My first "What Car" thread in a while. RWD turbo tuner car that isn't a PITA?

What's a neo-classic turbocharged (i'd consider supercharged) car that is rwd, light by today's standards, that has great parts available, support, and isn't a massive pita to work on? Cars that came in automatic only i'd accept only if it can be swapped to manual trans by Jim Bob at Kentucky Holler GM Tunes or Jose at Llantera and Low Riders. Something simple that most shops can do and maybe I can do myself. Car also needs a decent aftermarket. As much as I would like a Starion I like buying bolt on easy mode parts and putting them in than having to go to a fabricator. 

My qualification for "light" is modern light. As in no 3800lb cars, if it weighs like a modern WRX i'd be ok. 

The reason I ask this is because the car I picked that i've had since 2014 has been a massive failure in all but the first two criteria and i'm finally fed up with it. I'd tolerate much but expensive parts + poor availability coupled with low knowledge in the local brain trust is starting to snowball.

Car also has to be legal in autocross in at least SM after mods. My current car basically could not be autocrossed if I were to be serious. It doesn't fit the "sold in the US" criteria for most reasonable classes. 

I have two cars that actually have good value to sell and replace with this. Basically any reasonable US market non-supercar from the 90s is within my budget. 

Power goals would be to at least equal my current 320whp/300wtq (car is approx. 2800lbs). However I would be doing, on the smaller displacement cars, a twin scroll manifold with BW EFR turbo for full boost at like 3000rpm as opposed to my full boost at 4700rpm with what is basically a 20g setup I have now. Most chassis can be made to handle to my satisfaction if aftermarket exists so i'm not worried about that aspect unless it will only ever be bad. If there is any car I should avoid due to bad autocross gearing please let me know. I am aware that unticks the Mazdaspeed Miata. 

I've considered:

Miata + Turbo

240SX + Turbo (either KA+T or SR20)

MR2 Turbo (I had a bad experience trying to buy one of these before otherwise i'd own one now)

MKIV Supra (not light, would prefer a JDM Chaser but..... no autocross)

RX7 (local rotary support left for Florida)

300ZX (don't trust local hard mode Nissan people)

Buick GN/Turbo T (probably doesn't fit easy manual criteria) I've seen a few WE4 Turbo T package cars for sale. 

Ford Turbo (ie. Turbo Coupe)

S2000 + Turbo or Supercharger

03/04 Cobra (not light)

944 Turbo (afraid of this car for all the reasons I don't like my current car aside the autocross issue)

.....and several others, tired of thinking of what i've looked at lol. 

Any comments on those cars or suggestions to add to my list?

The thing is for most of these cars idk how easy they are to own as a project. Finding a car I like is easy, knowing how they are to own is the hard part. 

You can make manual transmission Subarus into rear wheel drive by several different methods.

A STOCK 944 turbo that has documented maintenance is a great option.

poorly modded and/or poorly maintained ones are easier to find.  If you love them, you can make those work, but I wouldn’t go that route.

parts availability is great, they just cost a bit more than BMW parts.

my former 951S that was highly modded ran for 3 seasons for the new owner.  He put a LSD transaxle in it, sticky tires and ran it.  Hard.  Eventually he hurt a piston ring andthe arftermarket turbo started leaking oil.  It still made 450hp before he changed the turbo for a smaller one and made 385hp across a wider RPM range.

 It finally blew up at a hillclimb last year and he’s building a 3.25L turbo motor for it.  Should be a monster.

Don't be afraid of them, much of their scary stuff is well known and DIY friendly.

if you want something different with more of an old VW feel, find a 924 Turbo.  The manual steering can be a pain for autocross and you’ll either become good with CIS or go bald and put MegaSquirt on it.

The easy button here is the Miata.  An NA/NB with a healthy turbo putting down 220 hp, decent suspension, and some A7s should have you knocking on top raw time at local events.  Taking the SSM class to a national level is a whole nuther leap but that’s any national prep.

