OT: suggestions for a good, cheap project car

[18790775]

Hi, im 15 so i have a couple years to decided on a car and was thinking late 70's volvo, 5.0 conversion
i want something cheap i can put together, whoop some civics
any suggestions would be nice
another but impossbile to get car that i was thinking about is the dodge shadow r/t, car and drive got it to 60 in 5.8, damn
something cheap, and pretty quick, no rice
a nice "sleeper"

thanks alex

[Bart Carter]

Having done many such cars, here are a few recommendations:

1. Use front engine, rear wheel drive. I like manual trans.
2. Get a light weight car.
3. Get a light weight/high potential HP engine, such as a Ford 302/5.0. The 5-speed is good in this type application.
4. See if someone has developed a kit for the chosen swap. This is essential if you have little experience/ability.
5. Try to use a smog exempt car if possible. The wiring problems can kill you.
6. Pay attention to driveline alignment. U-joint angles are very important.
7. Read up on any engine swapping books you can find.

And the bad thing is that it is always better and most of the time cheaper to buy something already done.

[cielo]

as far as volvo, you can do a v8 swap, or you can also find a factory turbo'd engine, put on a bigger turbo, cams, intercooler, etc. ideally, both these options would be in a 200 or 700 series. i dunno about any others. agree with bart carter with respect to someone else already having done the work. often times you find that you can never get back what you put in (if you decide to sell). good luck.

[AndyMenard]

Depending on how much to want to spend?? I would suggest something like a used Mustang 5.0. For several reasons:

1) There are a ton of them out there!
2) They are available AND cheap!
3) There is a TON of aftermarket stuff available for them
4) The aftermarket parts as well as stuff from the dealer is CHEAP!

I recently changed my rear gears out (went from 3.55 to 3.73) in my Cobra R and the parts were only $175.00!!


You should be able to build a nice street racer for no more than $10-15K?... Of course, if want something really cool, get a Cobra replica kit and use a Mustang 5.0 donor car and you will have a fantastic street/track rod for under $30K.

[Bart Carter]

Andy's right.

Cheap and fast, 5.0 Mustang.

[18790775]

30k, im 15 :P
im really looking for a racer in-cognito
and will definitly not have 15k for one
its not very important now, but ill look for a 200 with a v8, about how much would they go for though???

thanks
alex

[kenneth]

Originally posted by Bart Carter
Cheap and fast, 5.0 Mustang.

My only concern with Mustang is SAFETY. As far as I know, their brakes suck and handling are very poor. That plus a big powerful engine is a recipe for disaster IMO. I would go with a Japanese car like the Acura Integra. You can find a used one relatively inexpensive and there are tons of mods available. It will not have the raw power of a 5.0 V8 but they can be just as fun with the right mods.

Later,
Kenneth

[cielo]

i think i've seen them in the ballpark of $5k or more. not sure. check the classifieds on www.ipdusa.com and www.brickboard.com i'd also do a search on brickboard; if you don't find the information you want, post a question in the 200 series forum. good luck.

[Ages]

Hello,

I wouldn’t do a V8 swap. Volvo’s 2.3 L engine can be made to go plenty fast…& with more class than a 302. I would buy an
1984-1990 244/245 Turbo $2000-$4000
-A 200 is the lightest of the 3, with the least creature comforts..ideal for a project sleeper...

-All 2's/7's/9's series RWD Volvo's can be modded...the best engine was the 95 B230Ft, followed by the 93-94 B230ft



1. manual boost controller - $100 - $300
2. boost gauge/A/F ratio gauge $50-$75
3. VX, VX3 or Phase 1 cam. $275-350 (I currently have a VX3 adjustable cam, but may swap for the Phase 1)
4. 3” exhaust. Ipd..MVP..or you can have a shop custom build exhaust for somewhat cheaper $250 - $900

($750-1150 total on mods…)

You can then get all of the suspension mods(swaybars, springs, shocks etc..) from many manufacturers. I am quite happy with my Ipd sway bars. If you turn the boost up to 1 bar (14.5 psi) you should have about 230 crank HP on a RELIABLE B230E . You could increase boost to 16.5 psi for about 12-16 more crank hp. The stock transmission start’s having difficult around 250-275 hp . To raise the power level from here get’s somewhat expensive if you are on a tight student’s budget. But a 240-250 HP Volvo makes for a fun sleeper & is faster & lighter than the 302 or 350 conversions. You can expect low low 14’s in a car like this. Easily a stock 5.0 / 4.6 GT competitor.

