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93EXCivic
93EXCivic SuperDork
3/30/11 6:33 p.m.

In reply to Javelin:

A Alfa Spider in need of a head is in no way worth $3500.

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/30/11 6:36 p.m.
93EXCivic wrote: In reply to Javelin: A Alfa Spider in need of a head is in no way worth $3500.

That was precisely my thought when this thing showed up on my RSS feed.

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
3/30/11 6:43 p.m.
93EXCivic wrote: In reply to Javelin: A Alfa Spider in need of a head is in no way worth $3500.

Good to know!

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/30/11 6:46 p.m.

CLEAN 1.8L Porsche 914 for $3500!

That's been advertised almost all winter long. Maybe I should talk to the owner...

73K mile 84 944 for $2600

Had seen that, "nice custom wheels" out here tends to be an immediate turn off for me .

Modded 87 Corvette for $5000 (unknown trans)

TBH that's only a little cheaper than a 6sp in my favourite colour that I'm most likely going to view this weekend.

91 Miata for $800!

Title from Title Company? In CA? Is the seller kidding? IIRC all you need is an application for a duplicate title, title co smells really bad.

80 FIAT Spider 2000 for $1100

Seen that, not very keen on it. Something about the description and the pictures rub me the wrong way.

96 Eclipse GSX (Turbo AWD) for $4000

Wonder if that's the same one that was for sale last year - that was another one of those people who were unable to call back anybody.

And the real winner...

84 Maserati Biturbo for $1200

Damn you, that's got to be almost in walking distance from work (I work in Zephyr Cove, and it's not exactly a big place).

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
3/30/11 6:48 p.m.

BiTurbo, BiTurbo!!

(Only on GRM where we can argue about cost of track maintenance on a 944, C4, and 3rd Gen Camaro and end up with the poster buying a Maserati BiTurbo as the best choice).

yamaha
yamaha New Reader
3/30/11 6:53 p.m.

Have you considered an older 911 for a bit more than the s2? I think it would be worth it, and when not occasionally racing it, daily it.

As for the c4 vs the gen 3.....I wouldn't recommend a gen 3 fbody to anyone over a c4, and I despise c4's.

E36 318tis can be had for cheap and they're an engine swap away from the same ballpark. Think junkyard 6pot... anyways, it all boils down to what you like best, as for me, ill stick with my bmw for twisties and sho for everything else.....although currently the redline is pulling everything duty..lol

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
3/30/11 6:55 p.m.

Where the heck do you get ANY running 911 for $3000-$5000????

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/30/11 6:56 p.m.

IME (and I do still own a 911, it's just about 6000 miles away) a 911 that's only going to cost a little more than the S2 I'm looking at is an expensive disaster looking for a place to happen. TBH if I were to get another 911 - and I probably will - I'd be looking in the 10-15k range and not the $5k-$6k range.

I actually like our C4, it's just a matter of it probably not being the best vehicle to learn track craft in.

yamaha
yamaha New Reader
3/30/11 6:57 p.m.

Can't edit on my phone........mgb gt? I loved the 72 I drove at mecum's spring classic last year. Great condition and only sold for $4100

yamaha
yamaha New Reader
3/30/11 7:00 p.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

My bad tim, every now and then I see decent 70s 911s for 8ish. My intention was along the lines of not being as fast, but more fun when driven.

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/30/11 7:03 p.m.

Oh, I like 911s - as does my wife - but the one I currently have has done quite a lot of damage to the wallet already and was supposed to be a really good example.

I've owned a B GT in the past, nice car but not something I'd use as an HPDE car without throwing tons of money at the suspension. The lever arm suspension really isn't that great...

93EXCivic
93EXCivic SuperDork
3/30/11 9:29 p.m.

I almost bought an '87 Alfa Spider in beautiful condition for $4000 instead of my first Civic. Sometimes I still wish I had. The Miata is probably a better car but I like the Spider better.

93EXCivic
93EXCivic SuperDork
3/30/11 9:31 p.m.
BoxheadTim wrote: I've owned a B GT in the past, nice car but not something I'd use as an HPDE car without throwing tons of money at the suspension. The lever arm suspension really isn't that great...

Tube shock conversions aren't that expensive and neither are uprated springs.

killerkane
killerkane Reader
3/30/11 9:51 p.m.

When I first read this I though you were talking about a 964 C4.

Maroon92
Maroon92 SuperDork
3/30/11 10:49 p.m.
killerkane wrote: When I first read this I though you were talking about a 964 C4.

