fast manual car
 

i was looking at cars online the other day, what is a good model that has a manual transmission, a coupe, relativly cheap, reliable and about the same power as a GTP/SSEi? I looked at some 3000GTs/Stealths, can you guys think of any others? I like the GTP's but they are auto, and I would really like a manual (a series II SSEi is outta my budget).

Well, a Series II SSEi is probably still closer to your budget than a Stealth/3000GT (at least one as fast as a Series II L67 car) after you figure in the cost of insurance on such a vehicle.
I'd say try somewhere along the lines of a 1989-1994 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe or Mercury Cougar XR7 (3.8 supercharged), or a 1992/93 Dodge Daytona Iroc R/T (has to be the R/T or it won't have a Lotus designed 224 hp 2.2 DOHC intercooled turbo engine with a true Getrag 568 manual trans). The Ford/Mercury are powerhouses, and the Dodge is just one fast little pocket rocket. The Ford and Mercury are slightly faster stock than a stock Series II SSEi, and the Dodge is about 1 to 1.5 seconds faster 0-60, and does the 1/4 in 13.9-14.2 @ 100-102mph stock.
$250 in mods on the Dodge and you're looking at mid-low 13's, and still well under the cost of a SSEi. Biggest problem with that car though was the heads cracking due to the wrong frost plugs originally (if the frost plugs were replaced with the proper ones, the head should be no big threat).

87-93 5.0

check ebay for starters, just to get an idea of a ballpark cost...

Find a 94 SHO 5 speed.
14.5 sec quarter stock and 145 mph
Not too hard to mod into the 13's and you gotta love the 8,000 rpm rev limit.
A real sleeper car. :wink:

im lookin for something small now that I have had the Bonnie, and since I live in a small town its gotta be easy to find. I also thought about looking at 8-10 year old camaro's and mustangs, how good are they (GTs and Z28's)

Like BlueEyes said, shoot for a Daytona IROC R/T. They are a small 2 door hatch, but only get the IROC R/T model if you wanna be movin'. An old class mate of mine from high school got one of the the last few months of school and let me tell you, they move like you wouldn't believe. One problem is maintenance and upkeep with parts. It's been said that the position of the turbo can somehow wear itself out quicker than it should. Again, just something I heard.

But before you get all excited, try finding a decent IROC R/T. They arn't the most plentiful car out there. :wink:

1987-1992 Toyota Supra Turbo: fix the head gasket, torque it properly, and you're set. Stock, they do 14's, they're a really heavy car.

1993.5+ Toyota Supra Turbo: Way more power than a Bonneville and so much faster... if you can afford it.

Consider Volkswagen VR6's (1993-1999 Golf GTI and Jetta GLX) as well, they're pretty speedy and corner well.

like i said, look for a late 80's (87-90) Gt or LX 5.0... you could probably find one with 50-80k miles for less than about six grand... put another three g's into it and you'll have a hell of a street car