Help me spend 18,000 on a car!

[soon2Bspoon]

ok here's my deal. I have a year and a half before i get 18,000US and i want to drop it all into a sport compact. I was thinking about getting a civic but it doesn't look like its gonna be worth it plus its fwd and i need over 300whp without a whole lot of hassle. So I figure why not a 240sx I figure I can get one for a decent price and its rwd.

So here's my question. Can I get over 300whp on my budget keeping in mind the cost of the car is coming out of the 18,000. And what kinda parts and labor am i looking at.
now im pretty good with a wrench but im use to building hot rods and muscle cars so when it comes to tuning ill have to find a mechanic who has some experience with that sort of thing.

As far as body kits and flashy paint im just gonna worry about that later.

thanks for any help and suggestions.

[mynismo]

its going to cost close to $30,000 to get 300whp out of an sr20det.

i'd stick with the honda.

[Valakin]

Huh you got the cash and I have the plans...

Want some truth... your looking for an import huh, well this is what you are really looking at..

Rx-7 300zx 240sx Supra ( trying to keep this rwd goodness)

These are the cars to look at for the power. Now with your cash this is what you have to decide. (note im a fan of all of them) The Rx-7 non fd3s... so from 85 to 92 i believe is going to be a fun chore to do engine work on. More so due to the rotery motor. If you can get passed that you looking at some good power and great sound. However you looking at 140 to 180 starting hp. Check here for some good info http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Mazda_RX-7

Now the 300zx... Man that car was sooo cool looking on the inside on the 85 model. For this car your looking at 160 to 300 starting hp depending on what model and year car you get, and yes that ends up in 93 with the Fairlady Z twin turbo. The 80's versions of these cars are great and are fast to say the least. If you looking for a fun, sex, and workable car then this is a good choice over the rx7...at least till the FLz TT's cus man that is a beast of an engine and you want someone who knows thier shit when working on that.

The 240sx is the most versitile however. If you looking for a car with speed and with some style options this one takes the cake so far. While you can pick them up cheap, you will be looking to do the engine swap for real power. Now this can be some what of a hassle and something you really want to read up on before you jump into it. However there are plenty of people out there who have done it and are pretty good about giving help with what they know. Down side to the 240 is finding them in not shittastic shape.... local or otherwise. Most people didn't know what they had if it was a late 80's early 90's... even more so with the fast back models. The good thing about them is though in the States thanks to the recent movies and craze for street racing there are tons of information and parts.

The jza70 Toyota Supra MKIII....my favorite car of all time but don't take my opinion to heart. Compared to the rest except the 90's 300zx this care is the heavy one. This one from 86.5 to 92 is the base 240hp turbo 5speed power house. Have the second best motor that toyota ever made the 7m-Gte was a glory. The problem with the car is the parts. About the only good parts to get for it are the TRD (Toyota Racing Devleopment) parts which can be non cheep and hard to come by. However if you want it I can get you the guy on Cardomain who has his running over 500hp with the dino vids to prove it.

Really your looking for abou 3 to 4k start up for just about all of the cars. I have heard you can find 240's pretty cheap but I have never seen stable cars for under 2k.

Need anymore infor just ask and we will see what we can do.

[R.W.240]

Umm...

The Turbo IIs had 205HP and an Exhaust adds 50. Its easy as balls to work on and as long as your not incompetent the 13B will last 60,000+ miles. For 18,000 you could get an FD with Power FC, Exhaust, and Downpipe.

The 300ZX is Cramped as hell inside the engine compartment and its and overweight beast. plus when evre you want to upgrade your buying 2x the parts.

With 18,000 to spend the only way to go is the FD or a downpayment on an Evo or STI.

[Xtreme_098]

Yea, buying a 240sx, then getting an SR20DET put in, then tryin to hit 300 hp, your going to need more than 18,000. Your going to need all the computer managmement, intake to exhaust and everything in between. Drivetrain, new wheels, paint unless the stock is decent, interior (with 300hp you might want some "Oh Shit" insurance). I would buy a 240 and do what I could, then keep adding. Thats me, you do what you want.

