Which 80's Japanese Muscle Car

Jesse685 wrote: I had a 1987 Toyota Celica GTS liftback once. That was a really cool car to drive. Not the most powerful though. My uncle had a Toyota Cressida and I remember the power delivery being so linear you waould have thought it was electric. Same should go for na Supra motor too. J

An 87 Celica probably isn't a muscle car.... because it's FWD.

Brett_Murphy wrote: Nissan 240sx? Just squeaks in as an '89 model. Of the ones listed, I am partial to the Supra as daily driver, though I would get a non-turbo model.

I had a 240SX, loved it, totaled it being impatient. Don't ever try to pass a farmer on a tractor, they are off in their own world oblivious to anything around them.

Swank Force One wrote:

Jesse685 wrote: I had a 1987 Toyota Celica GTS liftback once. That was a really cool car to drive. Not the most powerful though. My uncle had a Toyota Cressida and I remember the power delivery being so linear you waould have thought it was electric. Same should go for na Supra motor too. J

An 87 Celica probably isn't a muscle car.... because it's FWD.

I've got the FWD Celica thing covered right now with my '97. The money I save in gas goes right back into putting a quart of oil in the car every 2 weeks.

cutter67 wrote: In reply to t25torx: you can have this one for $3,700.00 1988 200sx se 97,000 miles

Could I have it for that same price? Any chance you would trade for a 79 Cressida?

We have an '85 GT-S in the family. Though its a convertible and flexes...a bit. Still a fun car though and still gets a lot of looks. Has that boxy/flared style that the StarQuest cars have. Alas, she's laid up under a tarp at my sister's place waiting to be resurrected.

t25torx wrote:

Brett_Murphy wrote: Nissan 240sx? Just squeaks in as an '89 model. Of the ones listed, I am partial to the Supra as daily driver, though I would get a non-turbo model.

I had a 240SX, loved it, totaled it being impatient. Don't ever try to pass a farmer on a tractor, they are off in their own world oblivious to anything around them.

But...but....Eclipse wheels?

I'd say Z31 turbo. Really really easy to make power on them. Boost controller, FMIC, fuel pump and you have added over 50 hp.

For fun, put a 3.3 Pathfinder bottom in later on and make serious power.

The Shiro editions (pearl white on white, recaros, special rear end) are the most desireable of the bunch beside MAYBE MAYBE a 15 AE.

In reply to Mazdax605:

i am always open to trades and yes you can have it at the same price........

crankwalk wrote: But...but....Eclipse wheels? I'd say Z31 turbo. Really really easy to make power on them. Boost controller, FMIC, fuel pump and you have added over 50 hp. For fun, put a 3.3 Pathfinder bottom in later on and make serious power. The Shiro editions (pearl white on white, recaros, special rear end) are the most desireable of the bunch beside MAYBE MAYBE a 15 AE.

Yeah the Eclipse wheels were a stopgap till I picked a wheel after the 5 lug swap.

In reply to cutter67:

Hmm interesting. I'll have to wait till I get settled in FL after the move before I buy anything.

At this age.... the best one you find is likely the correct answer here...

With that said........ The Supra, and the Z are more likely to be solid still.... more so then the RX7 and the Starion/Conquest.

Note to self, Call Cutter when I am in the market for a car.

That is an insanely clean S12. Love it. I also like cressidas.

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

Really? I haven't seen a rust free Z31 or Supra in quite a few years, but I've never actually seen an FC with rust. Huh.

RX-7 Turbo II. I love mine. Very comfortable, great fun to drive. Can even tote a bunch of groceries, but they will bake under the hatchback glass. And if you opt for plastic bags and enjoy taking corners quickly, there will not be one grocery item left in any of the bags when you get home.

cutter67 wrote: In reply to Mazdax605: i am always open to trades and yes you can have it at the same price........

Here it is. Not a muscle car, but cool none-the-less.