You would need to upgrade:
1. Stock mitsu turbo (peek boost @ 18psi or so..) I'd suggest a T3/04 hybrid..
2. Transmission (250-275) limit for auto’s…225-240hp for manuals)
3. Fuel/O2 injectors to help get more fuel to the engine…(prevents pinging…)
4. Rear end…If you have done all of the above & are running more than 300RWHP I would start looking for a used Ford 9” rearend..$$
5. The list could go on forever…

Hope this helps.
Go to www.turbobricks.org & look under the links section for more extensive stages of mods & ideas. The message board is very helpful as well. I have learned a lot there.

Way OT …but hope this helps.

www.ipdusa.com & www.mvpvolvo.com


Ag.
Blk/Blk 940 Turbo
14.32 @ 95 mph
212.36 RWHP @ 4700 rpm
231.76 RWTQ @ 3600 rpm

[Bart Carter]

Almost any car has poor stock handling.

But you can get a complete Baer Front/Rear Brake package for less that $1500.

There are so many ways to upgrade suspension, HP, etc. that you wouldn't have time to research them all.

And you don't have to go the expensive route. If you do most of the work yourself, you could have quite a fast car for not many dollars.

[JEM]

Okay, I'll throw my two cents' in:

Mustangs are common, and not an entirely bad choice:

• There's an enormous amount of stuff out there for them.



• The design sucks (bad chassis, poor weight distribution) but it can be made to work well (and even better-than-well), depending on how much money you're prepared to throw at it.

The downsides are equally apparent:

• Every cop knows that every big-tired Mustang has a Vortech on it and a teenager behind the wheel who probably doesn't know how to control his impulses; when my '89 (admittedly with cage, 351W, 2.5" Cervini hood, and two-chamber Flowmasters it wasn't subtle) was street legal my bespectacled fortyish *** would get followed for ten miles.



• Every car thief knows that Mustangs are easy to pinch and the parts will be profitable.



• They're built like tinfoil, and one of the first critical mods is to do something about their floppy structure by cutting holes in the floor and welding in some good structural reinforcements (e.g. the Griggs floorpan kit).

For those reasons I consider it less than an optimal choice for a street car. The visibility issues can be addressed by using a Fairmont or other Fox-chassis sedan instead of a Mustang, but they're all built like crap and have cheesy interiors and lousy seats. I like the Volvo swap for a number of reasons:

• The Volvo is a better structure and has a better chassis design than any factory-stock '79-present Mustang save the late-model IRS Cobras (the straightliners bitch about wheel hop with the IRS, but screw 'em, if they want a drag warhead they should have bought something else.) Volvo's rear suspension designs are what the Fox cars should have had: three-link and torque-arm setups.



• The Volvo shape is as cop-repellent a shape as one can find. For added invisibility get a tan wagon and make sure it's badged as a DL - no Turbo badges.



• The Volvo has a much nicer interior, better seats, and enough room for almost any activity.

The downsides of the Volvo swap, as I see them:

• It's a swap, so even with a Converse kit or other guide to work from, there's going to be stuff that has to be sorted out, stuff that is best done by someone with significant mechanical expertise and enough experience to have seen the right and wrong ways to do things. There are engine swap cars littering garages all over the country that never go anywhere because the owner lost interest or lost budget before getting everything sorted out.



• Your friends with Mustangs will heckle you over your hearse. Remember, though, these are going to be the same guys who see Christmastime in their rear-view mirrors six times a year 'cause the cops follow their Mustangs around.



• Engine swaps in smog-year vehicles have some extra hoops to jump through legally. In California it's not much worse than trying to smog a Mustang with a wad of aftermarket parts on it, but you better be swapping in a smog-legal engine or one that looks and acts like it's smog-legal (a nice Ford 331 stroker with GT40 heads and all CARB EO'd external parts.)

Now, what I've wanted to do for a while is a '75-76 Nova with an aluminum-head 502 crate motor in it; the '75-79 Nova chassis was about the best old-style stick-axle-and-leafspring chassis GM ever did (basically the '70 Camaro design), you can get weight distribution near 50/50 with aluminum heads and some careful attention to what parts you use up front, big-car brakes and other parts are cheap, and the shape interests no one.

[SouthshoreM6]

I agree with Bart - you can start with a 225 hp, 5 speed, rear wheel drive car for a few grand. Add a few grand more over time, and you will have a fun car at a fair price. These cars actually handle pretty well, are easy to work on, have a ton of cheap parts around, and lots of people with experience to get it right.

Hard to beat - go to the strip and you'll see lots of them.