Comparable car to the E30

[brgracer]

+1 on the miata for being inexpensive, RWD, great handling, light, easy to work on, cheap used parts, and easy to modify/FI. But I'm biased as I own a couple, and recently picked up an E30 b/c I heard that it handled like a miata....haha... <puts on flamesuit>

[eric (^__^)]

FC's are basically aerodynamic E30's that carry their weight better.

[whiltebeitel]

An FC, and swap a LS1 into it when the rotary dies. :P

[eric (^__^)]

And although it would be fun to own a Corolla GT just because of the nostalgia, I'd go MR2 instead.

[eric (^__^)]

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

- Merkur XR4Ti (if you can still find a decent one)

- Alfa Romeo GTV6 (or the mechanically similar Milano if you need 4 doors)

I forgot about those beasts. The Alfa requires access to a guru to fix anything major (from what I've seen), but they are sweet cars fo sho

I've always been curious about the XR4Ti. I used to laugh at it because it looks like a car designed and marketed in Peru, but they are strong and probably great to drive. Plus it's all Ford running gear so you can't lose there.

[SamE30e]

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

Ninja Edit!

[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!!

[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.

[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

[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.

[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

[CreamE30]

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

[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!

[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.

[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