A selection of cars for autocross...my word, the choices!

[Rumple Foreskin]

My brother just picked up a 1992 Corrado SLC with 80,000 miles for under 5 grand. It would be more than perfect for autocrossing and good to live with in general. They're hard to find at the right price, but well worth the effort when the right one comes along. GTPer Powripper owns one too. I'd say avoid the G60 though.

No shat. I found out the hard way that after 145,000K the supercharger is a ticking timebomb.

 

[JCE]

Hmmm, what about this monster?

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/i...ame=www.reynoldsmotorstx.com&car_id=241657237

After 1991 the 3.0L V6 was standard so that's 140bhp and 165tq. But the cons are no 5spd in the estate models and its of course a granny mobile. The latter doesn't bother me its the lack of a 5spd that does. I GUESS I could program the ECU's transmission shift points if said transmission is electronic (which I'd imagine it is). That begs me to ask the following question...are automatics as bad as I'd imagine them to be in autocross?

Pretty accurate.


Not even. 850 is a torque steering, FWD box of parts waiting to break. The only reason it has more power is because they took the exact same engines from the 240/740/940 series and added more boost.


No insult intended, but are you secretly a woman?

I was hoping to get that response about the Cabrio. i'd rather be a woman driving that than a woman driving an MX5. But the 850 can't be that bad? What about if you get one without a turbo?

My brother just picked up a 1992 Corrado SLC with 80,000 miles for under 5 grand. It would be more than perfect for autocrossing and good to live with in general. They're hard to find at the right price, but well worth the effort when the right one comes along. GTPer Powripper owns one too. I'd say avoid the G60 though.

$5,000 is way way way more than I want to spend. Maybe I neglected to put a price limit on the car purchase? The limit to what I'll buy the actual car in is around $1,000~1,200.

 

[exigeracer]

No shat. I found out the hard way that after 145,000K the supercharger is a ticking timebomb.

I have a far-off memory of you being from Canada. He's in Montreal but the car was bought in Boston. Canadian-reg Rados are stupid-expensive. Your case is why G60s are dodgy. When the supercharger goes it says "well I don't want to function anymore so I'm going to start blowing pieces of metal into the motor now"

Then yeah, 1000 is not going to be getting you a Rado. MkII Golf it up!

 

[Gil]

If you go back one generation on the Escort ('91-'96)and find a decent GT (1.8L DOHC)
with a manual transmission, you should be happy.
It's essentially a Mazda 323 in ugly clothes.
Great fun to drive. Make good torque lower in the powerband than any 1.6 Honda. Not everyone is driving one. And at this point, even a "pristine" one shouldn't cost more than $3,000. Most will be inside your limit.

edit:
I just checked: They blue book at $1,000 - 3,200

 

[JCE]

If you go back one generation on the Escort ('92-'97)and find a decent GT (1.8L DOHC)
with a manual transmission, you should be happy.
It's essentially a Mazda 323 in ugly clothes.
Great fun to drive. Make good torque lower in the powerband than any 1.6 Honda. Not everyone is driving one. And at this point, even a "pristine" one shouldn't cost more than $3,000. If it does, there's enough of them that you can keep walking till you find one that is cheap enough.

year make model 0-60 ¼mi
1991 Ford Escort GT 8.0 16.3

Wow, that's not bad on the 0-60. Finding a GT might be hard. But, I'm definately not opposed to that gen Escort. What's funny is both of my grandmothers have owned several of these. lol

 

[exigeracer]

Watch out for rear suspension rot - it can get nasty up there and is the achilles of that gen Escort, especially if you push them. The stock 1.9L is nothing to brag about, throttle response is slow as hell. I have never driven the GT's 1.8 so I can't comment on the better motor. The rest of the car is half fun before it submits to understeer which is earlier than you'd expect.

 

[Tornado]

Why the hell are you looking at an early 90s Taurus wagon with a slushbox in a thread about you autocrossing a car? You might as well autocross an RV.

But the 850 can't be that bad? What about if you get one without a turbo?

The only advantage the 850 has over the 740/940/240 is that it has more boost in the turbo engine. Taking away the turbo strips it of its only advantage, and that boost can just as easily be applied to the 740/940/240 anyways.

i'd rather be a woman driving that than a woman driving an MX5.

