out E30s and Cressidas right now. A 4 door E30 would be neat. A Cressida would be really neat. :)

Nope, not that exciting at all.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/121/

You might be able to find a ratted Galant VR-4 out there.......

Taiden wrote: I checked out some videos of the P71 on youtube. I'll be honest, it doesn't seem that exciting.

I agree, if you are looking for a fun, exciting car there are many better options than a P71. Especially when one of the options is a 7mgte swapped Cressida

You've obviously never owned a car that instills instant fear in other motorists at the mere sight of its presence. There are cop car owners, and there is everyone else.

The possibilities thus far are:

E30: looks great, handles great, has decent turbo possibilities

Cressida: sleepersleeper... boat heavy :( unique

RWD volvo: cool. never had a thing for volvos but i gotta expand my horizons

AE92 with a 20v, or 4a-ge+t: neat idea, but with all the RWD options I might be looking the other way

Galant VR4: i have always fantasized about one of these... are they ever around for a decent price?

Right now I am leaning more towards the E30. Is there a huge performance difference between the 325is and the 325i?

EvanB wrote: I forgot about the Cressida, I would love a 7mgte Cressida wagon.

Unfortunately, they don't handle nearly as well as the sedan because they have a solid rear axle. Only the sedans have IRS. Weird, because usually an IRS gives you more room so it makes sense in a wagon especially.

e36 325

Where are you located? I know of a great deal on a 240sx that is not too far from me..

Taiden wrote: I checked out some videos of the P71 on youtube. I'll be honest, it doesn't seem that exciting.

maybe they're exciting to see if youre a hooker and one rolls around the corner. Exciting in a bad way that is..

but don't worry you'll be able to outrun that bloated junk pile in your 9 inch tall glass heel stripper platforms.