Cheap Speed?

[Kieran]

Apologies for the boring modern content, I just know there is a myriad of knowledge on here.

I'm looking at buying a cheapy car to run in a production sprint and hillclimb class.

Production class means no engine swaps, no stripping out, road going.

I want to spend under a grand so I'm thinking -

Clio 172 maybe 182
MGF VVC
Metro vvc conversion (allowed because the engine block is the same 1.1 - 1.8).

Any other contenders for cheap speed?

Go!

[pauly22]

Puma or fiesta zetec s

[Kieran]

For your troubles...

[Kieran]

LS400?!

[Porsche]

Mk3 VW Golf VR6

There's quite a few for under a grand on e-Bay.

Take a look at this one for e.g. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Golf-vr6-/322120581711?hash=item4affe2024f:g:DlAAAOSwve5XNhVg

[jimspolicev8sd1]

Rover 200 BRM. They have 145 bhp, and a torsten diff and close ratio gearbox. Discs all round, fat ARB's and a wide track width. Much underrated.

[adam73bgt]

Worth looking at various Saabs for cheap speed, a new gen 900/ first gen 9-3 or 9-5 with the B204 or B205 engine can make an easy 250bhp with a remap and the right turbo/IC

My Aero was a shade over a grand but had 205bhp as standard, the handling needed a couple mods but there was plenty of speed there!



I think I sold it for about £700 without MOT to give you an idea of how cheaply they can be bought

[qwerty]

MG ZR 160? Or ZS 180? 306 GTI-6?

Tom

[chandlergti]

Are C4 Corvettes cheap there? I'm less than a grand into mine.

[BT]

This interests me as it is something I have thought of a lot.

On the subject of the 1*2. I have looked into these in depth and the general consensus seems to suggest that at £1000 you're most likely to get one that isn't the best, potential money pit and requiring money being spent on it. Dephaser pulleys often need replacing on the lower end ones which can cost around £350 to have sorted. Although I am sure there are some pucker ones out there for the money if you are persistent with your searches. ClioSport.net is an excellent source for information and potential cars for sale.

Zetec S fiestas/ST fiestas. I have had one of both, Mk5 Zetec S and an ST. The ST is 150, but very boring, the ZS fiesta I think is a shade over 100bhp but far more fun I think. Suspension upgrades for either are costly and pretty limited from what I remember. There is currently one on ebay that is well sorted, FPR box, miltek parts and looks well sorted for £1000 or best offer. The 1.7 puma engine is one of the easiest swaps you can do if it falls within the league guidelines and will give you 120bhp which is easily improved.

106 GTi/saxo VTS?

Both run the same engine, TU4 I think it is possibly and get some superb responses. I was recently reading about a few chaps on the track time at FCS or something and the general response seemed to be that a lot of 182/172s were struggling to touch the older GTi and VTS. I was recently looking and found a bunch of old VTS saxos for well under a grand. I had a GTi many years ago and loved the thing. At the time I seemed to remember that 160bhp was manageable, not sure what was done to gain this but either way they were cracking cars with tonnes in scrap yards for spare parts.

Like I say I often mull this possibility over and I think that if I was to be going for a production class I would probably go for a VTS saxo, cheap, readily avalible, lots of info avalible, seem to have been tried and tested.

But then again the MG TF seems interesting, the 160 are pretty cheap now and come with 4 pot brembos.

[mjphotography2016]

peugeot 206 gti180 doesnt look to bad on paper

[BT]

Good call on the 206.

Have the EP3 fallen into sub £1000 category yet? I used to love those things years ago and I am sure they're just as impressive now!

[Kieran]

Yes the VTR's are a strong contender. I thought they would have gone price mad like the 106 GTI's.

The MGF / TF's are quite quick, but not the best handling of motors.

I'd rather stay away from turbos (different class then).

Keep them coming, it's all good. Many thanks!

[jiminwatford]

May 25, 2016 15:25:15 GMT Kieran said:

LS400?!

May 25, 2016 16:00:39 GMT adam73bgt said:

Worth looking at various Saabs

May 25, 2016 16:08:13 GMT chandlergti said:

C4 Corvettes

May 25, 2016 14:52:16 GMT Kieran said:

I'm looking at buying a cheapy car to run in a production sprint and hillclimb class.

I've always wanted a 106 gti and would love to go hillclimbing in one

[adam73bgt]

May 25, 2016 16:47:31 GMT jiminwatford said:

I've always wanted a 106 gti and would love to go hillclimbing in one

The Saab may look bulky but it has a better power to weight ratio than the 106 and would happily go up a hill ;P

I'd bet the 106 would pull better cornering G's though

Ooh while I'm thinking of small light nippy cars, a Cinquecento Sporting always looks a right laugh, not sure if it would quite have enough oomph though?

[jiminwatford]

If the Cinquecento had more power it would be terrific

If we had the type of hillclimbs they seem to have on the continent (more open and sweeping) i think the Saab would be great

I'm not sure i could resist modifying the car and going into a different class. I'm surprised weight reduction isn't allowed

[deano123]

106 GTI wont come near a grand, Saxo VTS most definitely will. I've got mine to around 700 kg and 172 bhp so it should be pretty decent

[Kieran]

I'm trying to avoid having to invest in a HANS device and cage.

Father in law is looking at MG TF's so that's the standard to beat!

[adam73bgt]

A quick look on ebay seems to suggest a Gen 3 MR2 might just be doable for under a grand, I've not driven one but they look very small and nimble, just under a tonne and 140bhp

[MkX]

Motorsports ain't for people with shallow pockets!
(Except for banger racing).