Desperate need for some rwd suggestions

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V8 FOU said:

Sleeper / impress the wife/ max fun / turbo/ V8/ etc etc



Bentley Turbo R

I do occasionally look at Bentley prices, was once involved in a Le Man parade lap tussle with one in a 96 Jag XJR, Jag seemed the nimbler slightly.
Thank you!

tonyhudson said:

Very reliable over my 14 years of ownership since importing. 305 horses and lots of fun.

You can find some great examples through the likes of Newera Imports but you will pay a premium over buying a cherished one already in UK.

That looks very nice! Thanks for the suggestion I will look some up.

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mikey k said:

A friend had one of these, he tried to use it as a daily, it soon get the better of him and his wallet!

I have some experience of their peculiarities, a friend has one and swears it fights him on a weekly basis. Highly strung I think is the polite phrase...

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siovey said:

I picked this up recently for just under £13k. It has already been heavily modified. The guys that did the work reckon it's running "at least" 550bhp. They are out there, but rare..

Thank you I quite often look at these for sale online, I did drive a nearly new one a number of years ago but ended up buying a miley E34 M5 which I loved at the time.

I try and hunt out those cars that someone has poured their cash into and then can't realise back come sale time. Sounds like you did very well!!

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siovey said:

Aye, I think I was lucky. The invoices for the mods are over £15k! It's certainly an awful amount of car for the money! This noise is amazing!!
I like the fact it looks standard but is hiding something very special under the bonnet. As some poor fella in a focus st trying to show off his mate found out last week....

Im normally the fella selling that car I badly need to rebalance my car buying and find something like that..!

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Thanks for all the suggestions!
Its helped me realise Im looking for something that isn't made, I probably got close to my ideal with a much modified TVR Griffith but concerns over safety and the inability to be able to fit a decent roll bar system and keep the roof killed it for me.

As much as there are some great RWD's straight out the factory my real passion is modifying, Ive never been able to leave anything standard for long.

Im going to try and find a uncomplicated (not too many electronic systems) RWD, ideally 4 seater hatch back, I loved my 2.8injection Capri 20 odd years ago!

I considered a BMW compact with upgraded engine, axel etc... but even thats a bit to refined for my tastes.

I don't know what car it will be yet but this thread has helped a great deal!!! Thank you to all those who took the time to post!!!

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V8RX7 said:

Much as I hate to point you in the direction as the current owner is a Trader who pretends he isn't and has a terrible attitude, there is a 6.2 V8 RX7 that I suspect is still available - he's been trying to get £18k on Ebay but I suspect he'll take closer to £15k by now - there's a huge build thread on here by the PO Papercup - it sounds like your kind of car.

Actually there is also a far cheaper 5.7 LS1 E46 about to be sold too.

Thank you! Where will I find the LS engined E46 please?

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V8RX7 said:

In Readers Cars - BikealarmBlair's V8 Powered E46 BMW

If you buy it, it removes temptation from me.

Ive PM'd ATM thanks for that! Do you know what it changed hands for last time? What would you value it at? Im guessing an engine balance & possibly stronger G'box and alternate diff internals/ratio would be worth doing eventually.

I couldn't find the RX7 V8 on eBay has it gone do you know?

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SebringMan said:

Considering you were saying that you were not a fan of the M3's short first gear (and I agree - mine is very short!) I cannot imagine that the Z4 in either derivative will be different.

I have not had quite the exotic list that you have but I have also driven a few cars in my time. I do have to ask, what exactly are you after from a RWD car? Speed, fun factor, droolworthiness I assume are some of the things as well as something easy to work on?

Capri 2.8i would be where my money would go looking at Ford values of late. Christ, I am still wondering if I was sensible to sell the RST!

I think you've hit the nail on the head really! 'what am I looking for' RWD, LSD, easy to work on, I prefer the concept and smoothness of straight sixes, manual preferred but not essential, hatch back would be useful, 2 or four seats, I like a convertible, I may be looking for 3 cars... As I posted recently I don't think they make my ideal car.

