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carbon
carbon HalfDork
2/13/14 2:35 p.m.

lexus sc300/400, or if you want some vip for your $3000.. ls400.

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 UltimaDork
2/13/14 9:16 p.m.


$900 in southern MI
Interior gutted.

kanaric
kanaric HalfDork
2/14/14 2:26 a.m.

anything other than MR2 is fail.

Caleb
Caleb Reader
2/14/14 5:10 a.m.

C4 Vette

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson PowerDork
2/14/14 5:56 a.m.
JohnRW1621 wrote: $900 in southern MI Interior gutted.

Wow, that's a screaming deal. Totally fails on the stock part, but that is a sweet deal. I hope someone here picks it up.

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 UltimaDork
2/14/14 6:10 a.m.

A more complete racer, turn key track car $3k in Royal Oak

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson PowerDork
2/14/14 6:26 a.m.

Wow, whats happening with the used race car market. 10 years ago you couldn't get a legal car for $5k, now there seems to be loads. Supply and demand has tipped?

alfadriver
alfadriver PowerDork
2/14/14 7:37 a.m.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

Since this is a mental exercise, and you did not define what "toy" means, I will challenge your need for a limited slip diff. I'm not a big fan in most of my daily driving using one- I never really noticed if it was better comparing my '97 Miata to the '99 driving it. Granted, I never autocrossed them.

But being a Toy implies that it will be used more than just racing. And I would wonder if winning is more important than having fun on a budget.

Don't know if you saw my Red GTV- it's got a really tight LSD in the back- can't even drive that thing- it will not turn corners. So for it, the crappy handling is a worse result than the fact that I have power delivery problems on some corners.

that all changes if you are looking to run some times once a month at Waterford Hills....

chknhwk
chknhwk HalfDork
2/16/14 10:40 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
alfadriver wrote: uh, SVT Focus??
Needs an LSD though. My SVT Contour could put it's power down way better than my Focus coming out of a tight corner.

Silly me but I thought all the SVTF came with LSD's? I know my SVTC with 3L swap and Quaife was pretty much the fastest track car I've ever driven (compared to my 1998 Cobra, 1986 924S and 2004 X-Type). I miss that car every single day.

NGTD
NGTD SuperDork
2/16/14 2:20 p.m.

That kind of money can get an early bugeye WRX.

parker
parker Reader
2/16/14 6:17 p.m.

A first gen Neon will run circles around an MR2. I've owned both an 85 and an 89 S/C and the Neon is way faster. Although I'll agree, not as cool.

Gearheadotaku
Gearheadotaku UberDork
2/16/14 6:42 p.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: Wow, whats happening with the used race car market. 10 years ago you couldn't get a legal car for $5k, now there seems to be loads. Supply and demand has tipped?

With Waterford Hills in our back yard, cars get passed around a bit. The are a few spec neons making the rounds. Does anyone else have a spec neon class or is it a local thing?

Back on subject, a thrid gen camaro gets my nod as mentioned by others. The odd wild car I'll toss in is a 1998-2002 Camaro/Firebird 3800 5-spd. They got a big brake upgrade in '98 and the 200hp isn't bad despite the heavy car. If you get lucky you can find a Y87 optioned car which grants you Z28 suspension and LSD. 2000-2002 cars had Torsen diffs instead of the clutch type in 98-99.

ProDarwin
ProDarwin UltraDork
2/16/14 7:12 p.m.
parker wrote: A first gen Neon will run circles around an MR2. I've owned both an 85 and an 89 S/C and the Neon is way faster. Although I'll agree, not as cool.

You can get a 2nd gen MR2 for $3K and turn the tables.

Also a Z32 isn't a bad toy for $3K.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH MegaDork
2/18/14 7:26 a.m.

+1 for Civic/Integra. An AE92 has silly amounts of body roll when stock.

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson PowerDork
2/18/14 8:08 a.m.
alfadriver wrote: In reply to Adrian_Thompson: Since this is a mental exercise, and you did not define what "toy" means, I will challenge your need for a limited slip diff. I'm not a big fan in most of my daily driving using one- I never really noticed if it was better comparing my '97 Miata to the '99 driving it. Granted, I never autocrossed them. But being a Toy implies that it will be used more than just racing. And I would wonder if winning is more important than having fun on a budget. Don't know if you saw my Red GTV- it's got a really tight LSD in the back- can't even drive that thing- it will not turn corners. So for it, the crappy handling is a worse result than the fact that I have power delivery problems on some corners.

Toy would assume some track time. No an LSD certainly isn't essential for RWD or FWD, but some cars need one more than others. As a past Focus and Contour owner I think the Focus must have one and the Contour doesn't need one. Neither of my cars had one, but even in my daily commute where there are a couple of fun corners the Focus was a frustration without one, where my SVTC just didn't need it. My Contour could put it's power down on corner exit with no LSD better than a friends Focus with a Quaif. I don't know what it is about the geometry or bushings, but the Mk I Focus needs it bad.

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson PowerDork
2/18/14 8:10 a.m.
Gearheadotaku wrote:
Adrian_Thompson wrote: Wow, whats happening with the used race car market. 10 years ago you couldn't get a legal car for $5k, now there seems to be loads. Supply and demand has tipped?
With Waterford Hills in our back yard, cars get passed around a bit. The are a few spec neons making the rounds. Does anyone else have a spec neon class or is it a local thing?

Yes, but it's still got silly cheap. I used to race at Waterford and I sold my non running but complete in bits (I'd blown up ANOTHER berkeleyING ENGINE) ITC Fiesta in 2000 for $2,000. Now you can buy complete running cars for barely more than that with much better prep. At the time people thought I'd given my car away for that price. Things have got much much cheaper I feel. Wither that or I'm getting old and out of touch!

chrispy
chrispy Reader
2/18/14 9:22 a.m.

You can regularly find ready-to-race ITB cars for under $3k which is why I'll never forgive my self for buying my not-ready-to-race ITB Golf for $2500. Interesting thread in that I currently possess a 2007 Civic auto with gobs of miles worth about $3500. I'd like to find something more exciting for dd/autox/track days without a lot of extra cash thrown in. Must be manual, seating for 4 (preferably 5). My sister in law grenaded the engine in her 1993 Probe GT a couple of years ago and gave it to me. I sold it for scrap

DaveEstey
DaveEstey UberDork
2/18/14 9:33 a.m.

3rd vote for FC RX7

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