Cheap Muscle?

Have a 94 Integra at the moment, I love it but its not the greatest car for Arizona due to the lack of power and the amount of straight freeways and roads here. I would like to get something with a V8 and it has to be manual. Been looking at Fox Body Stangs and F Body Camaro. Is there any cars I should be looking at for under $6,000 that I might be missing?

Thanks

If all you want is a V8 and manual, look at old half ton trucks.

In reply to Chadeux:

Was thinking of a car instead but it is definitely not an option I am ruling out.

Buy my Javelin and have $1000 left over to swap a T10 4-speed into it?

In reply to Javelin:

Not a bad idea! Just not really into the look of the javelin though they are cheap.

1975-1979 Nova/Apollo/Omega/Ventura. Really cheap, lightweight, inoffensive styling, a lot of good chassis support and capable of swallowing a wide variey of engines

This is going to be interesting.

I like the idea of a pickup as well.

I've always wanted to take a SWB Chevy/GMC, slam it to the ground with huge sticky rubber, big rumbly V8, etc.

If you want four doors: 2003 and newer Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Then swap in the Manual Tranny from the newer Mustang. Well documented swap.

For long highways, you want some power and speed, but the gas mileage of an old V8 may kill ya. I had a Dodge Intrepid R/T back in the day and it was ideal for long hauls at high speeds. FWD and an automatic, sure, but one you are up to speed in AZ you aren't shifting or cornering anyway. Gas mileage wasn't great, but you could average 18-20 instead of 12-14 mpg. It was also very slippery aerodynamically speaking, so no annoying wind noise or drag, and it had big comfy seats that you could easily log a few hours in and still feel fresh. Should be in you price range.

You should check out the SXT and R/T Intrepid, the Supercharged Buick Regal, a Taurus SHO (available with a V8), and a Nissan Altima SE-R...all great highway cruisers.

Look at some of the other fox platform cars. Same aftermarket and less mustang tax.

If you're looking at Fox bodies, also look at the variants like the T-Bird of the same era. They're automatics but easily swappable and clean ones are cheaper than clean Mustangs. The extra bigness would make for a nicer highway car.

pinchvalve wrote: You should check out the SXT and R/T Intrepid, the Supercharged Buick Regal, a Taurus SHO (available with a V8), and a Nissan Altima SE-R...all great highway cruisers.

The earlier SHOs were better than the uglier, auto-only V8 cars. But I highly recommend anything with the supercharged 3800, not just the Regal GS. That includes the Grand Prix GTP, Riviera, Bonneville SSEi, Oldsmobile 88 LSS and Park Avenue Ultra. Very cheap, a pretty robust engine, plenty of aftermarket support. Only downside is that the auto trans tends to be kinda wimpy in stock trim.

Oh if we're left fielding the guy with big v6 front drivers, I'm going to say look at v6 Accords and TLs.

Maxima too. V6 and manual available.

Lot's of pony cars Ford, Chubroleti or Pointy-ack. After that the only others that spring to mind without swaps are:
E39 540i
W8 Passat
C4 Corvette

Trucks are for towing race cars or people who want to marry their sister.

Option 11

6k should get you a nice LS1/t56 4th gen F body.

if daily duty i'd go that route. if toy and keeping 4 banger for daily, all bets are off.

$6k can get you a lot of fox body.

I'd let mine go for that.

But you should also look at the SN95 cobra, the 4th gen Fbody and the C4 if you can deal with just 2 seats

If I were looking for a manual pony car with that budget I would set my sights on an SN95 Mustang, specifically the much maligned '96-'98. They have the same amount of horsepower as the pushrod 5.0 but the engine is much less prone to leaking things. In my opinion, stock vs stock, the 2 valve 4.6 is more durable and more efficient than the earlier pushrod 5.0. Also the brakes and suspension of the SN95 are much improved over the earlier cars. The T45 and TR3650 are rated for more torque than the engine puts out, unlike the non World Class T5 they put behind the 5.0.

Everybody forgets about the featherweight Vega/Monzas. $2-3K will get you a great example.

I was going to suggest a maverick, if it is for a second car. I wouldn't want to depend on it as a daily.

AClockworkGarage wrote: Everybody forgets about the featherweight Vega/Monzas. $2-3K will get you a great example.

Have you ever worked on a V6/8 H body? There aren't many 70s American cars with a more cramped engine bay.

Infiniti M45?

In reply to BrokenYugo:

yes I have. It still has more space than a 4th gen f body.