98 and older

[GrandAmSS]

So here is my question, what car 98 or older has the most amount of bolt ons available? I say 98 just so the price won't be outragous. So I know absulutly nothing about cars, if you have read any of my previous posts you would understand this :P. I just bought a house and it has a garage, winter time up here is terrible nothing to do. My buddy has offered to teach me about cars, so I want to buy a car and have it be my geniue pig lol. I don't dare try this on my grand am since it is my daily driver and I will most likely destroy the car :lol:

[RocketFast321]

Turbo K-car or van
Any type of honda (I'm crossing over to the dark side) A nice little b18 in a 90ish civic or crx
Any 3800 II s/c car
A SBC (small block chevy) car,truck, or van

[Nighthawk243]

You could get something with the LT1, or if you can find a Camaro Z/28 from 1998, you can get the LS1.

[RazorDX]

S-10 or Sonata with the 4.3L V6
You can find them as cheap as $1000.

The J-bodies have quite an aftermarket, but they aren't the most respected.

Honda Preludes, Civics, and Accords all have massive aftermarkets (thanks to a particular movie franchise).

You could even stick with another car that has the 2.2L Ecotec. It's a strong engine with a lot of potential, and there are quite a few bolt-on goodies for it.


Personally, I'd go with the S-10 or another RWD vehicle. A longitudal engine is easier to work on when it is still in the vehicle.

[GrandAmSS]

Thanks for all of the help. I personally like the idea of a small block chevy, or pontiac. Also though there is a nova for sale around here, a 72 I believe for only about 2 grand, body in decent shape, and the engine runs just not well. What do you guys think of this car?

[RazorDX]

Check all over for rust... that is going to be your key enemy.

[GrandAmSS]

Thanks for all of the tips, unfourtanataly I couldn't look at the Nova today we had a massive snow storm. So now I probally won't be able to look at it untill after the holidays. I have also been thinking about maybe trading in the GA for a five speed ecotec Cavy, Sunfire, or GA. And buying a little 4x4 for my daily driver. Either way I can't wait to learn about cars, plus it will keep me busy this winter.

[GregFarz78]

I would stay away from a 72 nova personally guaranteed that thing has rust and its not exactly cheap to fix up, not a good idea for a first project car IMO. Miata's seem to be a popular project car theres tons of shit available for them people throw all kinds of engines into them and they handle like they're on rails. If its a fun car I would look for something RWD. J-bodies are nice for a daily driver but bolt ons do next to nothing on those cars till you drop some serious money into boosting them. Rust is going to be your enemy especially since where you live it snows a lot, really check the car over engine bay, frame rails, underbody, wheel wells, etc. We have the same problem on the east coast cars rust too fast if you don't properly care for them I wish I lived in the SE US where you can find 30-40 year old cars with no rust :(

[GrandAmSS]

Hey thanks I didn't even think about a miata, those are sexy little cars. Nice and light so you probaly would get more bang for you buck and time thanks!

[RazorDX]

Do an E-bay search for a Fiero within your driving range. They are some very nice cars... the only mid-engine car GM built. It's very easy to put a small block V8 into it, or something smaller. There is a very huge following for the car. I would personally love to find one and put a Quad 4 in it, possibly turbocharged. Lots of get up and go, with awesome fuel economy.

[GregFarz78]

Fiero's arent the most reliable cars could be fun if built correctly though...wouldn't exactly say its easy to swap a v8 into one and its getting harder to find one in decent condition :(

[GrandAmSS]

Fiero are also very nice cars. I would personally want to put a 4 banger in a little car like that and build it up. But then you would have to do a tranny swap right? Oh man I cant wait to get my hands dirty and learn. Any book or websites online you guys can suggest to help? I mean my buddy knows a good bit but I don't think he is the best. I have an uncle in-law who is a master at cars but he was been pretty sick so i don't want to bother him alot. I am hoping after this project I will know alot, I really hope I don't destroy the car and learn nothing lol.

