Quote from: pantablo on June 05, 2012, 11:26:49 PM
Miata!

Here's my 1991 (NA6) with 190,000 mile track car:

I bought my miata already track prepped for $3000.

Where'd you find your track prepped car?  It's the wrong time of year, but the only miatas around here seem to be $5000ish and they're all stockish.

GET A RX-7!!!!! You'll be happy you did. Find a cheap one then call Atkins Rotary in CA. I had about $5000 in mine and it was unbelievable. There is no Miata under $10,000 that would come close in anything but MPG. Not hating on a Miata, They are a blast to drive but if you want a performance machine it's hard to not go with a RX.

I've got $4000 in mine. If I put in another $1000 I'd eat your 7 for lunch. BRING IT! lol.

Quote from: manofthefield on June 06, 2012, 10:02:28 AM

Quote from: pantablo on June 05, 2012, 11:26:49 PM
Miata!

Here's my 1991 (NA6) with 190,000 mile track car:

I bought my miata already track prepped for $3000.

Where'd you find your track prepped car?  It's the wrong time of year, but the only miatas around here seem to be $5000ish and they're all stockish.

Craigslist. Seriously. I just got lucky. Wasn't even advertised that way but as I talked to the guy more and more he wanted me to have the car over some buyers that had already contacted him. He had bought the car and did the prep himself with a company he is a partner in (AWR Racing in San Diego, http://www.awrracing.com/ ). I looked within 300 miles of my house. It was 3 hours away. He drove it for 3 years to learn racecraft. Now he races a heavily modified miata (look up DrGoodwrench on youtube). So when he heard I wanted a track car and not a daily driver he felt I was the perfect candidate. There were a few other key things the car had that make it a bit special and good on track. Suspension was completely done (coilovers, bushings, etc) and the top end was blueprinted.
total luck on my part.

You'll want to either budget $1000 or so for suspension, $500 for wheels and a bit more for odd bits here and there to get it track ready. Definitely get one with a 4 point roll bar minimum. Or with a good suspension. the roll bar will be $500 minimum and is required for tracking the car at most tracks (rule for convertibles). Mine had all the good bits so if you're patient you can find one with all the key things for a good price. I bought mine in November though...although here in SoCal its convertible weather all year.

Quote from: Huff1371 on June 06, 2012, 04:34:48 PM
GET A RX-7!!!!! You'll be happy you did. Find a cheap one then call Atkins Rotary in CA. I had about $5000 in mine and it was unbelievable. There is no Miata under $10,000 that would come close in anything but MPG. Not hating on a Miata, They are a blast to drive but if you want a performance machine it's hard to not go with a RX.

You may be right, but a 280HP (BEGI stage 4 turbo kit), 2500 pound Miata is nothing to sneeze at. $10k will get you car, kit and wider rubber.

Quote from: pantablo on June 06, 2012, 05:12:29 PM
I've got $4000 in mine. If I put in another $1000 I'd eat your 7 for lunch. BRING IT! lol.

Quote from: manofthefield on June 06, 2012, 10:02:28 AM
Playful banter. But I know it to be false. Unless you somehow got 300+HP out of it. Then an afterburner. Then a really steep downhill grade , and finally beam that the miata could just fit under on the Finish line. I did get lucky and start with  $500 car (no title) but by the time it was done my friends M3 played hell keeping up.  It is one of my biggest regrets to have sold it. I now am messing with a 87 Camaro. It's the heaviest most over-steering impractical and ugly thing I've ever seen. But with a 425HP 383ci monster under the hood, its good for some good cheap redneck fun.

Have no idea what went on with the quote thing

Pablo, you got one hell of a steal.  I'll keep my eyes open, if I find something like that, I'd jump on it, but I'll probably end up with an RX-7.  At this point I don't plan to track the car, just autoX it. 

Quote from: Toogoofy317 on June 06, 2012, 07:03:52 AM
Don't get a vert unless it is a hard top or one you can store in a garage! I had nothing but misery in mine for four years. Although, the sunfire GT was a fun car to drive I wasn't too sad to see it go. I got this last week!

Almost as fun to drive as riding Flick almost Flick is still more fun!

Mary

I'm lucky to be able to garage whatever I get.  That Versa should be a good car, I've heard a lot of good things despite it's low entry price.  Looks great in blue too!

My current car (and will continue to be my daily driver) is a Mazda3 hatchback, so I'm partial to hatches.  My 3 handles great, in fact I took 5th of 35 with PAX (handicap factor) in autocross last weekend.

Anyone know enough about RX-7s to comment on this car's mods?  This one's tempting (I know I can get it much lower than the buy it now)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&item=380432286752&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D380432286752%26_rdc%3D1#ht_758wt_1165

Quote from: manofthefield on June 06, 2012, 05:47:29 PM
Anyone know enough about RX-7s to comment on this car's mods?  This one's tempting (I know I can get it much lower than the buy it now)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&item=380432286752&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D380432286752%26_rdc%3D1#ht_758wt_1165

NICE car. engine wise, if/when it goes down can be rebuilt in 3 hours. if no major damage. usually just replace apex seals. theres no rods to break, no valves to bend/burn, yes they can be maintenance intensive. but FWIW that is a NICE example of an rx

Good starting platform. Carb has been done. Other than that the price seems steep. Nice car though

Quote from: Huff1371 on June 06, 2012, 07:20:49 PM
Good starting platform. Carb has been done. Other than that the price seems steep. Nice car though

Current craigslist asking price is 3500

thats an exceptionally good looking car. too good to track imo, but you want a fun weekend car that occasionally sees autoX, right? If you want a fun car why not get a miata with a hardtop? more fun when the tops down.
The miata is also considered a benchmark autox car due to the low weight (early NA's are 2300 lbs or so iirc, as a dd), perfect weight balance and exceptional handling.
either way you'll have fun in the 7 or the miata. the FD rx7 (last gen) is my favorite 7 though.

