Okay, Miata sold, now what?

pigeon wrote: The C4 would kill you on consumables - fat, sticky tires are $$$. Hard to argue with the dollar/performance ratio though. How competitive is your local PCA autocross scene? Where I am it's casual at best - no classing beyond Porsche, Corvette (the 3 active guys in the local 'vette club run with us), Race and Other. Local BMWCCA is about the same. That suits me just fine but others want the highly structured setup of the local SCCA. If your local PCA autox suits you look at their results and see how late 944s fare to see if you'll be able to get what you want out of it. I will say you've described sounds like an E30 - how's the BMWCCA around you?

$600 for a new set of NT05's is $$$? I damn near paid that for ST sized R1R's, would have paid that with RE-11's.

Let's see, cars at the house, the wife's 2001 Grand Prix GT and the 2006 Mazda5, neither of which are allowed to race (our respective DD's), and the Javelin (which doesn't run, yet). All that's left is the go-kart, and we don't do karting around here (not to mention it's setup for gravel). Gotta buy something or there's no racing.

Found a local branded title 94 Cobra for $2300 obo or a stock 94 GT for $1700! Man the SN95's got dirt cheap!

Whoa whoa wait hold the berkley up... what does "local branded title" mean and where are you finding 94 GT's for under $2k? Are these things theft recoveries? For some reason in KS these cars would be $5k and $3500, respectively, minimum from what I've seen of Craigslist or cars.com or whatever. If that GT has a manual trans and everything basically works I might be smarter pushing my Oldsmobile into a lake vs. throwing a pile of cash just getting the suspension up to snuff again...

SE-R and Celica's are probably out because I don't enjoy FWD (in fact, I've never even tried enough to know).

Fixed that.

Of course, trying didnt convince me. The only RWDs ive driven at autoX were a c5 (beat the owner's time severely), and a miata (beat the owner's time severely) and neither one of those made me think "I should be racing RWDs!" They did make me think that front/rear weight balance is a nice thing to have, but that didnt change my behavior either.

So.. not that it would necessarily change your mind, but you should at least try it.

what does "local branded title" mean

it means it's a local listing, and it has a branded title. Those are separate.

as for what branded means, i dont know, other than it's not a 'clean' title. Possibly a bonded or salvage title?

Local being it's close to me geographically, and branded meaning it was wrapped around a tree at some point. Obligatory hotlinks:

$1800 GT

$2300 Cobra

Vigo wrote:

SE-R and Celica's are probably out because I don't enjoy FWD (in fact, I've never even tried enough to know).

Fixed that. Of course, trying didnt convince me. The only RWDs ive driven at autoX were a c5 (beat the owner's time severely), and a miata (beat the owner's time severely) and neither one of those made me think "I should be racing RWDs!" They did make me think that front/rear weight balance is a nice thing to have, but that didnt change my behavior either. So.. not that it would necessarily change your mind, but you should at least try it.

I've owned plenty of FWD cars, and even drag-raced a few, but autocrossing one just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. We tried the V6 Duster in a parking lot and it was a hoot, but plowed and was slow. My Integra never lived up to the hype either. Not saying they aren't competitive, I just don't want one.

1. Time to expand my searching.
2. I support these efforts more now than ever.

I like the Cobra. Did these still have the 5.slow? I seem to remember seeing them that body style with 5.8 badges?

5.slow in 94 and 95. 96 went to the 4.sick, of which I will never own another. Saleen dropped the 351 (5.8) in a few, and the 95 Cobra R might have had one, but my Mustang-fu is rusty.

Yeah, I'd probably pimp for the Cobra simply since they came with leather and the nicer stereo (I just want the speaker location options, not the hardware itself) plus some stuff like that style of wheel and the deck lid spoiler, etc would probably be worth something to resell for other purchases. Like a run through the Griggs catalog or similar.

Yeah, if I can find a Cobra worth getting that is the direction I would like as well. A little more power, those magnificent 13" brakes, and the nicer body parts. That $1800 GT is sooooo clean though, and Bullitt Green...

Javelin wrote: Yeah, if I can find a Cobra worth getting that is the direction I would like as well. A little more power, those magnificent 13" brakes, and the nicer body parts. That $1800 GT is sooooo clean though, and Bullitt Green...

I'd say that one you linked is worth getting, personally... It's WELL under your budget, and would leave you tons of room to fix any of the little things, and/or modify it further with less hurt to the wallet.

Use the extra money on entry fees or a spare set of tires or something.

Already emailed him

I've owned plenty of FWD cars, and even drag-raced a few, but autocrossing one just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. We tried the V6 Duster in a parking lot and it was a hoot, but plowed and was slow. My Integra never lived up to the hype either. Not saying they aren't competitive, I just don't want one.

Well, the k-cars take some mods before you can have fun turning in them, that's for sure..

Also, ditto to the max on the integra comment. My mom got a good deal on an 01 5spd GS with low miles, a VERY nice example (one of the nicest left, at this point), and i spent a lot of time in it. I loved the interior, loved the styling.. no doubt about it.. but when it came to power, stopping, and turning, it felt totally inferior to the 95 sohc neon sport i picked up for $300 bucks. I sold that integra for $6200 (!!!!!!!!) and laughed in confusion for a good long while.

So you sold the Miata because it was "unreliable" and want to replace it with a previously totaled Mustang of unknown history? Am I the only one seeing the flaw in this logic?

Yeah, that's just silly. Get something British.

Vigo wrote:

I've owned plenty of FWD cars, and even drag-raced a few, but autocrossing one just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. We tried the V6 Duster in a parking lot and it was a hoot, but plowed and was slow. My Integra never lived up to the hype either. Not saying they aren't competitive, I just don't want one.

Well, the k-cars take some mods before you can have fun turning in them, that's for sure.. Also, ditto to the max on the integra comment. My mom got a good deal on an 01 5spd GS with low miles, a VERY nice example (one of the nicest left, at this point), and i spent a lot of time in it. I loved the interior, loved the styling.. no doubt about it.. but when it came to power, stopping, and turning, it felt totally inferior to the 95 sohc neon sport i picked up for $300 bucks. I sold that integra for $6200 (!!!!!!!!) and laughed in confusion for a good long while.

There are a LOT of differences between a GS/LS/GSR/Type R. Only the latter two are halfway fun in stock form, but the basis of a great car is present in the first two. Just needs some work to bring it out.

In stock form, i agree wholeheartedly.

Mine was a Canadian GSR.

And I sold the Miata because it was unreliable and slow. I will be looking for something much more sound. That Cobra was a theft recovery and the guy supposedly has reciepts for a top-end rebuild.

I've got time though, no need to jump on the first car I see.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: So you sold the Miata because it was "unreliable" and want to replace it with a previously totaled Mustang of unknown history? Am I the only one seeing the flaw in this logic?

Evidently so...

So, early C4 Vette (cross-fire and 4+3), 94-95 Mustang GT or Cobra, and 85.5-89 944. Nothing else out there?

Did anyone say E30? I don't remember your budget, but there are some higher-mileage e36 M3's going for ~$6k.

I heard P71s are cheap...

Anyway, since nobody has mentioned a turbobrick yet, I will. They are cheap, reliable, relatively fast, easily modified, and Sweedish!

I've seen subaru 2.5rs coupes in that range before. You mentioned no fwd, but 99-00 Civic si seems to be in your price range as well. DSM?

I've got a Griggs equipped 1994 Mustang GT that needs a bit of work for $2500 if you'd be interested. I suppose transport would be the biggest issue.