My budget is around $3500, so the E36's are out. E30's don't really do it for me. A TurboBrick would get slaughtered on the autocross course, so that's a big no. 2.5RS could be fun, I would be OK with AWD. I've had two DSM's before and was thinking about them again...
Racer1ab, shoot me a PM with details! 
Would a 2.5RS have enough grunt to be competitive?
I've seen plenty of E36 328is's (328isses? 328is'?) for around your budget. Not nearly as fast as the Mustang in a straight line, but they're a blast to drive.
328is for $3500? Sounds scary. But then the Mustang thing proved I don't know what I'm talking about...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4s-for-sale-wanted/2646946-1984-corvette-z51-4-3-a.html
This car I almost bought.
In reply to Bobzilla:
No offense, but yuck... extremely stiff suspension (I guess for a 'race car' this might be acceptable) and being an '84, doesn't this come with Crossfire injection? Plus that weirdo Doug Nash 4+3 trans.
Yes, yes and yes. Crossfire's have support believe it or not. There;s an intake/cam combo that bolts on 60hp. Swap head and it jumps to a 300whp car. Or, for that amount of money engine swap for pennies.
The 84 had the best suspension for people not looking for a cruiser. I wish my 88 Z51 had those spring rates along with my larger sway bars and brakes.
The DN 4+3 is decent. Mine was used and abused and still works great at 144k miles and as much abuse as I can throw at it.
Besides, for $2800 how could you go wrong?
pres589 wrote: 328is for $3500? Sounds scary. But then the Mustang thing proved I don't know what I'm talking about...
It's been known to happen.. Anson (a poster on here that's local to me) had one for $1600 or so a bit ago. Sold fast. I test drove it and it drove great but needed a little too much cosmetic stuff for my current motivation level. (headliner, door panel work, trim, etc) There are plenty that are listed for way too much, but just like Mustangs, sometimes people actually want to sell and put a good price up.
In reply to Bobzilla:
I hate to say this because it feels like such a step backwards, but I guess you could always go to a carb (I feel so dirty now) on a good intake like an RPM Air Gap. Or there's the TPI stuff out there for cheap, Megasquirt it, etc. For $2800 you do have a point. Spring swap with someone else would probably make it easier to resell to the average guy. So you do have a good point, I am sorry to derail there, and Javelin should probably consider a car like that for this kind of money.
Clean 325is? Easy to find with LSD, cheaper than the "big motor" 328's. Narrower powerband, but ultimately nearly as quick.
MG Midget!!!! 
dculberson wrote: I've seen plenty of E36 328is's (328isses? 328is'?) for around your budget. Not nearly as fast as the Mustang in a straight line, but they're a blast to drive.
I'd bet they're just as fast if not faster in a straight line. The SN95s were utter turds in stock form.
Ok, i may have exaggerated a bit... but there really isn't much difference.
Autocross wise, an e30 can be fun, but it takes LOADS of money to make it competitive in DSP. My old e30 was why I moved to a Miata for SCCA. Although you could do okay in our local (Oregon) autocrosses in the generic "Non-Porsche" class.
Yeah, I'm staying out of the SP and P classes. Sticking with an ST class and the Street Tire Non Porsche class. Britain's WRX-powered 914 is in NP Race Tire! 
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I'd bet they're just as fast if not faster in a straight line. The SN95s were utter turds in stock form. Ok, i may have exaggerated a bit... but there really isn't much difference.
Oh wow, you're right! I hadn't looked into it. The '96 Cobra non-R will do a 14.0 1/4 mile, the '98 328is is a 14.7. So not really a night-and-day difference. I assume tuning the Cobra to do significantly faster would be cheaper than the equivalent speed from a BMW but that's guesswork on my part.
The 328is is certainly going to be more 'composed' on the road.
There's a turbo E30 325is locally for $3000... but Javelin said he didn't like the E30 so that's out. That would be a blast of a car, though.
96 Cobra is a 4.6L 4V dog. 95 Cobra 5.0 is actually faster, despite Ford's media machine. Plus less weight on the nose = better handling. Neither Mustang ad owner has emailed back though.
Still considering other cars though. The C4 looks to be a nightmare waiting to happen. All I can afford are early digi-dash crossfire 4+3 models, and they are dirt cheap for a reason.
There were a dozen assorted 944's on CL last week, this week 3. 
My distrust of BMW's comes from my BIL's ex-E46. It was a POS that fell apart (taillight harnesses melted, windows fell into doors, stuck sunroof, door cards fell off). I did instruct a kid with a 6-cyl E30 at Street Survival School last year that was pretty nice. Torquey too.
Interesting... magazines tested both the 94 and 96 Cobra to essentially identical acceleration times.
Feel has a lot to do with it, though. I'd rather a 5.slow over a 4.sick anyways.
Ive driven stock 5.0/5spd sn95 mustangs. They are SLOW.
But as with all old-school v8s, there's enough cheap aftermarket stuff floating around that someone with a little KNOWLEDGE and FORETHOUGHT (i.e. a small percent of the population) can build a setup that ACTUALLY WORKS for cheap and get a lot more power.
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