C1500.... seriously. regular cab, short bed, spindles/springs/flip kit, lunchbox locker, shocks and bushings. Enjoy. plus, if you want sticky tires you have plenty of room to carry them.
C1500.... seriously. regular cab, short bed, spindles/springs/flip kit, lunchbox locker, shocks and bushings. Enjoy. plus, if you want sticky tires you have plenty of room to carry them.
Copy good cars.
Iirc, both a vette and a mustang has won the Challenge. Just takes a lot of work for the money
Still, do what they did
In reply to Stefan :
My buddy’s SS was a factory car, including all the smog. It was a 305, auto, and factory diff gear. So naturally it was a pig. Dad had a 900hp regal drag car, I know what they can do. I’m just saying, in factory form, they might take a bit more work than say, a fourth gen cramit.
Im really on the mn12 ball now. A couple super coupes in my area with sc v6’s. Any love/hate for these?
A drag car handles different than a street car, but you know that already.
Seriously, G-bodies can handle quite well and since they also used the same suspension on the S10 and Camaro, I'd say its just a matter of performing a refresh with the appropriate parts. Like springs, sways, shocks and bushings.
Keith Tanner said:Having owned a fourth gen F body, this means the Mustang must be absolute crap. I wouldn't have wanted my car near any racetrack that had more corners than a drag strip.
I mean seeing what Sam Strano can do with one I know they can handle. but it takes some work.
What is an MN12 and a Crammit?
Jaynen said:Keith Tanner said:Having owned a fourth gen F body, this means the Mustang must be absolute crap. I wouldn't have wanted my car near any racetrack that had more corners than a drag strip.
I mean seeing what Sam Strano can do with one I know they can handle. but it takes some work.
What is an MN12 and a Crammit?
Crammit = Camaro/Firebird
MN12 = Ford Thunderbird
Also Keith, you're spoiled with driving Miata, etc. and we all know that a worn out Pony car of unknown provenance can have some serious issues.
Jaynen said:What is an MN12 and a Crammit?
MN12 is the '90s era Thunderbird, Cougar, and Lincoln Mk VIII. Last of the large American rear wheel drive personal luxury coupes.
Crammit is a typo for Camaro that took on a life of its own.
SN95 Mustang. They're dirt cheap, can be found in auto or manual pretty easily, and the V8 models are pretty easy to find within your budget. My 1996 Mustang GT convertible 5-speed was like $1000. Runs fine, just a little rough around the edges. The aftermarket for the Mustang is great, and it's a solid base to build on.
Dodge Diplomat
pres589 said:Dodge Diplomat
I inherited my grandfathers Diplomat when he passed. Low miles, rust free, little wear, but had sat for a bit while gramps heath declined at the end and needed brake caliper and a few other minor things. Fixed it to be safe to drive then gave it a good exterior detailing. Then I registered it and drove it for a couple weeks. I realized I wouldn't be happy at all driving it so I sold it and sent the money to grandma who never had a license. Diplomat is NOT the answer.
Stefan said:Also Keith, you're spoiled with driving Miata, etc. and we all know that a worn out Pony car of unknown provenance can have some serious issues.
It's those damn standards, they keep getting in the way 
A 68-78 Nova can be made into a pretty good handling car with minimal work. They share their chassis design with the 2nd gen Camaro, but with less weight. No, it's never going to corner like a Corvette---- but they can be a ton of fun, and look pretty good to boot.
I'd also recommend the 3rd gen Camaro / Firebird twins. So plentiful they are almost free, and pretty good right out of the box.
In reply to SEADave :
Thanks for reminding me I need to go work on my car.
I love how I come on here and say the Foxbody platform is not ideal as it came from the factory, and next thing you know it is "absolute crap." Come on guys, would you rather have another fanboy or someone who owns a car but can see its shortcomings?
Chadeux said:
Thanks for reminding me I need to go work on my car.
Yes you do, that car is AWESOME!
