What's the best enthusiast car for under $4,000

Seconding this. You're already off to a good start with having some performance already on the vehicle.

This tbqh, unless the manual meme is absolutely necessary.

Find me a clean manual 2002 cobra for 4k.

Oh wait, you cant

Serviceable corvettes for 4k. Don't expect to go super fast stock but there are tons of aftermarket solutions(efi -> carb is the best one). IS 400 can also be found around 4k.

>IS 400
IS 300

not so much the lack of manual, but more so the fact that its a total barge. thats the problem....

Good luck finding a nice manual.

Also, c4 corvettes are total money pits

OP never said anything about clean. Besides, if he wants a car enthusiast vehicle, then he needs to be good with a wrench.

to be real though, clean is better

its just hard to find anything other than a miata thats not in shit condition for that price

How does a 2001 Mustang GT 160,000 miles unmodded for $3,500 sound?

early bmw z3

Auctioned Police Interceptor.

There is a difference between buying a solid project car and buying Jose's flip car of the week

arent those loose sloppy pigfat?

There are a billion new edge gt's you can find for 4k or less but use caution and judgement

shit

t. former sn95 owner

cheapo mustangs
sometimes turd gens
integras or maybe a prelude
sometimes fair condition fiero/mr2 but prepare for rust
miata sometimes

Older, fairly clean Imprezas can be found for 4k. A thousand more in tires and light suspension mods and it handles good too. 2.2l doesn't have the head gasket problem, if you want a 2.5 RS budget in an extra grand because if it hasn't happened yet, it will.

You want a late nineties Integra GS-R

These are severely under-rated.
You get a stiff chassis, a glorious 6 speed, and the venerable GM 2.0L Ecotec turbo, which can make stupid amounts of power for not a lot for money. It's just so overlooked.

>fail wheel drive

later models got optional AWD

yeh, but >haldex<

also not quite cheap enough yet...

are 900 turbo's super cheap?

900 Turbos have a glass transmission though, unlike the 9-3. They're also still FWD. The 9-3 is a better FWD shitbox.

Miata

you cheeky fuck.

Volvo T5-M, you can make it look and handle as gentle or as aggressive as you want. Great handling for a FWD car too.

Got a buddy that's had several. Highly recommended as front wheel drive shitboxes. You can buy a chinese tuner for them that works well too.

I had a base model S70 as my first car, owned by a former airforce colonel who was stationed in germany and picked up the car at the factory in '97.

I referred to it as the "superleggera" model. No options, clothe seats, 5-speed. really a fantastic car. The 5 cylinder was fun to wring out and made a great noise, it was relatively toss-able in the bends. really wish i didnt have to get rid of it when i moved....

Used to be 240sx, but that market is a meme now.

>are the naturally aspirated SW20's really any good though?
yes unless your enthusiasm consists only of drag racing.
For twisties it's hard to beat miata, sw20 or zzw30.
if mrcummy had sw20 he'd be dead. It only punishes retards and bad drivers who don't respect the car

what's wrong with barges

>yes unless your enthusiasm consists only of drag racing.
>For twisties it's hard to beat miata, sw20 or zzw30.

Stop lying, NA SW20s are awful. I've owned one. You will forever be wishing you bought the turbo.

unless you drag race NA has enough power. You can always engine swap it later like most mr2 owners do

>NA has enough power
Uhhhh, no dude. It doesn't. It's slow. The turbo isn't much faster stock, but it has much more potential.

oh sorry I was thinking you wanted a good enthusiast car.
Should've said you wanted a good benchracers car so we didn't have to have this argument.

How do you guys feel about:

>SW20
>Z32
>A70

Honest opinions?

It's time to stop.

>SW20
goat handling and great looks
>Z32
comfy GT, speed oriented. Makes sense to get tarbo
>A70
comfy GT, speed oriented. Makes sense to get tarbo and tighten head gaskets. Dankest looks of the two.

le ebin Mercury marquis meme

Just go buy forza user.. save yourself 3980$ in the process

E36 320i.

I'm more looking for something that'll be good on twisty mountain roads, power isn't really important as long as the car handles well and is fun

Cobalt SS/Ion Redline

Foxbody or sn95

>implying you'll ever be able to find a Miata for sub-4k

In my neck of the woods, a mechanic's special Miata is like 5k with the age old adage, "NO LOW BALLERS I KNOW WHAT I GOT FUTURE CLASSIC"

eh, there are some NA's around NYC that are around 3700, NB's hover around 4000-4500

Your best bet really is a Miata.

I'm about to buy a Silverado 1500 2010 for about 5000 bucks.

Went full autism mode and paid a deposit already.

Am I buying a shit car ?

Here is a pic.

The engine works flawlessly.

there is always the E30

Lucky cunt, florida has too many boomers who overprice their cars because "muh kbb said it was $6000" even though the fender is falling off and the tranny is slipping.

What engine?
Is it an automatic?

Short bed single cabs are my fetish btw

wtf why is that so cheap?

get a carfax OP

e30, e34, e36, e46

They're all automatic. So long as it's the V8, he should be good. The 4.8L or 5.3L preferably.

Yeah the v8 options Chevy had were pretty damn stout
Idk shit about the 4.8s but ive seen people boost the 5.3s to the fuckin moon with little more enginework than valvesprings, headstuds and gasket

The 4.8 is just a 5.3 with a smaller stroke. It's the unsung hero of the LS V8's. There actually isn't much difference between the 4.8 and 5.3 power-wise, even with mods. The difference between the 2 is torque, and the 4.8 makes its power at a higher RPM.
superchevy.com/how-to/engines-drivetrain/1306-4-8l-vs-5-3l-engine-tech-little-ls-slugfest/

What do you want to do? Automotive enthusiasm extends to a lot of things, racing, off road, motorcycles if you're homosexual, highway rolls, drag racing, stance, show car, learning to wrench, and many others.

A fucked up prius with a bike engine swap

Accept it user.

>highway rolls, drag racing, stance,
Also if you're homosexual.

Nah. Those are fucking retards, but literally every person that rides a motorcycle is gobbling up semen behind their wife/girlfriend's back.

3.5k for the is and 500$ and an afternoon for the 4.0l engine.

why not 4.3L?

he said is400

$3000 civic with $1000 in mods

so?

Volvo s60r.

expensive af to own

I almost got one, didn't know it was going to be that bad to up keep. Glad I got a new WRX :^)

>$1000 in mods
underage B&