Honestly, i would rank the late, widebody Starion with SHP wheels/etc as my favorite out of all of those. It has the best look, and BY FAR the best EIGHTIES look. Since im a professional auto tech who is also adept at reading on the internet, i really have no qualms about their so-called issues (i would say most of them are actually owner issues). I agree with Ben that an FC rx7 does not automatically handle better than a top spec Starion either, although there are probably versions of it that do (whether or not they were sold here, i couldnt tell you, im light on FC trivia info).

My 2nd choice would be the FC, but as a convertible with an LS swap.

Vigo wrote: Honestly, i would rank the late, widebody Starion with SHP wheels/etc as my favorite out of all of those. It has the best look, and BY FAR the best EIGHTIES look. Since im a professional auto tech who is also adept at reading on the internet, i really have no qualms about their so-called issues (i would say most of them are actually owner issues). I agree with Ben that an FC rx7 does not automatically handle better than a top spec Starion either, although there are probably versions of it that do (whether or not they were sold here, i couldnt tell you, im light on FC trivia info). My 2nd choice would be the FC, but as a convertible with an LS swap.

The Starion fuel injection sucks and parts are hard to find. Not exactly "owner issues".

I actually prefer this.

No horse in this race-just amused at the phrase "80's Japanese muscle car"

In reply to racerdave600:

My body is ready.

In reply to forzav12:

My great uncle has a small shop that dealt with largely Chrycos and Mitsus. Laughing my ass off in the passenger seat as a Starion out accelerated and outran a 5.0 fox who decided dat dere jap car wasn't good enough to be allowed to pass his glorious mustang kinda cemented them as "muscley enough". At least for the 80s/early 90s.

FC gets it for me (surprise!!!) but again like many others say there is no real loser in this contest.

Maybe wedge MR2 in there as well?

racerdave600 wrote: I actually prefer this.

My aunt had one of these when I was 14, hers was an '84 model with a 5 speed. 2 years later when it came time to buy me a car, she had already sold it 2 months before I started looking, needless to say she quickly became my least favorite aunt.

In reply to JtspellS:

I can deal with not having a back seat, but I has to have my hatchback for at least some cargo carrying duties.

t25torx wrote:

racerdave600 wrote: I actually prefer this.

My aunt had one of these when I was 14, hers was an '84 model with a 5 speed. 2 years later when it came time to buy me a car, she had already sold it 2 months before I started looking, needless to say she quickly became my least favorite aunt. In reply to JtspellS: I can deal with not having a back seat, but I has to have my hatchback for at least some cargo carrying duties.

See there is some!

The rear trunk in the mk1 mr2 is not terrible.

singleslammer wrote: The rear trunk in the mk1 mr2 is not terrible.

No not too terrible, it's no hatchback though. The MR2 would get infinitely better MPG's than any of these other cars. Stop making things harder for me!

The Starion fuel injection sucks and parts are hard to find. Not exactly "owner issues".

What sucks about the fuel injection system? The fact that you cant fix a fuel injector o-ring leak without replacing the o-ring, or a leaky injector without replacing the injector? The fact that you cant replace the injectors with different sized ones without knowing how the system switches between the two? I mean, it's not great for performance, i get that. But it's not like that throttle body just spontaneously crumbles to dust. There's only so many ways a TBI can have fuel issues and none of them are hard to fix.

People have still made over 300whp through that tbi system. Pretty good for a tbi 4cyl from the 80s.

And i actually think the low-revving turbo 4cyls from the 80s generally feel more muscular than a lot of actual v8s. My aries has made 350 lb ft of torque @17 psi on a stock motor, with fuel injectors and an intercooler as the only real mods, and weighs like 2300 lbs. Similar or (more likely) better torque-to-weight than a big block intermediate car from the late 60s. Certainly better than the vast majority of 'muscle cars' actually sold back then. Modded diesel trucks have a hard time touching that torque-to-weight.