I had an ‘88 TurboCoupe once upon a time and while it would be hilarious to autocross one, it really isn’t what it was designed for.  The 2.3 engine has a disastrously low redline.

A friend of mine has been developing an AWD Eclipse (2nd gen) into a SM autocross weapon.  It’s in the hunt for FTD against some serious competitors.

to go with your ford... Merkur XR4TI

Wasn't the Starion/conquest also avaible as a turbo?

How a out the Hyundai Genesis Coupe with 2.0L turbo? 

Modern enough. Reliable enough. Aftermarket enough. 

My personal choice would be a 2.3t Ford but I'm biased. Easy to achieve your weight and power numbers. Foxbody aftermarket is fantastic, but you do have the rear suspension geometry everyone hates for autocross.

I'll add one car that is slightly off what you are asking for but fits your criteria.  Its small, very fast, very well supported, easy to work on, etc.  The triumph TR8.  Only about 2800 were ever made, yet there are still a bunch around, and you can always start with an almost free TR7.  Power levels can be brought to extremes.  They are everything the Miata is, in a classic package with more interior space.  Don't rule out any of the other small rear drive V8 powered or V8 swapable cars.  My current LS3 powered coupe will make around 500 hp at the rear wheels and come in around 2400 pounds.  I have seen versions with 300 plus hp Rover engines, 2.3 Ford Turbos,  grand national turbo, Ford and Chevy small blocks, and now LS variants.  There was a guy around here that built one with a Mitsubishi turbo 4.  There's one on ebay or Craigslist now that has a turbo 300z driveline.  Engine bay is enormous for such a small car.  Only problem I see is the fact that so many of them are being bought up and shipped overseas lately.  They are disappearing fast.

If a MKIV Supra is within budget, how about a Callaway C4 Vette? You'd get the sizable Corvette aftermarket in a more unique package. Plus you could run CAM and not be so restricted by a stricter set of class rules.

SM allows for engine swaps, right?

if so, Merkur with more modern turbo 2.0. 

How much for the skyline?

I'd vote foxbody. Cheap, lightweight, 2.3t is a very well traveled path, and they can run in CAM instead of oppressive and restrictive 'street' classes that might keep you from Modding the car like you want. They can use brake/suspension components from newer Mustangs for cheap junkyard upgrades, and of course the aftermarket is massive.

If you're feeling really frisky, a duratec 4cyl with a turbo would be quite a bit lighter and more powerful than the iron Lima 2.3t. It would basically be an Ecoboost without the need for an expensive Control Pack from Ford Racing.

240SX with SR20 and an EFR 6758 would be a nice package.  Good looks, endless aftermarket.  In the 300-350whp range, don't need to do anything fancy to keep the engine and trans alive.  You have what now again, RB20 Skyline?  

MR2 also seems like a good option.  Less Toyota fanboy hype than I'd expect.  The Gen4 swap seems like the ticket.  Or 2GR.  Lots of already built cars changing hands.

How about a Solstice? Turbo, fits big tires, can easily make that power, lots of aftermarket 

"Neo-classic turbocharged RWD" huh? If you're looking for oddball choices...

Star-Quest

XR4ti

Turbo Brick

On the higher end of the cost spectum...but still neoclassic, RWD, turbo (and very cool)

Lotus X180R

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In reply to alfadriver :

Yes, and as of this year cross brand swaps are allowed as well, albeit with a weight penalty. I was thrilled to be able to run my V8 FC there, though.

MR2 Turbo was my first thought. I really enjoyed the N/A one I drove some time back, even though it was slow, on crappy stance-bro coilovers, and had the worlds worst alignment. I'd imagine a turbo car in better shape would be a hell of a lot of fun. They're sexy too and seem to be able to hold 300hp reliably.

I've also ridden in a 951 that was putting down around 300hp to the wheels. That was a lot of fun, but I believe it did blow the motor up not long after that ride (though to be fair, it probably fell into the poorly modded category.)

