Cheap light rwd

[BrokenBiker]

I had a lot of the death trap cars mentioned above, Marina's, Carlton estate, Capri, Sierra all good fun but try an old Vauxhall Frontara in the snow or rain......

funny you should mention that...he found a frontera that is up for 350...went to look at it this morning and ended up offering the guy 50 for it as its just a wreck, 2 broken springs, no brakes and its an auto not a manual as he described it...he was adamant that it was drivable though and wouldnt budge on 350 so it stayed there...

 

[MrFluffy]

If its a Frontera sport, he'll get good at catching the rear end quick, second only to my warmed up chevette hatch with violence of rear end coming round speed. The lwb is better because it doesnt try to roll when it catches again, and the Monterey is just a izusu trooper in disguise although I managed to make one aquaplane through a complete 360 at low speed in the rain. All of them will teach your young chap how cars can crash suddenly

 

[BrokenBiker]

If its a Frontera sport, he'll get good at catching the rear end quick, second only to my warmed up chevette hatch with violence of rear end coming round speed. The lwb is better because it doesnt try to roll when it catches again, and the Monterey is just a izusu trooper in disguise although I managed to make one aquaplane through a complete 360 at low speed in the rain. All of them will teach your young chap how cars can crash suddenly

i get worried when he mentions things like forntera's though, as i have only ever seen them being pulled out of ditches by either my old mans old hilux or buy the land rover lads around here...

 

[Robotstar5]

I used to have fun in the wet in my Navarra, due to the LSD on the back it would step out with too much gas.

 

[Robotstar5]

i get worried when he mentions things like forntera's though, as i have only ever seen them being pulled out of ditches by either my old mans old hilux or buy the land rover lads around here...

Frontera's have always had a bad reputation in the 4x4 world.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Can't go wrong with with an mx5, cheap enough and handle like a go kart

 

[BrokenBiker]

Can't go wrong with with an mx5, cheap enough and handle like a go kart

yes we are finding quite a few mot failure mx5's for not a lot of money...most are 1.6's but still plenty of power to get a set of bald tyres spinning on wet grass

 

[Wozzaaah]

I bought an MX5 on a drunken whim one night, fantastic little car, I sort of regret selling it but needs musted at the time.
Before anyone casts aspersions on my integrity, I was chatting to a mate on a night out who said he was planning on selling it so I squinted at him with one eye and slurred "I'll 'ave it!".
Next morning my wife said "you were a bit drunk last night, do you remember buying a car?"

 

[Cobbler]

We've got a mk1 MX5 as well. My wife thinks it's hers, little does she know! It's 1.6, but having driven that & various 1.8s, in some ways the 1.6 is the fun one, slightly less on power but revs better & is very willing. The 1.8 has more torque, but I think you will find they are slightly heavier as they added impact bars in the doors etc.

 

[Turbo]

A lot of the grey import MX5's came with a lsd as standard.

 

[rtbcomp]

I bought an MX5 on a drunken whim one night, fantastic little car, I sort of regret selling it but needs musted at the time.
Before anyone casts aspersions on my integrity, I was chatting to a mate on a night out who said he was planning on selling it so I squinted at him with one eye and slurred "I'll 'ave it!".
Next morning my wife said "you were a bit drunk last night, do you remember buying a car?"

That's how I came to be the owner of a 1946 1-1/2 litre Riley!

 

[mpats]

Here we go BB, nice little project and ends up with something fun and tail happy. I'm sure you could give him all the help he'd need coming up with a design and knocking it together.

 

[scouse]

If cheap is what you want mx5 all day long , i will say be careful which one you pick
as I bought a 1996 uk 1.6 model which only has 90hp were as early 1.6 models had 115 and then the1.8 had about 130-140 ish bhp depending on year and model

bucket seat
welded diff
cheap ebay coilovers
50 psi in the tyres and away you go

A trip to a santapod drift day could be the best bet as your surrounded by people
who can help you learn to drift in a safe environment

there is a place in south wales that used to do drift days in llandow not sure now though

oulton park in Cheshire , three sisters circuit in wigan , Birmingham wheels and buxton and also teeside have drift days and the newest daddy of them all a bespoke drift track in Scotland called DRIFTLAND.

HTH enjoy the fun as that's what drifting is about

 

[ukracer]

BTW Police regard car parks that have public access (supermarket, retail park, etc) exactly the same as the road when it comes to committing the offence of drifting - which is classed as either Careless or even Dangerous driving.
Also remember that rear tyres aren't going to last long - and they aren't cheap anymore.

That's the police for you.......if you have never practised you don't have a hope leaning in a real emergency.

 

[wookie]

That's the police for you.......if you have never practised you don't have a hope leaning in a real emergency.

The first time we'd get snow each year I'd always head to the nearest empty car park for a quick play err I mean practice on how much grip I have and how easy it's to loose it and recover safely.

 

[Can'tWeld]

Another plug for the MX5, fantastic little car, true 'do-anything' sports car and the 1.8 has enough go that it will probably feel fast to an 18-year-old.

And yes, highly recommend that if he really wants to punt it sideways he goes to a drift day and does it there, Santa Pod do DWYB events for not very much money.

The MX-5 will slither about a bit in the wet but it does so very controllably. Not once has mine ever scared me. That may change when I have my turbo conversion finished...

 

[Burdekin]

I had a mx5 bought as a donor car but drove it for a while. Great fun, fantastic going round corners and a lovely gearbox as well. I notice up here the young guys are buying them, lowering them loads and sticking on wheels out past the flares. It just ruins the car as the best thing is they handle great but are gutless, so a bit more HP is the best mod and you don't need to mess with the suspension in reality.

 

[monkeymark]

A lot of comments about "getting it out of his system" which personally i don't agree with.

Drifting is becoming much more common now with many sites across the uk where this can be done both safely and cheaply. It's alao a cheap way if getting into motor spart compared to many others.
Professional and amateur clubs popping up all over.

I say, as long as he's sensible, encourage him as once older with commitments it's often too late. If i could go back 15 years I'd jump at the chance.

As said, mx5's are cheap. A lot of BMW 3 series and 5 series (don't discount the diesels), lexus is200 is another cheap option, omega, volvo's, old merc's (the straight 6 cylinders can produce great power with little money, i.e. 400bhp), strangely enough the merc clk kompressors are cheap to insure and 163bhp as standard i believe.

Check gumtree and see what's going locally cheap, maybe an mot fail could work.

Also depends if he wants it road legal or trailer it to events.

I say go for it and best of luck!

P. S. Largest euro
forum. http://www.driftworks.com