What FWD beater would you buy for under $2k?

you can still do NA and do Saab

I know the Volvo was a 5 cylinder.. but it fits the description of a cheap beater

Swank Force One wrote: , 1st gen mx6/626.

Yes and no. Mazda never released rights to most parts for these. A simple touch of an evap purge solenoid, or an other plastic part under the hood can mean $160, dealer-only, and waiting 4 days to get it.

I love driving these cars, but fixing them is complete BS.

GM J- and A-bodies are cheap and if not rusted tend to work forever.

Someone mentioned an Eclipse. I personally hate those DSMs for the timing belt tensioners. The whole timing belt setup is so poorly engineered that I wouldn't buy the car based on that one aspect.

Camry, corolla. Any of the Scions do extremely well also. I was very impressed with a $4000 tC I drove a few months ago. My ex wife has an xB manual that is dead reliable and pretty fun too.

Sentra SE-R

Any of the Kia/Hyundai in that price range should be great. About 2001 and up, Kia and Hyundai made massive improvements that made them a real player in the game. The downside is that many of the Korean manuals are beefy, but obscure when it comes to needing parts.

What are 1st generation Sentra SE-Rs going for these days? They are only 2 doors, but if you can find one in good mechanical condition, they are great cars. Watch out for ones that jump out of fifth gear, though. Really strong engines.

Loved mine back in the day.

This thread made me hop on craigslist and I found a few local fwd beaters under $2k that I would but but not as many as I had assumed I would find.

Here's one semi-local that I found for $950:

'02 Z24

Needs a battery or alternator, a window and brake caliper (according to the ad).

These are VERY plentiful in the local junk yards. If I were in the market for a fwd beater I'd probably get one of these. A friend had a '98 that I worked on, they're actually not too bad wrenching wise. I changed a p/s line, alternator, blower motor and resistor, and brake pads.

Decent little econoboxes.

If you must buy a J body, stay far far away from the quad 4, 2200 pushrod engine only.

In the sub $2K market, I'd buy just about any of them. Just get the best you can find at that price.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: If you must buy a J body, stay far far away from the quad 4, 2200 pushrod engine only.

Wasn't the L61 decent in the J-bodies as well?

civic si? http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/4569733391.html $1300

curtis73 wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: , 1st gen mx6/626.

Yes and no. Mazda never released rights to most parts for these. A simple touch of an evap purge solenoid, or an other plastic part under the hood can mean $160, dealer-only, and waiting 4 days to get it. I love driving these cars, but fixing them is complete BS.

I couldn't disagree with you more. (Respectfully, of course) IF any of those things fail (and they're really not known to), you can just remove it and the car doesn't know any better.

We are talking about GD chassis 1st gen MX6/3rd gen 626, right? 88-92? 2.2 SOHC 12v motor?

The 2nd gen cars can be a pain and are nowhere near as reliable, harder to work on, and more expensive to maintain. The 1st gen cars are reliable and overbuilt enough that they reward stupidity.

I've never needed a part i couldn't find for peanuts for these cars.

Bonus points for making huge power on a pocket lint budget.

Swank Force One wrote:

curtis73 wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: , 1st gen mx6/626.

Yes and no. Mazda never released rights to most parts for these. A simple touch of an evap purge solenoid, or an other plastic part under the hood can mean $160, dealer-only, and waiting 4 days to get it. I love driving these cars, but fixing them is complete BS.

I couldn't disagree with you more. (Respectfully, of course) IF any of those things fail (and they're really not known to), you can just remove it and the car doesn't know any better. We are talking about GD chassis 1st gen MX6/3rd gen 626, right? 88-92? 2.2 SOHC 12v motor? The 2nd gen cars can be a pain and are nowhere near as reliable, harder to work on, and more expensive to maintain. The 1st gen cars are reliable and overbuilt enough that they reward stupidity. I've never needed a part i couldn't find for peanuts for these cars. Bonus points for making huge power on a pocket lint budget.

I kinda hope I don't (accidentally) come across an F2T car when I'm really looking around.... There's a strong chance it would follow me home...

