The first time I drove the Enterprise it had a 700r4 for the transmission with a manual valve body. It lasted the race behind a very stout ls1 motor. It did have a trans cooler and recent fluid. I'm not sure what condition it was in before the race as in just rebuilt, new, or a junkyard pull.
HappyAndy wrote: I think a Ranger could survive an off or hard contact better than any of the FWD cars that was considering too. I think I'm onto somethingI could see turbo Lima parts finding there way onto it after a few events too
If you want to please LeMons judges, find some bizzare formula of the Ranger, perhaps the Mazda equivalent. Maybe turn the back into a shooting break, or an ambulance or something.
If you're racing Chump, none of this matters.
Not trying to plug this above anything else mentioned here but the 3spd auto in 1st gen neons is very tough with just valve body mods and a cooler.
Modded versions have put 3 cars in the 8s in the 1/4 mile. Doing laps with a 130hp car is not really pushing it as long as you have modded the valve body to slip as little as possible on shifts.
In reply to Vigo: good to know, 1st generation neons are definitely in consideration, thank you.
2 contenders have come onto my radar screen.
First is a 2000 Mitsu gallant with a 2.4 and AT. I know this particular car very well, it's been through several members of my family And I've done most of its maintenance for the past 4 or 5 years. The single mother who owns it now has outgrown it.
The pros: I'll be able to get it for next to nothing. It's been well cared for for most of its life. Parts availability should not be a problem.
The cons: Its a torque steering / understeering pig. The suspension is completely worn out. The brakes are barely adequate for street use.
This car will be coming into my possession if it survives until tax season. If it doesn't become my crapcan racer I'll just clean it up and flip it.
The second is a 1990 Mazda 929s it has the sweet DOHC 3.0 V6 and AT. I checked it out while it was abandoned at my friends shop. It's rust free and runs good, but the paint is peeling and the interior is beyond hope. My friend was going to arrange for me to get it about a year ago, but at the last minute one of the owners relatives came, paid off its tab and took it. I've run into the current owner, and they are open to selling it.
The pros: Low miles, RWD, torquey V6, independent suspension all around and big brakes(relatively speaking). The interior is so bad that stripping it out completely is the best thing that could happen to it. Maybe I'm just imaging it, but I could see this being useful for more than just crapcan racing. (Rally-X anyone?)
The cons: I've heard that parts for these are expensive and hard to find. This particular car has had a rough life. High performance parts are non-existent (although I have heard a rumor that some RX7 chassis parts are interchangeable). I have no idea if the transmission is up to track duty.
Am I missing anything obvious on either of these?
Pretty sure the 929 was on the "cars judges wanted to see" list
Ummmm... Miata?
929, definitely. When the engine breaks some horribly expensive and unobtainable part, do a small block something swap.
HappyAndy wrote: Sorry guys but I have no interest at all in a P-71 or anything with an SBC. SBCs have a bad reputation in crap can racing, and I hate working on mod motors so much that I don't care how good their track record is. If I got a smoking deal on a fully prepped and logbooked P-71 I would consider it though.
Sorry to back up a bit, but I've been away. I might be reading this wrong, but I thought I'd clarify that a P-71 is a Ford Crown Vic police interceptor package, there's no SBC in there at all. Given that it's a Ford.
Also, you won't find logbooks in crap can racing.
I had always heard that ad long as there is fluid and you keep it cool most automatics will do very well
In reply to dculberson:
I know what P71s are, see my comments about my hate of mod motors.
I did not know that crap can racers are not logbooked. I'm a bit surprised at that.
Chump does do logbooks. LeMons generally does not, unless the car is also in Chump.
Not sure about other serieses.
Chump Definitly has log books. They are all crazy about them as well. Like you are in serious doo doo if you do not have one for a car that has been racing with Chump.
Oops, sorry for the mixup, I've only done Lemons.
I'm late to this party but... thought about a Saturn? You'll want to weld the diff pin, but otherwise the auto is fairly robust. The autos are electronically controlled, and with MegaShift you could right up some buttons/paddles pretty easily. Throw a big ass cooler at it (as you should with any auto).
There are a few auto Saturns running in Lemons, and many of them running in circle track. Enough that aren't blowing up left and right that I would comfortable giving it a shot.
As a bonus, it has a spin-on filter and drain plug just like the engine, so it is easily serviced.
In reply to ProDarwin: Thanks. I'll add Saturn's to the watch list. Which engine is tougher, SOHC or DOHC, or does it even matter? Also, my brother in law loves Saturn's, so that would be extra enticement for him.
HappyAndy wrote: In reply to ProDarwin: Thanks. I'll add Saturn's to the watch list. Which engine is tougher, SOHC or DOHC, or does it even matter? Also, my brother in law loves Saturn's, so that would be extra enticement for him.
Roughly equal in strength. You want a 91-98 DOHC. 99+ will work, but are harder to extract power from and less common.
The DOHC is "quick" by Lemons standards,
the <95 SOHC is dog slow by just about any standard,
the 95+ SOHC is slow but not as slow.
LuxInterior wrote: Ummmm... Miata?
I'm just not a fan, and since I'm directing this project, I wasn't even thinking about them, but I suppose AT Miatas should be taken into consideration. I'll run the idea past the tribe.
Like the 929, it would be useful for more than just crapcan racing. Too bad Mazda doesn't pay out contingency money to Le-Chump participants. 
I wonder if they have ever paid out to a 929 owner?!
Andy, have you thought about finding a local team that needs another member instead of building your own car? You are right in between our (3 Pedal Mafia) home bases (Birdsboro PA and Washington Township NJ). There are a few other teams around that could use a hand too. It's a lot easier and cheaper to race on someone else's team than to have your own car, but I'm in way too deep now to go back to that.
Eclipse swap on trans for the Galant and balance belt delete.
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