Car you want and can get, but shouldn't

ddavidv wrote: Absolutely no rational reason for one, and they are completely useless on-road. And yet...

A buddy of mine (a Mini owner, coincidentally) has one of those. He installed a Cummins 4BT in it.

The car that taunts me is a Lotus Elise... and driving by the dealer every day doesn't help at all...

4cylndrfury wrote: Yes: http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/1435745178.html

I actually know someone with 2 m715s, one disassembled one with a worn out small block chevy, and one terribly rusty one thats stock except for a hardtop cab. Neither of them run though, supposedly they are both going to get a 6bt someday though.

I pass an M715 every day. It looks pretty good but hasn't moved in years.

There was also the urge to trade, IIRC, Carson(?) my R/T for the Terrarium.

In the spring it will be a battle between a monster 696 and probably a Ninja 650R. Heart says Duc, mind says Ninja.

In reply to neon4891:

Yep, that was me!

Colt Turbo. 4g63 drivetrain swap, some bolt ons for a healthy 300whp with an extra 50whp available with scramble boost for 5th or meth. Recirculated ofcourse , exhaust dumped out the front or side. Launch control, no lift shift. Slicks on the front (stock looking but wider wheels), stock skinnies on the rear. Gutted, minor rust, riced flat black hood, a mismatched front fender, baby on board sticker...

License Plate: "CIAO" or "CYA"

I really shouldnt have bought that '91 Festiva last year for $100

It had 375,000 miles on it and it would leave a 10'x5' oil stain anywhere you parked it for longer than 10 minutes. It was wrecked multiple times. and smelled like pee. It threw a rod through the block after one month of diving it (adding a quart of oil every other day)

But it was only $100!!!

BMW E24. I've wanted an E9 since I was a kid, but prices just keep going up. The Shark is probably as close as I'll ever get. Good ones seem to be about $5K, solid runners that need some lovin can be found for 2.

I already have a whole mess of cars I could afford but shouldn't have bought and a fairly unamused wifey.

So for me, it's actually an engine I can buy but really shouldn't...

A Polopolous 911/4 (a 911 6cyl with the two center cylinders whacked out to create a 4cyl 911 engine) to stick in my 72 Beetle!

I want a 355 very very bad but I cannot bring myself to do it

DeLorean (20k) or an Esprit Turbo (~18k).

As a child of the 80s I've always wanted both of those cars and if I sell both my Golf and my Miata and put in my savings I could get one.

But then I would have one of the above as my only car with no money left to repair it and rent a car when it is broken for weeks at a time...

And my girlfriend is a child of the 90s and HATES those classic Giugiaro folded paper shapes.

madpanda wrote: DeLorean (20k) or an Esprit Turbo (~18k). As a child of the 80s I've always wanted both of those cars and if I sell both my Golf and my Miata and put in my savings I could get one. But then I would have one of the above as my only car with no money left to repair it and rent a car when it is broken for weeks at a time... And my girlfriend is a child of the 90s and HATES those classic Giugiaro folded paper shapes.

Two of my all-time favourites! I don't see how it's possible to dislike either.

Any sports car I get will go to the track so I stick to lower priced but fun S2000s (street and race). I could afford an F430, ZR1 or Exige but I'm just not ready to blow that kind of money on a car to risk balling it up no matter how much I lust after them. Is self denial a virtue?

I want, and can get, the latest Honda AWD Civic wagon (88-91?). Red or white exterior, manual trans, preferably bone stock. I don't know why, the car just rubs me the right way and seems like it'd be an easy chassis to do mods with, abuse for a while, and probably sell after a while. I have absolutely no reason to buy this car as I currently have 4 station wagons, 3 of them being AWD. Jessica doesn't like the way they look at all, although she said that about my last Civic ('89 DX hatch) and it really grew on her after a while because they're fun cars to knock around and super simple to maintain.

The CTS-V is probably second on my list of want, can get, but shouldn't...but it's such a cool car, I think I will soon anyway.

