American car for £6k
Discussion
Hi All,
I have always had a hankering for a good 'ol Yank tank.
I didnt know where to post this, but thought this would be appropriate.
was wondering what the PH experts thought would be a good fit to the following:
1) Ok for the odd trackday (suspension mods??)
2) reliable (low running costs other than fuel I guess)
3) £6k
err... thats about it really.
also, where is a good place for American car classifieds...?
ta muchly...
I have always had a hankering for a good 'ol Yank tank.
I didnt know where to post this, but thought this would be appropriate.
was wondering what the PH experts thought would be a good fit to the following:
1) Ok for the odd trackday (suspension mods??)
2) reliable (low running costs other than fuel I guess)
3) £6k
err... thats about it really.
also, where is a good place for American car classifieds...?
ta muchly...
Camaro. Sorry. Had to correct it.
F-bodies (Camaro and Firebird) work pretty well for track day. If you get one, definately put sub-frame connectors on it first (if it doesn't already have them). You probably want an STB (shock/strut tower brace) too. Lots of mods are available for very reasonable.
A Mustang would probably work too, though I cannot personally recommend a Ford.
A Corvette would be your best bet, but good luck getting anything decent for that price.
You could probably get an f-body for what you are looking for that is a few years old. If you can get an LS-1, definately do so. Aluminum block makes the car much lighter, and gives the car better balance.
Here's mine BTW: www.yippee38.us
Good luck.
F-bodies (Camaro and Firebird) work pretty well for track day. If you get one, definately put sub-frame connectors on it first (if it doesn't already have them). You probably want an STB (shock/strut tower brace) too. Lots of mods are available for very reasonable.
A Mustang would probably work too, though I cannot personally recommend a Ford.
A Corvette would be your best bet, but good luck getting anything decent for that price.
You could probably get an f-body for what you are looking for that is a few years old. If you can get an LS-1, definately do so. Aluminum block makes the car much lighter, and gives the car better balance.
Here's mine BTW: www.yippee38.us
Good luck.
I'll second the vote for a Camaro or Mustang. For this kind of money, ie about $10K, you could find a decent late-60's car. For track day use, in general, the small block cars are better, the big-blocks, particularly some 'stangs, are rather nose heavy. These cars are cheap to run, even if you break driveline parts they are not that expensive. If you moderate your foot on a specimen with about a 3.55 or 3.23 gear set, they are not that bad on gas either.
GM parts are a little easier to come by. The "mouse" motor has all sorts of hop-up parts available.
Both GM and Ford engines of this era have rather restrictive exhaust manifolds and respond well to headers. You will have to re-jet the carb when you put the headers on but this is not hard or expensive.
Better suspension parts are available. You can upgrade the brake pads and shoes or on the Camaro at least you can go for an aftermarket 4-wheel disc setup but that's not cheap and not really necessary unless you are really keen on track work.
Stay away from 1974 year cars, the worst underpowered pigs ever built. 67 to 69 are truly the golden age, simple as a ball-pein hammer, and just as effective.
On the Camero, you can install a properly calibrated HEI distributor for a useful improvement over the original points-type distributor, or you can put a Mallory Unilite conversion unit in the original depo. The second option is a bit cheaper and maintains a stock appearance.
These cars are a bit porky and need good shocks, and good tires, to control them in spirited driving.
Get a good one, take good care of it, you will lose no money if you ever want to sell. Although for best value stay close to stock and keep any/all stock parts you remove.
Most will automatically assume a V-8, both Ford and GM built some decent inline-6 motors in this era, they respond to hop-up well and say a convertible Mustang with a 3-speed on the floor and a 6 is a damn decent ride. Even more than the V-8's these have restrictive exhaust systems and putting on a header is very easy. On any car that was available with V-8, an inline 6 will be VERY easy to work on with super-generous clearance all round the motor. Cheaper to buy and with UK gas prices I'd think about these.
If you can stomach a slush-box, the GM TH 350 or TH 400 found on most Cameros is bulletproof, long-lasting, reasonably cheap to rebuild. Automatics tend to deteriorate if not driven at least once a month, though, and better at least once a week.
GM parts are a little easier to come by. The "mouse" motor has all sorts of hop-up parts available.
Both GM and Ford engines of this era have rather restrictive exhaust manifolds and respond well to headers. You will have to re-jet the carb when you put the headers on but this is not hard or expensive.
Better suspension parts are available. You can upgrade the brake pads and shoes or on the Camaro at least you can go for an aftermarket 4-wheel disc setup but that's not cheap and not really necessary unless you are really keen on track work.
Stay away from 1974 year cars, the worst underpowered pigs ever built. 67 to 69 are truly the golden age, simple as a ball-pein hammer, and just as effective.
On the Camero, you can install a properly calibrated HEI distributor for a useful improvement over the original points-type distributor, or you can put a Mallory Unilite conversion unit in the original depo. The second option is a bit cheaper and maintains a stock appearance.
These cars are a bit porky and need good shocks, and good tires, to control them in spirited driving.
Get a good one, take good care of it, you will lose no money if you ever want to sell. Although for best value stay close to stock and keep any/all stock parts you remove.
Most will automatically assume a V-8, both Ford and GM built some decent inline-6 motors in this era, they respond to hop-up well and say a convertible Mustang with a 3-speed on the floor and a 6 is a damn decent ride. Even more than the V-8's these have restrictive exhaust systems and putting on a header is very easy. On any car that was available with V-8, an inline 6 will be VERY easy to work on with super-generous clearance all round the motor. Cheaper to buy and with UK gas prices I'd think about these.
If you can stomach a slush-box, the GM TH 350 or TH 400 found on most Cameros is bulletproof, long-lasting, reasonably cheap to rebuild. Automatics tend to deteriorate if not driven at least once a month, though, and better at least once a week.
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