Cheap beginner drift car

I'm looking to get a beginner drift car to learn some car control past the limit.

I built up my current car (96 del sol) so that it hauls ass in a straight line, but its powerband is useless anywhere except the freeway.

There's a huge tax on the "traditional" drift cars (240sx, Tofu machine, etc), but I feel like there are plenty of cheaper options that would be just fine for learning. Long wheel base and a decent amount of torque seem like they would be good.

I've got a little experience now and can stomach some modifications as needed.

What does Veeky Forums suggest?

Any thoughts on pic related? or is the suspension too much of a marshmallow to be useable?

Toyota Corolla AE86

in all seriousness, if they were priced reasonably I totally would

Any BMW and if you live in the US, any Mustang will do.

BMW E36 is extremely popular. You can give the old Mercedeses a shot too.

And then there's Ford Scorpio and Sierra but finding one in a decent condition is nearly impossible these days.

BMW's seem interesting but im worried about the maintenance. If I keep away from the M3's I'm wondering if I can keep the cost down

I'm not sure about US but in Europe BMW maintenance is dirt cheap because it's a relatively popular car, especially among drifters. It's definitely cheaper than jap cars.

I'd say give it a shot. BMW's maintenance is probably the cheapest out of potential drift cars. Then again, if you intend to drift you must be aware that drifting in general isn't all that cheap but if you can have decet parts that will hold it together, you'll definitely be having fun. You just have to commit to it.

Lexus is200 / is300 /rs200

is300 suffers from ricer tax

I should specify that I'm in the U.S., so the is200 and rs200 are not an option

however, dirt cheap 80's pony cars abound

Miata

good suggestions in thia thread.

240sx owner here myself. its worth the money if you're serious about drifting. the initial buy in will be expensive - yes, but drifting is absolutely going to force you to do all kinds of weird shit to fix things as they break. so while drift tax sucks... once you're in, they've broken this platform down to a science literally any problem you'll have will almost certainly be extensively documented. from the smallest suspension tweaks to engine swapping and electrical rewiring for when you want more horsepower.

horsepower is a crutch btw. you can technically drift anything.

what it really comes down to is finding the cleanest rwd you can for a fair price. also make sure it has a handbrake and is manual. this makes it more forgiving. drifting is more about suspension setup and technique more than bench racers and videogame players will tell you. adding horsepower is good but if you simply rely on and even learn from powering over you will end up crashing a few cars like the average mustang driver before you really get ahold of how to build a drift car and make it last for more than 2 years.

again keep in mind that getting into drifting is signing up to do literal constant incremental maintenance. so if you go buy some weird ass car and learn to slide it around that is cool and all but if some random.ass shit breaks it will be harder to find multiple people talking about that specific issue online and every garage you goto will try to rip you off

Could always try the Sc400

Buy a Levin and do a conversion.

>drifting with a rear axle and suspensions from the stoneage
>what could go wrong?
There is a reason you can't find muscle cars in the drifting scene my friend. Muscle cars are too heavy and the chassis is shit.

>rear axle and mcstruts
So like an 86?

Get a mistake they'll drift stock even with 138hp.
Slap a eBay turbo on it and boom you've got a drift missile even a 240 would blush at.

Just make sure you get a 1.8 with a torsen rear end of you're going to make a dorifto machine

Fucking kek my auto correct keeps making me type mistake instead of miata

>electrical rewiring for when you want more horsepower.
-doubt

don't know shit about drifting but the main complaint I hear against the 3rd gen f-body is the differential is shit. You would probably have to replace the diff and the suspension (the average person never replaces their shocks anyways)

He'll want a hefty lsd or a spool for skidz anyway

you have to rewire when you swap engines

you have to rewire when you upgrade ecu for big turbos

fuck off back to forza 2 click upgrading lol

The differential is weak but I'm pretty sure a 4th gen diff pops right in. Also some third gens came with posi

It's true tho

Correct

You absolutely CAN drift a pony car but it is much, much more challenging than the nipboxes people like to use because of the weight balance. Their engines are somewhat farther forward than Japanese cars but much more importantly, Detroit iron V8s are much much heavier. There are 4 cylinder turbo fox bodies (SVO) but I'm not sure if they came with limited slip differentials or not. They are starting to get bought up though so people must be doing something with them.

Have you guys seriously never heard of mustangs drifting? Fox and sn95 cars are super common. Just not as common as JDMTITEBRAH cars.

That's pro drifting, not beginning drifting

Thanks for the info.

I thought a solid axle was a benefit; I've actually seen a number of used drift cars (not pro) that have welded diffs

yeah i don't think that guy knows about the prep work involved for mustangs vs similar popular entry drift cars

If it's purely a drift car then yeah a welded diff makes it real easy to get the rear end loose

Well I don't know if it's absolutely necessary to do more prep work on a mustang beyond a panhard bar to eliminate classic fox body "rear steer". It just takes more skill to keep control of something front-heavier with more power going sideways - unless the rear wheels just spontaneously decide to turn 5 degrees on their own which would fuck anybody up.

Please don't ruin a turd gen by making it a drift missile

Why doesn't starting the drift with the ebrake kill your revs?

>ruin a turd gen

He can't ruin it any further than it already is

>>drifting on a car with hub adapters...

don't you like to live dangerously.

