Would this make a good shitbox project?

>performance is everything
>everybody ignores aspects of history
Remember the winners if you want, but some of us are intrigued by the less optimal.

You could get a factory vulcan/5sp, no reason to buy one just to swap. May as well do a yammy 3.0/3.2, duratec 3.0, or duratec 2.3/ zetec 2.0 swap at that point.
Hell I'd like to shoehorn a 4.6 DOHC out of a continental in there, would be a fun project, especially in a early Tempo/Topaz

I don't really like miatas or BMWs, skylines I do kinda like. Don't get all pissy when people poke fun at your car, it literally happens to everyone that posts here.
Anyway, the HSC is a decent fleet engine. Iron block and head, designed for durability before performance. The rest if the car is pretty standard 90s shit box. Ford torque converters from the era were pretty shit, so I'd even consider a preemptive replacement with a better aftermarket one. I'd give the undercarriage a real good once-over as well. Like most 90s shitboxes, rust was an issue. If the undercarriage is rotten it's not worth rebuilding, IMO.

I bought one for $50 and I spent all 4 months with it praying for the day when something would break so I could scrap it.

Nothing about that car is good.

>you can only scrap dead cars

You will need a harmonic balancer at some point with the 2.3L

I would rate it lower than the 2.2L mopar wrt power curve, repairability, aftermarket support. Maybe 2.3 has a slight slight edge in reliability, but they'll both run for eternity given regular oil changes

Could always do a 2.5 stroker out of a first gen taurus, or go for the HSO
Either way, laughable power by todays standards.

>I would rate it lower than the 2.2L mopar

sure, but both are far far superior to the 2.0L GM 122

>Could always do a 2.5 stroker out of a first gen taurus

2.2L turbo II is the way to go if we're going to seriously limit ourselves to early domestic 4cyl.
Late model engines are just heads and shoulders above, Ford Ecoboost and the Mopar SRT 2.4 are good tier. GOD tier 4cyl engines aren't domestic

Also,fuck iron duke, fuck ecotec

$50 car lasts you more than 4 months. That's not bad at all, actually.

Yeah, I'd say $50 for 4 months is a bargain.

Dude my first car was a cheap Tempo. That thing was a piece of shit. Sucked to drive, and it wasn't even the little bitch 2.3. As a matter of fact I still have the fucking thing cuz no one wants it. Please do not buy that car

Tempo/Topaz for a first car is where it's at. I bought this POS for $200 when I was 15 well over a decade ago. Destroyed it in the woods but it forever cemented it's place in my heart.

If your going to get s shitbox project get at rwd least 2.3 tbird or mustang with a 5 speed. Or even a cheap 2.3 ranger.

my mom had a mint topaz, ran from 88 to 2005. let my dad use it as a daily for a year. he drove it 160 miles per day and the engine blew up

>rwd
For what purpose? I drive like an adult.

stick a turbo in it and sleeper it and troll the streets, you got nothing else to do.

>mfw somebody unironically likes a tempo/topaz

At least get a shitbox with some redeemable qualities that could be made into something actually presentable and where performance is possible. ie fairmont/zephyr, thunderbird/cougar, taurus sho, malibu, turd-gen etc..

The tempo/topaz was a pile of shit 30 years ago when it was new. Theres a reason there is none around now.

>Because I quite enjoy how they look.
I can respect that. Though I'm sure there's better cars that merit a rebuild. Even among shitboxes. unless your interest is to replace the engine and make it a sleeper in which case go for it.

800 seems a bit steep for a car like this

>you can only like approved cars
Fuck off.
I use only OEM parts and paint whenever possible. I'm an enthusiast, not a wanna-be racer weeb.

I owned a Topaz. It was so rusted, the PO had welded a support frame in the trunk like a racecar. It leaked gas, the exhaust and entire body was rusted, and there was rat shit in the interior. I once picked up a thot from a hotel party and she got period blood on the cloth seat. I voted for trump with that car, and as much as it broke down, was disgustingly maintained and all, I loved it. It had the bitchin' sound system, and overall aesthetics. I would buy another in good condition. Incidentally, I sold mine to a 16 year old girl who lived on a farm. It probably killed her. Still leaked gas, sprayed right onto the exhaust.

when I was in mechanic classes at my local CC, one of the instructors had a spotlessly clean, 50,000-mile Tempo in that '90s Ford Ivory that he was fixing up for his brother.
It was beautiful on the outside, even for a Tempo, but was a massive piece of shit mechanically. The engine rattled and vibrated the whole car, the AC vacuum system leaked so it never did what you asked, all four wheels vibrated at speed even after balancing, both front bearings were done, then after replacement whatever was making the wheels vibrate ate the new ones. The off-white paint had oxidized under the clear coat into a flesh-tone peach color.

They're bad, cheap responses to the Toyota Corolla. If you want early '90s driving pleasure get literally anything else.

Like what? What other aspects of history?

History envelops everything. The weak-ass, shitty barges of the 70s mark a very significant segment in history. If everybody had the same shallow attitude about collecting as you, we'd only have 1% or so of cars left. Economy cars tell the story of the simple man during the eras in which they are manufactured for example.

>5 digit odometer

So is that 171k or 271k?

on the topic of this I know they are not really that good but I really want a Subaru brat. its like just a car that i have a longing for I don't know really why. well I like alot of weird and quirky cars.

Offer him $500. if he takes it, good, if not move on.

this era of ferd is really "Forgive Our Research Department"

It's not complete shit, nowhere near K-car levels of Chryco fecal matter.

They're built heavier-duty than the smaller Escort, which is its failing, too heavy for that HSC engine, but not geo metro levels of slwo and unsafe.