Now for something completely different, a what car thread!

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

alfadriver wrote: FWIW, there's an Alfa GTV in the Alfa Owner for a great price. and a Spider locally on craigs list that can bring the rest of the hardware. (IIRC, the sum of the two is $500, but I'd have to check the Owner tonight to be sure) Would require a lot of assembly, but GTV's are pretty nice cars. YMMV.

OK, I'm stoopid enough to bite, where's the GTV ad? how much assembly, although I really need to stick to my no total restoration projects rule as I konw myself.

Now I can't seem to find it- in the current Owner, there's a '74 for $5k that's a lost project, but I could swear there was a shell for $500 in Oklahoma. I'll check around.

Really, you have enough other things that are less work as ideas. But if I find it again, I'll post it.

I notice that you only have one FWD on your list... I'm assume you don't want them really at all?

I'm not totaly anti FWD, it's just FWD that hit my emotional WANT button are few and far between.

Any car has to have meaning to me. In most cases that's some identifiable mortorsports heritage or tie to a period in my life. There's nothing much else I can think of other than the SAAB or my current daily driver the C30. Fire away, but I warn you anything with Honda in the title sends me to sleep and anything from the Evil Empire (Turdbota) is on my personal No way list.

CRX Si

Adrian_Thompson wrote: I'm not totaly anti FWD, it's just FWD that hit my emotional WANT button are few and far between. Any car has to have meaning to me. In most cases that's some identifiable mortorsports heritage or tie to a period in my life. There's nothing much else I can think of other than the SAAB or my current daily driver the C30. Fire away, but I warn you anything with Honda in the title sends me to sleep and anything from the Evil Empire (Turdbota) is on my personal No way list.

Escort GT/Protege LX/Tracer LTS/Escort LX-E
2nd gen MX6 V6

I have more thoughts, but I need help from you guys to convince him that it would be worth it to travel a bit to find the right (ie, rust-free) car, since he wants to keep it for 10+ years.

DaveEstey wrote: CRX Si

I'm curious how Honda cars put you to sleep. They are really fun to flog. Every Honda I've had I've really liked and they have all been very reliable. Since you aren't into them I vote FC. They can get down into the high 14's low 15's with bolt on parts. And why shop local? I'd look for ones outside the rust belt.

Beverly Hills is a nice area.

Get a Jag.

http://swmi.craigslist.org/cto/3332328481.html

If you are really considering a Volvo 140 or 240 series I just happen to have a 73 Volvo 145 over here in Berkley if you want to check it out. I'd caution that it doesn't tick many fun to drive boxes.

It's pretty agrarian, if you will. The 245 I had before drove a lot like it too.

bastomatic wrote: If you are really considering a Volvo 140 or 240 series I just happen to have a 73 Volvo 145 over here in Berkley if you want to check it out. I'd caution that it doesn't tick many fun to drive boxes. It's pretty agrarian, if you will. The 245 I had before drove a lot like it too.

Now that's funny, when I started writing the list a late 60's 122 Amazon or early 70's 2 door 140 series Ovlov's was on the list. I dropped it as I haven't seen any for ever. I love both the project cars the magazine did way back when. Slow, but bullet proof, Dana LSD available I think. PM me the details

Datsun310Guy wrote: Beverly Hills is a nice area. Get a Jag. http://swmi.craigslist.org/cto/3332328481.html

Nice, but doesn't really meet the budget criteria for upgrades

clutchsmoke wrote:

DaveEstey wrote: CRX Si

I'm curious how Honda cars put you to sleep. They are really fun to flog. Every Honda I've had I've really liked and they have all been very reliable. Since you aren't into them I vote FC. They can get down into the high 14's low 15's with bolt on parts. And why shop local? I'd look for ones outside the rust belt.

As i say it's an emotional choice. Honda just wasn't on my radar in any performance or motorsport way growing up except for F1. The only vuagly sport car they had as fas as I was concerned was the CRX which at least came with a real engine in Europe rather than needing to be swapped in over here.