The difference is, male car enthusiasts drive Miatas. No males males drive Cabrios.
​

 

[Gil]

The smaller 1.8 is rated at 127 hp to the 1.9's 88 hp.
I drove a '92 model for 2 or 3 years.
It had better than average handling, it was quick enough to be fun, and ugly enough that no one bothered it.
The Honda boys in Overland Park, KS used to look down their noses at it when they revved on me at the stoplight.
That usually changed when I beat them off the line and to the next two or three stoplights. It rocks to have the power below 6,000 rpms.

 

[JCE]

Watch out for rear suspension rot - it can get nasty up there and is the achilles of that gen Escort, especially if you push them. The stock 1.9L is nothing to brag about, throttle response is slow as hell. I have never driven the GT's 1.8 so I can't comment on the better motor. The rest of the car is half fun before it submits to understeer which is earlier than you'd expect.

Oh, thanks for the good info! 👍

Why the hell are you looking at an early 90s Taurus wagon with a slushbox in a thread about you autocrossing a car? You might as well autocross an RV.

Hah, I was only half serious. Besides, who says you can't convert it to the SHO drivetrain?

The only advantage the 850 has over the 740/940/240 is that it has more boost in the turbo engine. Taking away the turbo strips it of its only advantage, and that boost can just as easily be applied to the 740/940/240 anyways.

Nothing a little NA tuning can't fix?

The difference is, male car enthusiasts drive Miatas. No males males drive Cabrios.
​

I think they are both in the same league. But whatever, lets move on.

The smaller 1.8 is rated at 127 hp to the 1.9's 88 hp.
I drove a '92 model for 2 or 3 years.
It had better than average handling, it was quick enough to be fun, and ugly enough that no one bothered it.
The Honda boys in Overland Park, KS used to look down their noses at it when they revved on me at the stoplight.
That usually changed when I beat them off the line and to the next two or three stoplights. It rocks to have the power below 6,000 rpms.

The torque isn't that high in those Escorts...how can it out perform a Honda? Similar weight and power me thinks. May come down to the driver? And this is referring to drag racing. The Hondas probably beat the snot out of it on a track.

=================================

So, would my Daytona Shelby Z make a decent Autocross car? Look up the stats. The 5spd transmission is the A555 which has Getrag gears which are strong as hell.

1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z -- 2.2L I4 turbo 174bhp 200tq -- 2830lbs -- ~7.5s

 

[Dead_Poetic]

You may consider finding just a civic hatch, say eg, in terrible condition, and finding a wrecked car to donate a b18 or maybe even a wrecked cr-v and get a b20. EG's are pretty light and good handling cars, and with a decent motor are very very quick. And not terribly ugly like some aforementioned options.

 

[Prosthetic]

You may consider finding just a civic hatch, say eg, in terrible condition, and finding a wrecked car to donate a b18 or maybe even a wrecked cr-v and get a b20. EG's are pretty light and good handling cars, and with a decent motor are very very quick. And not terribly ugly like some aforementioned options.

Uhh... oh.... Here we go again.

 

[niky]

Shhh.... don't mention the "H" word in this thread.

But if torque is a reason for thinking twice about the Escort, let me reiterate on the Nissan B13 Sentra SE-R... 135 ft-lbs of torque, 142 hp, and under 8 seconds to 60 mph (about 7.6 - 7.8 if I recall). Bulletproof engine, since it's designed as an all-aluminum turbo-block.

And thinking about it... maybe I was too harsh on the 200SX SE-R. Just drove a friend's four-door two months ago and I found it lots of fun. Handled well (not as well as a Proty, but good enough) and had a ton of power. That thing only weighs about 2300+ lbs (we weighed his four door and it was only a smidge over 1000 kgs on the scale...).

 

[Prosthetic]

Shhh.... don't mention the "H" word in this thread.

H word? Hummers? Didn't think of those... But I bet those would make a bad ass auto-cross vehicle thing.

 

[Leonidae]

Shhh.... don't mention the "H" word in this thread.

But if torque is a reason for thinking twice about the Escort, let me reiterate on the Nissan B13 Sentra SE-R... 135 ft-lbs of torque, 142 hp, and under 8 seconds to 60 mph (about 7.6 - 7.8 if I recall). Bulletproof engine, since it's designed as an all-aluminum turbo-block.

the engine might be good but if it's the same car as Primera GT as I think it is, avoid it at all means possible. Driveshafts are know to snap in those during enthusiastic driving. I have personal experience of that

 

[niky]

the engine might be good but if it's the same car as Primera GT as I think it is, avoid it at all means possible. Driveshafts are know to snap in those during enthusiastic driving. I have personal experience of that

The Primera was sold as the G20 in the US of A. But they have the same engines... in fact, one cheap upgrade for us SR20 guys was buying a surplus Primera ECU, which didn't have a speed limiter.

