Posts

The last major depression this country faced in 2008 basically killed the ricer fad, which had gained traction in the ’90s and was shot to the forefront of pop culture via 2001’s Fast and the Furious. Throughout the early to mid 00s cruising hangouts once once only graced by rumbling Camaros, Corvettes, and Mustangs were suddenly overflowing with glowing, buzzing Civics and Integras, revving and looking for races at every stoplight.
Then gas prices skyrocketed during the financial crisis, cruising got expensive, and as a pop culture movement, the whole Fast and the Furious street racing culture thing washed out. The Rock and Jason Statham joined the cast and the gang became superheroes, leaving their humble glowing green Honda Civic roots behind. But rice burns eternal, and now, in 2020, the stage is set.
Fast and the Furious 9 is delayed until 2021, but the streets are empty. Gas is cheap (like, really cheap, approaching $1 a gallon cheap), there’s nothing left to do but watch Netflix or go for a drive, and right now, millions doing the latter are noticing that their car, reliable as it may be, just isn’t fun.
Luckily, the secondhand market is overflowing with cheap, interesting cars (hundreds of which are featured here daily) and you just got $1200. That doesn’t sound like much ($1200 is basically one adult dollar), but it’s enough to put a (ratchet, high mileage) racer in your (soon to be oil-stained) driveway. Here are a few models to look out for while hunting your own bargain.

Note: All of the following vehicles were found using our archive search tool, available on our Discord server. Several have appeared in previous daily Feed posts (check out today’s here).

Nissan Sentra SE-R

The SE-R spans several generations, but the B15 gen seems to be the most bountiful. The Spec V gets 175 horsepower out of a somewhat anemic, but ever faithful 2.5 liter four cylinder, mated to a six speed manual with a helical LSD. This would be a great car to throw around some curves; here’s one for $1800 or best offer. And a couple more (at slightly higher prices) were in The Feed, April 14th.

• 

• 

• 

Toyota MR2

Toyota’s mid-engine unicorn is surprisingly attainable. You’re not getting a cherry turbo SW20 or supercharged AW11 for twelve hundred dollars, but that’ll get you most or all of the way to a clapped naturally aspirated first or second gen, no problem. The image above is a ’91 with a quarter million miles and some electrical issues, listed for $2000 or best offer, but be warned, seller knows what he has.
Below, there’s an ’86 with only 117,000 miles (and some messed up paint), found all the way back in March 31’s daily Feed.

Ford Focus SVT

Ford held out on the America in the early 00s, and this front wheel drive, naturally aspirated Focus is all we got. But it does have a Getrag six-speed manual, 170 horsepower, and an optional subwoofer, just like the Sentra SE-R it directly competed against in the halcyon days of 00s rice. 2004, 158K, needs a clutch, $1200. Or, you could enter 24 Hours of Lemons in this heap: it’s beat but the price is $500.

Toyota Celica GT-S

Nobody likes these. Save going to a seventh-gen Celica forum, I can’t find a single person who likes these. And yet, this car features the same VVTI 1.8 liter 2ZZ powerplant found in the Lotus Elise, putting down 180 horsepower with an 8300 RPM redline! Here’s one for $2200 OBO, and another with only 124K on the clock for $2900.

Ford Crown Victoria

This is not a sports car or even a sporty car, but a 4.6 liter v8 Crown Vic will blow the doors off every other car in this list, and you don’t need a police interceptor or LX Sport to enjoy most of what they have to offer. These all came with a 4.6 liter v8 making around 230-250 horsepower. They encourage and reward bad behavior: there’s a traction control button on the dash so you can roast your tires when the light turns green, and the spongy, soft suspension will happily bounce through potholes and over broken pavement without issue. Here’s a 2003 P71 for $1800, and another for $1500. These were both found with our Discord search tool, but we do see lower mileage LX Sports and Mercury Marauders in The Feed almost daily.

Mazda Miata

You already know everything about this car. It’s Always The Answer. something like 110 horsepower to the wheels out of either a 1.6 or 1.8 liter 4 banger, a manual top, pop ups on the older and cooler ones. This is the definitive 90s sports car, and they’re everywhere, all the time, for three grand or less, and if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll regularly find beater high mileage NAs for $1500 or less. The example above is a 1993 with only 108,000 miles on the chassis (and quite a story to tell, based on the mismatched panels and lack of rear window or title); $2000 or interesting trades.

There’s never been a better time to grab a cheap beater and hit the road, and thanks to current circumstances, if you have no other pressing responsibilities, you’re equipped to do exactly that. Let me know in the comments or on Discord what cars you’re eyeing, and keep checking The Feed, published seven days a week, for an obscure dream car to call your very own.

Editor’s note: This Understeer series tells the story of CCF contributor Netgear57’s 25 Year Law-imported 1991 Toyota Celsior, from the shores of Japan to the side of the road in El Paso. Check out Part One and Part Two if you haven’t.

---

TOP TEXT

“No. No, this isn’t happening,” I tried to convince myself. The Celsior’s strength that had brought me up the mountain was waning: the previously nearly-imperceptible hiccup was now felt like a slight misfire.  I made it to work and limped the car into the parking lot, defeat once again looming in my soul as I sat at my desk and pondered what the cause of the issue could be.  As I mentally diagnosed the car, I made several trips outside to inspect the engine to lend credence to my theories.  Unfortunately, not a single one panned out.  I surmised it may be a wire leading to the crank or cam position sensor, as the engine bay for the 1UZ is quite cluttered, and leaves little room for error regarding wiring position.