I have a lot of respect for Honda, they just don't 'do it' for me. I never turn and look or do a double take at a Honda.

Tom_Spangler wrote: I have more thoughts, but I need help from you guys to convince him that it would be worth it to travel a bit to find the right (ie, rust-free) car, since he wants to keep it for 10+ years.

Give me your thoughts. I'm not agaisnt traveling for a car, but by they time you've done a 500 mile round trip that's another $200 you could add to the local budget. You made the same point yourself in the Cheap Milwaukee BMW engine thread today.

Probe GT. Maybe you could find a good cheap one locally.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Probe GT. Maybe you could find a good cheap one locally.

Nice car, great fun to drive, sharp throttle tip in and can be very balanced for a front driver. I drove a few when they were popular for G stock autocross, but, it just doesn't hit my emotional buttons.

What about the same thing... but in a lighter sexier body in the MX6 LS?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: What about the same thing... but in a lighter sexier body in the MX6 LS?

Nope, ditto to the probe. I guess I need to explain my emotional needs more tomorrow. Coming soon, Grass Roots traumer therapy through projects cars!

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

bastomatic wrote: If you are really considering a Volvo 140 or 240 series I just happen to have a 73 Volvo 145 over here in Berkley if you want to check it out. I'd caution that it doesn't tick many fun to drive boxes. It's pretty agrarian, if you will. The 245 I had before drove a lot like it too.

Now that's funny, when I started writing the list a late 60's 122 Amazon or early 70's 2 door 140 series Ovlov's was on the list. I dropped it as I haven't seen any for ever. I love both the project cars the magazine did way back when. Slow, but bullet proof, Dana LSD available I think. PM me the details

A 122 is a great choice. I can tell you all about handling and braking mods.

1st. generation AWD DSM (Eclipse, Talon, Laser)? They are heavy cars so I would imagine they aren't great autocrossers, but they make pretty good rallycross/stage rally cars and dragsters. They don't like to be lowered but beefier struts and sway bars help stop the wallowing. The 4G63T is legendary for handling ludicrous amounts of boost. Make sure the timing belt is changed religiously at 60,000 miles or less. The hard part is finding one that isn't a rustbucket or was someone's My First Ricer.

Or so I've heard. I just bought one. I definitely plan on rallycrossing my Eclipse at least once.

Much rarer options would be the Starion/Conquest, Galant VR-4, and 1993 Legacy Turbo. The latter two have WRC cred and are the proto-Evo/proto-WRX.

RexSeven wrote: 1st. generation AWD DSM (Eclipse, Talon, Laser)? They are heavy cars so I would imagine they aren't great autocrossers, but they make pretty good rallycross/stage rally cars and dragsters. They don't like to be lowered but beefier struts and sway bars help stop the wallowing. The 4G63T is legendary for handling ludicrous amounts of boost. Make sure the timing belt is changed religiously at 60,000 miles or less. The hard part is finding one that isn't a rustbucket or was someone's My First Ricer. Or so I've heard. I just bought one. I definitely plan on rallycrossing my Eclipse at least once. Much rarer options would be the Starion/Conquest, Galant VR-4, and 1993 Legacy Turbo. The latter two have WRC cred and are the proto-Evo/proto-WRX.

No back up on my FC vote?! Where's the rotard love??

clutchsmoke wrote: No back up on my FC vote?! Where's the rotard love??

Adrian said he has owned one already. Maybe it's time for something different?

Something else he mentioned was daily driving the car, and that's where I have to dock the FC points. I've 3-season daily-driven an FC before. It's comfortable and never left me stranded, but I got baked by the heat from the transmission tunnel (not fun in a humid New England summer) and the mileage was awful. I highly recommend applying heat-reflective material to the transmission tunnel and running a high-quality synthetic gear oil if you daily an FC. Not much you can do to improve the mileage besides an engine swap.

