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Post-COVID fun car for sub-$6k?


zeitgeist57
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I'm assuming Clay is talking about post-COVID, when prices go back to normal. Nothing good can be purchased for under $6k right now, as far as I'm concerned. The market is a complete shit-show.
Yeah, problem is, this chip shortage may impact dealer stock into 2023, so used prices are gonna be staying high for a while.

 

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- 2 door S-series blazers. Came stick, tons of support for a v8 swap (or find a v8 swapped one).

 

 

I think that would be fun but not sure Clay and Co. would think that is fun on 555 and the tracks. Maybe it would. Dunno.

 

2wd blazers, esp blazer extremes are actually decent handlers. There are a few people building handling cars out of them.

 

The budget setup is:

- 245 front 275 rear staggered tire combo on 18" wheel

- larger sway bars (stock is 33mm F, 23mm rear),

- G body, Camaro, or C5 corvette brake upgrade (as budget allows - 98+ blazers came with 2 piston calipers that clear 17" wheels if you want to be really cheap but you need the knuckle)

- Stiffer lowering springs

- new bushings in the suspension

- Battery relocation

 

The "I have money to spend" setup is:

- aftermarket sway bars from belltech

- 255 front 295 rear on custom offset rims

- wilwood brake kit with rear disc conversion (if your blazer doesn't have it already)

- Coil-overs with 4 link conversion (Thorbros, Johnny law, Code 504, etc...)

- LSD in the rear end

- Poly bushings

- corner balance the truck (S10's understeer because of nose heavy weight dist- the closer you get to 50/50 the better they handle)

 

 

On power tour this year I saw quite a few LS swapped pro-touring S10s, even a 95+ 4 door with a T56 that looked completely stock from the outside, and a really clean S10 extreme pickup that could handle a curve.

 

FWIW people have been using the s10 chassis under street rods and older pickups for years. people have even built things like cobras and other kit cars on top of the chassis because it is really good and cheap.

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Genesis Coupe wasn't on your list, was it? It doesn't get a ton of love but that does mean prices stay low...
Yeah, I looked at those too, but still over $10k in all my searches. Found 2 with bad engines (one with rod knock and the other without engine/trans) but the owner only wanted to part them out. They seem to stay around the same price as the FR-S.

 

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2wd blazers, esp blazer extremes are actually decent handlers. There are a few people building handling cars out of them.

 

The budget setup is:

- 245 front 275 rear staggered tire combo on 18" wheel

- larger sway bars (stock is 33mm F, 23mm rear),

- G body, Camaro, or C5 corvette brake upgrade (as budget allows - 98+ blazers came with 2 piston calipers that clear 17" wheels if you want to be really cheap but you need the knuckle)

- Stiffer lowering springs

- new bushings in the suspension

- Battery relocation

 

The "I have money to spend" setup is:

- aftermarket sway bars from belltech

- 255 front 295 rear on custom offset rims

- wilwood brake kit with rear disc conversion (if your blazer doesn't have it already)

- Coil-overs with 4 link conversion (Thorbros, Johnny law, Code 504, etc...)

- LSD in the rear end

- Poly bushings

- corner balance the truck (S10's understeer because of nose heavy weight dist- the closer you get to 50/50 the better they handle)

 

 

On power tour this year I saw quite a few LS swapped pro-touring S10s, even a 95+ 4 door with a T56 that looked completely stock from the outside, and a really clean S10 extreme pickup that could handle a curve.

 

FWIW people have been using the s10 chassis under street rods and older pickups for years. people have even built things like cobras and other kit cars on top of the chassis because it is really good and cheap.

 

 

^ this.

theres also the awd swapped s10's that have alot of factory options for replacement parts.

 

2). ford ranger. exploder rear end bolts (I think) and can easily engine swap for days

 

3). miata with older common block dodge 2.2 with neon head or dsm 2.4 engine, solstice trans, and chinese whirly boi. sucks that now most the junkyards close to big cities have scrapped all the 2.2/2.5 blocks.

 

4). celica gts convertible 80s convertible. alot of nissan 240 parts can fit on the suspension and since it's w58 based that means there are 2rz/3rz and 2jz options.

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^ this.

theres also the awd swapped s10's that have alot of factory options for replacement parts.

 

If you buy an Olds Bravada, they come AWD to begin with with the BW4472 transfer case. This is a mechanical symmetrical AWD (like an Audi Torsen Quattro or an old Subaru box but with a 35/65 f/r bias) that can take a pretty fair amount of HP and was also used in the Sy/Ty cars. They can take a Chevy NV3500 5 speed manual trans out of a 4.3 S10 or a 1500 Silverado/Sierra. the NV3500 will take 350 ft/lbs and the NV3550HD in the fullsize will take slightly more.

 

 

Clay,

 

What's your take on Kit Cars? I saw a running, decent shape Bradley GT2 recently for $4500. Those are VW beetle chassis based, with gull wing doors, and they look like a real 70's sports car (unlike the first Bradley GT). VW aftermarket is huge and so cheap it's almost silly. It's like most of the good stuff of 4cyl porsche ownership without all the bad stuff.

 

107bd8f8dca4b39fae330c100ace5965.jpg

 

https://www.mecum.com/lots/DN0716-249202/1978-bradley-gt-ii/

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because bravadas are just Syclone/Typhoons without the turbos and have nicer interiors. Change my mind.