If that were the case, I would ALWAYS recommend the 944. It is a much better car.

When the engineers at the Porsche factory were asked what car they wanted to drive, they all chose the 944. That speaks volumes to me.

Bobzilla
Bobzilla Dork
3/31/11 7:28 a.m.
Javelin wrote: If money were no object, we'd all have Porsche 917's or Ferrari F1's.

Wrong again.

racerdave600
racerdave600 HalfDork
3/31/11 8:31 a.m.

The 944 is a great driving car, I love them, but for the intended purpose of the orginal poster I would look elsewhere.

I've owned and track driven more cars than I can count, many of which are listed here on a daily basis, but if I had to pick one car that would be the easiest to own and take to the track, it is without a doubt a Miata. There is no other car that I can think of that takes the kind of abuse they do, that are so easy to drive, and have such an aftermarket support with such low price parts. I really like MK1 MR2's better, but the Miata is a bit easier to own just on availability and parts.

It's well worth the extra headache to find a good Miata. Don't what part of the country you live in, but I could find a dozen or more that fit the bill within a 2 hour drive well short of $3k any day of the week. Atlanta alone seems to have that many for sale at any one time, some aready prepped to some degree.

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/31/11 8:42 a.m.

Well, the one that Javelin linked to up in Reno is prepped for auto-x and hasn't sold yet, so I'll probably look at it on the weekend. Needs a rear quarter painting, though.

Had a look at the Mk1 MR2 last night, it's in reasonable condition bar a couple of dents (rear wheelarch and the rear corner). Needs e-brake sorting out, but it feels strong mechanically. However I'm a little concerned that it puffed out some smoke on startup and that the owner didn't realise it had a timing belt - he thought it had a chain. At least the engine warmed up properly and the idle went down to where it is supposed to be.

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
3/31/11 8:42 a.m.
Bobzilla wrote:
Javelin wrote: If money were no object, we'd all have Porsche 917's or Ferrari F1's.
Wrong again.

Really? Is that necessary? Would you be happier if I had said if money was no object we'd all have P-51 Mustangs or F-22 Raptors? I mean come on, grow up.

Javelin
Javelin SuperDork
3/31/11 8:46 a.m.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

I hate to say it, but what about a Mustang? 94-95 GT or Cobra specifically. Their aftermarket is so big it makes even Miata's look under-represented, they have C4-levels of power and weight, can take a 275 tire, and are ridiculously cheap to buy and modify. They make decent daily driver's as well. The stock suspension is pretty lame, but there's literally dozens of proven solutions out there to make them handle. One only has to look at NASA's American Iron and CMC classes to see them in action.

yamaha
yamaha New Reader
3/31/11 8:59 a.m.
Javelin wrote: Really? Is that necessary? Would you be happier if I had said if money was no object we'd all have P-51 Mustangs or F-22 Raptors? I mean come on, grow up.

p38 > p51.......just sayin

the sn95s are getting cheaper, but where I live the ones sub 5k are beat to hell and back, etc. Otherwise, I'd recommend one

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/31/11 9:00 a.m.
racerdave600 wrote: It's well worth the extra headache to find a good Miata. Don't what part of the country you live in, but I could find a dozen or more that fit the bill within a 2 hour drive well short of $3k any day of the week. Atlanta alone seems to have that many for sale at any one time, some aready prepped to some degree.

For some reason, Miatas are hard to find out here (Northern NV) for reasonable money in decent condition. I had been looking for the latter half of last year, maybe I'm too cheap but there wasn't anything decent available. Sacramento is a little better but the good deals tend to get snapped up before I can get down there...

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/31/11 9:08 a.m.

Most of the Mustangs in my price range are clapped out Fox bodies; I've not seen an early SN95 w/ 5.0 around here for a while. Heck, even a nice late Fox Body would be a find (I used to have one about, well, almost 20 years back and liked it).

pres589
pres589 Dork
3/31/11 9:12 a.m.

Depending on how much work you want to do and your budget, I would think an early Fox would make a better racer simply because they're lighter. It'd require a driveline swap to be very useful but as a canvas to work with it seems like on viable path.

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim SuperDork
3/31/11 9:19 a.m.

That's part of the issue - I really don't want another project as I need to get a lot of work done on my CJ, so whatever I end up with needs to be more or less track ready as is. Brake overhauls or similar are fine but driveline swaps etc aren't.

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