I have been wanting to get a turbo car for a while. I used to have a (don't laugh) 1988 Lebaron Turbo w/ 5sp. It was peppy. I blew the turbo and my dad's mechanic found me a turbo and intercooler from a Daytona iroc. I don't know the diff. between the turbo I had and the new one but wow. I was able to beat the pos 305 f bodys of the time. Know that I am more into cars and doing my own work. I didn't realize the potential of turbos. Now I want one. My buddy has a black 240 (don't know the year, but it was the most recent body style). It was not running 100%, he said he was only seeing 5-6psi. When we took off I was not too impressed, I felt it was about equal with my Mustang off the line. On the highway it pulled better than my Mustang (at only 5-6psi.) I was sold. So I will be hear trying to learn all I can, and looking for a good starter car. I have gotten some old Sport Compact Car mags with Silvia project car.

Here's the question. Can I build a reliable, reasonably fast car for under $5,000? I'm not looking for a street warrior, yet. Just want something to get started that I can drive to work. The mustang will be sold to finance my bigger plans. Any insight and help would be greatly appreciated.

 

does the 5 grand include the car?

 

hmmm...Well im guessing u aint got a 240 yet. With 5 grand u really wont be able to build the kinda car u want. With about..6-7 grand and u doing ur own work u will be able to.

 

sorry, no it doesn't

 

<-------- 12 grand in tires/wheels/suspension/drivetrain no power mods yet.

 

12 grand? How so? Wheels/tires will be ~2,000, coilovers(if you choose to get them) are around 2,000, no more than 3k. Shocks, strut tower bar, traction control rods, toe control arms, roll cage, & a few more you CAN get may set you back 2-3k. Figure 1k for clutch&flywheel, $900 for a nice LSD and seems like you're all set. That comes to about 8-10k if you do the labor yourself, and this is pretty hardcore. Maybe missed something or misunderstood your post?

Brakes...z32 should do the trick

 

At any time I have at least 5 sets of wheels and tires, all for different purposes. This was back when I was 4 lugs and continuing to five lugs.

Here is a caption from my page. You can check out my member page out our site.

Me oh me oh my!

I see the same phenomena with the guys I work with. They live far away from the job but swear that they get home in 45mins with no traffic. They will never admit that they have to drive longer than they have to.

I admit what I spend and keep an accurate database on what I have used and will use sooner or later.

I have done some of the work myself but the price I gave you includes all labor, taxes and shipping charges. I do not leave anything out. Tires I burn thru and the mounting charges to change out the rubber. I have also ran things like a VLSD and mild parts that were swapped out when I ran them too hard.

I hope this helps you with the figure I posted. I have replaced some of the things on that list since the last update. I have tein tie rods now and suspension techniques sway bars (on the way). I want to open some people's eyes. I know there are a lot of younger guys out there that want to get into drifting and track events but it is not a cheap endeavor.

Answer me this:

How many guys have you seen with the word "drifter" "racer” or "SR20DET" in their name but do not do any of the like? It is expensive to get the parts and constantly break them.

I still rock my untouched KA24DE and have a ***** out time. Next spring will be an unveiling of a worked motor and turbo. But that is after a full season of working with stock – mild modified – and high-end parts.

Cars are fun! My car is going to be complimented by a turbo. Not an experiment on how far my stock parts will last with gobs of power.

I hope everyone has a great bank account because beating on these cars can get expensive.

Here are some new pics of me and my buddy having fun:

 

ahhhhhhh, so refreshing to hear from someone that is not full of BS, and actually knows and understands the bussiness ($$$) side of beating the snot out of your car like it was a red-headed stepchild. All day long I have to talk to kids that want a swap done for $5.99 and think that they have the worlds fastest car, and somehow they read somewhere that JDM motors require no maintenance!!!!!
people hear what they want to hear, and what you tell them never seems to sink in. I am just glad that someone else is still here with me in reality.