Perhaps the reality is Ive been fortunate enough to own a large spread of cars and haven't found one thats a lifetime keeper and thats because Im a fussy fickle individual and I probably won't.

May be this is the realisation and 'therapy' process like AA for petrol heads

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V8RX7 said:

I remember it seemed cheap. LS RX7s tend to sell for £9k-12k and personally I'd value a BMW less however if you need to carry more than 2 people in comfort an RX7 isn't much use.

Search in completed items.

Edited by V8RX7 on Friday 27th May 22:52

Thanks I found the eBay ad in completed (haven't used that b4). I read all of papercup's build last night amazing level of commitment do you know why he got rid and what he replaced it with?

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AlexC1981 said:

I'd love to see someone make a great drivers car out of something mundane like a Morris Marina, Minor, Ital, Austin A35, Simca, or one of the old Lada's or Skoda's. Might take a lot of work though!

Have a look at the historic stock car racing for inspiration.

I remember seeing Nick Mans IIRC Rover V8 powered Morris Minor in Street Machine magazine years ago its probably reading that magazine when I was 17 that planted the modify seed. I do like the idea of a good sleeper, I regularly search them on here.

Its the 'might take a lot of work though' and money! years of work an unforeseen expense and then how many times do you see people drop the project or move on quickly after finishing...

'papercup' on here's LS V8 RX7 is a great read, as is 'mwstwearts' Fiesta & E46 M3, I admire their commitment and budget. I forget the owner of the Seat Ibiza volvo turbo engined machine on here but the work carried out is amazing!!!

May be I should pick a shell I like and an engine/axel configuration and plod on with that. Thanks!

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'Max_Torque' RWD Seat Ibiza is my favourite build thread on here!

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V8RX7 said:

That's how my thoughts worked...

I started similarly to you in that I like Opel Mantas - the thinking man's Capri.

But I'd already built a 16v and wanted something better - lighter seems the obvious starting point - MkI & II Escorts cost so much a Chevette seemed a good starting point but then everything needs upgrading and I'm still driving a Chevette, great as a toy, not so great as a daily driver.

So I need a RWD modern(ish) cheap light performance car that is available at a sensible price, has some decent features and there are performance upgrades readily available.

I think the obvious candidates are:

E30 / E36
200SX
Supra / Soarer
R32 / R33 Skyline
RX7
RX8
MX5

I would dispute the Manta being the thinking mans Capri having owned 3 Capris, oh hang on you might be right...

I was looking at MX5's yesterday having said I don't like them... Im just making a list of what I could do to my Hiace Van currently, its 140 bhp standard if I could get it too 350 isn it would be a great sleeper, it has an LSD and is RWD (also column shift auto...).

I have a Importer searching 200SX, Supras & Soarers for me in Japan, I must go and sit in an RX8 as I liked the look from when they 1st came out, those the 1st TT's and GT86/BRZ's are the only things in recent years that Ive liked the look of.

A bit left field but I love 'Farm Truck' from Street Outlaws on Sky Discovery channel have you seen it?

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ATM said:

Was chatting to the owner and creator of this a few weeks ago. His dad has owned a 7 litre corvette for 39 years. I wish he was my dad.

That looks interesting! I blame my Dad for my car passion, its always better when you can blame someone else isn't it?

V8RX7 said:

Something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm0ApRoPeds

No - I'll have a google

Thats it!! Same colour as mine, do you think its standard?

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Farm Truck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCuGNMOHIy4

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gavin18787 said:

Another vote for the gt86.

Cheap to run
Easy to work on
Plenty of mods for when you get bored of the power
Lots of toys, great driving position and space. (I'm 6ft plus and can get me and bike in it with ease)
Don't think I have had a car that makes me smile as much as this one. Often find myself chuckling to myself on a good quite road/roundabout.