I like the FD, but they are out of my budget.  I'd probably go for a S2000 over an FD though.

Well, I looked at and drove that car yesterday.  I asked for someone local on rx7club to go back with me since I only half know what I'm looking at. 

The immediate issues I found all seem like they can be overcome, but I'm hoping for a second opinion, or to drive some other similar vintage cars.

Issues:
-Steering pulls to left, hopefully just needs alignment
-Shifter is quite short and requires a firm touch, I'm just not used to a short shifter
-Radio doesn't work, owner claims fuse is just blown
-Engine seemed pretty good, but I think the carb could use tuning.  This is where I want a more experienced rotary guy to come with and confirm
-Body is about 7/10, most of the paint is good, but a little rust on the bottom of the back bumper.  Also I noticed that one of the flip up headlights is a little misaligned when flipped down

carbies , you have yto let em warm up before moving out. ( if you didnt do that) i had to do that with my FI 13b, but it was a high mileage temperamental SOB

Quote from: manofthefield on June 09, 2012, 06:15:59 AM
Well, I looked at and drove that car yesterday.  I asked for someone local on rx7club to go back with me since I only half know what I'm looking at. 

The immediate issues I found all seem like they can be overcome, but I'm hoping for a second opinion, or to drive some other similar vintage cars.

Issues:
-Steering pulls to left, hopefully just needs alignment
-Shifter is quite short and requires a firm touch, I'm just not used to a short shifter
-Radio doesn't work, owner claims fuse is just blown
-Engine seemed pretty good, but I think the carb could use tuning.  This is where I want a more experienced rotary guy to come with and confirm
-Body is about 7/10, most of the paint is good, but a little rust on the bottom of the back bumper.  Also I noticed that one of the flip up headlights is a little misaligned when flipped down

fuse-if it were an easy fix the seller would have done it. otherwise he's a lazy arse and you cant depend on him to have taken care of the car otherwise either. I mean, how f'ing hard is it to change a fuse?

Quote from: pantablo on June 10, 2012, 10:15:53 PM

Quote from: manofthefield on June 09, 2012, 06:15:59 AM
Well, I looked at and drove that car yesterday.  I asked for someone local on rx7club to go back with me since I only half know what I'm looking at. 

The immediate issues I found all seem like they can be overcome, but I'm hoping for a second opinion, or to drive some other similar vintage cars.

Issues:
-Steering pulls to left, hopefully just needs alignment
-Shifter is quite short and requires a firm touch, I'm just not used to a short shifter
-Radio doesn't work, owner claims fuse is just blown
-Engine seemed pretty good, but I think the carb could use tuning.  This is where I want a more experienced rotary guy to come with and confirm
-Body is about 7/10, most of the paint is good, but a little rust on the bottom of the back bumper.  Also I noticed that one of the flip up headlights is a little misaligned when flipped down

fuse-if it were an easy fix the seller would have done it. otherwise he's a lazy arse and you cant depend on him to have taken care of the car otherwise either. I mean, how f'ing hard is it to change a fuse?

very true. 7's are NOT for those who cant be arsed about a fuse on a radio. radio fuse maybe not a deal breaker, but i WOULD take someone who knows about these cars to look in person @ it. i bought a 7 whos previous owner treated it like a corolla. those just do NOT exist for long. mine is existing sans its engine in my driveway right now. 

Yeah, I think that's what's not adding up for me.  There are a lot of seemingly simple fixes, yet he can't be bothered to fix them when he's trying to sell it?  Plus he's got a repair shop, shouldn't he be able to do this stuff quickly or have good contacts to get it perfect?  Maybe he's extra lazy.  So I'm passing on this one for now. 

There's a GSL-SE (13b, FI) near my parents which is about 5 hours away from me.  I'm tempted to have my dad look at it for me, but the asking price is over $5k.  I think the price is reasonable for what it is, but more than I was planning to spend.  I'm kinda torn about whether I stick to my budget or go over it for the good model (which I could swing).  I don't generally buy cars as investments, but a GSL-SE is more likely to a hold it's value or appreciate.  I've seen good ones go for $6.5k or more on ebay.

i kept one of the old rotor housings as a desk weight. eventually a clock

I'd be wary of buying a car with the idea that you'd ever make money on it. unless you plan on restoring a chevelle or some Mopar muscle(I'd gladly give someone scrap price for their ford). It's really not worth it in this market. You plan on putting this car on a track. That means you have accepted the likelihood that you'll be in the hay or through the gravel trap or worse, or a least sliding through some cones. The only thing you should worry about is the raw mechanics. If you find a car with a great powertrain, good suspension, but some fugley paint. Why not go for it. The fastest car at the last Auto-x meet was a silver/primer/something reddish, late 80's Dodge Colt hatchback 4 door with welded out suspension and a turbo. He was beating out the Elise that was there as well as the Solstice GXP . Ugly just means everyone gives you that much more respect when you pass them or beat their time.