In reply to Swank Force One:

Seconded. Ive owned 1gen mx6's for a total of 8 years. If I couldnt find the part from rock auto, mazda used the same part on 18 of their vehicles so I'd head over to pullapart and problem solved. I never once had to step foot in a mazda dealership for a partI couldnt find.

That being said, I wouldn't add it to the list of beater car for under 2k, because they aren't exactly easy to find anymore.

The n/a cars make great daily drivers as well, they just aren't near as fast. Nor do i think they're any more reliable or efficient, so....

lnlogauge wrote: In reply to Swank Force One: Seconded. Ive owned 1gen mx6's for a total of 8 years. If I couldnt find the part from rock auto, mazda used the same part on 18 of their vehicles so I'd head over to pullapart and problem solved. I never once had to step foot in a mazda dealership for a partI couldnt find. That being said, I wouldn't add it to the list of beater car for under 2k, because they aren't exactly easy to find anymore.

I'm a young pup compared to you and JamesMcDonald when it comes to these things, i'm only 5 years and 4 cars deep.

If i needed something RIGHT NOW i wouldn't seek one out, as they're becoming scarce.

But if one happened to show up? Sure!

I wouldn't be afraid of owning one at all. I have a buddy that's owned 3 F2T Probes and a Vulcan LX, and I'm almost positive he still has some "just in case I want another one" parts stashed. Also, there always seems to be atleast one or two in the local "U-pull" yards that never seem to get picked over much.

As a daily driver I think one could be affordable and hassle free as long as I can keep the "mod bug" concentrated on my DSM. My buddy's last 89PGT was had for only $2k and had been garage kept its whole life and was absolutely mint. With just a "zombie chip", cheap Spectre cone filter and muffler shop 3" straight pipe, the car was neck and neck with an Intake/Exhaust Ion Redline I had at the time. I was very impressed, especially since he hadn't even put a boost controller on it yet. However, he ran into headaches when he tried to mod it further and then threw in the towel and bought an LS1 F-body when the Probe started burning a ton of oil.

What kind of MPG's could I expect from a similarly modded F2T car? I'd ask my friend, but I'm sure he'd have no idea. The car was really only used to make noise and giggle at torque steer.

Swank Force One wrote: Celica, 1st gen mx6/626. Camry.

This is also my vote. Except the Camry.

BG Protege.

Clearly what you need is an 81 Plymouth Champ! I bought this recently and will be driving it from IL / MI to Florida. (as long as it doesn't catch fire, or split in half) Find something else with 8 forward gears.....and two reverse gears!

Actually no---- I wouldn't recommend this-- buy a prism, or corolla if you are smart. I got hit on my head a lot as a child--- so to me--- this makes perfect sense!

shelbyz wrote: I wouldn't be afraid of owning one at all. I have a buddy that's owned 3 F2T Probes and a Vulcan LX, and I'm almost positive he still has some "just in case I want another one" parts stashed. Also, there always seems to be atleast one or two in the local "U-pull" yards that never seem to get picked over much. As a daily driver I think one could be affordable and hassle free as long as I can keep the "mod bug" concentrated on my DSM. My buddy's last 89PGT was had for only $2k and had been garage kept its whole life and was absolutely mint. With just a "zombie chip", cheap Spectre cone filter and muffler shop 3" straight pipe, the car was neck and neck with an Intake/Exhaust Ion Redline I had at the time. I was very impressed, especially since he hadn't even put a boost controller on it yet. However, he ran into headaches when he tried to mod it further and then threw in the towel and bought an LS1 F-body when the Probe started burning a ton of oil. What kind of MPG's could I expect from a similarly modded F2T car? I'd ask my friend, but I'm sure he'd have no idea. The car was really only used to make noise and giggle at torque steer.

30mpg on the highway should be doable. I haven't really had a lot of time with these things in anything resembling stock form. I can tell you that mine exceeds 40mpg on the highway, but i suspect i have a few things working for it that other cars might not.

