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Sports and Sporty Cars of the '80s

130 messages,  Last post on Mar 18, 2009 at 1:22 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Classic Cars, Coupe, Convertible, Truck, Sedan, Wagon

Messages Page 10 of 13

#91 of 130 Re: daily driver [lemmer] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 27, 2008 (10:16 am)

Replying to: lemmer (Feb 27, 2008 9:37 am)
You have to be poised with check in hand and ready to pull the trigger when that one sweet beloved used sportscar comes up for sale!
 
I live in a temperate climate, right on the coast and except for 10-20 days a year, convertibles don't work so well in the San Fran Bay Area. The only state that I think God designed specifically for convertibles was Colorado.

#92 of 130 Re: daily driver [lemmer] by kyfdx HOST

Feb 27, 2008 (5:40 am)

Replying to: lemmer (Feb 27, 2008 9:37 am)
You could probably find a comparable E36 coupe for $6K-$8K... Unless you want something different...

#93 of 130 Re: daily driver [lemmer] by bumpy

Feb 27, 2008 (1:31 pm)

Replying to: lemmer (Feb 27, 2008 7:51 am)
Third-gen Prelude Si? The 4WS ones can be finicky, but there were Si's without it and with reasonable care they'll last until Doomsday.

#94 of 130 Re: daily driver [bumpy] by lemmer

Feb 27, 2008 (3:03 pm)

Replying to: bumpy (Feb 27, 2008 1:31 pm)
I didn't really find the '80s Preludes all that interesting. I'd take a contemporary CRX over a Prelude.

#95 of 130 Re: daily driver [kyfdx] by lemmer

Feb 27, 2008 (3:06 pm)

Replying to: kyfdx (Feb 27, 2008 5:40 am)
An E36 coupe is a possibility, but probably not anything older. BMWs are better than Audis, but they rack up their share of problems. It seems a lot easier to find gently used convertibles. Mine only has 74K and is all original (i.e. no bling).

#96 of 130 Re: daily driver [lemmer] by bumpy

Feb 27, 2008 (3:32 pm)

Replying to: lemmer (Feb 27, 2008 3:03 pm)
I'd take the CRX, too, being 800 pounds lighter. It's a lot easier to find a clean late-80s Prelude than a clean late-80s CRX, though, as there's no easy engine swap for the 'lude while most every CRX you'll find now has been beaten on by some high school kid who bolted on an untuned turbo while dreaming of a B18C swap.

#97 of 130 buy an engine, get a car by lemmer

Mar 05, 2008 (9:03 am)

While looking for my '80s sports car, I am seeing a lot of people selling cars with an engine transplant - cars that would be worth about $1500 before the transplant. This would be fine except for that people seem to think these cars are worth every penny they put into the engines. Hypothetical examples:
 
1989 Supra in below average condition with replacement JDM turbo engine with lots of go fast junk on it - $7,500.
 
1986 RX-7 in below average condition with Chevy 350 conversion. These always seem to be described as 90% complete and they still want $5000 or so.
 
1986 944 NA in bleow average condition with NA engine replaced with a turbocharged 944 engine. I never understand this. Did they just happened to have a blown engined 944 and a 944 Turbo with a demolished body around? This seems to happen a lot with Supras and MR2s also. 944s also seem to regularly get the SBC treatment. Why not buy a 928 if you can't live without V8 power in your Porsche?

#98 of 130 Re: buy an engine, get a car [lemmer] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Mar 05, 2008 (11:02 am)

Replying to: lemmer (Mar 05, 2008 9:03 am)
I could see the Supra transplant, but not in a below average car.
 
The RX-7 transplant with a Chevy 350 is plain "bad idea".
 
The 944 to 944 transplant can really transform the car into a supercar, but again, not with a below average automobile.
 
In the case of the Supra and 944, if these transplants were done on a nice looking car, it would have improved the value, a rare case of a modified Porsche being worth more than an original one (other cases might be tossing out the dreaded 2.7 engine for a nice Euro 3.0 or an SC 3.2 motor). Also putting a 6 cylinder into a 914 Porsche, but that's a bear of a job.

#99 of 130 RX7 by lemmer

Mar 11, 2008 (7:23 am)

I really like this car but I'm not sure it is worth the dough.
Gen II RX-7

#100 of 130 Re: RX7 [lemmer] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Mar 11, 2008 (9:38 am)

Replying to: lemmer (Mar 11, 2008 7:23 am)
I'd have to drive it but I think it probably is worth it. Lots of $$$ dumped into this car, and it should be a lot of fun to drive. Not sure if the mods have made it unpleasant or not, is the only question.

Messages Page 10 of 13

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