Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Moving into my first house soon and it looks as though the 'extras' we've chosen may end up costing me the Scooby. If it happens it'll be a (very) short term thing but i will still need transport.

Insurance, fuel economy etc isn't really a problem. Used to high premiums and no FE with the Impreza. Perceived reliability isn't an issue as i've bought loads of tools i'm itching to try out! Not predjudiced against a cars age either.

What is important is performance and handling. Looking for 175bhp minimum and at least 'decent' handling. The tight budget is the only other real limiting factor i can see with this purchase.

I'd love to go back to my roots and buy another Cavalier Turbo but it'd have to be a minter and that puts it out of my budget. To be honest i'm suffering from a bit of brain fade having been imersed in Imprezas for the past 2.5 years.

So i'm asking the masses of ScoobyNet for your suggestions of vehicles which meet the following criteria:

• < £1000
• Decent performance/handling
• Must be interesting

GC8

Nissan 200SX (S13) should do that. They seem to be increasing in value though.

mikelmr

XJS V12 plenty of tuning potential and cheap

Dream Weaver

Pug 405 Mi16. OK, so they are only 160bhp std but they handle superbly, and IIRC made it onto the sub-zero wall on Top Gear.

I have a cracker which will be for sale in a month or 2, but there are 6 people in the queue to buy it as is. Great if you can find another one though.

MR2 Mk2 are excellent as well.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

'XJS V12 plenty of tuning potential and cheap'

Plenty of potential for financial ruin and dissapointment more like, I assume however that was ironic.


If you want performance at that price you will have to buy some kind of old barge with a big engine, anything with any kind of cred or ability is more expensive, BMW 750 ?
535, Citroen XM V6, Alfa 164 Cloverleaf, Lancia Thema turbo, Saab 9000 Turbo and like the man said, old Jags but I would avoid the V12 due to it only doing about 14 mpg and being a bit fragile when getting on, needs specialist servicing, Perhaps a 4.0 XJ, over 200 bhp.

As for having the tools, er well thats helpful but knowledge and experience are the main things, if you break something major on a grands worth of banger it will be time to scrap it, Auto box into BMW 750i, not impossible but very unlikely as a diy task.

Would suggest trolling the back of Retro magazine and trying to find something interesting thats had some money sunk into it, Vauxhall Magnum, Open Manta stuff like that with a bit of work having been done.

Supra Turbo can be had for a grand but would me more inclined towards the non turbo, only 30 bhp less but a lot less fragile, Nissan 300 zx if you find someone eager to get rid (if so ask why).

You may even be able to get an early (prob ex police) Volvo T5, dont bother with any other old Volvo's, quick an acceptable handling started with the 850.

Carlton GSI, if you can find one, ditto the 3.0 normal none GSI and the senator, most are up on bricks outside scabby looking houses nowadays, might even get a 3.0 Omega, again ex Police but it would quick.

If the looks dont offend you, the Cosworth engined Scorpio 24 valve was 200+ bhp, but ugly as sin.

You could get an old Merc but you wont really get any performance for a grand, solid and dependable but for anything with any go and some life left you would need 3 grand I reckon.

gyfto1

if you can find one the old renault 25 v6 turbos were a hell of alot of fun.my brother thrashed one about for ages and it never broke.surprisingly nimble for a big car and has all the electrical goodies you could think of

TopBanana

Porsche 924?

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

I like the S13, Supra and T5 ideas, i hadn't considered any of them but like the thought. Will look into them this evening.

Simon, a 205 is fairly well up the list but doubt i could get a decent Mi16 for under a grand? I actually typed a quote into Tesco (my current insurers) 5 mins ago and it came back at £404 TPFT for a '90 1.9 205 GTi. Not too bad all things considered.

A big selling point would be something i could nail around in for 3-6 months and basically drive into the ground. Something worth a bit in spare parts would be excellent so was considering the Astra GTE/GSI & Cavalier GSi for the C20XE engine. The advantage of buying with that aim in mind is that bodywork is then not important.

