What car: v8 powered, rwd. American, under 2k. Potential to autocross.

akylekoz said:

My fox body is a $1500 wonder, that now has maybe double that into brakes and suspension.  It's about to get another purchase price into the motor.

It will go and turn better and better each year that I own it.  It's a DD, kid hauler, HPDE car that I enjoy wrenching on.

It will never be as good as my E30 M3  was, but I can add 100hp for $1000 vs Return to stock plus 15hp for $10,000.  

The corvette is a better base to build on if you just want a track rat, for a multipurpose car my vote if some muscle pony car.

Never as good as your e30 in terms of feel or in terms of speed? Anything I got would not be needing to pull non enthusiast duties. But backseats are nice because small children do like to go for rides in daddy's race car. I mean that never stopped me strapping car seats into the miata however

Jaynen said:

The beauty of CAM-S rules means that if someone wants to take it serious they can spend way too much money. But at least its better than adding one modded and being pax'd into oblivion. You could probably phrase it as what budget american v8 can I run that is a fun HPDE car that can still take advantage of CAM's softball PAX

Agreed...I do like the run what ya bring nature of the class plus rules that are only 2 pages long.

Oh you want to run a 9inch time vs the 7inch rim? you are now classed in SM with your otherwise STS prepped miata :P

Ovid_and_Flem said:

In reply to ClemSparks :

I want to reiterate Clem's thoughts on the bang for the buck of a C4 as eviidencsed by Pete's project.  I stumbled into my old c4 challenge project on the cheap ($500 for a trashed, non running lots of body damage, specious hacked up peckerwood wiring repairs over 30 years) BUT my direction was far different from Pete's efforts to build a presentable streEtable car.

There are $500-$1500 c4 out there but they will require a lot of work and nickle and dime stuff will cause the price of Poker to go way up.  In Petes case he will end up with a nice reliable classic slightly under challenge budget.  But keep in mind...Challenge budget rules exclude rebuilding things like brake systems which can run $500 to $1000. And performance rubber ain't cheap.

I almost think if you want a decent c4 you're better off starting with a decent, clean drive able model in the $3-5K range.

That being said, you start with a cheap old car that comes with forged aluminum suspension components, aluminum driveshaft,  IRS, LSD, r&p steering, 4 wheel disc brakes , composite (leaf) springs,  close to 3,000 lbs, etc.  Don't forget these old cars stunned the automotive press when it was able to pull close to 1 g on the skippad.  Still a performance bargain in the big scheme of things.  Even if you  have to start out at the $3-5K range for a decent one.

I have to say though...I've had a saved search on my local craigslist for 2 years now for "Corvette" and "$4,000 max price."  Right now there are zero results that are actually for a Corvette.

NOTHING has come along in those two years I've even felt tempted to make a lowball offer on.  I can't imagine a place where something is worth LESS than it would be worth in the middle of Missouri.  So, basically all this talk of C4 is wasted breath.

That made me go look at Mustangs with 8 cylinders under $4K.  There is one.  Listed at $3K it is barely within striking distance of the OP's target Budget. 

Camaros under $4K:  One.  Listed at $4K...Double the intended price range.

That said, we're a pretty small area so I guess a larger area might have more results.  Also...the deal will come along eventually...You'll just need to know it's a deal when it comes along and be ready to act.  

I mean I would point you to the ongoing thread in the $2017 challenge classifieds then Clem

82 posts in the past 6 months with sub 2k priced ones

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/201x-classifieds/c4-corvettes-cheap-post-em-here/127499/page1/

In reply to ClemSparks :

Ahem: fly and drive

Prices for the pony cars are all over the place.

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/2000-camaro-z28-57l-v8/6323505212.html

Dude that's an LS car if that's real that's an insane deal

merican v8 rwd, or salvage title g35/350z? The VQ or whatever is one of the few v6s I really like the sound of

I know, lets go look for cheap Corvettes in the place that can't get the name 'Vette City to take off.

Here,this one actually showed up in the Nashville area.

C3 that needs 2 of everything.

Most of a C4 that currently exists in abstract form.

Meanwhile in other lands

Basket case '85 Camaro with flames and a 4th gen interior.

LT1/T56 t-top Firebird

And then

3 pedal V8 new edge

Several hour later edit: It appears I dropped the ball on that last one.

Pnw has tons of c4’s around 2-3k. 

