"Fun" car, what would you buy?

Howard

Howard

Howard

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Last week I had the chance to experience a Caterham, this has affirmed my desires for, instead of buying a "better" main car, keeping the Honda and buying a second, "toy" for weekends and such. I won't have a large enough budget for a Caterham, so is something like an MX5 the next best solution for bargain fun? I'm thinking chuckable, open air, raw, noisyness ;) Something like an Elise or Cater/Field would be preferable of course but I don't feel I will have a large enough budget for a good one :( I'd probably want to spend no more than about 3K on the car, plus whatever in the future modifying it. Supercharged MX5 :eek:

Any suggestions? Feel like shooting down my idea and saying an MX5 is totally unsuitable for weekend/sunny day hooning compared with something else? Please do, this is just thinking aloud at the moment :)
 
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MX5 no question for an Elise you would need at least 7k I would think, I have seen them as low a 6, but there is probably somthing wrong with them!

3k might get you a mk2, or a vgc Mk1. 1.8 is the engine you want, 1.8VVT is even better but is only on Mk2 imports or Mk2.5 sports.
 
Only choice you have really is an MX5.
Everything else in that price range will either be knackered or rubbish.

Only problem with MX5's is they are not quick by any definition.
 
Only other option is an MGF or T-Bar MR2 I guess, but I would personally go for the MX5, 0-60 is about 7.5s I think. You might be able to find a Mk1 MX5 BBR Turbo they tend to fetch a bit more though.
 
Mazda rx7 TII cab :D

It's already turbo'd so it can modded rather easily, though the only problem is age, for 3k you should get a stunning example though
 
Reliant Scimitar SS1.

Galvanised chassis, glass body so they don't rust.

Comes with a Nissan CA18DET.

£2k buys you a really good one. Spend the change on suspension/brake upgrades and either tuning the CA or swapping in an SR20DET.

Horrendously overlooked cars.

*n
 
What about a Tiger Avon or something like that (Another Lotus 7 style kit car like the Caterham)? I'm looking at building one of these but the fact you can pick second hand ones up for 5 grand makes me think I'm better off getting a second hand one - not as fun not building it myself though!

http://www.tigerracing.com/

The Tiger Avon or Cat are the two I'm interested in.

EDIT: Some for sale here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?s=446
 
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That Scimitar looks very interesting!

BTw something that doesn't cost a fortune to insure (I'm 21) would be preferable ;)
 
howardcanning said:
That Scimitar looks very interesting!

BTw something that doesn't cost a fortune to insure (I'm 21) would be preferable ;)
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Reliant OC have a cheap insurance deal IIRC...Perhaps Volvo knows more?

Insurance on kit cars is pennies.

Look at a pre-lit westfield...Should find one with a pinto (or maybe even an XE) for three grand.

Just make sure you know what they're like and take someone who knows what they're looking at when you view them.

*n
 
Capt Doufos said:
Only other option is an MGF or T-Bar MR2 I guess, but I would personally go for the MX5, 0-60 is about 7.5s I think. You might be able to find a Mk1 MX5 BBR Turbo they tend to fetch a bit more though.
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1.8is 0-60 in 9.1 seconds.

The new 2.0 litre car with 160ps is the only quick mx5.

Well if you can call a car that is slower than my Neon "quick"
 
The MX is plenty quick enough. You won't be driving it to hammer it in a straight line, but rather be hooning about on the twisties. My other car is 275bhp, and I don't mind the sultry 140 of my mk2 at all.

A 2.5 is out of budget. I had to pay 4.4k for a decent mark 2. Having said that, you *could* get a cheaper one should you wish.
 
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penski said:
Reliant Scimitar SS1.

Galvanised chassis, glass body so they don't rust.

Comes with a Nissan CA18DET.

£2k buys you a really good one. Spend the change on suspension/brake upgrades and either tuning the CA or swapping in an SR20DET.

Horrendously overlooked cars.

*n
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They look ghastly.. :confused:
 
atpbx said:
1.8is 0-60 in 9.1 seconds.

The new 2.0 litre car with 160ps is the only quick mx5.

Well if you can call a car that is slower than my Neon "quick"
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You.​





Point.

A "fun" car does not necessarily mean a "fast" car. In fact, I'd say you could have more fun in a slow car than a fast car, as you will need to perfect your driving technique to make progress, rather than just stab at the throttle & brakes at a corner.

Straight line isn't fun (and there's nowhere in this country you can realistically use lots of power and no cornering finesse), but there's a lot of fun and reward in stringing together a set of sweeping bends that you've never quite nailed right before :)

It's that exact reason I decided against even thinking any more about supercharging my Prelude - yes it'd make it faster, but it wouldn't be any more FUN than it currently is!
 
I agree with everything Confused says.

My car's only a 1.2. But with no power steering and grippy tyres, it's quite a hoot to drive around the twisties (be even better once I finally get it lowered :rolleyes: ), which there are many in this region of the country.

I've always had the preference of good handling cars rather than outright speed.
 
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