What car post

Yep, it's another of those tedious what car posts again...

I'm thinking about treating myself to a new toy sometime in the next 6 months as I want to try and get in at least one proper silly car whilst there's only 2 people in my family!!

So, I'm opening the floor to ideas. However there are some conditions:

  1. Price must be no more than £7k, ideally nearer £6k (or less obviously).
  2. It should hold it's value pretty well as I don't want to lose too much money over say 2 years of ownership.
  3. It needs to be quick. Say 0-60mph in
Reply to
Carl Gibbs
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The main issue with Chimeras (apart from oil starvation on trackdays) seems to be the infamous "Blackpool rot" as TVR apparently never got around to coating the chassis in something that didn't promote corrosion. They're probably the easiest TVR to live with, although I'd also keep an eye out for a S series.

You won't. A good one will be 5k+ and good ones are very hard to find. And you really, really don't want a project Mk1 MR2.

Anything mechanical should be very cheap for these. Pretty much everything you need for these (even to restore) should be available although you might have to ship it over from the US.

That'll be a grotty bent one.

7k will buy you an early Elise, just check it over very carefully as there are some nasty rattleboxes out there.

Other ideas that are available for less that 7k:

- Corvette C4. It'll be a slushy, but you can get a decent on for that sort of money. Galvanised chassis and the body is much better quality than TVR. Handles much better than a Camaro, too

- Porsche 944S2. You'll get a really good coupe and will have change left over or a decent convertible. Just make sure that it's not hiding other people's lack of maintenance

- A really good BMW 635 or a slightly ropey M635

- Very good E34 M5 and a pile of cash left over

- Alpine A610 Turbo

- Good unmolested Skyline R32 GT-R. If you can find one.

- Hachi Roku (Corolla AE86). Won't leave that much change from 7k but you'll get your money back if it's a good one

- E30 320is - basically an E30 M3 with a 2l instead of a 2.3l engine in a standard E30 body

- BMW 8-series coupe

- Jag XJRs, but they'll lose you money

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I can think of at the moment.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

Are you sure. Last time I looked (which was a while ago) you could get a decent SC for £4k and a useable one for £3k. And I've had a couple of n/a ones so know their pitfalls

I did think of that, but TBH wanted to stay away from a K series. If I could find a decent one maybe.

I like the sound of the Corvette, 944 and R32. Will be looking into them today :)

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

My R32 was easily one of the best cars I've ever owned. As reliable as the day is long and as fast as a stabbed rat.

Fraser

Reply to
Fraser Johnston

Ford Capri V6 with the 24v Cosworth conversion.

Alternatively, for the sake of ~1.2 seconds hit on the 0-60 a very nice example Ford Capri Brooklands can be found for £6k and their value is only going up. The loss in the 0-60 time is compensatied by the white knuckle spirited driving experience.

Reply to
Conor

Turbo'd MX-5?

You could sink a bit of cash into making it faster, and still keep some in the bank?

Reply to
Abo

I wouldn't start with one with a BBR kit, there isn't that much available for them so if you want more power you'll just end up ripping it out again.

Other than that, not a bad idea. For 150-170 bhp I'd go with a supercharged one though, turbos make more power overall but the s/c ones are a bit nicer to drive due to the absence of turbo lag.

That said, if it hasn't got an aftermarket ECU on it already, you'd have to budget for that and a proper dyno session or five as well.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

I've seen the useable 3k ones. I don't know when you last looked but there aren't really that many good ones left. A really good one will pretty much eat up your whole budget and at that level the Elise is much better.

Most of them will have the issues sorted out, plus they aren't that hard to sort with a little research. I'd even be tempted to get one with a blown K-series, source another block, check the liner height and heads are good. Then drop that in, put the usual remedies on (better radiator and the pressure relief thermostat) and bob's your auntie.

Regarding the Corvette - early C4s had either a slushbox or a 4-speed with 3 overdrive gears. Avoid the latter, it's not very nice to drive. The later 6-speed is much better. Oh, and have fun getting at anything in the engine bay that isn't on top of the engine :-).

Reply to
Timo Geusch

Unless it's been modified by the usual numpties, because that tends to turn them into a four-wheeled hand grenade with a broken pin. Hence my recommendation of an unmolested one.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

MG ZT-T 260. It's what I'd buy if I had a spare £7k.

Reply to
Pete M

Well this is true. DIY is the way forward I reckon (having driven a colleagues homebrew turbo) if you have the inclination. Said colleague sells kits based on his DIY too...

Fair play, and nice whine from the s/c too :D

Other choice of course is to do some regular tuning and spend the balance on handling, which will make up for the lack of 0-60 time. Not sure about the residuals with that route, depends where you sell it I suppose.

Reply to
Abo

Unfortunately with MX5s there isn't much to gain with N/A tuning. You gain a little with a freer-flowing exhaust and opening the intake a little with the right expensive bits but past that, it gets really expensive because you're either looking at increasing the capacity or raising the compression or both.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

Ah... Guess that's why forced induction is the popular route?

Reply to
Abo

Westfield.

Reply to
Homer

Correct. They're fairly low compression so they react well to forced induction.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

Leftfield and probably doesn't meet half the conditions but what about a=20 Chrysler Cocked Hind leg.

--=20 Carl Robson Get cashback on your purchases Topcashback

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Reply to
Elder

Needs a roof

Reply to
Abo

If that's at the top of the list then I doubt a really nice condition E34 M5 would lure you away, but this one was written about in some classic magazine and they rated it *very* highly:

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Reply to
AstraVanMann

They have a soft top.

Reply to
Homer

That's a joke, not a roof. I looked at Caterfields before I bought the Elise and you really don't want to keep one outside.

Reply to
Timo Geusch

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