 

To answer the threads question. $5000 is pretty good amount if you aren't spending any of that on the car itself. Most engines can take a small amount of boost (5 to 8). If you want any more then that you will need more work and more money. $5000 will get you some power but no suspension upgrades. With $5000 you could probably do a SR swap and that includes the motor and the labor with some upgrades. But that would be with stock HP or a little more with tuning and upgrades. If you want more then you will need to add money for better upgrades and if you want a lot more HP then you will need to build the bottom end which if done right will cost some good change.


Stanbo that is a lot of suspension work. What is the reasoning behind it? Do you autox and/or drift and need all that or are you trying to build an all out car? Either way that is a lot of great parts, knowledge on your part and what a true hobbiest should be like.

iroc07, I know what you are saying. What most people think is that since the SR or RB have a stock turbo that they can handle all PSI and are prebuilt to handle that. What they don't understand is that just because it has a turbo doesn't mean it can handle a bigger one with more PSI without some work done and maintenance to keep the engine running smooth. The old saying "You get what you pay for." is true with car labor. If you want a SR swap done but want it for $500 then you will get a $500 swap. Messy engine bay, electronics that aren't tuned right, bad engine with high mileage and so on. If you fork over a few grand just for labor then you will get a lot more and a better install.

 

I believe that the OP wasn't asking how much it costs to set up and break a drift car.

He wants to know if he can build a reliable street car for $5,000.

If you aren't including the car, and you do your own labor, absolutely...depending on how busted the car is when you get it.

If you are trying to include the car, and will be paying a shop to swap in an sr, no way.

The other option is to purchase someone else's project that is mostly done. I see a lot of rough 240s with SR motors for around 5k. If you have another couple grand to spend, you can pick up something for 5k and then spend the rest making it reliable and fun for street use.

Whatever you do, realize that you will be having a car that is 8-16 years old or so and you WILL have to continue putting money into it to keep it running reliably. Parts WILL break and stuff will need to be replaced. As long as you keep that in mind, and always leave some extra cash around to fix things, you should be able to accomplish your goals.

 

why go with an SR? after you buy the car.. 5k will get a nice ka-t setup... you could buy Megan Racing, or Tein Basic coilovers for about $900 (or do a nice shock/spring combo).. leave you with 4k.. if you get an SE then you'll have an LSD already... you can build a pretty nice setup with 3-4k ... that will get you everything you need.. and run about 8-10lbs of boost on the stock KA24E or DE.. you could be in the range of 250-300hp..

or check out other swaps... you can buy a RB20det front clip for only 2k...that's an Inline 6 single turbo, about 217hp stock, and you can run around 15lbs of boost safely.. that will get you everything you need to drop it in your car... plus about $250 for oils, fluids, ect.. leaving you with a lot for suspension, and such...

remember, a stock red top sr20det, is only putting out about 180whp.. you can get that in a KA with way less than the cost of that shop... research other options.

 

^ not all se's nor le's have lsd and abs, both were an optional package. 5k into the car imo is going to make for a great little car. isnt 5-6 psi really low for an sr? imo get a ka car, see how you like it and maybe go ka-t. either way, i really like your decision and hope you join the club of 240 owners soon.

 

yeah... I think stock SR boost is like 7-8lbs.. so there's something wrong there... but yeah, I agree... 5k is a lot to put into a car, especially if you use the KA for boost... you don't have to buy another motor and end up replacing everything anyways...

I see it like, if I buy an SR... i'm going to want to upgrade most everything...innercooler, injectors, ecu, turbo, turbo manifold, intake manifold, downpipe, ect... so I don't see a point in spending all the money on the swap when I wouldn't even use the parts on it... :\ you can always try and find a sr20de, and turbo it lol.

 

Go find a $1000 not running, body in decent shape 89-93 240. Ka motors float around for anywhere around $200-$500. that'll still leave you a decent chunk of change to slap on a turbo and fix the small things to keep it running... all assuming you do your own labor.

 

here, make Fast1One an offer... http://www.club240.com/forums/showth...threadid=25141