Mike, i should've said i don't want to be modding this car as i should have other priorities. I'd also rather stay away from something absolutely massive as it's a pest just washing the Impreza.

Wise words regarding the knowledge to fix whatever i buy but SNet has been good to me for the Scooby and i wouldn't be buying tools if i didn't know what to do with them. At the end of the day breaking something which deems the car (and i love this term) uneconomical to repair is just life as far as i'm concerned.

Off out to buy my local Free-Ads.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Heaps of MR2's about for c.£1k (Mk1 & Mk2)

D

Dream Weaver

Carl, I was thinking more of a 405 Mi16.

I bought one to bash about in while the 205 is being fixed and its great - leather, A/C, fully loaded with all the toys, only 99k miles with a top end rebuild and it goes very well. You can pick a good one up for £1000-1500. Mine will be up for £1300 ish when I sell it. Insurance is £350 TFPT.

Kevin Groat

205 MI16 - nice conversion this one...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...549089795&rd=1

skoosh

Gotta agree with J4CKO on the Alfa 164 Cloverleaf - 3L,V6,24V.

I had one for a year b4 for scoob.........bags and bags of grunt, beautiful engine and noise, very very rare nowadays, but sadly, poor retro alfa electrics and spares becoming increasingly rare and expensive.

You do feel a little special driving one though, would recommend the 24v cloverleaf, electric everything, leather buckets front AND rear......and over 200BHP..........!!!!!

Skoosh.

ps:look good in red too.........

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Free-Ads was a big disappointment. A Pug 205 1.6 GTi for £400 with a free 1.9 engine... couple of Corsa SRi's begging for XE's but then that involves modding. Nothing really grabbed me.

Sorry Simon, mistook the 4 for a 2. Just had a quick look at Mi16's and they seem to maintain their value well. I think their rarity and demand will work against them in this situation however.

I have the say the 164 Alfa Cloverleaf looks the part. Autotrader threw up 0 however - although there was a nice 1996 164 Twin Spark for £850. Seems like a contender along with the 1.9 205 at the moment.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

I've had loads of sub £1k cars since I sold my Lancia and recently I bought the best car I've ever owned and love it to bits. I paid £1k for it and it was 200+ bhp and 4 wheel drive with jap reliabilty and no-one really knows what it is.

After spending another £1k on mods it's 300 bhp give or take some and got the braking sorted too.

What is it?????

A uk Subaru Legacy An Impreza of this age & spec would have cost at least 3 times that. Mine with mods to produce that power safely was only £2k.

GC8

BX16v Virtually identical to the Mi16; the later Mi16s shared the BXs hydraulic suspension too..... Very nimble, nice handling, cheap as chips.....

Simon

spike69

iTrader: (1)

Astra GTE are a good bet.
Swift and cheap,good on fuel too!
I know they are a bit old but so are pug 205 GTi`s.
Supra Turbo`s are quite ok to live with -bar a heavy clutch and sheite fuel economy.Plus theres always that head gasket worry...

My Pug 1.9 GTi is a good car,and a breeze to work on.
All the rest will soon **** you off when you stop at the fuel pumps for another £20....Zero the clock and CUSS.LOL

spike69

iTrader: (1)

Good buy that man!

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Nice one Paul. I've bought a sub grand shed too but I've gone the full economy route and bought a 1.8 Escort diesel - yuk! Its soooo boring but sorta fun when you don't have to worry about depreciaton, tyres, fuel, insurance and you can leave it anywhere

I'm not suggesting you go this route though! I fancy another Cav GSI or Astra GTE 16v - both were great cars, which I owned and would have again if i could find a decent one I nearly got into the turbo but it was a little too expensive at the time for me.

Carl, I can't believe after all your hard work that you're selling the scooby But I'll have some of the bits

Paul, tell me more about your Leggy - sounds interesting...

F

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Hi Paul, your Legacy has been at the back of my mind for a while mate. I did search Autotrader yesterday but little came up. I feel it may do me good to take a break from Subaru however and excorcise some demons from another marque.

