Weekend Car Possibilities

[blue2turbo]

@Troy - Ya turbo MR2 is cool, do they come in a coupe (no T-top)?

Yes, MKII MR2's come in hard top, sunroof, or ttop models. The hardtop models are much harder to come by.

I have a 93 MR2 as my project/weekend driver. Makes 348whp on 93 pump gas and 423whp on E85. Very fun car to drive, you don't see many of them around, an very affordable to build/mod.

 

[pinkgolf]

Miata or MR2. Seen a MR2 last weekend ... old but , looks nice.

 

[HOT H2O]

I've owned both an e30 M3 and 911 chassis 911. If you can find a well sorted one, either will suit your desires from the sounds of it. The E30 has more of a cult following, many people will think you just have an old car with a body kit lol. The E30 M3 is a well-balanced and forgiving chassis which I found begged to be thrown around. The 911 is more visceral, definitely raw. If you're after that raw, man & machine feel the 80's 911s are a great place to start and more plentiful than an E30 M3.

 

[D Griff]

Porsche 944?

I've always thought those were pretty cool cars and I think they're affordable. Are they fast and/or light? I don't know much about them.

Yes, MKII MR2's come in hard top, sunroof, or ttop models. The hardtop models are much harder to come by.

I have a 93 MR2 as my project/weekend driver. Makes 348whp on 93 pump gas and 423whp on E85. Very fun car to drive, you don't see many of them around, an very affordable to build/mod.

2nd gen MR2s are pretty cool. They're kind of like Miatas but look much better and more exotic, are a lot less common and can come with a turbo. There's also no way anyone's getting close to 400+ HP in a Miata without a crazy full engine overhaul or V8 swap.

edit: IMO a V8 swap kind of defeats the purpose of a Miata, but they're still cool nonetheless. May as well just get a Corvette though at that point.

 

[glory]

@Renner - That video is hilarious! Pretty much what people say who aren't from here.

@SK VeeDub - I think I'd like an 80/90's 911 over a e30 M3. a 930 would be perfect, but they are seeming to be hard to find (atm) for less then $40k (I think I got the prices wrong on these before). May have to go back to looking at 964s. I really need to drive one.

@D Griff - Porsche 944's are cheap compared to other P-cars (I believe they aren't that sought after). I don't know much about them either, but the looks seem boring. If good example was shown maybe it would be a contender.


MR2 are ALOT less expensive then older p-cars, and have gotten back on the possibility list. Again never driven one.

For MR2's and older P-cars how much is too much mileage?

 

[troyguitar]

IMO with a car that old, mileage is kind of irrelevant and it's more about overall condition. If someone drove one off a lot in 1988 and parked it in their shed for the past 25 years without ever touching it again, it would still be in terrible shape.

 

[johnny_p]

Old cars:

Ferrari 308

Porsche 944

Porsche 964

Newer cars:

1st gen Boxster

S2K

BRZ

Lotus Elise (more than $20k)

But my personal pick would be an older Caterham Seven. Something with a Zetec motor and about 150 horse would be enough to light your hair on fire.

 

[blue2turbo]

IMO with a car that old, mileage is kind of irrelevant and it's more about overall condition.

I would def agree here. I used to be very big in the MR2 world, had 3 of them at one time, my 93 N/A to Turbo project, my 91 Original turbo DD, and a 93 N/A Automatic that I let my father drive.

Given the age 91-95 for MR2's and the fact that doing a low mileage JDM swap for either a 3rd gen or 4th gen 3sgte engine is a dime a dozen, I would look more for condition of the interior, the body, suspension, etc.

 

[Jpembry]

s2k /thread

 

[D Griff]

I like all of johnny's ideas. A guy on miata.net just bought a Ferrari 308 and reading about his experiences is sweet. Are those Caterhams affordable?

 

[johnny_p]

I like all of johnny's ideas. A guy on miata.net just bought a Ferrari 308 and reading about his experiences is sweet. Are those Caterhams affordable?

308's are fantastic to drive. They don't have much power. Actually a GTI might be more powerful, I forget. However, they do have the Ferrari sound, the "OMG I'm going to die" feeling when you're going fast, and most still smell like leather inside. You get a lot of thumbs up and smiles when you drive them.

Caterhams are affordable if you get an older one. You'll be able to get one that's got somewhere between 110-150 horsepower. In a car that weighs nothing its still going to be fast.

 

[AF-MKVI]

I like all of johnny's ideas. A guy on miata.net just bought a Ferrari 308 and reading about his experiences is sweet. Are those Caterhams affordable?

I spent a good chunk of my time building this one. Fantastic cars, great tube frame chassis, lots of room to make more power as long as you get a Quattro Valve car. This one has a custom single turbo setup on a 3.2 Q/V and makes around 550 WHP on VP 109. The car wet weighs 2700 lbs. Lots of fun :thumbsup:

 

[troyguitar]

I spent a good chunk of my time building this one. Fantastic cars, great tube frame chassis, lots of room to make more power as long as you get a Quattro Valve car. This one has a custom single turbo setup on a 3.2 Q/V and makes around 550 WHP on VP 109.

And you drive an automatic Golf now instead?

:sm3:

 

[AF-MKVI]

And you drive an automatic Golf now instead?

:sm3:

LOL.....yeah, I need another project.

 

[glory]

Good ideas Johnny. 308 does look cool. Out of those I would choose the 964, the 308 or the catheram 7. The 308's in Canada are going for ~$40k though (quick search). Be cool if I could find a catheram 7.