best yank bad boy for under 10k?

[pitbull turbo]

just been looking at the classic car with modern running gear thread and have seen some simply amazing yank cars on there such as a heavy beefed up camero and vette stingray.
what would would you guys choose and why?
also whats the best tuning setup with these things.
im feeling 500bhp+ stunning paint and classic lines and wheels. not on a 10k budget but could build up to that.

[chevy-stu]

Depends on what you ultimately want to do with the car...

Do you want to just cruise with the odd drag strip blast, do you intend doing big cross country drives and track days, do you want 4 seats, are going for a particular 'look'... ?


I bought mine as a very cheap cruiser, started going on some hoons with other PH'ers and now have a capable track-day beastie.. (after alot of time money and research, and way more than £10k... )

Edited by chevy-stu on Tuesday 14th December 18:39

[redtwin]

A classic (30+ years old) with 500BHP for £10K?. I can't see it happening. Happy to be proved wrong though.

You can get American cars built up with that kind of power, but they would much newer and hardly have what I would call classic lines.

[Don1]

And the purple monster looks and sounds like a complete hoot.

[ewenm]

I paid £11k for my '67 Mustang Coupe - looking forward to getting it back on the road after Christmas (some electrical work needed). You can get less popular shape Mustangs for well under $10k, or perhaps an old Corvette?

My shopping list would include:
Mustang
Camaro
Challenger
Charger
Corvette
but it is personal preference as to which you like the most.

Edit: 500bhp will require mods, my 302 (well, 5.0 actually) Mustang has about 300bhp or so. Supercharger would be the obvious route with plenty of US info available on the different options.

Edited by ewenm on Tuesday 14th December 18:51

[chevy-stu]

If I was doing it all again, and didn't need 4 seats, I'd buy a sound bodied but with knackered drivetrain late 70's Corvette..
Do an LS3/6 speeed manual engine/gearbox swap (with a cam, decent intake and exhaust you'll get about 500bhp).
upgrade suspension - coil-overs, Rack & Pinion conversion, adjustable bars, arms etc..
Fit C6 brakes..
Nice interior re-trim & respray

.... best of all worlds then..



(this'll probably cost nearer to £30k though)

Edited by chevy-stu on Tuesday 14th December 18:52

[shovelheadrob]

Hardest part will be finding a decent start for your project as just about anything good body wise will probably cost half your budget. 20 years ago you could find a late 60's/early 70's muscle car for a couple of grand & throw another 2K at it & you could have a car that would run 11 sec 1/4 mile & be a lot of fun on the road but they have all gone now. I used to build up cars like this & it shocks me to see the prices of stuff nowadays. The good thing though is the amount of upgrades that are readily available (brakes, steering & suspension) I had to fabricate & machine stuff back then!

[redtwin]

So basically his classic 500bhp car for £10K will cost him closer to £30K.

OP really needs to prioritise. If they want the noise and drama then forget the classic looks or if they want a car to polish and cruise to meets, then forget the big power. As mentioned, you can't get both for the budget.

Personally I would go for this (as I know I wouldn't find any car I would consider classic for £10K, regardless of power):



Car is up for £4500, get it for £4K then spend £6K on a Vortech or Kenne Bell supercharger kit and a dry shot nitrous system. That will get you 500BHP (even if only for a couple seconds on a dyno) and will look good enough to be worthy of hand washing.

[shakotan]

I'd start 'small' with a 3rd Gen Camaro Iroc-Z or similar. Decent example could be had for 3k, and you could drive it 'as is' whilst slowly adding to it.

Never found the 4th Gen (above) particulary striking. Too 'blobby' and bland to live up to the name.

[Crafty_]

If you are talking muscle car HEMI is the word, were hugely popular a year or two ago..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Dodge-Challeng...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Dodge-Challeng...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/71-DODGE-CHALLENGER...

Sub $20k http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-DODGE-CHARGER-...

A bit earlier and cheap! http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/vehicles-sale/196...


Or what about something older ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Chevy-Bel-Air-...
Needs a bit of finished and that rear end dropping. The great thing about tri fives is EVERYTHING is available, not only stock parts but upgrades too, all bolt on. Look at www.trifive.com

A '56 over here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chevrolet-Bel-Air-1956-4-doo...

Over budget, but would certainly wake up the neighbours http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1955-CHEVROLET-2DR-SEDAN-454...

[shovelheadrob]

Crafty_ said:

If you are talking muscle car HEMI is the word, were hugely popular a year or two ago..

Have & probably always will be "popular"

Crafty_ said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Dodge-Challeng...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Dodge-Challeng...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/71-DODGE-CHALLENGER...

Sub $20k http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968-DODGE-CHARGER-...

A bit earlier and cheap! http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/vehicles-sale/196...


Or what about something older ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Chevy-Bel-Air-...
Needs a bit of finished and that rear end dropping. The great thing about tri fives is EVERYTHING is available, not only stock parts but upgrades too, all bolt on. Look at www.trifive.com

A '56 over here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chevrolet-Bel-Air-1956-4-doo...

Over budget, but would certainly wake up the neighbours http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1955-CHEVROLET-2DR-SEDAN-454...

All are way beyond OP's budget, although yes they are good.
OP needs to exlpain what he is looking for i.e. fast road car, occasional trip to drag strip, odd track, day posey cruiser?

[beebs90]

i want to do this, i would like to start with a camaro iroc z from the 80s not very powerfull but looks and sounds great and can slowly increase power when funds are available

[chevy-stu]

Here you go, Bullnose Firebirds .. choice of..
Sort out any rust issues first, get it running ok and safe/legal (that'll kill your £10k) then save for future mods/engine and trans swap...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970-PONTIAC-TRANS-AM-CLONE-...

beebs90 said:

i want to do this, i would like to start with a camaro iroc z from the 80s not very powerfull but looks and sounds great and can slowly increase power when funds are available

Go for it, and buy the most solid car you can find.. mechanical bits are relatively cheap compared to fixing up a rotten body...
Buying performance add-ons from the States is relatively painless, shipping isn't too bad, but you get stung for import duty and VAT on anything over about £40 now..
(I used to have an IROC, very good cars as standard)

Edited by chevy-stu on Tuesday 14th December 20:49

[Crafty_]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1964-FORD-GALAXIE-500XL-390-...

someone wanted a 3rd gen ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1983-CHEVROLET-GMC-CAMARO-BL...

Cheap for an LT1 car: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/93-K-CHEVROLET-CAMARO-Z28-5-...
LT1 was an intermediate step between the gen I small block and the LSx engines. Quite capable and less of a compromise than the TPI engines.

[pitbull turbo]

Sorry guys I wasn,t very clear. I'm just bored of the same stuff done the euro and jap stuff and want a car that's a keeper. In my eyes that's classic powerful and great fun while stunning looks. I always wamted a track car but never got on tracks much so really want a fast fun good looking car I will fall in love with with bags of soul. The 10k is to buy the car not to tune it but it needs to be pretty solid and not need loads of repairs. I'll tune it over time