What car: $7500, Autocrossable, 25 mpg, Practical.

1966stang wrote: And I do like the golf TDI idea. An arseload f low end tourqe would be a blast to drive.

Golf TDI mod it run write about it and then when you are done you can use it as a donor for a Smyth Performance donor!!!! 2 stories in one.

It's a bit outside your year requirements, but I paid exactly 7500 for my 986 Boxster, and it's an amazing car.

In reply to KevinLG:

I still firmly believe the GM css/IRL are definitely a better chassis to have for GS.....Idk why exactly the IRL has been overlooked by people making nationals runs. Slightly lighter than a css, lsd available, and very lightweight 17's.

I know where an exceptionally rare '05 ChiliPepper Red IRL comp is too......it'd need returned to stock though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6BBgiShF9k

lol. Getting mine, to my door, for $6000. Mine is a coupe tho. Obviously not 12 years old. 4 door skyline would handle awesome, be light at like 2800lbs, and be practical due to the 4 door and that most parts are Z32 and S13 and RB20 parts are readily available stateside. Non GTR is pretty much a Nissan parts bin car. Rear suspension is the same as S13, front is double wishbone sharing parts with infiniti G20.

It will be a few years before really awesome E36 M3 like Stagea or Pulsar GTIR are legal. Pulsar I think are legal next year. Good time to be a Nissan fan in America.

kanaric wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6BBgiShF9k lol. Getting mine, to my door, for $6000. Mine is a coupe tho. Obviously not 12 years old. 4 door skyline would handle awesome, be light at like 2800lbs, and be practical due to the 4 door and that most parts are Z32 and S13 and RB20 parts are readily available stateside. Non GTR is pretty much a Nissan parts bin car. Rear suspension is the same as S13, front is double wishbone sharing parts with infiniti G20. It will be a few years before really awesome E36 M3 like Stagea or Pulsar GTIR are legal. Pulsar I think are legal next year. Good time to be a Nissan fan in America.

What's involved in terms of customs, federalization, import paperwork, etc?

In reply to Alan Cesar:
Sounds like there might be a story in gaining the answers to those questions.
Enquiring Minds want to know.

In reply to Alan Cesar:

The video is Canadian (if his accent didn't give it away), so a '92 can be imported. In the US we're limited to '89 and older, but there are still some neat cars to be had.

B15 SE-R spec V. Could be a good G street car, who knows. Just gotta keep it from exploding it's engine.

Build a 3rd gen prelude for STC. Would be unique and could do reasonably well.

Celica GT/GTS for G street. Proven.

Build a non-GSR integra for H street.

NB miata for E street

RSX-S for STF?

Mazda 3 for STF or H street

G35

Gasoline wrote: My dd is a 350z. Consider the Infiniti G35.

Yep. Coupe or sedan depending on your interpretation of "practical"

I have thought the 350 might be an affordable dual purpose car.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Have E46 ZHPs dropped down that low yet?

I've seen them get down to the 8-9K mark. This was the 4th car I owned and first and only beemer....freaking loved it.

i'd like to say +1 on the 2zz 7th gen Celica.

1966stang wrote: I have thought the 350 might be an affordable dual purpose car.

2 seats. Mine would be more pratical if I was divorced.

Jaguar XK8. It would be the classiest car at the autocross.

In reply to Gasoline:

My MINI Cooper S is my family car, and I ahve several children, 3 still at home. Who needs practical?

Of course, the Corvette could get you divorced. I was thinking a later C4 might make an interesting daily jsut getting back and forth to work. Considering depreciation, it can't be that much more expensive than a Corrolla, right?

Chris

yamaha wrote: In reply to KevinLG: I still firmly believe the GM css/IRL are definitely a better chassis to have for GS.....Idk why exactly the IRL has been overlooked by people making nationals runs. Slightly lighter than a css, lsd available, and very lightweight 17's. I know where an exceptionally rare '05 ChiliPepper Red IRL comp is too......it'd need returned to stock though.

I feel G-Street is the class where there are a lot of cars with undiscovered potential. Right now it seems either the flyweight Celicas or the monstrous FoST's are at the top, but I think there are a lot of other cars that can get it done. FieSTas, MSP's, Sentras, Civic Si's, and what not are all contenders to be honest. The CSS/IRL is right in that mix, on paper I'm not confident it'd be fast enough to be up in the trophies on a National level, but I'd love for someone to prove me wrong. BTW with the new Street rules you can add or subtract an inch from the wheel diameter, so the CSS can ditch the 18's for 17's if you are so inclined.

I think the Acura RSX (plain-jane or Type S) and the EP Civic Si can be competitive in STF. Be pressed to do it for under $7500 though.

Acura RSX would be a decent car to live with though.

In reply to KevinLG:

Wait, they tossed the Fiesta ST in GS?

FWIW, Celica/SRT4 seem to be dominating GS as of late somehow.....with the rules change, we'll see if the css(I know a few of them ran GS before) will do well with 17's.

You could probably find an 02-04 RSX Type-S for that price that might need some love, but the potential is wicked with the right mods on those things. They're not as good out of the box as the 05-06's, but they're still wicked good cars. A bit nicer to live with day to day than the EP3's. Too bad the budget isn't there for a late 1st gen TSX, those are AWESOME cars.

If I had to chose, and didn't care about autocross classing, I'd try to track down an '02 base RSX without side airbags in the seats. That way, you get the comfortable seats that aren't crazy heavy, and you won't feel bad about swapping out the brakes, engine, transmission, etc. Anything that comes factory with a K-series needs a K24. Those can make some serious N/A power(while maintaining factory driveability) with 90% OEM parts.

could do a ek hatch and k series swap for about $7500 (or EG and have some suspension money).

Mazda6 wagon 5spd ! Should check all the boxes.