I'd like to be able to drive it to the events, but it would certainly not be my daily

if you buy one of these...holy shit, is that my old 87?!..

anyway..if you buy one of these, it's going to be shitty for drifting unless you put a T56 or T6060 transmission in it. if you get a 305/T5, you're just going to turn the transmission into metalic mud. the T5 was junk in those cars.

get an 89 or newer with an L98 motor, pull the 700r4 and put in a T56(or t6060 if you can afford it). you can scavenge the pedals, clutch, bellhousing, and accessories off of a 93-97 z28

also...you need subframe connectors(or at least a 6+ point cage) unless you want to pretzel the unibody.

t. has never driven one

Mine is a fantastic car for what it is. They handle great for a 1982 design (they were even widely considered the best handling car in America at the time, even over the Corvette) and it would be a shame to turn one that's in decent shape into a pile of shit drift car.

It has coil springs all around, no meme leaf springs like all Camaros until 1981. You can put an Auburn Gear differential carrier in the stock 7.5" rear end and it will be plenty strong for an LS engine, no need to swap to a 4th gen rear end or anything. There is a Heidts IRS kit if you really want it though, and you can get a Spohn chromoly tubular k-member with a Pinto manual rack to take a couple hundred pounds off the front end, and the common aluminum block LS1/T56 swap will shed a lot of weight too.

thats pretty much the info I was looking for. I've never driven one but just watching them handle turns at street speeds the chassis looks like a wet noodle

unless it's a 9 bolt.

That is a little misleading because in 1982 the C3 corvette was long over due for a replacement and the new 1984 C4 vette was about to redefine corvette track performance.

Foxbody

Even Matt Farah called them americas 240sx

ITT: people who don't actually drift offering advice to OP

Standard pony cars have adequate power but they lack steering angle and aftermarket support. I know the 240sx is taxed to shit but it is a tried and true chassis that has plenty of aftermarket so you can modify your car to suit your skills as you progress. Yes is is possible to make older mustangs and camaros slide but honestly they are heavy as shit and will require quite a bit of custom work to be any decent on a drift course.

My recommendation is a 350z or g35. The Nissan Z33 chassis is cheap, reliable and fun right out of the box. You can buy a solid 6spd Z for 5-6 grand these days. The vq35 isnt the best motor but it makes 230-240whp stock which is plenty for the chassis. Most Zs come with decent locking differentials so all you'll really need is stiffer suspension and tires. There is also plenty of aftermarket support for the Z so when you develop your skills your car can grow with you.

this. small, rwd, cheap, plenty of aftermarket and mods.

Yeah and the wheel base makes it shift for drifting.

well, it's honestly not that bad.. but most of them have t-tops, so that's the weak spot(i've owned 4 f-body's.) most of the bodyroll is just blown shocks/struts.. i have koni's all the way around and my 89 will keep pace with my 16ss in the turns(though the 89 is rigid as shit and i get jarred to death every time i drive that thing).

the 16 is just better at soaking up bumps(while still nailing corners).

long and short.. if you're going to driftmissile it, go for it. lots of aftermarket, but FFS , get rid of the auto tranny and at least do SFC's.

>standard pony cars lack aftermarket support

aftermarket support for drifting retard

this is a thread about drifting

>implying there are "drift parts"
>retard

I'll check that out. The goal is definitely to be a budget car; hoping to get as close to "usable" out of the box as I can.

No "drift parts"? wat? Solid bushings, chassis reinforcement, coilover suspension, adjustable tie rods, rack spacer, modified knuckles, extended LCAS, adjustable camber arms, traction rods, 2-way LSDs, hydro e-brake set up, etc...

Im sure you could find at least some of these things for pony cars but they aren't as readily available and that probably makes them more expensive. A lot of the 3rd gen f-bodies and mustangs you see drifting use mostly custom suspension bits. OP stipulated that he wants something that drifts pretty easily out of the box. God damn you are dense. There is a reason that people tend to gravitate to Japanese cars for drifting. It's because of the amount of support for drift parts and online write ups. Stop giving OP bad advice.

OP do not listen to the faggots who are telling you to get some shitty 80s or early 90s american car. Those cars are cheap and rwd. Yes they can drift, but they will certainly not be as cost effective or as solid of a platform in the long run.

I drift the fuck out of my 99 ls1 trans am on 275 rear tires and an auto trans
>Showing up ricers in an auto car

Like what? The stock suspension up front is perfect for drifting because the ackermann is tucked, and a panhard is less work than a DIY turbo, welding a diff, and then playing with the steering.

His attached pic was literally of a foxbody you mong. All of that shit exists for the fox platform.

I know it exists. It's just not as plentiful and it is still pricey. That and the suspension design is significantly more archaic than the s-chassis. It works but it will never be competitive. How many foxbodies do you see in pro-am level of drifting? Maybe a handful. There are plenty in standard grass roots drifting but when it comes to actual competition the shortcomings of the chassis cause it to fall on its face.

I'd love to build a foxbody drift car one day. Its just not as good of a drift car out of the box as say a 350z or a jzx. Also the price on foxbodies has gone up significantly. Its very difficult to find one in good condition with the 302/t5 for under 4 grand.

You push the clutch in when you ebrake, so not really.

pretty much this, but go for a model '07 or newer, the HR is much better than DE in every conceivable way.

OP just wants a missile. A Mustang or Camaro will fit the bill as a missile.

OP said cheap.