Cheap FWD Car

In reply to neon4891: Pics please

AE9x Corolla... 1988-1992 Price: free to something a lot higher

Moparman wrote: In reply to neon4891: Pics please

Look at his profile. He posted a feeler on it in the 200x classified section awhile back. I was the first one to say hell yes, but seeing as how its A: for a kid, and B: my wife will likely be unemployed in a week or so, I'm not so eager to jump. I miss my 98 R/T, it was blue too! I'll get my hands on another sooner if later.

In reply to neon4891:

Saw the pics and did not see rust. Are the floors or "frame" rotted at all. Is this an SOHC car and does it run half-way decent?

IIRC all the R/T cars were DOHC. Been wrong before so don't hold me to it.

In reply to Spinout007:

Was not sure since he said he installed an SOHC-spec transaxle and ACR sedans were all SOHC.I was not sure if R/Ts followed the same pattern. A DOHC with an SOHC transmission would be a performance mismatch IMHO.

meh, lower profile sidewall to make up the difference in gear ratio, or in my experience they fall on their face after third gear anyway. better mileage, though I got low 30's flogging mine for all it was worth with the dohc trans.

That being said, I've never driven a sohc stick shift car.

In reply to Spinout007:

The few years I drove my Neon on the street before making it a dedicate autocross car, I averaged well over 35 MPG with the DOHC and original transaxle. That being said, I don't understand the logic of using an SOHC transaxle when DOHC transaxles are easy to find.

I run Kumho V710s or Hankook R tires in 225-50-14 size in 14x8 wheels

Mazda 323 / Protege. The FWD Miata.

In reply to amg_rx7: As rare as unicorns in NE PA and the surrounding region, especially 5-speed cars. A 323 would be nice. Heck, if there was a GTX available I would buy it myself.

Sold the Ram 50. The hunt for a replacement begins in earnest.

In reply to Moparman:

Svrex had one for sale recently. Dunno if he ever sold it.

amg_rx7 wrote: Mazda 323 / Protege. The FWD Miata.

Depending on driver height, not a bad choice.

5 speed is mandatory, my engine was rated at 82 hp in my 323. Swapped in some junkyard seats from a protege, take-off Maia rims with some Falkens made it a little more fun. Some suspension work would have helped the handling.

Don't forget the MX 3 and 6 though.

In reply to Smirnus:

If I could find serviceable examples of any of these cars, I would check them out. My son is looking at a MK1 MR2 later this week. This is like a FWD car, just backward.

That being said, I've never driven a sohc stick shift car.

Drives like a DOHC car with a SOHC trans, at least until 6000 rpm or so.

The gearing difference between the sohc and dohc accounts for probably 95% of the performance difference on stock neons. The other 5% is the space between 6000 rpm and redline.

A DOHC with a 3.55 tranny is not a bad idea if you frequently engage in highway blasts. It would have a ~100mph 3rd gear. Ive found throughout my range of experiences that a 100mph 3rd gear in a 5spd is a great thing and im building 2 or 3 cars to do it, depending on how you count, on top of the 1 i already have.