OT? : New car suggestions

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It'd be easier to list what hadn't been done to it. 34lb boost should explain most of it though.

Is there a website?

Yea, mondeos are the usual boy racer chariot of choice, and boy racers always get their cars serviced, and at main dealers.

Do insurance companies ever ask for a declaration about that, do you know? Not that they would admit it, I suppose.

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Was in Max Power in, I think October 98. Porsche mint green thing. Max P said it was 385 bhp because as my insurance company were already having major thrombosis about 385, I thought it fiscally threatening to inform them of the rest of the mods.

There's a pic of it at

Waiting :)

-- Chet

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Here's my thoughts :-

T5 Volvo - looked for one of these a while ago when taking the GTi-R off the road for some work and couldn't find one anywhere.

Saab 9000 Aero - after not finding a T5, I got a 9000 light pressure turbo. Had it a few months now and don't enjoy driving it at all. I know the Aero has more power, and probably better suspension, but I don't think I'd like it either. It would need to be a vastly different car.

Rover 620 turbo - my brother has an 820 Vitesse and it's far more enjoyable to drive than the Saab, however my girlfriend's children's father was killed when his 800 was hit head on by a mk2 MR2 the police were chasing. The two in the MR2 had relatively minor injuries, but the only one of the four in the Rover to survive is in a wheelchair for life so I don't think I'd feel right driving them about in one. As for a "safe" car, my odds would have been on the 800 coming off better?

Cosworth - my trade insurance specifically excludes any Cosworth badged vehicle.

Audi S2 - never thought of that, I'll have a look and see what I think.

BMW 5-series/Jaguar - it might come to that if I can't get a decent turbo

4WD for around £5000.

I had hoped to get a car with close to the performance and road-holding of the GTi-R, but more space which is why I listed the turbo Jap cars first. I drive all week by myself but will need a family-sized car at the weekends. I already have a "bonkers" plaything waiting to be finished - a 1975 Toyota

1000 with the engine and gearbox from a RWD Corolla Twincam. Originally about 40bhp, now has ~125bhp and weighs well under 700kg. Oh, and it's RWD. :-)

Many thanks for the comments - feel free to add more, Aaron.

Apparently on date Sun, 01 Feb 2004 02:15:51 GMT, "Pete M"

Yeah, nice enough but a sapphire TAIAP, I was hoping more to see some pictures of the engine. :)

3 litre v6 as a starting point?

FWIW, the Scorpio Cosworth isn't badged as one. It's a "24 valve" or "ultima" or similar. Probably worth checking with the brokers before having a look, though, and it is an ugly car, for all the excellent qualities.

There's some nice Audi's with v6 30v engines. I spent a bit of time in an A6 and know another.

I like Jags, but wouldn't rate them as reliable or cheap. And all three of these categories are heavy cars, the handling and grip is good but they will never feel nimble compared to a hot hatch. OTOH, you are much safer in a heavy car like an A6 or a Scorpio than any sort of hatch.

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Eh? Cosworths are 2.0 4 cylinder lumps.. I'll try and dig out some photos of the engine....

Well there's an evolution of the old Cologne v6, built by cosworth with four overhead cams and 200-odd BHP from 3 litres.

Which I thought a decent starting point. ;)

Yours is based on the RS2000 block then?

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Indeed, the Cosworth GAA IIRC.

If you mean the prehistoric Mk1 Escort RS2000 block, shared with such glorious vehicles as the Ford Transit, Cortina Mk3 and poverty spec Mk2 Granada, yep.

a.k.a the Pinto.

It's a different world than an LPT, plus you get the Recaro electric adjust seating.

a 9000 Carlsson has a far more OMG type power delivery, a 9000 Aero has a very smooth but solid "Kick"

Have a look here

or here Maybe give the LPT a run round, and see if you can passenger with someone in an Aero to get a feel for the difference in the cars?

I'll probabley be spectating/passengering both events, because I'm still not sure if mine is upto my driving ineptitude, and can't really afford the additional tyre wear, the extra fuel, and the risk of an off.

Although might give Elvington a bash, as it is a nice wide airfield circuit.

If it's anywhere near to you, this one

might be worth a looksee if it (and only if it) has the ful service history, and worth a test drive. With history that mileage isn't a problem at all. And with it being "tweaked" little (ignore the 300BHP, it is achievable, but would have cost more than the car is worth about £2500-£3k) it might make a nice difference to the Toyota.

Ah, the dojj returns :)

1) Easy to self-maintain and tune.

Very. It's an old fashioned engine, not a crazy modern one :)

2) Large enough rear seat for 11-yr old, 6-yr old and baby seat., decent boot.

Yep, and yep.

3) At least 200bhp, preferably turbocharged.

Yep.

4) Preferably not FWD.

Well it is FWD, but copes just fine with it's fancy TorSen diff :)

5) Cost about £5000.

You can pick up a last-of-the-line T-plate minter for about £3000. Be sure to get a low-mileage one (50k-ish) - the gearbox doesn't last for ever if it's driven hard.

6) Quick and fun when I'm on my own.

Yep.

Go and test-drive one - you'll like it plenty :)

Ah, now that's extremely interesting, I actually have an RS2000 engine here as we speak. It's stock, does a pretty fair 140 bhp according to the bumpf.

It would be most interesting to find out what can be added to this to get more power.

If safety is an important criterion then it's not really recommendable on that front tho.

The OP should be aware that despite all it having dual airbags, SIPS et al it still faired quite dreadfully in the Euro crash protection ratings...

Unfortunately, it's a little out of my way - I'm in Belfast. This is also why my choice of any given car is drastically reduced.

I'm still not convinced that I'll like any FWD car enough to live with one. Since I passed my test 16 years ago, I've only owned RWD and 4WD. Anytime I've driven FWD (from memory : Suzuki Baleno 1.6 , Peugeot 205 1.9 TD, MK2 Fiesta with 1.6 CVH, Peugeot 106 1.1, Calibra&Cavalier 2.0, Astra 1.4, Clio

1.4) I haven't liked it, but thought with driving the Saab for a few months I'd come around. My brothers Rover 820 Vitesse is the only one I've had fun driving. It's been lowered and tuned a bit, so maybe that's swaying me subconciously.

Aaron.