Again, Astra GTE 16v, Cav GSi (hell even the red-top Calibra) would almost be a definate if available for the right money. The dream then to be to run it into the ground and store the engine for the Westie i will one day build.

There's a gorgeous Pug on 205 GTi Drivers For Sale page at the moment. Engine overhaul featured in Retro-mag allegedly. Looks stunning and only £695 but in Kent. Still waiting for my ID to be approved before i can purge the forum.

To the people who know 205's - what are my chances of finding a 1.9GTi for <£1000 structurally sound enough to actually keep as a permanent 2nd/fun car? Not concerned about mileage as i don't mind getting my hands dirty but would need a nice shell to build from. I'm thinking long-term here as i don't have small plans for the next Scoob.

dome

I can't believe Paul's not mentioned Carlton GSI's

I'd put a vote in for a 200 sx too, or if you want you could buy a Nissan Silvia turbo-only 135 brake as standard but you'll pick up a good one for £400. With a bit of cheap modding you can get nigh on 200 brake. here's the results from a recent rolling road day on s12oc.com

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

I'm just not seeing Carl driving around in something that ugly after what he's been used to.

Andy_1271

Again, Astra GTE 16v, Cav GSi (hell even the red-top Calibra) would almost be a definate if available for the right money. The dream then to be to run it into the ground and store the engine for the Westie i will one day build.

You need to be wary of the old Astra 2.0 16v engine as early ones were prone to cylinder head cracking, and don't touch the calibra, most of the fuel tanks will have rotted away by now....

Andy M3

For that money i would personally be on the look out for a BMW E30 325 anything with an LSD. I found a nice 4 door with an LSD leather 4 electrics roof etc etc £700 for a minter. They are suck good fun, reasonably quick 170hp and sound awesome. The perfect package !!! (I then bought an E30 M3, which is slightly better)

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

I have a company car for that

List of mods so far:

TD05 turbo with modified exhaust housing flowed to allow quicker spool up
k&n Panel filter
Scoobysport 3" de-cat downpipe
Scoobysport 2.5" de-cat center section from Impreza with mods to allow it to fit a Legacy
Hayward and Scott Legacy backbox
Dump valve of unknown origin (to be removed)
FSE fuel reg (to be removed)
VOS chip to suit TD05 (Should hold 16psi)
4 pot calipers
ebc grooved and dotted disks
Pagid pads
Goodridge braided front hoses
Impreza MY00 wheels

GC8

I bought a new one in 92; its actually quite an attractive car. It was designed by Marcello Gandini; who also penned the Muira, Countach and Diablo. Do you remember the 'this is what he drives to work in...' advert?

Simon

BrettC

Alfa 75 3.0 V6?

200sxsimon

Nissan 200sx s13, 180bhp out the box cheap as chips to mod and loads of spares about and drift tastic!

BX 16v is another good one but quite hard to find a 16v quite a few 8v gti's around though. Plastic panels but crakin motor.

309gti 205 bigger brother look cool in my opinion and 1.9 lump is cheap to mod and realiable.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

Always fancied one of these myself

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

R5GT?

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Ross, you obviously know me too well. Something that looks semi-pretty should have been in the initial criteria as i am a tart. I can't buy a BX 16v anyway as there's faaar too much temptaion to rip the engine out and 16v a 205...

Paul, you just gave me 13 reasons not to buy a Legacy. If i bought one it'd end up going the same way as the Scoob and a fraction of the attraction (poet ) of selling up is to start again with something better to build from.

I've got a big soft spot for E30 BMW's and would certainly jump at a coupe in good condition. Even a 316 would do in that dept.

I couldn't settle with the 309 solely for the reason i'd always be wishing it was a 205. That said i think i've jumped through all the hoops to register on 205 GTi Drivers so am just waiting for my account to be validated. Maybe there'll be something suitable in the For Sale forum...

The thing i find really amazing is that by selling the front/rear (crystal/STi) lights from the Scoob i could almost fund this purchase!