I wouldn't overlook the V8 swap thing either, though I'm obviously biased. FC, FD, S13, S14, E36, 944, all of these chassis and more have really well developed and well supported LS swap potential. Of course, you may run into a little bit of the issue you want to avoid of having custom bits and piece you can't just run down to Autozone for, but really I can't think of anything likely to fail on my FC that couldn't be sourced and replaced within a day or two. Plus, any bits on the engine itself can be found anywhere and any garage or machine shop can work on a pushrod V8. You could build or buy a very nice V8 FD for your budget.

There's the oddball left-field option of a Solstice GXP or Sky Redline.

Good ideas here. 

BTW I'm not looking at nationals but only at being competitive in local autocross so being in SM is fine for me. 

Good read on that 944 turbo. I was afraid parts availability for those would be bad for some reason, if they are not that is great. 

AWD Eclipse is something I forgot about. I tried finding one in the past and it's extremely difficult to find a preserved car but i'll add that in my list in case i'm lucky enough to see one. 

Starions are a car I like but support for them looks abysmal. Lazorak's Starion like you posted is basically a full on fabrication custom job with a LS swap which is much more work than i'm looking for lol. Merkur's are interesting to me too but I think I could find more support for the drivetrain side of things, just have to check out body/trim parts availability. 

Triumph TR8 seems like a cool idea. If my mind shifts to V8s i'll check it out. That and the Jensen Healey are both cars i'm interested in. 

240SX with SR20 and an EFR 6758 would be a nice package.  Good looks, endless aftermarket.  In the 300-350whp range, don't need to do anything fancy to keep the engine and trans alive.  You have what now again, RB20 Skyline?  

I was thinking of going this on the Skyline from what I have now or 6258 twin scroll. The thing is with a SR20 iI could get a version with a VVT or go SR20VET which is a significant improvmeent over the RB20. 6758 would work a lot nicer on that car than the Skyline. 

As I type this I think this might be the direction i'd most likely go simply because I like how the Skyline drives and this would be very similar except I could autocross it. 

I'll have to look into that Volvo 240. I don't know much about them at all. 

Lotus Esprit Turbo is a car I have fears about for the same reason I had about the 951 except here they might be more justified. They are another car I don't know anything about though so maybe i'm wrong. 

I wouldn't overlook the V8 swap thing either, though I'm obviously biased. 

What's interesting is LS swap hardware exists for the Skyline. People have even mated an LS to the Skyline GTR and GTS 4 AWD system.

I've considered E36 and 240SX v8 swaps before. I think if I did that I would throw the S30 Z into that running as well. The bonus if I go 240SX as well is I can keep using my Nismo wheels since they are made for that car. 

MR2 turbo is the car I tried to buy before I actually bought what I have now. I had two deals fall through on attempts to buy it but now that my budget is significantly higher it seems like a good idea again. IDK why I didn't mention it in my original post but it would be very high on my list. 

As far as selling the Skyline i'd probably sell it on ebay or BaT. 

There are so many swaps out there for Fieros. How about those?

Volvo 740/940 sedan or 780 Bertone (coupe) with an LS+T/T56 on mS3

My buddy built one for 5 grand, add all the coilovers and sways that are everywhere for cheap and you're done.

Hell,  he even hastraction control, and a twostep/launch mode

450+ at the rears

Miata appears to be the “easy button.”

Buddy of mine scored one that “just needed a tune” for a grand. A weekend of un-berkeleying the PO’s install, and she goes like stink.

Mazdaspeed Miata gearing is easy to fix, BTW.  Drop in a 3.9 Torsen out of a normal 6-speed car, or even a set of 3.636 gears if you've turned it up enough to warrant it.

I'll agree that the NA/NB + aftermarket turbo is the easiest approach.  Cheap, easy to work on, readily available parts, lots of info available on the net about it.

BRZ/FR-S  Huge aftermarket.