Fun Cars For <5K

[Jonno34]

Hey guys,

I'm just about to put up my 91 sexcel for sale - i got it to learn a few basic mechanics with, which I did, I used the car to play around with at a short course at Tafe and fixed a few basic things here and there, but some of the parts were too expensive and common sense dictated to not waste money on the expensive parts when I would see 0 returns back and wanted to change cars soon anyway!

I've saved up a whole lot more cash this time around with tons of work, and got UP TO 5k as a budget for my next car (anything less will be even better!) more money will be spent on the car as time goes, but for the short term the budget is 5k.

I also no longer have a need for a daily car since I now get to use an auto hyundai accent for that (my sister is moving to melb so now i get to use her car too ) - some of you guys may have seen me planning to replace the sexcel with a LPG falcon or something similar at some stage.

I'd love to get something that will be good fun on the tracks - obviously for 5k im not going to be able to pick up anything too special, but I want to start basic stuff on tracks like the tuning days and drag days, and i'd love a car i could be able to work on a little bit here and there and see some decent gains

Main criteria:

Cheap to modify (not like an n/a skyline where 10kw = $1000 lol!)

Something that will be good fun on the tracks

Easier to work on

I've been car hunting (as usual) and seeing what other people have done with similar amounts of money.. and these are the sorts of cars im looking at!

"hot hatches" - i just classify these as well normal cars that can go alright, FWD (doesnt really bother me, im no drift king), and i quite like them since their going to be quite economical and reliable etc. only thing is they dont quite have the excitement (purely based on looks etc) of some of the other cars im considering.

EG honda Civic

Nissan SSS Pulsar

Twin cam corollas

"classics" - i love older cars, and these would be a great project and i could learn even more, only hesitation is that looking at other builds of these, they do get quite expensive and not too sure about the reliability of such an old car

Datsun 120Y(i see a real great condition one in perth for 2.5k atm!)

Datsun 1200

KE corollas

Japanese 80s - i think i would get decent performance out of these, but cant say i know much about them. the main issue is they use up a fair chunk of my budget!

MA60/70 Supras - ive seen a few very nice looking ones in perth for around 5k for the ma70

honda integra

honda prelude

R31 skyline

What does everyone else think?

[GTR-N1]

Sylvia for track/drift and upgrades

3rd Gen Prelude for texi/slaloms

[defari]

ae101 / ae111 levin.. quad throttle bodies + 8800rpm = symphony

my old ae101 - miss it badly. handled like it was on rails, 500+km to a tank on hard driving, parts are fairly cheap, easy to work on.

Edited September 8, 2011 by defari

[tweety bird]

silvia or soarer.

[w34ponGT]

vn 5 speed with a locker

ultimate best

[w34ponGT]

vn 5 speed with a locker

ultimate best

[rgr34]

old mazda or toyota ke or datsun with a rotary or 4age or sr20 but this can become costly....

or aw11 mr2, honda civic vtec yo...lol

[Beer Baron]

about the only car I reckon worth getting for $5K will be a AW11 MR2. you should be able get a supercharged one for that money too (I think) and they are a great fun car. mid engined, supercharged, RWD, if you're lucky you'll even score an LSD etc.

plus like any boosted car you'll get much more gains modding it than anything NA.

[Beer Baron]

yeah or a honda civic. they have great aftermarket support and are raced the world over. plenty of stuff you can do to one of them to make them quick.

[Count Grantleyish]

Question number 1, are you aloud to drive turbocharged car?

If so, grab R33 Skyline, they're cheap as chips these days, save up a bit more for better condition.

Piss easy to extract power, great chassis despite what people say, they're comfortable tourer. Easier to work than GTR or R32.

R33 gtst for $5k is doable.

[fastjetjockey]

There have been some good suggestions already. I'd choose the civic for motorkhana type events, and the sil or 33 for track. But if you want another suggestion.....

Peugeot 405 Mi16.

[Hattori Hanzo 69]

E30 bmw

handle well

rear wheel drive

i couldnt kill one after weeks of abuse

[Mohsen]

vn 5 speed with a locker

ultimate best

why do i have a feeling your probably local to me? haha

are you from the north bro?

[Jonno34]

nice suggestions guys! thanks

I had no idea I could afford cars like the ae101 levin or the aw11 mr2! those are great cars.

in regards to turbo/supercharged, yeah WA has no turbo laws on P platers, so I don't mind getting one, i'm just a little concerned about insurance premiums, but I could always just go for 3rd party I guess.

Haven't been able to find any half decent 33 for 5k though, only auto non turbo ones in that price range in WA at least (our cars seem to be alot more expensive)

for the datsuns/ke corollas - is there anyway to make them half decent without spending a fortune? i was looking at another thread in here of someone who got a 120y and he was looking at spending 5-6k before even putting a new engine in!

their probably my favourite car out of all them in regards to looks, but Im just not too sure if I could afford to spend the amount of money it seems to need.

but basically out of my previous list the best cars would be the civic or the prelude?

the civic seems like a really good option, theres tons of things to do to make it fast, the car is cheap and economical .. my only problem with it is that its just not as "special" as the other cars mentioned

what are everyones thoughts on the Supra?

and with silvias the only ones I could find in perth that are relatively affordable are the S13s?

I was looking around for an S12 they look great, but couldnt find one around

[PSI-FED]

S13 silvia !

- Cheapo boost tee

- Chop springs

- Drop off exhaust at front pipe, leave remaining exhaust piping for "stealth look"

- Weld diff

- Hack saw shifter and reglue gear stick with "shoe glue" for that short shifter feel

- Wack on a bunch of JDM stickers

win????????

[PSI-FED]

oops double post.

Edited September 9, 2011 by PSI-FED

[Beer Baron]

the problem is any turbo silvia for $5k is barely worth owning. and they are a turbo car that will need expensive maintenance and gear. R33 skyline is a great choice but personally I'd call it a $10K budget car not a $5K car.

check out the AW11 MR2. with just an oil cooler, good brake pads, a cheapie exhaust and a bit of boost they make a fun track car.

but yeah the civic is probably your best bet. there is nothing wrong with that either. they can be made to handle perfectly well an as far as power goes even NA they get along pretty well. with more time and money sky's the limit power wise with plenty of 600hp+ turbo civics around.

[Beer Baron]

here's an AW11 on ebay currently at $2500 asking for $5500 buy it now. could probably pick something like that up for around $4000-$4500 and have some cash left for insurance or your first bit of maintenance/mods.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Toyota-Mr2-AW11-/280735833107?pt=AU_Cars&hash=item415d28dc13

in fact there's even some non-turbo and turbo SW20s that are almost in your budget... still I'd go for an AW11 with your budget as they are a tough little 1.6 and a beautiful engine.

[Silvia GTR]

Civic, Soarer or R31-VL turbo stlyes (turbo the r31)

[10 4]

Baron, you're forgetting the WA price difference..