Best/Easiest/Cheapest car to mod?

[ricergribbs]

so title says it all, plz leave your opinion on what is the best/easiest/cheapest (all in one) car to mod. i would like a street racer, but also be able to avoid "people" id rather not talk to if they see me racing. high 11's/low 12's is fast enough, but hey if its possible to get low 11's in it i wont complain . also if possible, plz leave what kind of mods should be added to that car, like is it better to turbo it, supercharge, or n/a? thanks to all who help out.

[Kirwan]

you asked for opinions, so here's mine:
"Best" means something different to everyone, so I'll stick to 'cheap/easy'

An 89-93 Mustang. (Fox Body)

The good old 5.0L motor (aka 302) has a huge number of parts available for it, so there are choices, and competition keeps quality up and prices down. They are pretty relatively cheap and easy to work on and you can get good power gains for your dollar. Imho, it's much harder to get as much of an improvement with an already high strung import (Honda, Acura, etc.) I've heard good things about the turbo eclipse's (DSM), but I'm going with what I know.

Here's a sample:
Buy a car for $3500 - it will probably already have some parts, but this is my suggested buildup:
Aluminum heads from Edelbrock, Twisted Wedge, Windsor, etc. plus cam $1500
Full exhaust; Headers, H-pipe, and catback $600
Then slap a blower on it; Vortech, Powerdyne or Paxton - $2500

For about $8K, you'll be well over 400 hp, and should be knockin on the 12's. Especially if you make it a 'drag car' with suspension, weight reduction and street slicks.

If that's not enough, you can add juice to the mix - they DO handle both.

[Altimas]

93 and up camaro

[Tomsriv]

68-72 Chevy Nova. Its a little better for drag racing than Camaros and Mustangs because of the longer wheelbase. It makes it more stable (i.e. short wheelbase cars get sideways easier which is better for cornering but not good for drag racing.)

Its also light which is hard to find in a longer wheelbase car. The suspension is easy to mod and you can put any engine in it. They are the cheapest of muscle cars. Only practical consideration is that a car that old will need other work as well.

[mycivic]

I think the classic american muscles shouldnt be that hard to upgrade. Plus their parts are cheaper than imports.

[londa hover]

neon srt-4

[jaronervin]

Obviously, it all depends what you are looking for... four cylinders? SRT-4 is nice, but 20K isn't cheap for everybody. Maybe a used VTEC prelude, civic, or integra? if you wanted an inline six, you could check out an eclipse GS/ GST, or even a good ol' supra. Or you could go w/ the classic muscle that they were talking about, or some other V8.

[Twyzz]

[quote=jaronervin] if you wanted an inline six, you could check out an eclipse GS/ GST, or even a good ol' supra.QUOTE]

eclipse don't have inline six.

Your best bet is probably a fox body 2 mustang. Light, cheap, ass load of aftermarket for the 5.0

[MarxZ/28]

4th gen camaro...the 5.7 lit. LT1 engine loves mods and there are a bunch of bolt ons available-headers, k@n air filter, supercharger = 450+ horse

[jaronervin]

Originally Posted by Twyzz

eclipse don't have inline six.

Yeah, sorry about that. The newer ones come in V6, and the older one's only come in inline 4's. Which, come to think of it, a 3000GT would also make a pretty nice project, too.

[Joseph1082]

This can be summed up as finding any fairly old sports car in good condition with a decent sizable aftermarket, and there you go.

[chris26969]

I have done much research on this :

5.7l Z28 camaro
5.0 Foxbody mustang
1990 Eclipse GSX

The eclipse GSX is probably your best bet, the 5.0 tend to be beat up when you find them, and the 5.7l z28 is a hell of a gas guzzler. The GSX can be put into the mid 13s for under 300 bucks.

[MR2Driver]

If you're getting a 4 CYL to make power with, make sure its Turbo and RWD or AWD (DSM's, MR2, SR20DET 240, EVO, STI)

Stay away from FWD for dragging, and if non-turbo, then theres no replacement for displacement.

[dampachi]

i'd have to agree with the foxbody mustang being the easiest/cheapest/most readily available. despite what MOST dealers will tell you these cars aren't rare..they're everywhere..i was quite interested in a 95 eclipse GSX until I heard of crankwalk which scared me the hell away from them. You could always hunt down an old Porsche 928.

[nbw]

get an old'er miata, put a chevysmallblock in it and fly.