I would buy an Intrepid Police Car from a Sheriff's Auction. They average 95,000 miles and are under $3K, are well maintained and have another 40,000 miles in them easily. The 3.5HO motor cruises at triple-digit speeds all day, essential for cross-country driving, and the car has plenty of room for everything. If you can get them in black and white with the a-pillar spotlight and a push-bar, they are ideal for the highway because everyone gets out of your way!
So if I'm reading right the keys are a drop top, long wheelbase, automatic trans with trunk space.
Geez I'll never take this trip...
Another vote for the 3.8L Buick Century, seriously one of the best values out there for a long time. I bought a 1980 one for $175 about 15 years ago just for the motor to put in my CJ2A. Ended up loving the car and decided to just use it as my dailey driver. Then a drunk driver came down my street and totaled it from the rear. Now the engine/trans are in my Jeep as originally planned. But it was a comfy ride while it lasted.
Starion, 944, Mk.III Supra, etc. - $2000
Wicked set of tools and some spares - $1000
Having WAY more fun than you guys would in your 3.8L Buick Centuries - priceless. Actually no, it costs $3000.
J
My senior year in college, I did this with a $1,000 budget and picked a '89 LeBaron Turbo coupe. In retrospect, I should have gone with something that had a working radiator.
a friend of mine did it last month in her focus. The tranny went out on the other side of the country and she got $300 for scraping it. Used the money for a train ticket to her final destination, then her parents bought her a plane ticket for the way home.
GameboyRMH wrote: an AE101 sedan...they're a dime a dozen and have parts in common with many other Toyotas.
excellent choice! bulletproof motor/Man trans and pretty decent comfortwise. A bit noisy on long trips due to no cabin insulation, but very easy to work on. Trust me, after working (succesfully) on my tri-belts on the side of the road in Ohio in january with a flashlight, a ratchet, 6" extenstion and an "alligator" socket, and was able to get back on the road, I will forever be a fan. 28 mpg with 200+k is pretty sweet too. Plus, a lot of road noise and a 5 speed man trans makes it sound like youre going faster than you are for extra entertainment points.
Another suggestion: 99 Infiniti G20 (P11) can be had for 3 large. SR20DE gets 28 on the hwy, its a tough motor and is shared with a lot of other Nissans, so parts are easy to come by. Leather buckets + stock 100 watt Bose sound system = pretty easy to get along with for hours on end.
In reply to P71:
Cocoa Beach, FL to Bellingham, WA on Google maps shows 3,2xx miles an it says it's doable in 2 days, you took almost 2x as long, WEAK!!
Ohio to Louisiana and back ( a year later) in a "well used" 64 Spitfire without overdrive. It only broke down one time, not too far from my parents house, and I got a free bolt from a Mom and Pop gas station to fix it.
I also did that trip one way in a 80 510 wagon, and got two speeding tickets.
Good times.
JThw8 wrote: Its been done....with a V8 our 2nd place car from last year The top was there but useless. There was also a team in a spitfire with a blue tarp as a "roof" in case of rain and a team from 06 with an MG miget with no top and we had the WORST torrential downpours all through day 2 in Virginia, they mustered through just fine. If you are looking to set a new bar for suffering on BABE you have a LOOOOONG way to go ;)
Did anyone suffer worse than those Rickety Van guys (4 guys in a dying VW Bus)?
I know the Gremlin was like driving through hell (heater on full blast just to keep engine temps in the mostly hot range), but that bus couldn't breach 50mph for a top speed and, well, it probably had a gator living somewhere in it.
Of course you had to ride with Chris in Rusty the Dung Beetle, so you know the pain of old VW technology.
Since I have a month to do it, I would go the "adventure" route and take something small, quirky, and old, but nimble, and stick to two-laners the whole way. A LBC like a Sprite or Spitfire could be fun, and I'm sure an Alfa or Fiat would be fun to drive when it was running, but I really love Japanese cars, and they might be more reliable, so my vote would be for something like a 60's/early 70's Datsun or Toyota, like a KE10 Corolla, Publica, Sport 800, Datsun Roadster 411 wagon, or 1200 coupe, Honda 600 would be fun, too, but perhaps a bit down on power.
Think of the fun you could have crossing the country at speeds between 30 and 60mph, taking in small towns and local scenery, chasing the twisties without worrying about making time, chatting with the crowds a little funky old car might draw out when you park. 
Subaru wagon or some type of wagon where you could sleep in the back.
a '70-'74 Plymouth Fury with a 440. or a '70-74 Dodge Polara with a 440.
The Honda Pacific Coast Motorcycle would actually be a great choice for a cross-country trip, but they are hard to find under $3K. They have a real following and prices are higher than you would expect.
I guess the question is how long is your trip? If it is Cannonball-style, then a big fast sedan is my choice. If it is take-the-summer-off-after-graduation style, I would go for a small convertible and a backpack.
ddavidv wrote: I plan to do this, someday. Fly out and drive home in something like a 65-67 Mustang, 64-65 Falcon or pretty much any Corvair. Why? Adventure. Fun. Importation of a rust-free car to the east. And, I expect to meet and have conversations with any number of folks over the interesting ride. The Fords I can fix with a bit of barbed wire fence and some duct tape. The Corvair I'm not so sure about not potentially leaving me stranded in the middle of Nebraska, nearby AutoZone or not. The 60s Caddy is a good choice, but I prefer something that gets around 20 mpg and I would actually want to own once the trip is over.
I did just that in a 1981 Lancia Zagato at age 19 with my dad. Being stranded over 1,000 miles from home isn't fun but made for a good father & son adventure.
Cross country in a '81 Lancia Zagato (an likely an unknown Zagato if you just bought it) is definately an exersice in optimism.
What broke? Followed by the question of then how far did you have to go or wait to get a new one?
I'm tempted to do a florida run in my neon. Maybe try and do entierly on the coast.
edit Or if current auto plans work out it might be in a newer sebring 'vert
Conversion van. Make doesn't matter... Long trips are like driving your living room. Tons of room for gear/passengers/sleeping.
jrw1621 wrote: Cross country in a '81 Lancia Zagato (an likely an unknown Zagato if you just bought it) is definately an exersice in optimism. What broke? Followed by the question of then how far did you have to go or wait to get a new one?
Definitely optimism. But that's what you get when you're 19 and have parents who are patient to a fault.
The fuel pump went out. I had a rusty tank. That problem came back a couple times until the tank was repaired properly.
I paid to rent a truck and tow dolly and we drove home. The truck was a V-10 powered Ford, and fortunately gas was cheap in those days.
sachilles wrote: Pick up an audi a4. There values are in the crapper. They are comfy, and have plenty of power. Their problem areas won't strand you or kill you.
...unless the coil pack fails. (that's what left a friend and his wife stranded 150 miles from home on her A4)
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