For a cheap fun daily runabout, i'd probably just do intake, chipped ECU, a T-bird hybrid turbo, the 2.5" o2 housing/downpipe that's being sold on the forums now, matching 2.5" or 3" exhaust, maybe a FMIC setup if you're feeling fancy. I have a write up floating around on how to get an Evo 8 intercooler on there for under $200 with some good shopping skills, and it does a couple things for you. 1) Little more power and 2) replaces all the old and brittle 25 year old OEM hoses that are prone to causing boost/vacuum leaks.

Run it to 13-14psi, enjoy a pretty damn quick car with OEM-like reliability that should easily break into the 13s in the quarter mile, but pull way harder than a 13s car on a highway merge.

As for parts/cars in the junkyard... many of the sensors and such were the same on the n/a cars as the turbo cars.

clutchsmoke wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Celica, 1st gen mx6/626. Camry.

This is also my vote. Except the Camry.

I added the camry because i always kindof liked the early/mid 90s Camry Coupes, and you could get them with a 5spd. They really aren't much different from the Celica. Slightly less sporty interior, not quite as cool looking, but don't take much to be decently fun backroad burners.

Powar wrote: BG Protege.

I love this option, too. A true "Cockroach" car. They're like smaller MX6s with a revvy-er motor. Make sure you get an LX for the BP DOHC.

Swank Force One wrote:

shelbyz wrote: I wouldn't be afraid of owning one at all. I have a buddy that's owned 3 F2T Probes and a Vulcan LX, and I'm almost positive he still has some "just in case I want another one" parts stashed. Also, there always seems to be atleast one or two in the local "U-pull" yards that never seem to get picked over much. As a daily driver I think one could be affordable and hassle free as long as I can keep the "mod bug" concentrated on my DSM. My buddy's last 89PGT was had for only $2k and had been garage kept its whole life and was absolutely mint. With just a "zombie chip", cheap Spectre cone filter and muffler shop 3" straight pipe, the car was neck and neck with an Intake/Exhaust Ion Redline I had at the time. I was very impressed, especially since he hadn't even put a boost controller on it yet. However, he ran into headaches when he tried to mod it further and then threw in the towel and bought an LS1 F-body when the Probe started burning a ton of oil. What kind of MPG's could I expect from a similarly modded F2T car? I'd ask my friend, but I'm sure he'd have no idea. The car was really only used to make noise and giggle at torque steer.

30mpg on the highway should be doable. I haven't really had a lot of time with these things in anything resembling stock form. I can tell you that mine exceeds 40mpg on the highway, but i suspect i have a few things working for it that other cars might not. For a cheap fun daily runabout, i'd probably just do intake, chipped ECU, a T-bird hybrid turbo, the 2.5" o2 housing/downpipe that's being sold on the forums now, matching 2.5" or 3" exhaust, maybe a FMIC setup if you're feeling fancy. I have a write up floating around on how to get an Evo 8 intercooler on there for under $200 with some good shopping skills, and it does a couple things for you. 1) Little more power and 2) replaces all the old and brittle 25 year old OEM hoses that are prone to causing boost/vacuum leaks. Run it to 13-14psi, enjoy a pretty damn quick car with OEM-like reliability that should easily break into the 13s in the quarter mile, but pull way harder than a 13s car on a highway merge. As for parts/cars in the junkyard... many of the sensors and such were the same on the n/a cars as the turbo cars.

Good stuff...

If your IC write up was around 4/5 years ago, I'm betting it's how we got an Evo intercooler on his... Never really got to experience it with the T-bird hybrid. Once the turbo was sorted out after a poor rebuild from a shop, the clutch went from being solid to slipping angrily on the first drive. Then a couple days after swapping in a nicer South Bend clutch, the car started burning tons of oil. After swapping the old VJ11 back on didn't remedy it, he threw in the towel on F2T cars.

I probably wouldn't go much further than the chip, intake and exhaust if I dailied one. Maybe toss some snows on the stock wheels, rock some 2G Swirlies in the summer and do my best to keep it presentable. Hopefully it'll help keep my garage time and budget limited to my Talon.

Yep, i think the write-up would have been about 4 years ago. It's not the prettiest thing in the world and there's some things i'd change about it these days, but back then i was just trying to replace my stolen intercooler setup, and got ahold of an Evo intercooler for $40.