Q: How fast for $7k?
My initial answer is, "how many Q45's do you want?"
Trying to go as new as possible and staying under $7k i suggest this 2006 Infiniti M45 asking $6.5k w/ 116k
335 hp
0-60 = 5.7
1/4 mile in 14.1
I would shop hard and try to find a M56 with the 5.6L Titan truck engine in a sedate sedan. These tend to be more like $12k but I bet there is a bargain out there to be had.
420 hp
0-60 = 4.9
1/4 mile in 13.5
Just the other day a truck sold near me I probably should have bought. A clean, rust free, sorted 1995 Nissan Hardbody with a 5.3 LS/T-56 swap. $5500
I imagine it moved along pretty nicely in a straight line.
The turbo Miata was $4k but I'm already $1300 deep in repairs and it's about to get new coilovers. And it'll be quick but not FAST (although 16 pounds of boost makes it entertaining from 5,000 rpm up).
The Monster Miata with a built 5.0 I picked up for a 2 large a couple years ago was fairly peppy. It needed more sorting than I had the skill to give it however.
My Fiero ought to be pretty fast when it gets done with a supercharged 3800 dialed up to 350 hp. That was a grand so definitely under the budget.
Abandoned projects seems to be the way of getting a lot for a little.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:Q: How fast for $7k?
My initial answer is, "how many Q45's do you want?"
Trying to go as new as possible and staying under $7k i suggest this 2006 Infiniti M45 asking $6.5k w/ 116k
335 hp
0-60 = 5.7
1/4 mile in 14.1
I would shop hard and try to find a M56 with the 5.6L Titan truck engine in a sedate sedan. These tend to be more like $12k but I bet there is a bargain out there to be had.
420 hp
0-60 = 4.9
1/4 mile in 13.5
Doesn't an early, slower 350Z come in between those two? And the chassis is much more capable for not-straight-line things.
Watch the Sloppy Mechanics Youtube series called "8's for $8k" if you're wanting a more drag strip setup.
If you're wanting more of a street build, follow the Sloppy Mechanics "Don't BS me" build and insert that setup in whatever 4-wheeled vehicle flavor that you prefer. Keep regular street tires on for around town hooning/highway speed burnouts then toss something sticky on if you want to take it to the drag strip.
Basically, just follow one of the Sloppy builds and you'll have a proven setup that has tons of documented results. Matt Happel pretty much has the bargain basement LS stuff fairly well sorted out.
My next project will be some kind of street hooning car with the "Don't BS me" setup.
Vigo (Forum Supporter) said:I dunno, i read this thread and just think 'build the s10'. If something that's a legitimately better option pops up for <7k you'll know it when you see it. Seems like a bird in the hand vs a total crapshoot.
I think I’m still leaning in that direction. Based on responses, the fastest cheap speed is still depreciated Euro cars. I know failures aren’t a guarantee, but I’d be worried about costs when/if things break. Admittedly, if I had access to an unlimited supply of $1500 E55s and XJRs, I might not worry as much. 
As for “nigh-uncontrollable beast”, I’m thinking after the swap is pretty dialed in, upping the ante with a turbo and making 600-800 HP would be nice. I’d go straight there, but I think a streetable transmission that could handle the power would break the budget quickly. Maybe I’ve been watching to many Richard Holdener videos on YouTube.
The nice thing about moving forward with the S-10 is there is an entire industry wrapped around that swap (Jegs, Summit, Speedway, etc.)
You can spend the money and buy everything you want/need or you can spend the time and find second hand pieces for a fraction of the cost. S-10 seems like a pefect platform for a really quick drag car for relatively low money.
Turbine said:For pure straight line speed, I think it'll be hard to beat an LS swapped S10. An AWD DSM might be able to get you there IF you were able to find one that wasn't completely clapped out. Also, like a few others had mentioned, it's pretty easy to make power on Honda K-series motors these days. You'd just have to do some fab work if you wanted it in a RWD package
For $7k I might let him drive mine home after the Challenge.
untchabl said:Watch the Sloppy Mechanics Youtube series called "8's for $8k" if you're wanting a more drag strip setup.
