Fast and cheap classic?

Obvious contender is the Reliant Scimitar, and I'd recommend it in SE5 (1967-73) or SE5a (1973-1976).

is the place to start.

Or if you want *fast*, the SS1 turbo, 1985 to 1990 ish.

CML ( snipped-for-privacy@futurenet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

While there's certain notable exceptions, you've got to ask WHY something manages to be fast yet cheap.

If it were quick and well-built, nice to look at, solidly engineered, you'd think lots of people would be after it - and therefore, it'd be expensive to buy.

If it's cheap, which of those does it fail on? If it's cheap and attractive, it's even more likely to be painful to own...

(And, yes, it's *absolutely* possible for something to be slow, expensive, dog ugly AND a pain in the arse... Nominations, please!)

True enough.

I guess it is a long shot. A 3.0 Capri is cheap though, they aren't too slow, but I don't really want to drive one If you stretch the definition of classic a bit then you can get an XJS, which definitly isn't slow (don't suggest this one please, I already got one!). A Scimitar is not a bad bet (same engine as the 3.0 Capri isn't it?).

I loved the whole 60s sports car thing - wire wheels, long bonnet, low driving position, simple engineering, loud exhaust, cool styling. All that. The MGB delivered, except it was horribly slow.

However. I did see a claimed 135bhp one on pistonheads classified for =A31,750. That's more like it. Perhaps getting a car where somebody else has paid money to make it go fast is a better bet.

Ford's ancient V6 just won't overtake in modern traffic, keep up yes overtake no. Most coupes run 200+bhp these days as even 2L 4 pot 4/5 door family saloons have more power than that lump. You need sub 7sec

0-60 and mid 15's 1/4 to cut it these days. It's about comparable to a 2L Hyundai or Cougar.

CML ( snipped-for-privacy@futurenet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Less of a stretch than a Crapi, I'd suggest... But "cheap to run"?

Yeh, I reckon the Scim's got to be one of the better bets.

BV8 conversion?

Peter Hill ( snipped-for-privacy@nospam.demon.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

True, but don't forget about weight. 1300-1500kg isn't unusual for a mid- range hatch. That's probably 200-500kg more than a Scim.

Plenty of "fast and cheap" to be had. Getting one that isn't also a garage queen, or that goes round corners too, is a bit harder.

I still like my Alfasud. Engine the size of a hairdryer, but more fun to drive than anything else with four seats. My Alfa 75 V6 was also the fastest (only a little tweaked) and best handling car I've been able to afford (streets ahead of my brand new Glof VR6 at ten times the money)

Old turbo Saabs are fun. Although they do break things (like gearboxes) they're not hard to keep running.

Is tweaking allowed ? There's a lovely Volvo P1800 estate up the road running with a 760 engine in it (blown 2 litre) Apparently the bits just bolt straight in. Same guy is working on a convertible P1800 to go with it, which is looking lovely so far.

An Overfinch Range Rover is faster than you can handle (it feels at least three times as fast as you're actually travelling, just because of the bulk). Yet no-one wants them because of the fuel bills, and if the mileage is kept low you can get one onto a classic insurance policy for cheap.

You'll get a respectable but not perfect SD1 Vitesse for that, and they're still a pretty fast car. Also 2.8 Capri. Reliant Scimitar. Even a TR7, which is a much better car than some think. Dolomite Sprint.

Citroen DS23

Oops.

Ian

To "cut it" ... /where/?

I really don't think modern traffic is dominated by 200bhp coupes trying to do standing quarters at every possible opportunity. I find no difficulty at all in keeping up with - and overtaking - modern traffic in a 129bhp DS23. For that matter, my quickest ever run from home to Dumfries railway station (19 miles) was in a Reliant Rialto. I think the BMW driver on the A75 dual carriageway section is still in therapy.

Ian

Torque, dear boy :) And low weight helps, too.

Never had any trouble keeping up with all but the fastest-moving traffic in the SE5 automatic I ran as a daily-driver until last autumn. That /did/ have the later Granada engine and free-flow exhausts and K&N filter might have added the odd pony, but it was the low-end torque and light weight of the car which gave it good overtaking performance. Certainly it was good enough to get past traffic on the roads around here without it being at all difficult - and fast enough in overtaking from low speed to get past some slow stuff up near Bala which the covey of Westfields which had been coming up behind didn't manage to get past. A big engine and an autobox in a light car make for very /usable/ performance: you're not endlessly trying to keep a small engine in its power band.

I'm not saying the Scimitar is perfect (I've run two, I know their faults) and by modern standards it's not especially quick - but it's got a lot more go than a B and - well, what reasonably-practical late 1960s/ early 1970s cars will you find which are much quicker?

I'd wondered that myself..

:)

One of my quickest runs through mid-Wales was in a 2CV6 (my absolute record was in a GSA-X1, though - now that was absurdly fast on the twisty bits). The 2CV was also the one time I've overtaken a Ferrari[1] on an open road. That probably startled its owner.

[1] 308GTB, and it was a vile wet day. Narrow tyres are good, sometimes :)

You jest? Fine car though it may be, overtaking isn't one of its virtues.

For similar money a '72-'75 BMW 2002Tii will show a Scimitar a clean pair of heels.

120mph, 0-60, 8.3secs. Mike.

For the twisty lanes near me the 2CV is definitely the fastest car I have: its top speed may not be high, but you never have to slow down for corners. I beat a colleague in his nice new Peugeot back from Bromyard to Malvern in the 2CV by more than ten minutes once ... he said he just couldn't believe how fast it would go round corners!

I used to drive from Glasgow to Lochgilphead and back in a VW Camper van many times each year. Since I got to know the road (A82) very well, I could normally expect to overtake just about anything else on the single carriageway section - that was in a 1 1/4 ton vehicle with a 50 bhp engine and the aerodynamics of a shed. Mind you, all the modern cars would whizz past me again on the dual carriageway down Loch Lomond.

Basically, it's a complete fallacy (and probably phallusy) that you need a high powered car to "cut it" in modern traffic. Driving ability does very nicely.

Ian

Fiat 124 Spider. If you search around you'd get a tidy looking one for £3k. (I paid £1700 for one with rough bodywork and solid oily bits - the wife hated it, and I sold it..... wish I hadn't).

"Mike G" realised it was Thu, 23 Jun 2005 18:20:00

+0100 and decided it was time to write:

Nice. The only problem is finding one.

Probably doesn't fit your cheap to run criterion but you could try one of the 1970 Lotus offerings, Elites in particular are cheap. Top speed 130mph

0-60 7secs.

Trouble is you could get very familiar with the recovery man and the engine isn't cheap to fix.