I left work early and took the long way home, as the misfiring had now grown quite severe, and I didn’t think the Celsior would be able to make it up the mountain.  My destination was the mechanic shop I had just picked the car up from, and I went in to talk to the owner after I arrived.  The misfire was now so bad, the car sounded like I was shaking a can full of coins as I drove.  I’d never heard anything like it before.  
Now, I know there are stupid people who want to blame the last person that worked on their car for everything, so I was very clear that I was not blaming them for the misfire that had developed, however there likely was a refrigerant leak that would need to be addressed.  With my tail solidly between my legs, I called my wife to pick me up from the shop.  So began The Great Wait.

I waited.  And waited.  Then waited just a little bit more.  I don’t really remember how long this shop had my car, but it was at least 2 months, maybe 3.  Then came the call.  “Hey, can you come pick up the car tomorrow?” Hell yes I could.  I happily had my wife drop me off, excited to get behind the wheel of my luxury sedan again after so long.  I was greeted with a dead battery, and after using the shops charger and getting it started, I discovered the misfire had not been resolved.  The owner had not told me they were giving up, and I had assumed the car was repaired.  I went and verified this with the owner, and yeah, they were giving up.  My thoughts lingered on the judging veers and remarks that my wife was no doubt going to grace me with as I limped the once mighty Celsior out of the mechanic’s parking lot.

During The Great Wait, I started driving my S13 Silvia to work, and as the summer months approached I discovered my once-working A/C had been reduced to a hot air recirculation device; I decided to remedy this.  I went to a shop that was poorly reviewed online, and decided to give them a shot after speaking with the owner.  This is how I met MY mechanic, Lutz Fuggmann. 
Lutz is a retired engineer, a little bit over 6 ft tall with a full head of white hair, and speaks in a heavy German accent.  His shop cleanliness rivals most airplane hangars, and all four of his bay doors remain closed at all times because Lutz cannot be in the sun.  I didn’t ask the reason, but I assumed it was vampiric.  I quickly figured out why his shop is rated so poorly: Lutz does not give a fuck.  He will do the job correctly, and charge you accordingly, and this doesn’t fly well in El Paso, TX.  His passion for vehicles is evident, and the Porsches in his bays spoke of the clientele that do put up with him.  He converted my Silvia from R12 to R134a and had the A/C once again blowing cold. 
When I picked up the car, Lutz scolded me for not driving the car enough. Like a doctor, he gave me instructions to drive the car at least once a week or at the very least idle until up to temp.  I assured him I would meet his demands.

So as I’m limping away from the shop that gave up, I know exactly where I’m going.  I drive straight to Lutz’s and park the Celsior behind his shop.  I go inside and regale him with the tale of my Celsior, and the shop that gave up.  This lights a fire in his belly, as Lutz has an innate hatred of “garbage shops” that “can’t fix anything”, which had been the subject of one of his rants on a previous visit.  He assured me he would figure out what was wrong with the car, and I left the keys with him as I walked home, feeling confident that Lutz would no doubt get me back on the road.

But at what cost?

BOTTOM TEXT

-Netgear57

---

From lifted jeeps to pre-runner minitrucks, from SEMA-spec mall crawlers to home-built truggies, to the extensive aftermarket for trucks and (especially) Jeeps: the world of off-road has never been bigger or more confusing. I’ve been in the off-road community since the internet was in the model-specific forum days, and the time has never been better (or for you or your wallet) to get out to your local ORV park and begin your own adventure.
In this article and the following series, I’m going to walk you through the process of which questions to ask yourself, and provide advice on which direction to take your build.

Whether you are building it yourself or having someone do the work for you, there are a few questions you will need to ask yourself before deciding on any vehicle.
The first, and most important question: what kind of fun do I want to have? The off-road spectrum is wide and contains things like Baja 1000-style pre-running to Ultra-4 Truggy rock crawling. On a more sensible and practical scale, these are two main categories I’d like to focus on in the beginning: pre-running and rock crawling.

Now before we jump right into it, there’s something I’m specifically not going to talk about: Cost. Any project car will cost you something. It’s probably cheaper and more fun to just buy a Brazzer’s subscription than to buy a project car, but for the sake of this article, we’re gonna leave cost out of it and you can fit it to your budget.

Pre-Running

So you wanna go fast? And jump things? And jump things fast? Then a pre-runner build might be for you. Pre-running is historically the designation given to vehicles that take to a racecourse prior to the race to spot and re-route the course around any danger that could be encountered. Often these vehicles have to be light, robust, built with parts that can easily be found for repairs and be able to carry plenty of supplies.

Pre-runners typically have some sort of independent front suspension or I-beam front suspension, allowing the springs to have a massive amount of travel, providing better on-road performance. Typically, the I beam suspension is considered the stronger option as it is able to handle the repeated blows the suspension takes when landing a jump.

Rock Crawling

Like to go slow? Climb over things? Climb over things slowly? Then a Rock crawler might be for you. Typically, most home-built and entry-level rigs will do this well. The history of Rock crawling is a bit difficult to piece together. It seems to have always been there as something to do with your truck. In a more professional sense, Ultra 4 and things like the Easter Safari (Jeep’s major MOAB trip) fall into this category, which is a great jumping-off point for off-roading as a hobby. Mostly, vehicles with sheet metal bodies (as opposed to fiberglass bodies of most pre-runners) are preferred as they take a walloping.

Most rock crawling rigs will have a solid axle front suspension and there are plenty of vehicles out there that came with one from the factory (some of them aren’t even jeeps). However, a common theme among rock crawlers is taking a Dana front solid axle, either in the 30, 44, or the coveted 60 series and swapping it into your own vehicle. Additionally, you can have it in either leaf spring or coilover configuration, both offering their own sets of pros and cons.

Over the next few articles, I’ll take a more in-depth look at each of these platforms, recommend some suggested vehicles to start with (that can all be found here, on The Feed) and point out some of the vital things you need in order to choose, build and enjoy your own off-road vehicle.