Which Cheap 80's/90's Turbo Hatch?

[1Addicted]

I've always had a thing for the old, mad turbo stuff from back then. The box like shapes, zero safety features and when they inevitably blow up, the ability to fix it on your drive.

I was but a baby when most of these things died out but now I want one, either to restore to former glory or to turn to a fairly non-serious track car. Either way, I'm handy with the spanners and this is just for fun.

The only requirement is that it must be incredibly cheap to buy. No preference on brand at all.

Any suggestions?

Edited by 1Addicted on Wednesday 26th November 08:48

[richs2891]

Was going to say Renault 5 turbo until I saw the prices of them,
Maestro turbo ?
Uno turbo - if has not rotted away

[Rich1973]

Rover coupe turbos are as cheap as they are ever going to be, easy to fix and pretty quick. £1500 will get you a nice one.

[ikarl]

not sure if it fits your 'box like' needs, as I think they still look good (biased opinion) but would an MR2 turbo suit?

[selym]

Daihatsu Charade GTti is worth a look.

[vixen1700]

Not exactly cheap to buy, but how nice is this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1988-Renault-5-GT-Turbo-...

[andy-xr]

Forget any of the following

Escort RS Turbo S1/S2
Fiesta RS Turbo
Maestro Turbo
R5 GT Turbo
Uno Turbo

Any of them, if they're cheap to buy will cost you a small fortune to get to a condition that it's a reliable driver and wont melt it's pistons from the boost it's been run at for the past however many years

Any of them, if you're buying to keep should cost you £5k'ish

I'd go with a Rover if you can find one. There is a Starion knocking around on ebay for not much money, might be worth a punt

[S10GTA]

How cheap?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mitsubishi-starion-turbo...

[Yamahadivvyrider]

Mazda 323. Gtx 4wd turbo

Edited by Yamahadivvyrider on Wednesday 26th November 13:31

[IanMorewood]

Fiat Punto GT turbo.

Other than that they are all quite rare and expensive these days.

[mini1380cc]

Glanza V.
Pulsar GTi-R
Fiesta RS Turbo

Edited by mini1380cc on Wednesday 26th November 14:25

[Al U]

106 gti, albeit a later one that won't strictly be 90's.

[s m]

Al U said:

106 gti, albeit a later one that won't strictly be 90's.

106 Gti turbo???? Aftermarket?

Lancia Delta HF Turbo with Martini decals

Or if you want to keep up with modern traffic, Rover 220Gti/Gsi Turbo if you can find one
0-100 in 15.7 seconds and 145max

[1Addicted]

Thanks for the replies; there are some good ones I'd not thought about at all, especially the Rover and Jap stuff.

I guess the iconic ones I think about are the R5 and Ford RS's, the Euro stuff but as you've pointed out, one that isn't totally beyond economical repair is going to be a hard find at a sub-£2k budget. Sorry, I should have said that £2k is the limit to make it a viable project that I can just dribble time over without caring.

From my searching there really does seem to be a clear gap between scrap cars and and clean ones with little in the middle.

I like the idea of a Pulsar GTiR. Whoever said that, well done as if forgotten about it.

I actually had a 106GTI as my first car. Stupid first car really, also liked eating gearboxes but handled a dream. Shame no turbo though. As for Delta's, I figured they'd be a classic by now but I'll hunt for a 'barn find'.

Thanks again. I'm literally plumbing all if your suggestions into my searches so I'll find something soon I'm sure, as well as taking a trip down memory lane...the memory lane that is ancient old Max Power magazines anyway.

Any thoughts on a Bluebird Turbo?

Edited by 1Addicted on Wednesday 26th November 14:48

[homologeo]

A starlet gt turbo can be had cheap.

Thank me later!

[homologeo]

homologeo said:

A starlet gt turbo can be had cheap.

Thank me later!

A decent example for your budget:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C559623

64K on the clock.

[RP1]

If you can find one with a manual 'box then Volvo 480 Turbos are fun little things and a bit of a leftfield choice.

120bhp standard which is rubbish, but can easily be tuned to about 170bhp without the need for anything other than a remap, which makes them quick little cars. 200bhp is do-able with fairly minor mods.

Quirky looks, wedge shape, pop up headlights, nice (if slightly rattly) interior and surprisingly decent handling.

[clonmult]

RP1 said:

If you can find one with a manual 'box then Volvo 480 Turbos are fun little things and a bit of a leftfield choice.

120bhp standard which is rubbish, but can easily be tuned to about 170bhp without the need for anything other than a remap, which makes them quick little cars. 200bhp is do-able with fairly minor mods.

Quirky looks, wedge shape, pop up headlights, nice (if slightly rattly) interior and surprisingly decent handling.

I'll second the handling on the 480. I had the regular 1.7 (110bhp?) which handled considerably better than I expected.

Only caveat is that the boot invariably leaks. ES=en suite.

[TTwiggy]

MG Metro Turbo (again, if you can find one)?

[ikarl]

think you'd struggle to find a half-decent gti-r in budget and good luck finding a Mazda GTx at all..... quite rare nowadays

If you're going to use on a track, seriously consider the MR2 turbo, can really hone your driving skills in a well balanced car