Yes, SR20s have been known to break axles in hard driving... amongst other things (3rd gear), but the B14 SR20 had a better gearbox... and hopefully better axles... than earlier SR20s.

LATE EDIT: BTW, my SR20 busted an axle after I sold it. GUess I dodged a bullet on that one...

 

[homeforsummer]

Re: Volvos - do you get the 480 in the States? And isn't there a turbo model? Seems like it could be a bit of a dark horse:

 

[TopHat]

Nope, we didn't get the 480. We got the 440 though...

 

[Beerz]

The 480 is just awesome, truly a classic car in its own right, at least over here. 👍

 

[Venari]

No shat. I found out the hard way that after 145,000K the supercharger is a ticking timebomb.

Ah, well, you have to prep for that. The idea is that you buy them cheap because the supercharger's about to go pop, shell out on the rebuild and gasflowing and bolt it back on for the next 100k of fun.

My Rallye had no cats, a straight through exhaust and a stage 1 flowed blower. It sounded like a TVR at 2,000rpm and went like greased weasel poo. It would set off car alarms in multistorey carparks and spat fire on the overrun. It was lovely, easily keeping up with my buddy's Integrale without the rattles, shakes or blowing turbo hoses.

 

[Tornado]

Hah, I was only half serious. Besides, who says you can't convert it to the SHO drivetrain?

Well, its a slushbox wagon, so it would be a total waste of the SHO drivetrain. Drivetrains that probably aren't cheap to get a hold of anyways.

Nothing a little NA tuning can't fix?

Why bother? The 240 and its derivatives are cheaper than the 850, more reliable than the 850, lighter than the 850 and more RWD than the 850, in addition to being able to take any engine modification the 850 can take.

 

[JCE]

the engine might be good but if it's the same car as Primera GT as I think it is, avoid it at all means possible. Driveshafts are know to snap in those during enthusiastic driving. I have personal experience of that

If by you mean the SR20DE then I'd have to say that mine I had in my '98 200SX SE-R was bulletproof and quite good at taking the daily punishment I gave it. And I drive the hell out of that car. I would definately get another one if they were cheap enough.

Re: Volvos - do you get the 480 in the States? And isn't there a turbo model? Seems like it could be a bit of a dark horse:

My my, that's a handsome brute. Wish America had those.

Well, its a slushbox wagon, so it would be a total waste of the SHO drivetrain. Drivetrains that probably aren't cheap to get a hold of anyways.

This is true. I doubt anyone would part with a SHO drivetrain anyway since it is the best one to put in a Taurus any how.

Why bother? The 240 and its derivatives are cheaper than the 850, more reliable than the 850, lighter than the 850 and more RWD than the 850, in addition to being able to take any engine modification the 850 can take.

So, tell me what 740/760's are all about? I didn't find them on my car review site. 740 is just the seventh generation Volvo saloon isn't it? Or maybe I'm delusional.

 

[Tornado]

Its essentially a bigger, somewhat more luxurious version of the 240. The main difference is that the 740 had more powerful engines more often than not (very many 740 turbos and V6s compared to the 240) at the expense of somewhat higher weight and not quite as astronomical reliability.

 

[JCE]

So, would my Daytona Shelby Z make a decent Autocross car? Look up the stats. The 5spd transmission is the A555 which has Getrag gears which are strong as hell.

1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z -- 2.2L I4 turbo 174bhp 200tq -- 2830lbs -- ~7.5s

Anyone have any thoughts about the above?

Its essentially a bigger, somewhat more luxurious version of the 240. The main difference is that the 740 had more powerful engines more often than not (very many 740 turbos and V6s compared to the 240) at the expense of somewhat higher weight and not quite as astronomical reliability.

So generally speaking its better to get the 240?

I found one on craigslist that look promising--assuming they'll take lower offers. http://dallas.craigslist.org/car/705204982.html

I'm growing more and more interested in older Volvo's for alot of reasons. Mainly...

