Howdy, community! This is my first attempt at managing a challenge, so feel free to send “guidance” my way if I’m doing anything wrong. It’s just a casual challenge, so lets have some fun!
Like I said in the title, my poor little Datsun just bit the dust. I was having a little too much fun yesterday, and conrod #2 decided to be a party pooper. Long story short, I am now in the market for a suitable replacement.
I’m not looking for a Hellcat or anything that will be over-the-top insane… I still want to be able to give the keys to my teenage son every once in a while. However, I would like it to be fun to drive. I don’t mind older cars, but I do want safety features like antilock brakes and traction control (even if I just turn it off when I drive anyways :P). The model year should be no older than 1990. There isn’t a hard price limit, but I will try to pick the car I think has the best value - value to me being a weighted composite of power-to-weight ratio, drivability, and comfort versus price. I don’t have any other strict guidelines about the specifics of my future weekend warrior, but I do want an aesthetically-pleasing vehicle. Now, I am not a full-time car guru, so I don’t have oodles of time to visit all of you who have a car to sell. I will only be considering the first ten entries. I will be able to start looking at candidates on Friday, July 7th, at 6pm Central Time - this is not a lot of time, but I want to get back into ripping up the road ASAP (Do not post entries before this time). There isn’t a deadline, but I won’t consider anything after the tenth entry. If anyone has any questions, or constructive criticism, feel free to share! Good luck!
Ol rusty, god rest his soul, was a S130z. Naturally aspirated, as the good lord intended. I guess fun would be mostly street racing, as speed in a straight line isn’t really speed. I’m not a wealthy person, but I am good at handling money and could stretch my budget a little bit for a worthy cause.
One more thing: when is the latest possible trim year for entries? Is it 1990 just as with the model year? And what about markups? If we must apply them, how much will it be?
It was a 1981. I prefer the torque curve and reliability of naturally-aspirated engines. Working with what you have to improve a car is more impressive than just dropping in a different product. Flappy paddles are better than a regular automatic, but neither compare to the feel of an honest-to-god manual. If you aren’t trying to keep it collectible (I’m not), then git-er-done. Murica. MPG isn’t a huge deal as this isn’t going to be my daily driver, but if it gets below 15mpg then it just won’t cut it. We’ve got 87 and 91 AKI octane gas here, so either will suffice. Personally, I love watching goofy Doug Demuro do reviews of cars.
@squidhead I need a new car entirely, I love my 280z but this is a sign from god that its time to change it up (also it will be difficult to compare to other entries without a body to go in, so…).
A model year between 1990 and 2000 is acceptable. The price at a 10% markup should not exceed $15,000. If this doesn’t sound fair or anybody knows a better way to compare price, tell me.
An early attempt at a viable small world car, the Bogliq Sparrow was first released in the early 90’s in Sedan, Hatch, Wagon and Coupe forms. Most Sparrows ran small four cylinder engines but some models had regional specific engines installed to fill cracks in the local Bogliq line-up.
This example of the Sparrow is one such car. Bogliq USA felt they were lacking in V8 coupes and asked for something to fill the void. Thinking they were going to get a pushrod V8 Coyote to combat the Camaro, Bogliq HQ instead set them a batch of Sparrow coupes with a flatplane 3 litre DOHC V8 shoved in the front!
Needless to say, the small coupe was a difficult sale, despite it’s on-paper performance, as it was a stick-shift only model and had no space for passengers in it’s diminutive frame. But, eventually, homes were found for all of them and they represent, perhaps, the ultimate sleeper as there’s no major bodywork differences between the SR and the lesser four cylinder models.
I tried making a pair of test cars - one was a V8 FR coupe, but it turned out to be too expensive. The other was a smaller I6 roadster, also FR, and it turned out to be cheap enough - just. Now I just have to give it a once-over before actually submitting it…
Am I the only person who entered this competition?
If so, can you please put up a deadline so that anyone who has forgotten to enter can get their entries in, otherwise please declare the competition closed then evaluate my entrant’s suitability according to your criteria so I know how I went!
I’ve been waiting for someone else to post to get a better sense for what sort of car we are looking at… I’ve been torn between what size car considering the budget.
(I want to use the Viper body, but I feel uncomfortable using it because the cargo area is bugged.)
I was waiting on abg7 because he was the only other who’s shown any interest thus far… Leedar, I’ll be happy any way you choose. notviper body ought to be fine if that’s what you want to do
Anyone else who wants to submit a car should do so by friday, murica time, as thats when I’m gonna start visiting sellers
I like the idea here, but I have a thought. Sence this is a challenge to find you a new USED car maybe we can make the budget include the depreciation by making it like $15K @ -50%. You’ll get much more car that way and it will make the challenge more appealing. What do you guys think?
Experience the joy of open-topped driving with the Zorg ZS30 Convertible. With 200 bhp from a 3.0L I6 and a limited-slip diff, this car is ideal for learning the basics of RWD dynamics.
Bah. I’m sick at the moment and I can’t think straight. I really don’t know when I could finish this, and I don’t want to lead you along if you want to end the competition.
The Bord Mostang has come a long way since it pioneered the pony car concept. Competition with European and Japanese cars with more refined handling and sporting engine designs has motivated the development of the latest platform with its sophisticated and modern suspension design. While the Mostang is still offered with a V8 engine to serve traditionalists, the historically economy-focused six cylinder engine now forms the heart of the driving enthusiast’s model, offering a 50/50 weight balance and sporty torque curve. When you want to rep Murica but want an engaging driving experience, the Mostang Six S is at the head of the herd. (Shown in Deep Sunset Orange.)
(Just like my finished cars. 
)