Take it for a good drive as they are under whelming at first due to the relatively low power. But find a good road and give it a boot up the revs and the fun starts.

They don't feel slow until you compare it to other cars and go on big open tracks etc. But then the modding begins if needed.
Although I came from a 300 bhp plus civic type r and haven't felt the need to mod yet!

Thank you all good points well made! Am going to try and drive one this week...

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nashteck said:

I had a 944 turbo cab with a dyno proven 417 bhp and it was lots more fun than my 996tt running 520 bhp .
Also had maserati 3200gt and a z3m coupe at the same time both very slidey lol .
7

I do look for good 944's every now and then, good call thank you! Think I prefer the styling of the Z3M to the Z4M, Im probably in a minority group though...

Maserati 3200 I have driven they don't speak to me really apart from big future bills maybe..!

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V8RX7 said:

£50 finders fee for the perfect car:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-CAPRI-5-7-V8-T5-MAN...

Or a slower Auto:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Capri-Mk3-V8-/12200...

Thanks I do like the manual, T5 gear box helps a lot I was quite surprised by papercups american box hassles.
£50 finders fee sounds cheap I would of asked for more

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sce7gk said:

Cheers

I absolutely love it and it's perfect for my needs at the moment, it's my daily drive and I've done nearly 20k miles in the last 2 years, steadily improving and upgrading as i go. The modern engine and throttle body injection make it plenty reliable.

But I totally get the OPs desire to chop and change cars, I would like to say it's a keeper but with so many cars out there to experience there is always temptation round the corner.

If I wasn't driving this at the moment then I would be looking for e34 M5, 944 Turbo or 968. 911s are too much money for me now days and while I love TVRs I just couldn't stomach the mpg.

240z or a sporty Alfa 105 (GTA style) would also be high on my list

I hadn't considered one, it looks great! The E34 M5 is a truly great car I highly rate them, when I was doing significant travel for work it made every journey special, as did a Mercedes C43AMG Estate, I remember getting lost when my sat nav died on a trip back from Turnberry to Durham it was unbelievably good on tight twisty sheep dodging roads, not as pure as the M5 but still great & you can get a washing machine in the back without folding the rear seats!

Todays searches -
Lotus Elise S2.
Caterham SV.
TVR Tuscan, Cerebra & Chimaera.
Monaro.
BMW M5, M3, M6 & Z4M.
Mazda MX5.
Jeeps you know about.
Toyota Land Cruiser, Hilux & Supra.
Various large engined American junk.
Trawling eBay & Piston Heads unfinished projects.
Ultimas.
Subaru Legacy estate.
Lexus IS300 sportcross.
Land & Range Rovers.
BMW 325ti compact.
Ginetta G40.
Some obscure Jensen.
Brabus Smart & coupe.
Mercedes SLK 55 AMG.
Triumph Vitesse.
Triumph TR6.

I am no further forward to buying another car, automotive failure to launch...

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ATM said:

Mine box is fine. It's the same box used on Monaros. What hassles did he have?

IIRC the ratios negated 1st gear, but I think that could have been a diff ratio issue as well, apparently the selection was slow and iffy/vague. I know theres a danger in reading and deciding v's actually driving but papercup's thread is very detailed and he seems a very accomplished driver and has commissioned many mods.

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ATM said:

Mine box is fine. It's the same box used on Monaros. What hassles did he have?

Just remembered I test drove a new Monaro years ago and I didn't notice anything sloppy about the gearbox... there you go I am guilty of believing what I read more than my own experience... I had a really notchy awkward LT77 box on my TVR Griffith and spent ages swopping in a Tuscan T5 gearbox and all the resultant speedo drive issues, then drove a friends Griffith with a LT77 box and it wasn't far off the quality of the T5, another friend had one and the shift was also horrible that convinced me to change. "Time spent in reconnaissance is rarely wasted'