 

I drove a really nice bravada in high school and there is NOTHING about that thing I remember being fun except for it being decent in the snow.

 

I would buy any beat small rusty rwd manual car LONG before I would take the nicest bravada anyone would offer me for free. Assuming I wasn't looking to put $10k+ worth of mods into it. And still it doesn't scream "fun car" to me.

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because bravadas are just Syclone/Typhoons without the turbos and have nicer interiors. Change my mind.

 

First of all, good luck finding a club or sanctioning body that will allow a rollover-prone body-on-frame SUV out for an "occasional track day." Secondly, the only thing that elevated the Syphoon above a parts-bin joke like the S10 eXtreme WAS the turbo. Without the turbo you just got a boring-ass truck.

 

I can't believe I have to make an argument for why an Oldsmobile S10 shouldn't be on the same "fun car" list as a 350Z.

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greg your talking most likely about broke down 1st gen 350z that have a weaker 6 speed and tater rods from the factory. high mileage 1st gen vq35's leak as much oil as supra 7ms bone stock. A 1st gen g35 coupe or 350z and swapped in 2nd gen engine with a cam lock will make it easier since they engine have high port flow, better rods, filled light weight valves, and can still receive a cam lock for the budget aftermarket ecus can that can work with ease.

 

the nissan 350z game isnt cheap as it seams let alone diving into suspension options. the drift tax is real.

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I drove a really nice bravada in high school and there is NOTHING about that thing I remember being fun except for it being decent in the snow.

 

I would buy any beat small rusty rwd manual car LONG before I would take the nicest bravada anyone would offer me for free. Assuming I wasn't looking to put $10k+ worth of mods into it. And still it doesn't scream "fun car" to me.

 

No S-10 based anything is "fun" stock. At all. I had a 1995 S10 Blazer when new (teal over gray) and it was not "fun". A buddy had a typhoon and that was fun but it was also rare and even back in the 90's those cars were stupid expensive. But.....

 

Covid has pretty much ruined the car market at this point. Anything that used to be cheap "fun" is carrying pretty much a $2-5K penalty on it for being fun. So the next "fun" enthusiast cars are going to have to come out of the dogshit cars that are still left. and you know what's dogshit but has tons of potential? S-series and esp a bravada.

 

I just did a quickie FB marketplace search and I found a clean running 1996 bravada for $1500 and a 1997 for $1800. For that price I get a chassis that has all the S-series aftermarket support including off the shelf v8 motor mounts, a Trans, transfer case, and diffs that can take a V8 swap, and a chassis that is lowering springs, shocks, and sway bars away from SY/TY handling (which is admittedly not great but better than a lot of stuff). Lots of Potential.

 

using a budget junkyard/CL/FB marketplace used parts approach I could probably build an AWD, Stick, 4 door family hauler that makes V8 sounds for the $6K budget. The cheapest v8 swapped S-series I could find was a rusty $3000 automatic pickup with a junkyard carbed 350 in it, and most are between $5K and $10K. Even the 2wd blazers from the same era are more money for a base truck. Just on my back of the napkin math this seems like a viable option.

 

Desperate times call for some out of the box thinking to get value in the "fun car" market.

 

 

the more I think about it, the more I realize - If Clay still has the Harbor Freight Chevy Pickup, he should just manual and LS swap that and presto! fun "car". He's already lowered it and it has rims and tires.

 

First of all, good luck finding a club or sanctioning body that will allow a rollover-prone body-on-frame SUV out for an "occasional track day." Secondly, the only thing that elevated the Syphoon above a parts-bin joke like the S10 eXtreme WAS the turbo. Without the turbo you just got a boring-ass truck.

 

I can't believe I have to make an argument for why an Oldsmobile S10 shouldn't be on the same "fun car" list as a 350Z.

 

All S10 "extremes" are 2wd and most of them are 4cyl autos. they also used drop spindles instead of shorter springs to lower the front which is why you can't make them 4/all wheel drive. The same AWD setup in the Sy/Ty came in the 4.3 astrovan, the olds bravado, and one year (1995) as an option on the blazer. All other S-series were 4x4 with a manual transfer case or 2wd. So it's not just the turbo, it's the AWD as well.

 

There are cars that are out of the box fun, and there are cars that you make fun. An S-series is def a car you make fun the old fashioned way - with a V8 chevy swap. Is it the same as a 350Z? nope on a rope, but even 350z's took such a jump in price i struggle to see the value of them.

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You won’t find a better value than a sn95 mustang. My 97 cobra had some select suspension mods, and some cobra r brakes and was more capable than 95% of the mouth breathers on here could hustle on track.

 

If you’re in the 5%, lots of mods to level up.

 

Sounded great and took a beating.

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It's not sub $6k but close enough. It has a live rear axle too, but the better kind with a panhard rod. Still can't get over the McPoverties.

 

https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/columbus-2005-ford-mustang-gt-manual/7381500229.html

 

I know this era of S197 Mustang is a *little* more refined as it was developed when Ford owned Jag and they came out with the Lincoln LS. Don't ever see anyone modding/tracking them from a good performance standpoint...though the Shelby GT500 is a scorcher.

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