Racer friend totaled his ice race car ( trailering accident ). No insurance. So it's got to be new enough to finance. Can't be a unicorn. Junkyard parts shopper. Expects to put fenders/, hood, doors, trunk lids, etc. and on.
Some power is nice, but too much just rips out studs. Too much weight does the same.
Hasn't been shopping for a couple of decades. Doesn't know what's out there. I said I'd ask the hive.
Forester?
Mitsubishi lancer evolution
How heavy is the Suzuki SX4?
SX4 AWD is about 2850-2900 lbs. If interested in these, I would shop for an early mk1 with the 5 speed manual instead of the later 6 speed like mine has; 5 speed gear spread is almost identical overall (meaning, 1st is still really short, top gear gives almost identical speed per RPM) and the shift feel is supposed to be better. Should be even cheaper to buy due to age.
Go searching for a DSM project? Gut an early Audio A4?
Grtechguy said:Forester?
Please tell me more, I know nothing about them.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:SX4 AWD is about 2850-2900 lbs. If interested in these, I would shop for an early mk1 with the 5 speed manual instead of the later 6 speed like mine has; 5 speed gear spread is almost identical overall (meaning, 1st is still really short, top gear gives almost identical speed per RPM) and the shift feel is supposed to be better. Should be even cheaper to buy due to age.
Go searching for a DSM project? Gut an early Audio A4?
What brand is a SX4? Am I correct in spell check turned an Audi into an Audio?
How about a Jaguar x-type 2.5?
I wouldn't think an appropriate Forester would hit the "new enough to finance" stipulation. Aren't the recent ones all grown into SUVs with CVTs?
How cheap would it need to be to not need financing? That sure seems like a better route for an ice racer... Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions about ice racing?
I would think an Impreza would be The AWD Answer for the most possible of each of light, modern, AWD, manual available... And should be plentiful both new enough to finance and old enough to not, though in some areas they hold their value better than reason might suggest.
In reply to frenchyd :
Whoa, okay, sorry. The SX4 was already mentioned; it's from Suzuki. Sedans and hatchbacks. I own one. Some had AWD, others were FWD, but the cars look identical.
I meant Audi A4, I don't know what happened there, I guess spellcheck did that or else it's just too early for me.
Sonic said:How about a Jaguar x-type 2.5?
I suspect too big too heavy and too much a unicorn.
Edit;
I'm sorry, I know nothing about them really. I should look them up before I open my mouth, er••• write?
Did the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix AWD come with a manual transmission? That'd be my first go-to.
As for financing, just call up PenFed. They'll finance just about anything at reasonable rates. https://www.penfed.org/
Might be too much unicorn, but what about an older BMW 3 whatever XI, the AWD ones. E30 might be getting hard to find, but maybe an E36?
If you secretly dislike this friend... 1g Eclipse GSX.
In reply to mtn :
Manuel was auto only.
RevRico said:Might be too much unicorn, but what about an older BMW 3 whatever XI, the AWD ones. E30 might be getting hard to find, but maybe an E36?
I'll make the suggestion. See if he's interested or as you suspect too rare.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Thanks, I'll suggest it. All I know is didn't they have a reputation for rolling over? Or am I thinking of the wrong one?
I notice towards the end of the race on Sunday the track tends to get really rough from the studs chewing it up.
Ransom said:I wouldn't think an appropriate Forester would hit the "new enough to finance" stipulation. Aren't the recent ones all grown into SUVs with CVTs?
How cheap would it need to be to not need financing? That sure seems like a better route for an ice racer... Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions about ice racing?
I would think an Impreza would be The AWD Answer for the most possible of each of light, modern, AWD, manual available... And should be plentiful both new enough to finance and old enough to not, though in some areas they hold their value better than reason might suggest.
He actually drives them year around. The one he lost was a Saab Sonnet he bought new, and he's actually thinking of doing it again.
I asked about repairing it and he showed me a picture of the ravine it, his trailer, and the bumper that was torn off when the Semi hit it. down at the bottom of. My guess is it's probably close to 5000 ft to the road.
What make is an Impreza?
He wants to finance an ice racing car, and repair it with junkyard parts? I doubt the bank will appreciate that.
a Subuaru is the easy answer, but not exactly light weight. Not much out there as far as manual AWD cars go, and most are going be be mid sized sedans.
Impreza is a Subaru. I think the biggest difficulty will be finding a manual anything, especially since most manufacturers would only offer an auto on their "high end" packages which got you AWD. Regarding the Subaru Forester, does anyone know when they stopped offering a manual option on them? I think the current generation is only auto.
The Suzuki rollover you're thinking of is probably the old Samurai. I haven't heard of the SX4 being a rollover risk any more than any other small hatchback.
-Rob
The e46 generation of the 325xi BMW (from 1997 to 2006) was all wheel drive. They're fairly plentiful around the Twin Cities and prices are pretty reasonable. The vast majority were automatics, but you could get them with a manual transmission.
Suzuki is probably considered a unicorn in this part of the country, it's rare to see any Suzuki car on the road in Minnesota.
Purusing the list that is Craigs with the only search criterie being '4WD' and Manual transmission I came up with a few interesting options:
Not cheap, but certainly financable:
Misterbitchie Evo
Many Scoobies
Fraud Fucus RS
BMW 335 xi
New(ish) but cheaper
MINI Countryman all 4
Subaru Forester XT
Saab 9-2 (That's a Scoobie WRX in drag)
OLder WRX and STi's
A surprising number of Jeeps, although why you'd want a manual Jeep is beyond me.
stuart in mn said:The e46 generation of the 325xi BMW (from 1997 to 2006) was all wheel drive. They're fairly plentiful around the Twin Cities and prices are pretty reasonable. The vast majority were automatics, but you could get them with a manual transmission.
Suzuki is probably considered a unicorn in this part of the country, it's rare to see any Suzuki car on the road in Minnesota.
Thanks, it's nice to know what's available locally.
The more I think about this the more questions I have. Airbags in a race car? Hmmmm
My mind was thinking about something like the early Honda Civic. But the current is pretty heavy and big isn't it? Do they still offer a manual? The Toyota Yaris had a manual option do they still?
Adrian_Thompson said:Purusing the list that is Craigs with the only search criterie being '4WD' and Manual transmission I came up with a few interesting options:
Not cheap, but certainly financable:
Misterbitchie Evo
Many Scoobies
Fraud Fucus RS
BMW 335 xi
New(ish) but cheaper
MINI Countryman all 4
Subaru Forester XT
Saab 9-2 (That's a Scoobie WRX in drag)
OLder WRX and STi's
A surprising number of Jeeps, although why you'd want a manual Jeep is beyond me.
Nice list, I'll show him that. A fair number on there I wouldn't touch with a 20 foot pole but he bought and loved a Saab Sonnet
There's also the 2004/5-2010 325xi (E90), 328xi (E90), 525xi (E60), 528xi (E60), 530xi (E60), and 535xi (E60).
They're the Bangle-Era 3 and 5 series BMWs that plenty of people don't like, which means they're also pretty cheap. IIRC, they share the same manual trans across the board, except for the 535xi. That one's the beefier of them all.
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