I think they are absolute crap. I make no bones about that. That's why I said I would leave that discussion up to someone else.
Just wrote a huge long post about how great G bodies are!
The rearends are GREAT... Unless you try to put down more than 250 hp. Oh, and probably need to find one of the rare ones with a working LSD.. And probably need to change the gears from the 3.23 that it will probably have...
The steering is good! Except for the rag joint - use a Jeep Grand Cherokee shaft to replace that. Oh, and the 1000 turn lock to lock steering box... Get one from a F body WS6... Oh yea, and bump steer. Get a bump steer correction kit.
The brakes are good.... Except they just aren't. Any spirited driving is going to heat soak the tiny things. I guess you need to swap those too!
The suspension geometry is GREAT! If you like camber LOSS in the corners. And if you like the rearend to bind up under movement. I guess you could get new upper front control arms, longer special ball joints or taller spindles for the front. Get a bigger ARB for the front and rear. Get new springs and new dampers.......
The chassis is GREAT! If you like limp noodles for a chassis. That's okay, you can try to find all of the unobtainium factory braces and use them ALL and still wonder why the hood doesn't fit right after a hard launch.....
As far as I know, they share NOTHING in common with F bodies. There are a few part numbers that cross over for the front of a 1st gen S10.
So, if you want to replace the brakes, the rearend, the steering, the suspension, and try to stiffen the chassis, the gbody is the car for you!
The best part is when you are done, you will have a decent handling car that is not altogether fun to drive that gets SPANKED by new minivans!
Yay!
pres589 said:Dodge Diplomat
As a serial owner I say no, just no.
In reply to Joe Gearin :I remember a friend that had a Nova of that vintage. He asked me how to get rid or reduce the understeer. And this was a highway driven car. Soften the front, stiffen the rear.
Just looked at my local CL and around here you're not touching a Nova that has an engine, transmission, rear end, body panels or interior all bolted together and in their correct places for under 5K.
Similar story for the F-bodies. Even V6 cars are at least $3500 if it's all there and bolted together. Bring 5K if you want a V8 and that's with a trashed interior and exterior.
All G-bodys are Donks.
I live in a terrible place for cheap cars. That Camaro posted earlier would be a 6K car here.
Pro tip, when looking for cheap third gens, forget most of your vocabulary first.
Trackmouse said:In reply to Stefan :
Im really on the mn12 ball now. A couple super coupes in my area with sc v6’s. Any love/hate for these?
You rang?
I love the MN12 platform. I've owned four of them, but I'm not convinced it's what you're after.
The SC makes decent hp and great torque stock. You can get to 300 at the wheels relatively easily, but more gets expensive fast.
They're heavy. Supercoupes start around 3700 pounds. No way you're getting one to 3,000 unless you make it an un-streetable racecar. Won't happen, period. I've spent a ton of time, effort and money to get mine below 3400.
They have surprisingly small wheel wells. It's hard to fit more than a 255 or 275, and the stock tires were so tall that something like a 275/40-17 is ridiculously short for the car.
The aftermarket is okay, but not that great. For example, there are zero good shock options unless you want to spend $$ on QA1 coilers. No Bilsteins, no Konis.
89-93 SCs have a real problem with the ABS system to the point that when it goes bad, most people just convert to non-ABS. It's not worth trying to fix.
I'll talk MN12s all day, and SCCoA.com has tons of great info, too. But I'm not going to tell you to buy one just because I'm a fanboy if it's not going to be right for you.
Observation of this thread:
"I own a 3rd gen F-body, get a Mustang"
"I own a Mustang, get a 3rd gen F-body"
"I own an MN12, get something else"
Anybody else see a pattern here?
Don't forget the Fairmont was essentially a Fox Body in disguise. Would be cool to see a Fairmont wagon dodging cones.
What about a Lincoln LS?
Following this because I have the urge to V8 one of these days. SN95 seems interesting if the geometry can easily be brought in check. How much does it cost to correct it properly?
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