My Layla was $450 from the local charity auto lot. Had to drill the steering column lock bolts because the car was donated without keys
but after spraying about a gallon of ether down the carb and hooking up some jumper cables she fired right up and drove off the lot.
Since then, I've invested about $500 in new tires (Generals, but I couldn't afford the Dunlops), another $170 in a new starter (old one blew its bendix after a backfire), $100 for a used Weber 32/36 DGV carburetor with manifold (30hp gain after it was rebuilt), $15 for a Weber 32/36 DGV carb rebuild kit (with plastic floats instead of brass which means I've got about 20 years before I have to replace the floats again), $40 for new cap, rotor, plug wires, and two sets of plugs (unrebuilt carb fouled the first set), $10 for a push button starter and electrics switch (as yet uninstalled), and now I'm looking at between $70-100 for a new fuel pump.
And she still needs about $600 worth of new sheetmetal (inner sill rot on the driver side, new door skins, new floorboards, and new front fenders, all of which have fallen prey to 31 years in Ohio winters - the last 3 that I've owned her she hasn't been outside) and before I do more drifting I want to get a set of centre-lock Minilite alloy wheels instead of the factory wire wheels so I don't risk breaking the wires because of lateral stress.
But that's another $800.
But, I'm not about to trade my baby doll of a 1970 MGB GT for any fuggin Nissan, Toyota, or Mazda. She's a beautiful driving car when she's up and running, and that 1800cc OHV four puts out a solid 150hp thanks to some thoughtful tuning. Makes her a lot of fun, since she's lighter than a Corolla GTS.
But, in any case, Layla is proof that UNGODLY fun drift cars can be had for around $500, you just have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty, buying parts as they're needed and repairing what's broken.
