Did someone here mention Porsche 914? If you're gonna go for a 912 you might as well go for a 914. It's "upgradable" to a point and I remember seeing ads in magazines a few years ago by a company which outfitted these with Chevy smallblocks! It's still a VW, and like any other VW it will give you years of service with the proper maintenance. If you're willing to put a little bit of time and elbow grease into your car this might be well worth the effort. 2k on the car, 6k for other "stuff"

Kuan

Wow looks like 914's have gone up in price. People are asking 3k+ in US dollars for these things now. Hrm, still a good deal and a fun car to drive. Engines are more expensive these days too. About 1k for a longblock. Still... 3k on a good condition 914, 5k for other "stuff"

Kuan

Hmmm...interesting thought. I have never really liked the looks of the 914, and am fundamentally against cobbling up a classic with fibreglass body panels, flares, spiolers & crap...but hmmm. Im not a stickler for original paint colours. A 914 could be made to look good on its own merits with creative & tasteful paint & I am sure it would be a blast to drive & easy to maintain, while being much less to purchase than the 912. Thanks. Great "Food For Thought". Have you ever owned one?

Yeah...I can understand it if you don't want another BMW 2002....but I think you just might want to test-drive an E30-series 325iS.

Parts and aftermarket support are great.

Not too many complex electronic components to fail.

2.5 liter engine is bulletproof, remember to change the timing belt at specified intervals. It has a Getrag 5-speed, too, which is also quite durable.

0-60 in 7.4 seconds in stock manual form. top speed around 135ish, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong).

It isn't a "sports car", more of a "sport coupe" with real rear seats and good luggage room. I guess that's one caveat.

And they are quite affordable. Maybe $5k for a nice '87, with $2k left over for repairs/upgrades to make it almost perfect and new.

-Sam

I wouldn't be to afraid of an 80's vintage 911 look in the Porsche Club's classifieds and you should be able to find one that has been given a little TLC. 914's are like riding in a MG Midget. Personally if I were going to buy a reliable "sport car" in this price range I would take the 911, 944, 968 over a Mr2 or Miata just because the feeling you get driving it and the sound of the air cooled 6. The 911's have awesome performance even by today's standards.

Last summer I was blasting down the highway and came up on an older gent in a 944 when I got on his bumper I could see a little puff come out of the exhaust and he SLOWLY started to pull away. Once I got he changed lanes I passed, he just gave me a little grin. That grin said "you drive what ever you want but I love my Porsche"

The point of this lengthy story is, whatever it is that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside is the right choice. Personally I would rather drive a Ferrari 2000 miles a year and look at it in my garage for hours on end as opposed to driving Miata or Mr2 every day.

Nope! It has to be a coupe that basically seats only 2 people. The P1800 & my Alfa have "back seats", but a real human being couldn't sit back there. If I want to haul people, I have a 300D to accomodate them in comfort. The "sports car" will be for me and maybe only one passenger. That excludes 320i & 2002, even tho they are indeed good cars.

Damn, too bad Lotus is out due to expense & finicky mechanical nature. An Elan or even perhaps a Europa...

Wait a minute - a Datsun 1600 Fairlady or a 240Z would do nicely.

rsbiomedical sumsup my feelings about sportscars, except that I want to drive one every day, all spring, summer and fall.

My bro had a 1976 911s that he bought back in 1992 for $9k u.s. he drove it 70k before selling it 4 years later.

Car hardly needed any repairs apart from a few small fender benders he had, and one that he damaged the tranny with. overall, didn't cost much and engine was reliable.

But a 944 is one of my favorite porsches. the turbos are plenty fast too.

For me I used to have a 1980 mgb. apart from the carb needing a rebuild and a new gas tank, that car served me well for a few years, low on maintenance.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

Great info. I hope that if I do buy a 911 I will be as fortunate as your brother (minus the fenderbenders).
The MGB is an appealing thought, being a true open roadster.
By the way, where did you get the blacked out grille shroud for your CE? That is a real nice touch.

I owned a '67 MGB. Good car and fun to drive. It really
"flew" well on the mountain roads. Really uplifting ride.
I owned two 1800's. 1800S and P1800. The former being the 4 cyl. and the latter a 6 cyl. These Volvos were uneventful on the road. O.K. but not inspiring. That is my opinion.

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

The Volvo P1800 is heavily based on the running gear of the PV544 sedan, according to old European Car articles that I've seen. For all of you Volvo fans, it's the 1940-ish Ford-styled "turtleback" Volvo. Sensible, but not really a sporting bone in its body (with the exception of the styling).

-Sam

I owned a P1800 (carbureted model) for three months. I drove it only a couple of times, in the city, but not out on the highway or up a mountain road. The Volvo was a bit aniemic, I thought, but that maybe it just needed some work. I never did get around to sorting it out. When I got the final tab on prices for replacement rocker panels and floorboards, springs, Koni's, tires and paint for my 74' GTV, I sold the P1800 to pay for the Alfa work. Now the Alfa is too nice to use every day. I have more tied up in it than it is worth. I think maybe that was a mistake. I really want a daily driver sporty car. The GTV is a sunny summer day car. Problem is; sunny summer days are reserved for motorcycling. I want a drive-to-work-whether-its-rainy-or-nice summer car, that I can drive anywhere without worrying too much that the fragile thing will crap out on me. Despite being a bit aniemic, maybe a P1800 would have been ok for that. Or are they also fragile and finnicky? They are priced about the same as later model MGB's - perhaps a rubber bumper MGB would be a wiser choice? And a 914 seems intriguing, too. Or a Datsun...

I have a friend that has had a Mr2 since new. He didn’t even need to do a tune up until the car had 70K miles on it. It now has about 2x that and he still hasn’t given it a second tune up! Extraordinarily low maintenance. Fun to drive. No minuses. I’ve driven it a number of times and it handles extremely well

Another friend is a 914 lunatic. He’s had about 5 of them and currently has a beautiful yellow stock ’74 (I think) with a license plate that reads “Y Yield” This too has need very little maintenance other than the indulgencies – brakes out of a ‘911 and some other performance upgrades. Handles as well as anything. He does have to tune the valves frequently, but that is part of the ownership of most any sports car from the ‘60’s & ‘70s. Only downside (which really isn’t a downside) is that the car is a little noisy but gives that wonderful classic to any MG, Triumph, Austin and/or even older Datsun 1600 owner the vibrating seat of the pants roadster experience.

RS has it right. Look around and find one that gives you a gooood tickle.

Any of the cars of this vintage are well under your target range, so you will have lots of $$ for upgrades and tweaks.

Enjoy the hunt!

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

I think Bill said it but no one realized it (even Bill).


But I would think a inexpensive sports car with a little soul is either the first gen Rx7's or a 78 280Z. You could even put a 350 in the 280Z and have a fun little car

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2005 Audi A4 1.8T CVT -Silver/Black "Siegfried"

1982 300D - Silver/Blue "Ralph" -For Sale:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/119226-1982-300d-sale.html#post852260

1989 VW Diesel Jetta Blue/Blue "Bodo" RIP

If I had $12,000 for a toy, I would stretch it to about $15,000 and buy a mid eighties Lotus Turbo Esprit. I have an '88 Vette and would love to sell it. It's a kick in the you know what to drive, but every time you drive it, something else breaks. It's just another General Motors piece of crap.

Good luck in finding your favorite toy,