Bryce

A mercedes 450sel 6.9l. I think high speed tires in 205/70r14 are about 400$ a pop. Not to mention 5000$ if the hydraulic suspension is dead. Lets not even talk about smog!

A guy near me has a DMC12 that looks to be a daily driver, never see those. It even has the tiniest drivers side window.

Lowered (if I could find the ever-diminishing suspension pieces for it) and on dished wheels--semi-VIP style.

I always loved the retro-modern look of these cars. 4-cam Japanese V8 and Infiniti luxury. Sign me up.

Gas mileage would keep me away from it. I commute WAY too much and need disposable beaters.

miwifri wrote: Any sports car I get will go to the track so I stick to lower priced but fun S2000s (street and race). I could afford an F430, ZR1 or Exige but I'm just not ready to blow that kind of money on a car to risk balling it up no matter how much I lust after them. Is self denial a virtue?

Could get track insurance, although I haven't look into it much.

Yay two more votes for the Esprit. I thought someone would try to convince me on one. They all look great, but I actually like the Stevens one a bit better. S4 would be my pick, although the flatplane V8 would sound wicked without that stock exhaust. They're so rare though, I dunno how I'd feel about modding one. It's been done, but there were only a little more than 10,000 Esprits made over its lifetime. Panteras and Vipers are almost as rare and its commonly acceptable to mod one of those, so...

'90 ZR1. Not the best autocross car though, and I don't HPDE so it has to remain a fantasy for now.

M030 wrote: I already have a whole mess of cars I could afford but shouldn't have bought and a fairly unamused wifey. So for me, it's actually an engine I can buy but really shouldn't... A Polopolous 911/4 (a 911 6cyl with the two center cylinders whacked out to create a 4cyl 911 engine) to stick in my 72 Beetle!

Ah yes, perfect for an Outlaw 356 project shell that I found....cheap...that I shouldn't buy...

Only two really come to mind.

P71. We have a station wagon and SUV in the fleet, so the car really would serve no additional practical purpose, guzzle gas, and take up as much space as the Miata AND CRX. But it would be fun.

3rd gen Trans Am. Black. Just for the fond childhood memories of my favorite TV show car.

Integra Type R. Just don't have to garage space and theft is just too crazy to get one. Miss my old one, though.

I've also wanted an E30 M3 or a Civic hatchback to build up, but just not in the cards at the moment.

I realy like the look of these, and there is one thats been sitting at a garage near me for quite some time, but I strongly suspect that if I ever had one it would just make me wish that I had gotten another SAAB or Datsun instead

Been driving past a very clean Fiero GT and have to resist stopping and asking about the price.

On the two wheeled front, I had to work very hard to convince myself that Buell going out of business did not, in fact, constitute an emergency so it was not OK to raid the emergency fund to buy a Ulysses.

Some project ideas that the lack of time needed alone is enough to convince me not to do it include finding a Prius, turboing it, and installing a second electric motor driving the rear wheels for an extremely perverse sleeper, and trying to find some sort of weird and wacky '50s European microcar (maybe a Messerschmidt Kabinnenroller or a Gogomobile Dart) and putting a liter sportbike engine in it.

the new Mazdaspeed 3. there's one at the local Mazda dealership, and at ~$23K it's an absolute steal, considering it is the second most powerful car Mazda makes, and it sits roughly where the cost of a new Cooper S would be. the only thing holding me back is the fact that insurance on it would be murderous, compared to even a JCW Mini.

also, by the same tolken, a new Subaru WRX 5-door. ~$24K before options, AWD, fast, bred from rally cars, and the insurance companies are well aware of the last three on that list.

and there's no way I could forget the usual Miatas and gen 1 MR2s and all the various kit cars (Meyers Manx, Bruton Stalker V6, FM Westfield, FFR Cobra, etc.), for the insurance cost reasons as well as the fact that nothing on that list is very practical and with the POSSIBLE exception of the Manx, nothing on that list could carry a mountain bike