If you could find one and make the budget work, the 944 would be my call, too. Aside from everything else, the fact that it's a Porsche means there's a huge support network and knowledge base, and it gets you into all the PCA stuff.

Alfa milano would work except for the rallycross requirement, they are more fun to drive than an E30 and easier (and usually cheaper) to fix than a 944, and mostly (Other than stuff like the heater blower, high beams, window switches, etc) pretty reliable. They have like 4 inches of ground clearance stock though.

OK, I need to explain my emotional tie to some of these cars and why some excellent platforms are off the list. I was born in 69, so most of the vehicles I like the most come from the late 60’s through around 1990. I was obsessed by motorsport growing up, more so than now and religiously followed F1, F2/F3000, F3, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, FF etc. But I also closely followed the LeMans and sports car racing British production Saloon championship, BTCC, ETCC and the short lived WTCC Group N and A cars as well as Rally through Group 4, Group B then Group A. Almost all the cars on my list have some link to top line International motorsport. In fact the car with the least ‘real’ motorsport heritage is the Miata. Yes, I’m going to say the Miata has no real motorsport heritage. Sure it’s won a lot of parking lot races, lots of one make series, plenty of club races, but as far as appearances in true professional level, televised multi vehicle race or rally series its thin pickings. Yup Keith did the Targa Newfoundland in his awesome car. Stunning effort and way beyond what I’ll ever be able to do, but it isn’t the WRC so doesn’t have the emotional hook to me. The Miata is on the list though because I flat out love it, it’s the best LBC ever made, the styling is sublime (NA only, the NB looks like something you don’t want to bend down to pick up in a prison shower) As far as FWD cars go there are some that I would add to the list. I left of the VW Sirocco which was an oversight, I’d definitely be in for a 16V Mk II. Also If I were in Europe I’d love a Mk III Escort XR3i or one of its RS buddies. I’d love a Mk I Vauxhall Nova, or a Mk II Astra GTE, yes the ubber crappy Pontiac LeMans is basically the same car, but a)when was the last time you saw one, b) most are auto tragic 5 doors with lots of rust and c)It came with a crappy engine here, I don’t think the 2.0L 16V 155hp engine came in anything over here. The MG Metro Turbo is another car with an emotional hook in my, but no can do. Other Euro RWD cars I grew up with that I can’t get here or they would be on the list is the Opel Manta GTE (The car I miss the most I think) or an 84 up MkIII Capri 2.8i This is not to insult anyone favorite cars, as I say a Honda Civic, Escort GT or ZX2 are all stunning cars that in any rational sense should be on my list, but they just don’t do it for me, although the ZX2 is close as several years of my life went into that car at work.

RexSeven wrote: 1st. generation AWD DSM (Eclipse, Talon, Laser)? They are heavy cars so I would imagine they aren't great autocrossers, but they make pretty good rallycross/stage rally cars and dragsters. They don't like to be lowered but beefier struts and sway bars help stop the wallowing. The 4G63T is legendary for handling ludicrous amounts of boost. Make sure the timing belt is changed religiously at 60,000 miles or less. The hard part is finding one that isn't a rustbucket or was someone's My First Ricer. Or so I've heard. I just bought one. I definitely plan on rallycrossing my Eclipse at least once. Much rarer options would be the Starion/Conquest, Galant VR-4, and 1993 Legacy Turbo. The latter two have WRC cred and are the proto-Evo/proto-WRX.

Starion Conquest. There are two of these on my street, I’ve always liked them, but rust free ones just don’t exist in my price range in SE Mi, also they have that funky low tech FI system with the injector pissing into a carb type body. Calibrated dribble I call it! But, again, if one came up I’d be all over it. VR-4, another good choice although a little plane in the looks department. I’ll poke around Craig’s list and see what we come up with. Legacy Turbo, drool, that could be ubber fun, especially with the unbelievable interchangeability of Scooby products Congratulations sir, you’ve expanded my horizons!