Suggestions for a decent beater?

As much as I love my 67 Cougar I could really use a “better” car as a daily. I’m thinking I might save up all of my cash this summer and get a daily so that my Cougar can just be full time project car.

Topher505

10 Feb 2016

Since I probably won’t be making more than 3 or 4 thousand dollars over the course of a summer that’s the limit. Other than that, I’d prefer something fast and fun. Doesn’t necessarily need to be pretty or fuel efficient. Don’t much care how old it is so long as it’s fuel injected. It does have to be something I can get locally in the US. I know 4k isn’t really a lot to work with.

So, any ideas?

Comments

Just got done with owning a P71 Crown Vic. They’re cheap to be had and they share the 4.6 2v with the Mustang. Not a bad beater platform to consider!

It is one of my considerations. They’re fairly cheap and usually well maintained. Just need to find one that has functional rear doors.

Own a Crown Vic with bull bars in front will make other car guy think there’s a cop car behind them. Lol.

I have been owning a 2002 Chevy Blazer for the past few months and that car well exceeded my excpectations. It’s comfortable and you can drive pretty much anywhere (a snow covered sandpit wasn’t a problem). It might not be the fastest thing arround, but i wouldn’t call it slow

Blazer? I’ll keep it in mind. It’s been a while since I’ve driven something other than a car. Missed being able to offroad with my Jeep. Maybe a Blazer is the answer.

Miata? Might not be the fastest in a straight line, but it’s fuel injected and it’s plenty of fun. Just try to find one with a lsd. You’ll still have money to put into your project after too

I might consider it. One thing I should have mentioned is that I’d like to carry more than one passenger.

Look on craigslist for a honda civic or crx with a dual cam swap.

I’ll check. Might be a bit harder to find. With or without the cam swap.

Volvo 740

That’ll be harder to find but I’ll be sure to check it out.

Civic! I’m not joking, it’s a recommendation from my experience

I’ll check it out. Maybe find a nice looking stock one.

Volvo s70, i’d like a factory rwd Volvo with a T5 engine

Volvos are harder to come by but I’ll check it out.

Nissan sss pulsar i think they have an rb20 motor they go like hell but for a fwd

I doubt those are easy to come by but I’ll keep an out. One or two may pop up between now and end of summer.

No rb powered cars in America and those are straight sixes I doubt they’re in any fwds

Crown Vic P71. Dirt cheap, menacing looks, tougher than nails, comfortable ride, strangely good gas mileage. And the best part? It’s got a 4.6L V8 that’s full of potential. It isn’t all pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows, however. Being a former cop car, a P71 with, say, 120,000 miles, has faced more abuse than a civilian Crown Vic of the same mileage. That, and if I were you, I’d Lysol the (literal) crap out of the rear bench. And finally, since people would think you’re a cop, get used to being forced to do the speed limit thanks to paranoid traffic. But apart from those downsides, it’s a great rig full of potential.

That’s what I was thinking. And being a cop car, it’d be fairly well maintained. It’d be nice to find one with the push bar still installed too. Having people slow down would kind of suck. I did happen to find one with NOS and a push bar though.