Want to build a daily driver/track car

[brandonnash]

Hello all,

New member here. I've been reading around on the various car forums looking for decent answers for some things I've been thinking about car-wise here lately.

Let me start off by saying I'm not some high school kid wanting to "tune" his first car with a subwoofer in a drop in box and HID's. I'm 32 years old and have had my run of cars over the years and have enjoyed some and very much disliked others. I'm into DIY and have been and am still very much into home theater items. I enjoy designing and building subwoofers and speakers and enjoy good loud feel the kick in your chest and floor rumble surround sound.

With that out of the way my first order of business is trying to decide which way to go with a car now. Right now I'm driving a Kia mainly because it was cheap new and gets great gas mileage for my 50 minute one way trip to work everyday. As much as I hate to say it, the car has been very reliable and is still running strong. My problems with it are first its a Kia, so obviously it's not much of a joy to drive and I'm a bigger guy at 6'4. I can fit in the car but I'm not as comfortable as some of my previous cars. My first thing to decide on is whether to go with something that I'll enjoy driving some and am comfortable in or to go the way of a daily driver/track car I can build that will be fun to be in and my turn a few heads along the way. The car that I like for my first option is a Cadillac STS. I had a 94 STS and loved it while I had it. Unfortunately it got totaled in a hail storm (over 300 dents). I wont have very much money to spend on the car so if I decide to go that route it'll be used and in the early 2000's range. I fit well in the car and it's very comfortable not only for my size but also for its smooth ride. It's also decently fast but only in a straight line. I also very much like the way they look as long as the exterior is black. If I go this way I'll have to finance the vehicle which I don't like the idea of but will if I need to.

If I decide to go the way of the DIY I'm looking at a few different options, but I have problems this way too. I'm no mechanic by any means. I have very very limited knowledge on car maintenance at all, let alone modding a car for performance/handling. I'd have to start by doing easy mods such as bolt ons. I'm not looking for a drag car. Not here to down drag racing, but it's not for me. I'm not looking at driving something for 10 seconds. I want to be on a track that doesn't only make left hand turns. If I go this way I can afford to start with ~$3000 maybe a bit more but won't have to finance a dime. I would need a running car to start then add as I go along. I'm looking mostly at good corner handling vs a ton of power, but eventually I'll want the power to back up my cornering. I also want a good exhaust sound. I don't want a mini fart sound going down the road. I either want rumble, growl, or best case scenario (and I'm sure very expensive) something more in line with super cars. I love the Pagani and Lambo sounds.

My options for the DIY and please criticize anything I've mentioned...

Honda's: I've looked thru all the crx's, civic's, preludes and the crx's and civics look like the easiest to get into since there are a ton of cheap mods that can be done to the cars. The crx's locally listed on craigslist have ALL been modded in some way and all are asking way to much for what they have. I don't really want to pay for someone else's mods that I don't know if they're any good or not.

Toyota: MR2. This is EXACTLY the same as the crx. Everyone that has one has done stuff to it already and want to pay well over the value for the car. I've ridden in a buddy's MR2 that he had a few years back and had tuned it like crazy and it was a blast to ride in.

Ford: Mustang. I've read in a couple magazines that 94-96 GT models can be had cheaply and have good upgradeable engines and after lowering and adding some better brakes and wheels/tires these cars can handle the corners decently well. The power they already have is a plus. Being in TN a lot of these have been upgraded for drag but there are a few that have been left alone and priced close to what I can spend.

Chevy: Camaro and Corvette. Looking at the Z28 camaros from the mid-late 90's they're just over my budget but may be able to be talked down closer to what I can afford. For instance there is a 97 z28 lt1 for sale very close to me for $3500 right now that still runs good and looks decent to boot. My only concern with these are how well they would handle the curves of a track. Any ideas here? The corvette...looking at these gets me back into having to finance the car so a big minus in that category, but once again, the power is very enticing and once again I'm concerned about the running of the car in anything but a straight line.

There are a ton of other options for me that I like. Most are too rich for me right now (I'd love to get into a Mitsu EVO but a early 2000's are still running close to $20,000 locally). Any other options anyone can give me I'm all ears as I am just testing the waters right now. Keep in mind about my non existent mechanical experience. I can't go to an auto mechanics school as I work full time and have a wife and kids so any of my learning will have to be done via the internet or by books.

Sorry for such a long first post but I wanted to get all that on the table and to let everyone know that I'm not some kid trying to impress his friends. Thanks in advance.

[Gohan Ryu]

How about an S2000? Early models can be had for under $10k. Exactly the performance you are looking for.

[grider]

the key to building a car is to start with the car you want if you like the mustang go that route i am a bowtie guy i love the camaros and firebirds and as far as mods go unless you are a true track racer all the mods are bolt ons untill you start custom building parts if you enjoy working on cars any car will do to start from as point A but if not start with what you want and if you need help just ask we all love this stuff

[abaird]

LS1 camaro or trans am(98-02) Even if you have to borrow a little. I've owned an LT1 Z28 and the performance just isn't there plus the mods just aren't out there for those motors. The LS1 motors last forever and need few mods to be very fun. In stock form they will get 25mpg highway. All you need for a fun, fast car are lower rearend gears, a 2800-3000rpm stall converter(if automatic) and a nice sounding cat back system. I recommend magnaflow for whatever vehicle you choose. My 02 Z28 has long tubes, off road Y pipe and magnaflow muffler, among various other things, sounds awesome and with 113,000 miles still runs like a new car and it sees redline on a very regular basis.

[speediva]

So, I'm sorry I'm late to the game, but I just noticed you're practically in my backyard!

Keep in mind that if you're willing to do a day drive to somewhere to pick up a car, you can often get a MUCH better deal. I drove up to Ashland City to buy my Civic because it was what I wanted and at a decent price. Granted, that's not ALL that far, but it's not like cruising Lowry or Broad St.