Comparable car to the E30

[funcrew]

I wish. I'd love to have a Japanese equivalent, about 10 years newer. But, if by "E30-like" you mean a 2700 pound, rear wheel drive 5-seater with a big trunk and cushy interior that handles like it's on rails, the choices come down to:
E30
Pre-68 Nova (sans the cushy interior)
Pre-67 Mustang (ditto)
Mid-60's Ford Falcon
Mid-60's Dodge Dart
Maybe a Mercedes 190, I'm not familiar with those.
Any others?

Of that lot, the E30 seems to be the clear winner for low price, cheap parts, and handling.

The Nova, Mustang etc. are friendly to low cost-per-horsepower crate engines, but it costs a fortune just to buy a shell to get started, and getting those chassis to corner well is certainly possible, but only with heroic chassis work - front subframe swaps, etc.

If I'm missing a good option, let me know - the maintenance on my E30 is killing me.

[CreamE30]

Hmm, well, all of those are 30+ year old cars save the mercedes. Those will be a little hard to find around the area.

[Rocla]

IMaybe a Mercedes 190

That what I was thinking.

Playing with the idea to get 190 of my own..

[LivingLegend06]

I recently made the move from E30 to FC. I would defiantly consider them comparable.

also:
ae86
240sx
foxbody
mk3 supra
944
miata

[eric (^__^)]

tell him to get a french car and then laugh at him when it dies

[smooth]

I can't believe someone mentioned a mid-60s dart!
I pulled a 318 from my 75 and rebuilt it and shoehorned it into a 66.

it's a totally different driving experience than an e30.
but if fast and straight is his style, I'd have to cast a huge vote for an early dart.
small block domestics are pennies on the dollar to build and bolt ons actually give huge gains.

dunno if he'd like the look though

[z31maniac]

^^ thats an interesting one. I was just trying to think of a decent american brand. Any comments on these? A GT turbo maybe?

Third gen, that's the fox body right? 79-93.

No such thing as a GT Turbo. They did make a short run of SVO's which used the 2.3L Turbo engine that was in the Thunderbird of the same vintage.

Good luck finding one of those, they are hard to find in good condition and much more expensive to mod than a GT.

On a GT Fox Body, I wouldn't go earlier than an '87, the '86s were down on power. The '85 and earlier were still carbureted, but at least the '85 was the hydraulic roller cam, and believe '85s and earlier still had the 7.5 rear end instead of the more robust 8.8.

[ldsbeaker]

AE86

Hands down. This was my first car, and I haven't wanted anything other than RWD since. Srsly.
It's a Toyota, so it's cheap and easy to fix. The only hard part is trying to find one that hasn't been gutted/modded to hell.
I prefer the Coupe over the Hatchback, but your tastes may differ.

Hey look, Ronals!

[CreamE30]

What about a Sentra SE-R? Anybody have real experience with this vehicle?

[Funkmasta]

I personally dislike the way that 240s and AE86's drive. The E30 is FAR superior, assuming that it is not a POS.

Other cars he may look into with E30-like characteristics - Toyota Cressida, E21 323i, 190e 2.6. I've never driven a 510

[Kovs]

Interesting thread... here are some less obvious choices:

- Merkur XR4Ti (if you can still find a decent one)
- Fiero GT MKII
- Saab 900 Turbo SPG. Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car just published a buyer's guide on these in this month's issue. And this would be my pick if I HAD to go FWD.
- Audi 200TQ Avant. Beyond cool and can be modded to 300+ HP easily.
- Alfa Romeo GTV6 (or the mechanically similar Milano if you need 4 doors)
- Peugeot 505 Turbo
- Renault Fuego Turbo. Flame suit on, no pun intended. And if you can find one, let me know...

A couple people mentioned the MB 190s. In Cosworth tune these are fun, sorta of like a bigger, less responsive E30 M3. And unlike E30 M3s their prices are still well within reach.

[Tbolt]

nothing compares to the e30 =p

personally if e30s didnt exist, I would have a mk2 jetta coupe. fuck i love boxy euro coupes

[johnwoo]

z31 300zx, they are more of a sport tourer but has rwd and turbo and can be made to handle on rails. cheap too.

[CreamE30]

z31 300zx, they are more of a sport tourer but has rwd and turbo and can be made to handle on rails. cheap too.

My brother had one of these. It was N/A though, still a fun car. It was a dark bronzit too!!

[SamE30e]

^because hes a much of a flaming homosexual to own one...

Ninja Edit!