1000$ where do you start

[Shinobi]

Okay, I'm giving up on my damn Sonata. Other than some possible suspension work, I am not going to spend thousands on a weak super charger or doing custom everything to pinch out a couple more HP. So, my thought, why not buy another car!!

 

Being a realist, here is my situation, 1000$ and a garage, where do you start? I was thinking buying something used, okay really f%#king used, with the notion that I am going to scrape everything. The point is not only to build a car to go fast, but to LEARN about cars. So, where would you start???

 

- Shinobi

[Guest Tony_K]

What cars have you dreamed about owning? Save your money for a car that you really really like. Don't waste your time and money on a car that you don't have a fire for. If you're going to be buying a fixer-upper, get exactly the car you want, not a suggestion from someone else.

 

Another thought: Sell the Hyundai while it still has some market value, and use the money from it plus your $1000 to buy a better condition car that you like from the start. Owning multiple cars multiplies the cost of upkeep, insurance, plates, etc. If you have one car that you really like, you can focus your time and money on it rather than be buying tires for the Hyundai when you wanted to spend the money on something to improve the car you like.

[LJ]

5.0 Mustang

[Shinobi]

I hear ya on that one. I really would like to own a Supra, or a WRX. WRX cause of the all wheel drive, I am a fan of that.

 

I tried to dump the Sonata, which I JUST bought. I am 9k upside down. OUCH! So if I saved like 4-6k I could do a large enough down payment to then finance something else. The main aspect of what I would like to do is learn about cars, how to work on them etc. My father use to be an ASE Master Mechanic, so he knows a couple things about cars. Mostly his hayday was the 70-early 90's. I figured if I bought something late model, which would be in his area of expertise, I could learn something from the old man and go from there.

 

- Shinobi

[302Powered]

You could try a Talon or Eclipse.

[Guest nevarmore]

Try an older Subaru or Audi Quattro if you're jonesing for AWD/4WD. The late 80's models are running fairly cheap and since you have the Sonata as a daily you can run the other car as being a bit more of a race machine.

[GonneVille]

If you want cheap and fast think about buying a beat-up Ranger and dropping a junkyard 5.0 in it.

[Crash1647545504]

see if you can trade in the sonata fome somthin cheep like a used srt-4 and then make payments on that they start at like 19k and if you trade your car in for it and have a decent job then you could pull that off

 

 

just..... dont..... buy.... a.... DSM

[Guest mudbutt]

Some sweet cars that can me made to do about anything for not a TON of cash are Fox body mustangs. You can pick up one in decent shape for about $2500. You can take one of these in jsut about any direction. If you want a track car/corner carver, there are suspension parts galore for these lightweight beauties. If you want drag, then Im sure there are pleanty of people on here that will let you know what they can do. For a cheap project, you could possibly pick up a rolling chassis and use a carb'd motor. Comming from a die hard EFI person, I dont think a carb is so bad if you arent doing forced induction or driving the car every day(gas milage)

[Wease]

Here is where you start. My first choice would be a 5.0 Mustang, but you might have to have another grand or two to find a halfway decent one. And even then, that's iffy. Good luck... graemlins/thumb.gif

[Brandon]

Originally posted by CRXPowered:

You could try a Talon or Eclipse.

he wants to drive the car

[OGRE]

I saw a 95 5.0L today, looked to be in good shape, it was off Rt. 3 and 161 i was tempted to look at it.

 

but if you can afford a little more, try to find an LS-1 camaro/bird, no one can argue with thier horsepower out of the box. 98 ls-1 + a couple bolt ons = one of the cheapest 12 second cars avaiable*

 

 

*mullet not included

[LJ]

Originally posted by The Ogrish:

I saw a 95 5.0L today, looked to be in good shape, it was off Rt. 3 and 161 i was tempted to look at it.

 

Was it at one of those car dealerships?

[nicktcfcsb]

Build a shogun

[desperado]

OK, first, you have a grand to spend. SO EFI, forget. Buy something with a carb. Second, If you are wanting performance on a budget, you need something that there are used parts around for cheap. So a small block Chevy is the first choice, followed by a small block ford.

Third, find something that you like, but don't get off the beaten path too much.

 

And foremost important, DO NOT get ideas that are way out of your reasonable abilities. a cam swap, intake and a better carb is not hard. Backhalfing a car (tubbing and narrowing the rear end) is not a first timer project.

[Guest nevarmore]

Another idea, keep an eye out for an abandoned project. Cars advertised as 'not running' but with 'thousands in reciepts' are a good bet.

[Shinobi]

Good suggestions so far. I think I would really enjoy a Fox-Body Mustang. My father use to own Mustangs when I was a kid, and I always loved them. I have a lot of friends that have mustangs, and would have a good pool of knowledge to draw from on how to work on them etc. I could save up a couple g's to buy one in decent condition.

 

I just want to beat my buddys SRT-4. And some punk who drives a green Firebird ... that guy .. let me tell ya

[Guest Tony_K]

Originally posted by Rotary Jihad:

Another idea, keep an eye out for an abandoned project. Cars advertised as 'not running' but with 'thousands in reciepts' are a good bet.

This is very good advice if you are good at being able to tell WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR whether or not they are selling the car because of a major problem or thing they screwed up royally on. The best deals are where someone else already spent the big bucks but can't dedicate the TLC needed to get it on the road.

 

Beware of buying a car in pieces, though. It's very difficult to put something together that you have never taken apart yourself - hard to know proper screws, fasteners, spacing, fitments, routing, etc.

 

One piece of advice for being on a budget: Don't buy a car that needs a paint job. Paint that is badly faded or has a lot of fine scratches can be polished, but if it is peeling or mismatched, you are in for it if you want to fix it. Even doing it yourself, there is no cheap way out of proper paint work, and it is among the toughest and most expensive of DIY jobs. On the other hand, don't buy a car just because it looks good.

 

A good bet for a project is one that is mostly if not entirely together, looks decent without a repaint, needs a lot of tlc but has had a lot of $$$ spent on it.

[OGRE]

Originally posted by Keyword:

Was it at one of those car dealerships?

yes it is on the south side of 161.

[Guest preluderacer]

yeah i understand. i wish i had the cash to go and buy a car to work on right now.

[MrMeanGreen]

Originally posted by Shinobi:

And some punk who drives a green Firebird ... that guy .. let me tell ya

Green? Mine's not green, it kinda color changes

[Shinobi]

*bump*

 

Anyone else with suggestions?

 

I have been searching on this forum under the auto area. There are a few cars in my price range, (1k-1.5k), that I could purchase. Mostly imports, and I like imports, (got rice?), so I am considering them. I don't think that I can find a "decent", 5.0 for around 2.5k. Maybe if I searched high and low.

 

- Shinobi

[Orion]

Okay, I'm giving up on my damn Sonata.

son, i think that this is exactly the right place to start.

[Guest infamous me 235]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by CRXPowered:

You could try a Talon or Eclipse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

he wants to drive the car

 

and like THeoretic said...

 

just dont buy a DSM EVER!!!!

 

I got my GSX before spring break.. and i've driven it once or twice.

[HotCarl]

it's ok if you got a DSM, just as long as you don't have the fantasy of driving it all the time. If it's gonna be a project car, then make it into one, don't think you just gonna get a 1000 dollar car and be able to run it at the track every sunday, ANY car you buy for that amount will need alot of work.

 

DSM would be a good learning tool also, there's alot of backround info on the internet, cd-shop manual's are easy to come by and for the most part everyone know's at least one or two other people with a dsm.