Go to a city auction and get a Ford CVPI. Fast, good tranny, good suspention....

I think an old F-Body would be a good choice. Fun, reliable, easy to work on, lots of power.

'87 Toyota Cressida. In stock trim, it'* a RWD, four-speed auto high-16 second luxo near-barge wonder. Generally indestructible, but they do have their common issues.

5-speed swaps are very easy, and a 3.0L (as opposed to 2.8L) variant of the same motor bolts up, if you so please. Those two alone should bring you to the 15'*.

Canadian models got extra amentities (standard digital dash, headlight washers, 4.10 LSD rear end, but no 5-speed manual option). American models got different options, they had the choice of a 5-speed manual (accompanied by the LSD) in the sport package, which also came with a variable damper system. This damper system pre-dates the '92 SSEi, as it was available by '85. All auto trannies have the ECT-pwr (electronically controlled transmission) function, the same as Performance-Shift.


This car shares the same drivetrain as the 1982-1986 Supra.

i'd second a cheap police interceptor. rear wheel drive, fast as anything out there ( it'* a cop car ) everything is heavy duty, just have to clean up the interior a little bit. there are alot of sites out there dedicated to the p71 (police interceptor model number from ford) as I considered getting one for a while. They are some nice, nice fast cars. All the power, true dual exhaust, V8, safety options galore, not to mention you'll have the cop tires, cop suspension, cop motor, cop roll cage, i'd go for that personally

Dave

I never said I wanted an auto... I was just saying that a f-body with an auto would be indestructable. I would rather actually have a 5 or 6 speed. I was thinking a F-body with the Series II 3.8, or a late 80'*/early 90'* with the 350 TPI.

Thats basically what i'm thinking. I can get a 5.0 fox body mustang for pretty cheap and make it faster for cheap too. And late 80'* f-bodies are cheap to mod/maintain as well.

I would be lucky to find a '97 SSEi for $3k, and if I could, like I said it would be high mileage and probably not that nice, and I'm sorry to say it, but I really don't want to be driving an L67 powered car with 150k on it, thats just asking for tranny problems. Like I've said, I've been considering the 3.8 F-bodies, but I can go with the older body (which personally I like better), and get a V8 for the same or less money, and I can go with a fox body 5.0 mustang and also spend less money. But the v6 f-bodies are definately something I will be considering. I've always wanted a RWD Turbo project.

Believe me, all of the cars I mentioned are gonna be 10 times more reliable than my friggen STE. I've put ~$3k into that since I got it a year ago. And I want RWD because I want something different. Everything we own is FWD midsized cars, if I want to drive a FWD car, I'll go and pick between our 7, I don't need to buy one. There is nothing wrong with a FWD midiszed car (afterall we have a lot of them), I just want some variety, and I have a lot of fun driving my friends 5.0 5 speed mustang and my other friends LT1 Camaro (modded a little), and thats what I think I want, those cars are hella fun to drive, because afterall, I already have a FWD car that is fairly quick and has more options than I know what to do with. A SSEi is gonna give me the same thing I already have, except I'll have to mod it to make it as fast as what I already have.

Fast, not exactly (like I said, I'm looking for a 15 second car), not only that but you know the engine had the **** beat out of it. Good tranny, maybe, but its a cop car, its had the **** beat out of it repeatedly since it was new. Good suspension, also maybe, but it has also had the **** beat out of it since it was new and I bet it would all need to be replaced. You ever seen a police video on TV? Notice how they just crash into things and drive through things and don't really care? They just put new fenders/bumpers on and keep going. A car that is pieced back together doesn't really interest me at all. The reason they sell those things is because they are worn out, if they weren't, they'd keep driving them. I'm not really interested in an x-cop car. Not only that, but when they are new, cop cars aren't all they're cracked up to be, really.

Shawn

Your just goona have to save some extra pennies or do some more searching to find something you want for the price your asking.

There is plenty of stuff out there in my pricerange, I just want to know what others would do in my position. I'm not looking for a new car or anything. I plan on doing a lot of searching, I just wanted others opinions on what they would buy.

Shawn

yer, $3k is a plenty. It won't get you something perfect (it might if the car'* old enough), but it'll get you something damned nice.

Buy something small and light with a 4 cylinder and 4 or 5 speed. It will be cheap to run and fun to throw around in the corners. It will also feel a lot faster than it really is. Keep it American if you can but that will really limit your choices.

I like my Jeep Cherokee. It'* been very reliable for the last 17 years. That 4 speed auto trani is bulletproof and you can put over 200 K on that engine without doing a thing.
It is very light and scoots along just fine for a 4x4. They do make them in 2wd. A 4.0L in one of those would really go.

.....Whatever you do....don't go Ricer.

Why stay American other than the fact that it'* an American car?

American cars don't have anything going for them when it comes to 4cyl, 5-speed RWD