In reply to Antihero :
I'll second this. I've been DD one for over a year, total investment is around $1200. Ac/heat everything works.
I honestly beat the crap out of this car and it keeps taking it. The lil zetec with a tune is a great fun revving motor.
In reply to Subscriber-unavailabile :
They definitely look like something I'd enjoy, but unfortunately there aren't really any with a stickshift nearby in my price range nearby.
In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :
And wow, you ain't kidding about there not being any in your area. I've never seen so many autotragic zx2s, let alone in one area
In reply to Antihero :
I think that one is enough on the outskirts of Cinci that it wasn't showing up on my searches. Yeah, it's a bit on the high-mileage side.
And yes- my area seems to really suck for most anything of the nature I'm looking for.
Late to the party, but anything is fun when it's a beater.
So, the SHO is still high in the running- but I may have found an even more perfect answer to my car problem, if only the seller will respond so I can try and buy it...
RAV4, pre 05, then swap a Mazda BP+T into it down the road. The BP+T does things when hooked up to AWD Toyota E15x drivetrains
captdownshift said:RAV4, pre 05, then swap a 3S-GTE into it down the road.
FTFY
So, I have a new frontrunner: 1998 E36 328i
Gave the Dancer the info on both it and the SHO, and despite being more than twice the price she far preferred the E36 (not wholly surprising, as I expected she said she'd likely never get within a few feet of the SHO whereas the BMW when cleaned up was something she might actually even ride in).
Looked over the 328 yesterday after work, and other than needing some cleaning and repairs to the passenger seat mechanism (as noted in the listing) it seems to be in pretty good shape. The only thing of note with it running (it started raining and was getting dark, so I didn't get the chance to drive it) was that the engine was kind of noisy. The seller said that it quieted down to normal levels once warmed up, which I'm hoping to get the chance to check today if the weather will clear up and we can work out a time to take it for a drive.
Whelp, back to looking. The E36 ended up not working out- it definitely would have been fun, but it smoked like a steam train and the seller kept trying to convince me that it was just condensation from it not being driven very much.
Be happy you didn't buy a cheap E36. I love those cars for driving, but any E36 that cheap is likely a nightmare.
In reply to CyberEric :
Yeah, I was confident enough that it was a head gasket at the time to walk away, and my research after the fact only solidified that call. If I were looking for a project, I might have tried getting it down as far as possible and picking it up since it ran and drove well enough, but I'm specifically NOT looking for a project and just need something reliable and cheap.
Test-driving the E36 did however also solidify that I need a stickshift in my life again- I have so very much missed actually driving a car...
In reply to Loweguy5 :
I DD'd a SL2 for a decade from brand new off the lot, so more intersted in something else just for variety's sake but a SC is something I wouldn't mind (especially the newer 3-door ones). Neons have been on my radar, not the least of which because some of my local friends (eastsideTim & wae) have a LOT of experience with them.
It's a bit further away than ideal, but this has some potential- I've always liked the ways these things looked: 2002 Celica GT-S
Need to pester the seller of the SHO and see what's going on there- last I heard Tuesday one of the tires he just put on it was leaking and he wanted to get it back in the shop and resolved before I came up to look at it and said that might be a few days.
It's tempting to try and set up to go up and look at both of them tomorrow morning and pick one to buy, but I'd have to either bring someone along so I could drive the car I bought home or bring a trailer/dolly to haul it home (and likely borrow/rent something to tow wish, as I don't know if I'd trust the QX4 to haul something up and down the hills between Cinci and home).
There's also this, though there's not a lot of info in the post regarding how well it runs and drives.... 2002 Sentra SE-R Spec-V
Ashyukun (Robert) said:There's also this, though there's not a lot of info in the post regarding how well it runs and drives.... 2002 Sentra SE-R Spec-V
If the Sentra looks like it still has the original catalytic convertor, run like hell.
Also, I'm pretty sure Celica GT-Ss had a 6 speed, but the GT had a five speed. I seem to recall the 6 speed made it pretty easy to do a money shift and mechanically overrev the engine, too. I like these Celicas, too. They are on my list for a cheap challenge car, but I'll probably just look for a GT, since at that point it's a Corolla drivetrain in a cool looking wrapper.
In reply to Loweguy5 :
Yeah, I'm not as hot on the SHO as I was earlier on. I'm willing to forgive a bit though since it's located 45 minutes away and my own schedule makes it difficult to get up there to look at it. Kind of why I'm considering trying to make a 'tour' out of things and look at several options that are in the same area/direction...
Oh yeah, I may not be insanely busy tomorrow, so if you come up here, you may be able to draft me into joining you car hunting. The goodwill auction is also tomorrow morning, although nothing much jumps out at me, except maybe the Protege, and the ES250 (some of them actually came in stick shift, but I doubt this would be one of them)
EDIT: off topic, but there are two Fords with potentially bad fuel pumps at the auction. I wonder if they just need their inertia switches flipped.
Fly (to warm sunshine) and drives!
I started looking and finding a lot of options out in Los Angeles Craigslist Mustangs, a lot of civics, but no Sho's
the more I look the more I keep finding what you're looking for so I can't list them all.
but I am going to list this one. Bring a slave cylinder, a small bag of tools and a bottle of brake fluid and commence being RAD
https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/d/hemet-2003-ford-focus-sc-svt-6-speed/7073036921.html
In reply to eastsideTim :
I'll let you know what works out, have messaged about several of the cars up there so will see what works out. Would obviously be more convenient to have someone drive up with me from down here, but if you didn't mind either the 'new' car or the QX4 hanging out at your place for a bit until I could get back up there with Jeana to get it that might work out.
If this search keeps up much longer, I may have to just go 'meh' and see if I can get this down close to $1k since it's almost in my back yard. Far less interesting than many, but would get the job done.
In reply to jfryjfry :
Wow... Just... Wow. I would need a welding mask along as well just to be able to look at that car.
And while I'm not wholly opposed to fly-and-drives, I know for a fact (I've done it before- not exactly a F&D but my grandparents who lived on the Sandy Eggo area gave their car to my brother and he and I drove it back from there to here which took like 3 days... and hit a deer about 30 miles from home) that the drive back from there is NOT something I want to do (nor is it something The Dancer would remotely condone).
I can't wait until the QX4 is back in top shape and the DMC is all done (so, like in 5 years... -_-; ) because there are just too many fun things out there that I'm finding that would be great projects that I can't get now- like this: 1985 Scirocco roller
And if I were to do a fly-and-drive the best place would likely be down to Texas where my family is- though about the only thing halfway interesting is this: 1987 Pulsar SportBak
OK, I'm not going to BUY this car- but I think it's been a while since I last enjoyed reading a car listing so much....
Daaaamn... the Dancer's homeland is harsh on sheet metal... 2006 Mazda 3
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