Extreme Budget Car

[anks106]

Im looking to buy a faster car, and i am on an extremely low budget.

lookin for the following
1) 0-60 in under 6 seconds
2) quarter mile in under 14.00 seconds
3) Automatic Transmission
4) 5,000 dollars, any mods included.

Any suggestions?

[gigglesnirt]

0-60 in 6 seconds your dreaming for under 5k, i dont think i've ever heard of anything that fast for that price, but you can get close, i've said this about 5 times in the past week to other people in this forum, i would do a 1st or 2nd gen rx7, or 3rd gen toyota supra, if your lucky you could find a nissan 300zx, you could also look for 3000gt vr4, i've seen ONE sold for 5000K but thats it, and it was kinda scuffed up, so honestly good luck with your hunt it'll be a challenge.

btw why the hell would you want automatic, well i guess everyone has their ways, but that will slow you down some too, meaning your 0-60 is taking more time with it.

[curtis73]

You could pick up any 60s or 70s A body GM (monte carlo, el camino, cutlass, lemans, etc) for $2000 and put a crate engine in it.

If you live in a non-smog area, extend that to the 70s and 80s A/G bodies by the same names. I picked up a 1987 Cutlass Salon with 36,000 original miles for $3000. It came with the wimpy 307 V8, but for $2000 you can easily have someone build a 400-horse 403 olds to drop in for a complete bolt-up with no modifications to the car. I might save $600 for a hi-po rebuild of the 200-4r tranny or it won't last long

Any GM X-body from the 60s and 70s (nova, ventura, omega, apollo etc.) They take many of the same speed goodies as the A/Gs but their big benefit is they are a touch lighter. Not much, but a little. They are also often cheaper than the A/G (especially the Omega... dang that thing is ugly)

You could get a 92+ camaro. They came with the LT1 with about 285 horses. That should be nicely in the 14s with the right axle ratio, but to get it under 14 seconds would probably take more than $5000 total investment unless you're starting with a really high-mileage car.

A 9C1 caprice comes with the LT1 making 245 hp. Although not a screamer, with a 3.42 rear it should be in the low 14s. Add some computer reprogramming, maybe a cam and port the heads and you'll be solidly in the high 13s. You can pick them up dirt cheap, too.

Not too up on my imports, but what about a Subaru SVX. 270 hp in that light-ish car should put you squarely in the 13s. Not sure if you can get one for $5k, though.

How about a high-mileage E36 M3 BMW? They last for ever. You should be able to find one for that price with about 150k on the ticker and that's actually pretty young for them.

How about a Caddy Eldorado or Olds Toronado. The Caddys had the killer 500 engine making gobs of torque. It would take a bit more work to make it in the 13s, but with the pathetic prices they're bringing on ebay, you'll have plenty left for some mods. Heck, buy one for $500, slap a 150-horse hit of nitrous to it and have fun. Good luck getting traction to the front wheels

For that matter, any of the Caddys with 500s will take a pretty serious hit of nitrous. Surprise the kids with a 75 Fleetwood that turns 13.5s.

I think you can maximize your investment by choosing a less desirable car as far as the market is concerned. Let's face it, $5000 doesn't buy much of a Civic these days, and getting it into the 13s takes a lot of money. On the other hand, who wants a 1975 four-door Nova? Nobody. Somewhere right now there is a 75 Nova with a straight six and 80k miles sitting in some old lady's barn that you could buy for $1000. Yank the engine and tranny, drop in a 350-horse 350 engine and TH350 tranny for $2500 out of the Goodwrench catalog and run 13s all day. That will also save you $1500 in your budget for things like suspension and rear axle upgrades, stereo, new sticky tires, new weatherstripping, and a new headliner.

[gigglesnirt]

yea i guess i wasn't thinking about that stuff, i would honestly do el camino!