• RWD
• Fairly lightweight considering the size of the car
• To be different
• They are handsome bricks aren't they

As a bonus since I'd be stripping out whatever car I get for the "prepareed" class I could drop in a fairly modern engine for some extra power. I'd probably want something along the lines of an SR20DE or an F20C.

 

[Tornado]

So generally speaking its better to get the 240?

I'd say yes, but it honestly really makes no difference in the end. They really aren't that different, especially not enough to snub one over the other,. I'd say if you want to pick a Volvo and are stuck between the 240, 740 and 940, just get the one you like the best/is cheapest.

 

[eiriksmil]

Would coilovers place you in the stock, prepared or modified class? What about a Mk1 Rabbit with a PL or a 9A swap, in what class would that place you?
Anyway, I would take a stock Rabbit GTi over a V6 Beretta or Shadow making little power from three litres. Any day.

 

[Gil]

The torque isn't that high in those Escorts...how can it out perform a Honda? Similar weight and power me thinks. May come down to the driver? And this is referring to drag racing. The Hondas probably beat the snot out of it on a track.

=================================

So, would my Daytona Shelby Z make a decent Autocross car? Look up the stats. The 5spd transmission is the A555 which has Getrag gears which are strong as hell.

1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z -- 2.2L I4 turbo 174bhp 200tq -- 2830lbs -- ~7.5s

The reason that the Escort GT could outperform the Civic in Stoplight to Stoplight is because the Civic needs to get to about 6000 RPM to hit cam changeover, and then the powerband is a HUGE 1200 RPM wide. The 'Scort started making the little bit of power it had at about 2500 RPM all the way to redline. It also doesn't hurt that I have somewhat faster than normal reaction time.

As for the Daytona Shelby. It might make a fun autocrosser. I don't know how competitive it would be. (Eventually, you will want to finish closer to the podium.)
I've had occasion in the past to drive the V-6 model, though with an auto-box. It was fairly quick, & went pretty much where it was pointed.
That's a lot of what you want in an autocross machine.

The car also used to have a good deal of aftermarket support thru MoPar.

The bottom line tho', Is does the project float YOUR boat? If it does, go for it, have fun.

 

[JCE]

I'd say yes, but it honestly really makes no difference in the end. They really aren't that different, especially not enough to snub one over the other,. I'd say if you want to pick a Volvo and are stuck between the 240, 740 and 940, just get the one you like the best/is cheapest.

I'm on the verge of picking up a white 740 for $350. i'm so tempted to do the deal this weekend...

Would coilovers place you in the stock, prepared or modified class? What about a Mk1 Rabbit with a PL or a 9A swap, in what class would that place you?
Anyway, I would take a stock Rabbit GTi over a V6 Beretta or Shadow making little power from three litres. Any day.

I would assume any modifications what-so-ever would be considered prepared? And I'm not a personal fan of FWD GM cars but I do like the way the Beretta looks. I'd still prefer the Volvo to any of those cars in your quote--but beggars can't be choosers.

The reason that the Escort GT could outperform the Civic in Stoplight to Stoplight is because the Civic needs to get to about 6000 RPM to hit cam changeover, and then the powerband is a HUGE 1200 RPM wide. The 'Scort started making the little bit of power it had at about 2500 RPM all the way to redline. It also doesn't hurt that I have somewhat faster than normal reaction time.

As for the Daytona Shelby. It might make a fun autocrosser. I don't know how competitive it would be. (Eventually, you will want to finish closer to the podium.)
I've had occasion in the past to drive the V-6 model, though with an auto-box. It was fairly quick, & went pretty much where it was pointed.
That's a lot of what you want in an autocross machine.

The car also used to have a good deal of aftermarket support thru MoPar.

The bottom line tho', Is does the project float YOUR boat? If it does, go for it, have fun.

I completely agree with that last statement. There are alot--and I mean ALOT of performance parts available for the TII engine.

 

[Leonidae]

well, if you like the cars that look like Volvo 480, Isuzu Impulse would be a good option. too bad that they're pretty damn rare nowadays.

 

[niky]

Rare as hen's teeth... I've only seen... one?

 

[eiriksmil]

No offense man, but it's not going to be a beauty contest. Remember that parts availability, handlig and low weight are the most important factors. Many forget how the former is important, but it's nice to have a car you actually can source parts for if it breaks.