[S13wanabe]

Take a look at Signal Auto. They do sr20det swaps and build motors. Their website is www.signalauto.com. It shouldn't be hard to build a 300hp or close to 300 hp s13 for under 18,000. The s13 is your best bet. I got mine in near perfect shape for $1700. Give Signal a call, they are reasonably priced and have a great reputation.

[Pavlo]

you dont need 30000 dollars to make 300 hp out of sr20det, all you need to do is replace the turbo, exhaust, fuel modifications, intercooler, all this will bring you up to 300hp, jgycustoms have a lot of parts for sr20s and if you buy everything from them you need about 5000 plus engine cost to have 300hp. If you search internet you will find all the parts needed for cheaper. But with 18000 i would get something better like STi, evo or r32 gt-t or gt-r skyline downpayment.

[Tougeman]

to answer your quesion yes u can get 300hp out of a 240sx, but since u got 18k to spend you might also want to check out other cars FC rx7, 300zTT, or a 2nd gen MR2.

[Ledzepig]

why is everyone overlooking the ka-t?

you can get over 300hp on a fastback ka-t for less than $18000
might even be able to get a zenki S14(not enuff to buy a kouki) to 300hp with that money and a good setup...

correct me if im wrong

[GT500916]

Originally Posted by mynismo

its going to cost close to $30,000 to get 300whp out of an sr20det.

i'd stick with the honda.

First of all who said hes getting a SR20DET engine, he only said 240sx he said nothing about DET... and $30,000 to get 300whp? is that with diamonds and gold parts?

I say buy a 240 with KA24DET engine

low compression forged pistons $400
Greddy Metal head gasket $200
Greddy turbo $2500
Intercooler $600
550cc injectors $400
255 lph fuel pump $100
Electric fan, free power $100
3"inch down pipe $100
Cat converter pipe $50
Cat back exhaust $500

total $4950

My prices were just estimates, so dont get all excited, but for $5k you can get your 240 to be a beast.

If you run that turbo at 15psi with this set up you will be hitting 12s in 1/4 and 350whp

Now since you asked for labor, im guessing you wont do all of this yourself. I suggest you do all the bolt on yourself and get a shop to change the internals for you, im not sure how much they charge for that kinda work because i never took any of my cars in and just manage to do it myself, but id guess about $1500 with the gasket install, also i suggest you port and polish the head, thats about $500, so see if you can find the shop that can do both install the pistons and port polish.

Then go home install everything from injectors to exhaust and get a shop to tune it for you, and you will be good to go...

[Tims_240]

^ a ka24det? and then buy a greddy turbo? hmmm

[R.W.240]

Originally Posted by S13wanabe

Take a look at Signal Auto. They do sr20det swaps and build motors. Their website is www.signalauto.com. It shouldn't be hard to build a 300hp or close to 300 hp s13 for under 18,000. The s13 is your best bet. I got mine in near perfect shape for $1700. Give Signal a call, they are reasonably priced and have a great reputation.

Ring Ring

2spoon: y0! I n33dz a fast car 4 18Gz
Signal: what are you going to use it for?
2spoon: 2 B F45T y0!!
Signal: Uhh... what kind of car
2spoon: Damnz y0 dont youz know n0t1ng 1 w/ a SPOON eng1ne!
Signal: .....
2spoon: and itz got 2 B JDM TYtE, DRFT, W@Ngan!!11one!!
Signal: click
2spoon: 0h Snap

[GT500916]

Originally Posted by Tims_240

^ a ka24det? and then buy a greddy turbo? hmmm

hahaha... DE!!! but after that set up it will be KA24DET!!!

[Tims_240]

lol thats what i thought you meant...

[soon2Bspoon]

You guys are way more help than the honda guys were.
my first choice was to go for the rx-7 or even a miata but after a few calls i learned no one around here knows enough about rotory engines. Turbo 300zx's are kinda hard to come by around here. As for making payments on a car well lets just leave that to those people with credit. so the 240 it is! i can handle the bolt on stuff and some of the internals as for head work and most fabrication if any is needed i know a few people who can get me some really good deals.

as for the exhaust system i know a guy who owes me a favor so i can get that done cheaper than buying a kit. Has anyone ever hollowed out a cat? i did it on an 86 el camino once and it did make more power but that had a 350 so i dont know if it will hurt performance on a turbo 4cyl.