Shed For Local Motorsport Auto Testing / Sprints

[McSwerve II]

Afternoon

I’m looking to join a local motor club whose core activities seem to be auto testing style events on gravel / grass. Just a bit of fun, but maybe a step onto full sprint events.

Most seem to use (very) cheap sheds, but I quite fancied something along the lines of a classic hot hatch. With a lean purchase budget of £1k my shortlist was:
205 GTi 1.6 or 1.9
Clio Williams or 172
Nova Sport (but I think I’m 10 years too late to find one of these)
Mk2 Golf GTi

Any other suggestions?

Or comments on which of the above would be fun / reliable / reasonable to run / competitive further up into sprints / ect.

Cheers

[Truckosaurus]

Honda Civic VTi/TypeR/etc.

Cheap, Reliable, plenty of power as stock and lots of tuning options when the upgrade bug strikes.

[notax]

If you want to have fun and perfect you car handling skills a RWD car would be a good bet! This is me enjoying myself in my Chimaera at a grass slalom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyeChgOvhrs

There are plenty of cheaper alternatives - from BMW 328 to Nissan 200sx. You won't be the fastest car but you will probably have the most fun

[anonymous-user]

McSwerve II said:

Afternoon

I’m looking to join a local motor club whose core activities seem to be auto testing style events on gravel / grass. Just a bit of fun, but maybe a step onto full sprint events.

Most seem to use (very) cheap sheds, but I quite fancied something along the lines of a classic hot hatch. With a lean purchase budget of £1k my shortlist was:
205 GTi 1.6 or 1.9
Clio Williams or 172
Nova Sport (but I think I’m 10 years too late to find one of these)
Mk2 Golf GTi

Any other suggestions?

Or comments on which of the above would be fun / reliable / reasonable to run / competitive further up into sprints / ect.

Cheers

you wont get a clio 172 or williams for under a grand and the sort of 205 gti you will get for that money is best avoided, believe me, i've been there - twice! they would be useful for a sprint but wasted on an autotest, tyres are too wide and they are too powerful.

you will be very lucky to find a Nova of any kind that hasnt been chavv'ed up but Golfs are easy to find and worth a look.

FWD cars suit auto testing because the weight is over the front where you want turn in. rwd cars are competitive but are also more powerful on average and the point of an autotest is precision rather than power. you will only every get to second gear so a powerful car will be wasted. you will have fun but you will not feature on the score sheet. lots of people use tuned old school minis becuase they are quick and handle really well at low speeds but they are a big wedge of cash.

have a look for something like a peugeot 106 xsi, small, nippy and easy to throw around and also pretty competitive in the small engine classes for sprints... maybe an old Fiesta XR2? the Rover 214Si (bubble shape) was a pretty good car, k-series lump and they are pretty cheap....

[McSwerve II]

[quote=pablo]

you wont get a clio 172 or williams for under a grand and the sort of 205 gti you will get for that money is best avoided, believe me, i've been there - twice! they would be useful for a sprint but wasted on an autotest, tyres are too wide and they are too powerful.

quote]

I think the problem is I fancy something that I considered cool / fast / new’ish / un-obtainable when I was 14-18 (late eighties / early nineties).

Some of the other late 90’s options I just considered hot shopping boxes, as by then I was dreaming of turbocharged flat sixes.

Out of curiosity could you elaborate of the 205 problems you had? I thought that apart from the rear beam / gear selection, they are no worse that any of the other options?


There are a couple of options on the Clio front. Rough looking granted.
Williams
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2658276.htm

Other more modern options (but getting very heavy)
Rather than a Golf
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2777180.htm
306
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2835760.htm


Many thanks for the advice.

PS I love the TVR Video. If they did anything that smooth, I could use the RX8.

Cheers

Edited by McSwerve II on Wednesday 18th May 16:06

[PublicDrifter]

Mk1 mr2 for cheapness, mid engined grip, ease to work on, availability of spares and revs.

[anonymous-user]

205 gtis..... lol, well i bought mine in about 2005, it was a 1993 car and had thirteen owners on the V5... i dont think all 13 ever checked the oil and i think most sold it on when the insurance renerwals hit their doormat... yes mine was cheap but there was no documentation with it.

rear beams need rebulding or repairing but thats just one thing, for £1K you should be expecting a lot more faults but each car will be different so its not like you can say, check a, b or c

99% of them have been thrashed by boy racers at some point in the cars life, some more than others but you dont know how often and how hard. i know its the same for every car, you dont know the history but its safe to say that with the 205, for that money its not going to have ever been anyones concours car and remember, each car was built by militant french unionists on thirty francs a week making cars for les anglais.....

they say never meet your idols, likewise i wouldnt advise anyone buying a 205 gti for a grand unless you have the heart and the wallet for spending money keeping them going. As i said, a 106 xsi is a far better option. you may not have wanted one as a teenager but you wont refer to it as "that fking moneypit" like you will a 205...

so what was wrong with mine, gearbox was like stirring jelly, rust on the windscreen surround, rust on the rear arches, suspicious welding on the floorpan, very loose steering mechanism and the wiring was in a terrible state due to numerous previously fitted alarm systems. there is more but i have forgotten.

they are cheap for a reason, they all have faults, they all need money spent on them to seee another MoT pass, I really cant see the logic in buying one anymore and i loved mine to pieces, i really did, i would love another one too but i know that the cheap ones need money and work...

i'm not saying dont buy one period, just dont buy a cheap one thinking it will be ok because it wont. if you really want one, save up and find one thats been with the same owner for a few years, has some documentation and is straight.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 20th May 14:36

[McSwerve II]

pablo said:

find one thats been with the same owner for a few years, has some documentation and is straight.

Edited by pablo on Friday 20th May 14:36

Voilà ???

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1992-PEUGEOT-205-GTI-MIAMI-B...