If you're wanting more of a street build, follow the Sloppy Mechanics "Don't BS me" build and insert that setup in whatever 4-wheeled vehicle flavor that you prefer. Keep regular street tires on for around town hooning/highway speed burnouts then toss something sticky on if you want to take it to the drag strip.
Basically, just follow one of the Sloppy builds and you'll have a proven setup that has tons of documented results. Matt Happel pretty much has the bargain basement LS stuff fairly well sorted out.
My next project will be some kind of street hooning car with the "Don't BS me" setup.
That show's how far we've come. In the late '90's the big thing in the print media was 10's for $10k. HRM did it with two different cars: a 2.3 turbo Pinto with redonkulous boost. And a '69 - 72 Nova stripped to its essentials, a good breathing and high revving small block, loads of bottle. Both cars though barely broke into the 10's. They weren't deep into them. And they were built for just under $10K...but it was 1998 money so probably more like $15k now. These days Sloppy is going 8 for 8 (LS based). And they said the pushrod V8 was a mature architecture back in the '80's.
V12 biturbo Benz + bolt ons + aggressive tune should get you in 700hp range with 800 torques.
I’ll have to check out the sloppy mechanics. For now, my goal would be reasonably good handling, and easy 11.5s in the quarter (don’t want to install a roll bar, but don’t want to have to set the suspension up specifically for drag racing). Who knows, might also be fun to run it in one of the 1 mile LSR races someday, too.
A turbo miata at 15 psi should be doing about 110mph in the quarter, or faster than a stock 5.3 in an s10, nearly as fast as a cammed 5.3 in an s10, and similar to the Infiniti m56 mentioned. There is a point where a car can spin 2 street tires past 60 mph, and at that point the difference between two fast cars only exists at 70+. If you're not going to floor it way beyond legal speeds then the appreciation for how fast something is (like a miata @ 15 psi) is lacking context. My .02.
So where are these $7k C5s that aren't totally beaten down?
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:So where are these $7k C5s that aren't totally beaten down?
Around me (SW Ohio), I rarely see LT1 C4s in that price range.
You will never go faster for $7,000 than you will on a used liter bike.
Appleseed said:You will never go faster for $7,000 than you will on a used liter bike.
Those are a little too intense for me. I'd go for a Hayabusa instead, they're a little more chill when you're not in the mood to send yourself into orbit.
Appleseed said:You will never go faster for $7,000 than you will on a used liter bike.
While I have my motorcycle license, and own some scooters, I keep thinking more and more about my overall lack of coordination, meaning I should avoid anything two-wheeled and powerful with a manual transmission. Now, a Honda Africa Twin with the DCT, that's a maybe, but not exactly fast.
In reply to eastsideTim :
What about a Royal Enfield Himalayan?
Error404 said:In reply to eastsideTim :
What about a Royal Enfield Himalayan?
Completely off the topic, but probably my fault for bringing up the Africa Twin. Interesting bike - not my cup of tea, though. Most powerful motorcycle I've ridden was a Suzuki GS500, which I think is a bit slower in the quarter mile than my WRX was, but not by much. Even it felt a little slow by the time I got rid of it, even though it was faster than almost every car I've owned. I think a 25 HP motorcycle would seem even worse.
I have seen some pretty clean first gen CTS-V's for around the 7k mark. Lots for ~8500 that could potentially be negotiated down in the current economic climate. Clearly youre not concerned about daily driveability, but that would be a fun, quick, very driveable car. Probably has working AC too.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Totally off topic, yes. The Himalayan looks really cool as a go nearly anywhere bike, just not in a hurry. And you can, apparently, get them new for about $5k. I kinda want one...
As for a 4-wheel device, I have no idea.
$7k? That's a LOT of meth. Like.... not teeth left living in the trailer park about to be evicted amounts.
mgfoster said:I have seen some pretty clean first gen CTS-V's for around the 7k mark. Lots for ~8500 that could potentially be negotiated down in the current economic climate. Clearly youre not concerned about daily driveability, but that would be a fun, quick, very driveable car. Probably has working AC too.
Ooh, I will have to keep those on my radar, if I decide to buy instead of build. Surprised I forgot about them.
I guess the question is do you want refined, somewhat porky with all the amenities or do you want stripped down loud light snarling monster?
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