dont buy it.

stick with something that ran well when it was new. they are a bitch to work on.

 

I have a 03 Civic SI as a beater.... I-Vtech k20a3...psssssss.

 

+3 for the Maxima.

It's about as good as it gets for reliability, practicality, power and gas mileage. It's also light and handles better than about all of the 4-doors mentioned so far.

If you get an A32 maxima (95-99), a VQ35 is going to be an easy swap. The 3rd-gen Maxes however (89-94) are significantly less moddable without a lot of work, but at least they are still very reliable. And I do not recall ever seeing anyone with a VQ35 3G Maxima on Maxima.org. Another selling point for the Max is Maxima.org.

 

this not < $2.5K

 

I want to know more too.. that would make an awesome daily driver

 

Heres the skinny on Hondas. I had bought my 88 Civic in 01 for $3000. I dorve it for 2 years and put 25000 miles on it and then sold it for $3500.

 

you found a idiot. tell me his phone number so i can sell him my old gym socks for 20 bucks a pair

 

I just sold my '95 Lincoln Mark VIII for exactly $2,000, with 160,000 miles. It ran well but had some issues parts no longer available. V8 engine, super-smooth, and the most perfectly designed interior of any car I've driven. The thing is, if some goofy Lincoln-only part (air suspension for example) wears out, it can be rather expensive.

Buying low-end beater cars really is a crapshoot, as mentioned. You may get one that lasts for years without any major work, or you may need to buy three or four of 'em so you always have something to drive.

Good Luck,
-Bob

 

Tell us more about the 3.5 swap. I have a nice 99 right now with 138K. I love it but, I would love it more with a fresh motor that has another 65-75HP.

 

The VQ35 Swap is very straight forward. The engine uses the same exact motor mounts and same tranny bolts etc. So that means you can use your old tranny. The vq35 uses VTC [variable timing control] so you can not use the timing case without redoing all the harness. So you open up your old engine's timing case and put that into the vq35 [this sounds hard but is very easy]. All in all, it takes about two days and you use your old harness, tranny, etc. Did i mention this car runs 13.9 all day at the track and low 13's with slicks? Add in $500 for headers and you have a 12 second car. =x

I bought my Maxima with a blown head gasket for $900 and put in another $1000 [motor was $500, $500 for other crap]. This is quite the sleeper and the torque is monsterous.



Can anyone guess what this is? Or... what car it came from? =D