project car for 1k-1.5k

[insanelewis21]

im looking for a project car that will initially cost me around the 1-1500 quid mark. money there after is what it is.

I want to build something that will be fun, that i can do the odd track day in, that i can drive myself, my wife and my baby daughter to and from tracks and events in.

my list so far is along the lines of

Vectra B GSI (as i had one for 4 years and know them inside out and can be had quite cheaply)
Impreza (im worried about what state i will find one in and reliability issues)
Golf VR6 (again cheap, but ones i have been up against are not as quick as my vec was)
Astra coupe turbo (reliability issues? only three doors)
EP3 type r (maybe a little out my price range)
accord type r (finding a decent one?)
mk4 golf 1.8t, leons, ibiza etc (they dont really rock my world, visually)

am i missing anything off of this list?

i did think about clio 172/182 but think they will be too small? plus i really do hate french cars.

basically what im asking is, am i missing anything off this list i could or should be considering?

thanks in advance

[ferrariF50lover]

I guess it depends how handy you are with the spanners. If you're fine working with super technical new engines, then the stuff on your list is probably ok. If you are better off with something more simple and mechanical rather than electrical, then consider something older.

Now, I REALLY don't want this to come out as it probably will, but are you sure you want to be ferrying your baby around in a track car on the road. If you've stripped the insides etc, you're going to sacrifice crash worthiness. What might be a bump in a full car could be more nasty in a track weapon and it only takes one yummy mummy in her Range Rover. For an extra couple of hundred quid, you could trailer the track car about which has the dual advantage of A. being safer and B. meaning you can do all sorts of non-road legal things to it to make it faster.

Simon.

[insanelewis21]

hi, yeah already thought of all this.

i wont be looking at stripping the car out at all. It will be set up for track use, but will remain a 'car' on the inside.

thanks

[rb5er]

I don`t know why you think an impreza would be unreliable. Quite the contrary.

Just find one with little to no rust and a reasonably recent cambelt and you are away, can also be had in wagon form.

[insanelewis21]

because between me and my dad we have had four of them. lol

Rb5, uk300 bug eye, std bug eye wagon(that was surprisingly v quick) then a turbo 2000 that we found with very very little mileage.

tbh if i could find one in my budget that hasnt been to the moon and back it would most likely be my number 1 choice.

im just worried about turbos, clutches etc etc.

[5RedLights]

If you can get a handle on the engines, how about an RX8? You can get a non-runner for around £600 and will do all the things you said. You can either re-furb the engine yourself, get one prepped from Ebay for under £1000 and fit it yourself, or look at other engine transplants (20v VAG engine seems a popular choice) if you're very handy with the tools.

[rb5er]

insanelewis21 said:

because between me and my dad we have had four of them. lol

Rb5, uk300 bug eye, std bug eye wagon(that was surprisingly v quick) then a turbo 2000 that we found with very very little mileage.

tbh if i could find one in my budget that hasnt been to the moon and back it would most likely be my number 1 choice.

im just worried about turbos, clutches etc etc.

SO you had bad experience of them being unreliable?

Touchwood I have never had a problem with mine in around 3 or 4 years other than getting the brake calipers refurbed. Everything else just routine maintenance.

Clutch could go in any manual car and turbo could go in any turbo car. They are pretty easy to work on too.

Edited by rb5er on Thursday 20th March 15:13

[Zerotonine]

Mondeo ST200? ST24s could be had for less but have less bhp as standard.

[insanelewis21]

rb5er said:

SO you had bad experience of them being unreliable?

Touchwood I have never had a problem with mine in around 3 or 4 years other than getting the brake calipers refurbed. Everything else just routine maintenance.

Clutch could go in any manual car and turbo could go in any turbo car. They are pretty easy to work on too.

Edited by rb5er on Thursday 20th March 15:13

i was always under the impression home maintenance was hard. Like belt changes and engines out for plug changes etc. they were always under warranty so never took a socket to one.

[insanelewis21]

Zerotonine said:

Mondeo ST200? ST24s could be had for less but have less bhp as standard.

thought of these but would choose a vec gsi over one every time.

[vtecyo]

K20 an EK Civic.

[insanelewis21]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

true, going to have a look now, thanks

[rb5er]

No need to take the engine out for plug change. Cambelt and tensioners are reasonably easy too. Very simple cars to work on.

[insanelewis21]

vtecyo said:

K20 an EK Civic.

this was another idea, is it a hard transplant?

[MysteryLemon]

Fiat Bravo HGT? be a fun (and well documented) project to put the 20vt engine in from a Coupe as a project.

I could be tempted to sell my standard example for a bit over the lower end of your budget

[andy-xr]

I'm thinking of doing the same with an Escort van. They're already stripped out mostly, so tart it up and sell it on after a bit of fun is my plan

I'm not planning to track it but back when I was a student, the pizza van I drove was faster than anything on the one way system, it even had a handy light marked OIL to tell you when to change up a gear. So one of those should be even quicker if I put a Mondeo engine in it.

[vtecyo]

insanelewis21 said:

this was another idea, is it a hard transplant?

Plenty of people have done it themselves but it's by no means a straight swap, or cheap. Honda tech is your best resource for this one.

Once done though, they are absolutely fantastic fun and reliable too.

[insanelewis21]

vtecyo said:

Plenty of people have done it themselves but it's by no means a straight swap, or cheap. Honda tech is your best resource for this one.

Once done though, they are absolutely fantastic fun and reliable too.

my mate has one with a k20 swap, with short shift etc etc, reckons its sub 6 to 60. He paid 7k for it though :-/

rb5er said:

No need to take the engine out for plug change. Cambelt and tensioners are reasonably easy too. Very simple cars to work on.

just looked at a sped up vid on youtube, looks less involved than it did on my GSI lol

[aka_kerrly]

Ep3 is out of price range but you may find a nice Accord Type R and will definitely be able to find a MB6 Civic VTI-S for your money!!!

If Impreza are on the list then Audi A4 1.8t quattro could be worthy of including.

MG ZS 2.5V6 is also worth looking.

[rb5er]

aka_kerrly said:

If Impreza are on the list then Audi A4 1.8t quattro could be worthy of including.

Erm............yeh ok. Such similar cars