i had the best spring break possible. my lancer got totaled . i am currently trying to figure out which car i should get now. any help would be appretiated. ive narrowed it down to a 2nd gen rx7, eclipse, and a civic si post any others u think i should get. but my price ceiling is at about $8,000.

 

I would get a 240SX, light, fast, and many many mods available. I would stay away from the RX7 because the rotary engines are very finicky, and usually need to be rebuilt every 65000 miles or so. The DSM (mitsu eclipse, eagle talon, plymouth laser) is a good idea, but its an older car so things are likely to go wrong and it's hard to find one that hasn't been abused. dsmtrader.com is the best place to find one for sale though.

If you go for a DSM, try to get one between 1990 and 1992.5. These are the least likely to get crank walk because of the transmission configuration (6 bolt, versus the 7 bolt of the 1992.5 - 1995 version).

 

ive thought about it. right now there isnt a lot of them for sale in indy

 

A Toyota Supra Turbo comes to mind as well. Those engines are bulletproof. 1986.5 - 1992 is the year to get. They will be classics in a few years as well. They are prone to blown head gaskets from the factory, due to head bolts not being on tight enough. So you buy one with a blown gasket for cheap, get it fixed and the bolts torqued down correctly, and bam, a killer car with killer potential.

Other cars I would look at:

Toyota MR-2
Mazda Miata
VW Corrado
Nissan NX 2000 (SR20 engine with swap potential, LSD stock)
Infiniti G20 (SR20 engine, very nice interior)
1980's BMW M3 or M5 if you can find one
Acura Integra (buy cheap, then swap built motor + turbo)
Mazda Protege (cheap, solid chassis, build a touring car out of it)
early model Dodge Neon Sport (light, 150hp from factory)
Mitsu Galant VR-4 (DSM in a Galant body, very rare)
Nissan 300ZX
90's Nissan Sentra SE-R
Porsche 944 (yes you can find these for under $8000)

That's all I can think of for now.

 

if you buy a cheap car for like 4G's then drop another 4 into it.. you'd be pretty well off unless you find a good car for 8. Good luck with the car searching, sorry to hear about the lancer

 

My friend has a 2nd gen rx7 and the engine's never needed to be overhauled. it's well over 100k miles. they're fun to drive. personally though i'd get an older supra like stated above.

 

sry 2 hear bout ur lancer...but the money u get from the insurance...put it as down payment on evo...thats what i'd do...but again thats just me

 

I'd go DSM. They are at the end of their lifespan so they are getting cheap and there is not one nut, bolt, screw, or part that has not been discussed throughly on them. Tons of info and lots of experts out there on this stuff. So what if the drivetrain is beat thats why they are cheap. THere are a lot of nice body worn out motor/tranny DSMs out there, use the extra money and fix it.

 

dsm or mr2; supras are good two... u can get one cheap

 

sorry to hear about your lancer. i think i would go with a 240 sx. there is a good swap or two for it and there are so many things you can get for it. good luck in the hunt.

 

That sux that your lancer got wrecked.. If I was gonna get a new car and from the choices you gave me, a Civic would be a cheap car that you could have money left over to do an engine swap. Personally I wanted to get a hatchback civic and do a H22 turbo engine swap. I've seen many people do this very easily and run 10-11 sec quarter mile.

 

I'd really hate to say this...being on a lancer forum n all..and even being a lancer driver myself....but I'd probably go with the civic SI. They're great tuning platforms! I've seen many of them around where i live and i gotta say that they're pretty impressive once you get to workin on them. Plenty o parts...options...so on...only if you dont mind having something semi common...since its an SI and all. I say if u get it...just get a simple lip and put mad money into the motor! Good luck

 

I vote for a 1G Talon or Eclipse. You should be able to find a GSX for 4 or 5k and might even get lucky with a low mile version.

 

I would NEVER get a Civic again. I used to have one, and you're never going to get props for working on one because it's so easy. There are so many items you can get easlily that any Joe Schmoe can do it. Also, everything under the sun has been done to a Civic, so there is no way to be original. Just my $.02 on the Civic debate.

You can make a hell of a project car out of them though (Civics that is), so maybe it would be a good learning platform, because if you break something, it won't cost a fortune to replace it.

 

RX7 was my 2nd choice after the Evo. So I would obviously say get that.