[RazorDX]

Actually, the 5-speed manual transmission is the same one used in the Quad 4 powered Grand Ams. The 4-speed manual I wouldn't trust with much, and if it were an automatic then it would need a swap.

The best way to learn is by doing. I bought a 1990 Cavalier RS, which is a complete piece of junk. It was $400, and had a broken water pump which caused a blown head gasket. My only intention when buying the thing was to tear it apart and rebuild it.

By "very easy" to put a small block in a Fiero, what I was getting at was that there is a kit you can buy that eliminates a great deal of the custom fabrication involved.

Unfortunately, the only places I see a lot of Fieros are Florida and California. I have seen two around here, but they are each owner's prized possession. For a car with such a limited availability, it has one hell of an aftermarket.

[GrandAmSS]

Do you have any of theese websites that sell the Fiero kits or talk about them?

[Pontiac]

Fiero's arent the most reliable cars could be fun if built correctly though...wouldn't exactly say its easy to swap a v8 into one and its getting harder to find one in decent condition :(

Wern't Fieros fire hazards due to electrical issues somewhere in the cabin of the car? IIRC, something in the steering column.

[GrandAmSS]

So I decided on a first gen miata, pretty cheap. Plus you can get a bolt on turbo kit for a grand. I am going to go down south, way south to get it so I don't have to worry about rust.

[RazorDX]

Wern't Fieros fire hazards due to electrical issues somewhere in the cabin of the car? IIRC, something in the steering column.

It was a problem with oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold and igniting. I forget when, but that was resolved. I want to say 1986, but I'm honestly not sure.

There were other problems, such as shop lifts destroying the coolant lines to the radiator, that killed off the Fiero population.

So I decided on a first gen miata, pretty cheap. Plus you can get a bolt on turbo kit for a grand. I am going to go down south, way south to get it so I don't have to worry about rust.

Sounds like a solid deal. Have you already found the car you are getting?

[GrandAmSS]

There are four of them two in florida and two in texas that I like lol. I am talking to some dealerships down there. The only problem is i would need to drive it home (Minnesota), and half the states up the i35 corrider are covered in snow.

[ChevelleSSLS6]

Jeep? Go 'snowing' up there in Minnesota, and work on the GA. Jeeps (at least older ones with the inline six) are pretty simple and dead reliable. Mine starts and runs great, and is over 200k miles.

I do know some 2.4 four cylinder which has the oil filter on the back of the engine block is a PAIN IN THE BALLS to change from underneath the car, and in '02 or so they put the computer right over where you'd reach down from above to get to the oil filter. If it's got a manual transmission, it makes oil changes much easier. I'm a quicklube guy at a Chevrolet dealer... that's how I know. ECOTECs are easy to do maitenece on, if you have the $$ go with the 2.4 ecotec (it's a bit newer so don't expect any dirt cheap deals)

[Pontiac]

There were other problems, such as shop lifts destroying the coolant lines to the radiator, that killed off the Fiero population.

{chuckle} My oh my... I'd have to get under the belly of a Fiero to check out how thats possible. I know they're mid-rear mount engines, don't know where the rad is, but even if it was in front, I woulda run the lines somewhere down the center of the car, not where the car gets lifted up!

[GregFarz78]

There are four of them two in florida and two in texas that I like lol. I am talking to some dealerships down there. The only problem is i would need to drive it home (Minnesota), and half the states up the i35 corrider are covered in snow.

go for texas its nice and dry there, the salt air and humidity in florida eats away at cars...thats why you can find cars in the southwest US 30+ years old with little to no rust

[Pontiac]

go for texas its nice and dry there, the salt air and humidity in florida eats away at cars...thats why you can find cars in the southwest US 30+ years old with little to no rust

So when buying cars in all of North America, one would look towards south-central areas to get cars that are practically in mint condition? Consider this a general rule of thumb, kind of deal?

[RazorDX]

Assuming they've been there for the majority of their lives, it's not a bad assumption.