In reply to Trackmouse :

There ya' go.

In reply to ClemSparks :

Fulton?

Jaynen said:

I mean I would point you to the ongoing thread in the $2017 challenge classifieds then Clem

82 posts in the past 6 months with sub 2k priced ones

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/201x-classifieds/c4-corvettes-cheap-post-em-here/127499/page1/

Fair Point.  I guess it just adds to the "they're out there but you'd better be ready when it comes along" line of thinking.

In reply to stroker :

Yeah...that's the one I didn't trade a BMW (that I later easily sold for $1,800) for last winter.  It might be a contender for the OP.  Very rough all over.  It's one of the ones I wouldn't extend a lowball offer on ;).   Also, it's technically not listed in my local CL ;)

ProDarwin said:

Prices for the pony cars are all over the place.

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/2000-camaro-z28-57l-v8/6323505212.html

Someone Buy that for me and I'll pick it up on the way to the challenge 

I know a guy selling a New Edge Mustang GT for $1500. You want me to ask him about it?

Jaynen said:

akylekoz said:

My fox body is a $1500 wonder, that now has maybe double that into brakes and suspension.  It's about to get another purchase price into the motor.

It will go and turn better and better each year that I own it.  It's a DD, kid hauler, HPDE car that I enjoy wrenching on.

It will never be as good as my E30 M3  was, but I can add 100hp for $1000 vs Return to stock plus 15hp for $10,000.  

The corvette is a better base to build on if you just want a track rat, for a multipurpose car my vote if some muscle pony car.

Never as good as your e30 in terms of feel or in terms of speed? Anything I got would not be needing to pull non enthusiast duties. But backseats are nice because small children do like to go for rides in daddy's race car. I mean that never stopped me strapping car seats into the miata however

Plenty of speed available, more just the feel.  As is no matter what I do to this car it will take it.   When you floor it mid corner it just squats and sticks harder.  At 145 mph coming over a rise and the suspension unloads  it just sucks right back down immediately.  Four wheel drift through the kink at Road America, don't panic just keep it to the floor you know this car has your back.  The M3 makes you feel like a good driver.

The mustang is more like, please turn, ok now go.  

A mustangmakes you learn to drive what you have and make the most of it.   However I like wrenching and every change is seat of the pants noticeable and about 1/10 of the price.

I'm coming off 2 years of autocrossing a miata. My more expensive than the money I have plan would be to get a C5 and drive it like a momentum car still which I have heard they can do despite obvious power etc. I know what you mean about confidence in the car even when sliding all 4 corners from the miata because you just "knew" where it was and what it was doing all of the time.

Jaynen said:

I'm coming off 2 years of autocrossing a miata. My more expensive than the money I have plan would be to get a C5 and drive it like a momentum car still which I have heard they can do despite obvious power etc. I know what you mean about confidence in the car even when sliding all 4 corners from the miata because you just "knew" where it was and what it was doing all of the time.

A C4 Vette really drives quite a bit like a Miata, albeit with "more" - power, brakes, tires, weight. It's a similar feel overall though.

I guess the only issue with the c4's is everyone says a c5, any c5 is better in every way 

Jaynen said:

I guess the only issue with the c4's is everyone says a c5, any c5 is better in every way 

Except for price. There’s a massive difference in price. Leaps and bounds better? Sure. But then I’m into a class of vehicles which may provide something better than the c5. 

Yeah very true. I saw someone selling a BSP C4 years ago and it really looked amazing

Jaynen said:

I guess the only issue with the c4's is everyone says a c5, any c5 is better in every way 

Maybe so, I've not driven a C5, but Rodger Johnson was still winning championships in his '86 after the C5 was out.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Having recently driven a nice c4, a base c5 and c6, certainly the c5/6 are nicer more modern cars.  But they are different feel.  C4 feels more raw, visceral and quicker.  However, c5/6 are refined and faster.  No doubt you could hustle the later cars in relatively stock form much faster around a track.  Difference in stock form on autocross the c4 isn't that much slower I suspect....especially for average driver.

Tangentially my complaints with my miata wasn't that I was not faster or setting FTD per day in autocross as much as I just kind of found the exhaust note boring and uninspiring after a while compared to the sound of a v8, flat 6, or some of the bmw straight 6s. So if you told me a C4 was like a "big miata" even if it was not as fast as a C5/C5Z etc that is still pretty good in my book.