Looking for Suzuki Swift GTI

Hey guys: long time lurker here. I mean looooong time. I'm looking for a Suzuki swift gti. Similar to what was on bat last week.prefer a period correct boosted one. I was about to bid on the bat car last week, ten minutes left and my internet goes down. What happened? Someone hit a pole on my road and everyone WiFi. So figured I'd just chime in to see if anybody has a decent one to sell for a realistic price. Low miles would be great thanks 

$13,500 In Florida

Seems crazy high to me, but what do I know?  It might also be the cheapest one on FB right now!  

The one I used to have I bought at a charity auction for $600.

I was going to bid on that one on BAT. It was close to me, but that motor sounded like it was pooched, was winter driven without good underside pics and I don't need another project. 
You may have dodged a bullet

MonzaRed said:

... see if anybody has a decent one to sell for a realistic price. Low miles would be great thanks 

I can't help on a Swift, but let me know if you have any interest in a Chevy Sprint (turbo or NA) to whet your appetite.  Northern CO.  I've needed to get an ad put together and posted here for a long time, just haven't done it yet.

• Realistic price?-- absolutely! (and no philosophical BS like "everyone lives in their own version of reality")
• low miles?--  lowest mileage out of all the vehicles I've ever owned
• decent?-- er, well, I mean, it could still end up as something streetable
• one?-- certainly, and even includes a spare!
• underbody rust?-- minimal on both (one has non-rusty metal; the other has non-rusty nothingness)

That is so funny, I just searching for a Swift GTI. Pretty hard to find. I wanted one so bad when they came out. I would fantasize about getting a Miata or Swift GTI when I was a kid. 

I just put this image on my phone. 

I just watched the Motor Trend review from when it first came out. Funny stuff. Definately one of those cars that feels fater than it actually is 

Oapfu said:

MonzaRed said:

... see if anybody has a decent one to sell for a realistic price. Low miles would be great thanks 

I can't help on a Swift, but let me know if you have any interest in a Chevy Sprint (turbo or NA) to whet your appetite.  Northern CO.  I've needed to get an ad put together and posted here for a long time, just haven't done it yet.

• Realistic price?-- absolutely! (and no philosophical BS like "everyone lives in their own version of reality")
• low miles?--  lowest mileage out of all the vehicles I've ever owned
• decent?-- er, well, I mean, it could still end up as something streetable
• one?-- certainly, and even includes a spare!
• underbody rust?-- minimal on both (one has non-rusty metal; the other has non-rusty nothingness)

I have a soft spot for the Chevy Sprint. First time I drove manual trans was in a silver/blue '85 that my dad bought brand new. 

I wrenched at a Suzuki dealer when they were new. No low end torque but if you kept it on the power band you could embarrass CRX fanboys. I think I've seen one in the last 15 years though if you find one let me know I've still got a service manual.

There was a place not far from me that had 5 or 6 in the yard. I should drive by and see if they are still there.

Had one. Technically 2. They are an odd little car with a serious identiy crisis. Parts availability is pretty much non-existent now. They're OK as a novelty but in reality they are pretty slow, loud and will be your coffin if you get into an accident with any modern car. Transmission ratios were terrible for auto-x. Chassis has the stiffness of a wet noodle sitting in a pot of water. Steering is so slow I've seen semi's use less turns on the wheel to make it do something. And at this point all the vacuum lines that were in these will need replaced. Fuel economy on par with a early 2000's V6 Camry with a clogged cat. All in all a pretty terrible little car when you compare it to something made in the last 20 years.

But that G13B hitting 8500rpm through a header and open exhaust has a sound that is righteously intoxicating. It's small enough to fit into your back pocket. No one knows what the hell that thing is. If you're under 5'10" the factory recaro seats are pretty good and the side bolsters can hurt in sustained cornering. 

If you weren't getting exceptional fuel economy there was something wrong. That's one of the few things they do very well. Even with a seriously modified GT I was getting in the 40's beating the E36 M3 out of mine, and better with my stock ones.

They give the illusion of really wanting to rev because they make so little torque, you never feel the torque peak come or go. Very fun cars, but not fast at all.

In reply to Peabody :

I could get 32-ish if I kept it below 60. Part of that was the crap tune on the initial chip. 

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

Let me know if I got one I'd pay you for the help 

In reply to purplepeopleeater :

Did people really buy them new? I've never even seen one in person. CT never really had many Suzuki dealers from my understanding but.....to never see a car here is crazy. I've seen multiple F40's / CGT's and yet here I am wondering about a mythical hot hatch everyone has forgotten about that would probably be my death bed if hit in one lol

Yes, people bought them but not in mass numbers.  It's twin Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro was much more popular.  And of those sold, the vast majority were plain econoboxes and/or rental fleet cars.  They were "bottom of the barrel" cars in the pecking order in their day, so the appeal of a hopped up version of one was limited.  Add in the fact that the hot hatch in the US wasn't what it is today, rust and general lack of collector enthusiasm for them and you're left with few still in existence today.

Yes, I realize that hot hatches today are or were made from "bottom of the barrel" cars in the line up...such as the departed FiST.  However bottom of the barrel today is light years better than bottom of the barrel 30 years ago.

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

Owning one of those and the Rio SX I have now it's like the starship enterprise compared to the uss constitution. It's faster, more comfortable, has more features and did I mention faster?

In reply to MonzaRed :

In Canada they did. In the late 90's and early 2000's they were everywhere

bobzilla said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

 did I mention faster?

Slow and lousy fuel economy. There was definitely something wrong with your car. With your minor mods it should easily be faster than your Rio

Did anyone cross shop these with the fabled 91/92 gti 16v back in the day? 
 

luckily I own an original paint documented one of those. Not fun to drive when it's such a rare bird. Especially on the bend tastic OEM BBS rm012 wheels 

If you want a different Suzuki as a project, I have an SX4 that needs an engine:

Market place listing

John Welsh said:

$13,500 In Florida

Seems crazy high to me, but what do I know?  It might also be the cheapest one on FB right now!  

Dang, that's more than what I paid for mine when I bought it new in 1994!!

MonzaRed said:

Did people really buy them new?  Did anyone cross shop these with the fabled 91/92 gti 16v back in the day? 

I looked at a bunch of different hot hatches back then (1994).  The Civic Si was on my list, but the Swift was significantly cheaper.  IIRC the Swift GT was under $10k and the Civic was $13k. In hindsight, the Civic was a better car, but a 30% bump in price was too much to justify my first new car purchase. I fell in love with the size and the motor that seemed to rev to the moon.  I think it was the car mag article I read back in the day (I can't recall which one) that put meatier tires and sway bars on one and pulled over a G on the skidpad that really sold me.  I still miss that car.....

Regarding shopping for one, teamswift.net was the place to shop, but it's pretty dead these days and seems to be more of an archive.  I'd recommend trying the book of faces and in your search criteria, change the location to a 500 mile radius and start picking the big cities around the U.S.  Doing that, you can cover the nation in about 8 searches. Sadly, I only found one doing that....

Good luck on finding one.  They are very rare.

-Rob

Peabody said:

bobzilla said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

 did I mention faster?

Slow and lousy fuel economy. There was definitely something wrong with your car. With your minor mods it should easily be faster than your Rio

138hp and 2490lbs and better gearing and torque. 

I went from the 1987 Sprint na to a Civic vx in 1992. Civic is a superior car all around. I do have a turbo Canada market firefly in storage.  94,ooo mile

Here are pictures from before it was put up.