With the the rising cost of classic cars these days I'm trying to think of what could be normally still be had for under $10 K. I would want the car in clean driver condition. I'll start the list with what is on the top of my head - Triumph TR7/TR8, Fiat 124, X19, Midget, Spitfire, Porsche 944. There must be lots of others?
Corvair
BMW 2002, 320i, e30 325is, 240z, Jensen Healey, Spifire, MGB, Lotus Eclat, just about any Jag thats between 10 and 30 years old, Mercedes SL, RX7. None of which are as much fun as a TR8.
Mercury Cougars have had my eye lately.
Neighbor just bought a sweet MGB GT for $8,500.
MR2.
Postwar Plymouths.
You can find Mustangs under $10k that are decent drivers as well as Ford Falcons. If you don't mind oddball (and some difficulty finding parts) the Fairlane based 66-70 3rd gen Falcons are real bargains and drive much better than the admittedly sexier early versions.
70's or 80's Alfa Spiders haven't been mentioned yet.
The world's best G-body Monte Carlo SS Flat-window.
In 1999 I purchased a 1979 Fiat Spider that has been a good driver and a 20 year old sports car. My 1993 Miata is now that same kind of car albeit more modern in every way and there is a ton of support for the Miata. $10,000 will also get you close to a Mercedes SL series or an early 6 cylinder Mustang.
You can definitely get a driver condition Merc SL for under $10K. There are just sooo many options for cars under $10K...
To add to the shopping list:
In reply to tr8todd: You can buy several 90's models of Miatas which are a ton more fun to drive than any TR-7,8 you ever drove! Plus they actually start every day, their headlights & taillights work as intended, etc. and they don't piddle on your driveway or in your garage. And they don't puke their guts out on a regular basis.
Come out of the long lost past. Drive an any year Miata, & you'll be reborn into the true sports car faith!
YUP...Miata is the answer once again. They are old enough to be classics and dependable enough to be driven every day anywhere.
The classic British car genre is starting to look like post-apocalyptic zombies, with the more modern Japanese classics taking on the role of zombie killers in this brave new world. It has got to be a bit demoralizing to be wiped out twice by the Japanese!
In reply to tr8todd: If you want to find a car you can actually drive that was built in the same time-frame as your TR-7-8 selection, check out a Datsun 240Z. It is all a TR-7-8 ever wanted to be. With better power, handling, & hugely better reliability, this is/was truly a classic car which was sold on the market several years earlier than Triumph produced their door stops. Don't forget a 240Z typically starts every day, it's head and taillights work almost all the time, and it doesn't piddle all over your driveway or garage either.
Of course the 240Z doesn't look like a door stop as the TR-7-8 does. Whether you choose to buy antique door stops rather than fun to drive and dependable cars is certainly a matter of your personal choice.
In reply to Rupert:
I haven't looked in awhile, but the last time I did a good driver-condition* 240Z was a fair bit more than $10K.
*driver-condition = not perfect, but runs well and generally rust free.
My candidates:
Classic Mini. Can generally be had for under $10K and it's hard to have much more fun in a car for the same amount of money.
GT6 - like a Spitfire, but more relaxed and rare.
If you get lucky, you might find a decent Volvo 1800 that isn't a complete rust bucket for under $10K.
The European or Ford/Mercury Capri! There is a very nice one for sale in Florida right now for under $10K. I would be all over this if I had the room to park it indoors.
http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/4732499609.html
Ian F wrote: In reply to Rupert: I haven't looked in awhile, but the last time I did a good driver-condition* 240Z was a fair bit more than $10K. *driver-condition = not perfect, but runs well and generally rust free.
To be honest, I've not followed prices in the last few years. I don't have a big enough garage to fool with anything anymore. But I would say a 240Z in good driver-condition anywhere under $20K would still be a better buy than some of the alternatives I've seen mentioned.
In reply to Rupert:
But "under $20K" isn't the thread criteria. Double the budget and I could think of a lot of cars I'd rather have as well. 
In reply to Ian F: Me TOO!
How about one of those Jaguar JX6 from the early 70's with a Chevy 350 swap. I see them for around $4,000 to $10,000.
I've seen C10's and F100's in the sub-$10k range in driver condition, you just may have to be okay with a long bed.
Rupert wrote: In reply to tr8todd: If you want to find a car you can actually drive that was built in the same time-frame as your TR-7-8 selection, check out a Datsun 240Z. It is all a TR-7-8 ever wanted to be. With better power, handling, & hugely better reliability, this is/was truly a classic car which was sold on the market several years earlier than Triumph produced their door stops. Don't forget a 240Z typically starts every day, it's head and taillights work almost all the time, and it doesn't piddle all over your driveway or garage either. Of course the 240Z doesn't look like a door stop as the TR-7-8 does. Whether you choose to buy antique door stops rather than fun to drive and dependable cars is certainly a matter of your personal choice.
Oh Rupert. Seriously.
How very little you know about Triumph TR8's. The most dominant rally car of its day in Europe and also in N.A. with Buffum behind the wheel. SCCA CP and later GT-1 champion. Got Group 44 kicked out of the SCCA Trans-Am for being too fast for the Corvettes, Porsches etc. They then switched to IMSA and were the quickest car in IMSA GTO. And they did this in only two years of production.
And they even came as a convertible.
I love 240Z's and always have but if I thought they were better cars I'd own them instead of my TR8's. The original Z is one of my favs and on my bucket list if I ever get more garage room, but your claim that it could outperform a 3.5 V8 with a 2.5 inline 6 is ridiculous. By the time TR8's arrived in CP the original 240Z was long passe and Datsun was racing 280Z turbos. At GT-1 Slagles car was ball busting Corvette big blocks as did the Group 44 cars in TransAm/IMSA.
As for being reliable, what is more reliable than an American derived V8? I've had zero problems with my cars. It may not be any more reliable than a Z car, but no less so either. They got it wrong out of the blocks with the early Speke built TR7's but had it right with the TR8. Sadly, it was too little too late as only 2800 were built. But doesn't that make them a bit more exclusive than a Z, wouldn't you agree.
Ian F wrote: Classic Mini. Can generally be had for under $10K and it's hard to have much more fun in a car for the same amount of money.
Errr...barely. Classic Mini prices are $10k and up for anything with a decent size engine (over 1000cc) and a rust-free shell. I had a lot of fun with my 850 and it was several thousand less but it was also not an easy sell when the time came for it to move on. Any good car with a 1275 engine is going to be over $10k.
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