Polaris Slingshot, toy or not?

[RevolverRob]

Don't do it. That's the worst 911. Hundreds of pounds heavier and significantly less powerful than a '73. But still costs just as much to operate as the good years. A stock '99 Miata will humiliate it. At least get a 3.0L if you're going to go post-'73, pre-964.

Hundreds? It's a stock, base-model 911, with virtually no options, other than a factory short shifter...so it weighs ~2370 pounds, it is about 100-pounds heavier than a '73 base which was ~2270 curb weight. And the 2.7 base is 150-hp to the '73's 2.4 base 140-hp. If you're comparing it to the 2.7 RS then yes, down on power by comparison (210 on the RS).

If you want to lighten it, ditch those impact-bumpers and retrofit a '71-73 style set of bumpers and boom - that extra 100 pounds is basically gone.

Also this particular car has just had the 2.7 gone through, by a Porsche Specialist out of Texas. Carrera rods and pistons, very mild cam, and a set of Weber IDFs to replace the Bosch mechanical injection. No sunroof, moderate suspension upgrades (adjustable Konis, bigger sways)...I just plan to put a set of 17" Fuchs with some Michelin Pilot Sports on them and drive the piss out of it daily.

It's not a competition car or a car meant for tracking. Like I said, I've got the Alpine which I'm setting up for B-Prep Limited SCCA Solo and will work fine for HPDEs and maybe the occasional open track day. - I'm pretty much done racing cars heavily for competition. Solo is a nice one a month Sunday past-time and allows me to stay sharp and refine my ride. The Porsche is just for driving.

[RJ]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...urgring-video/

That looks...fun.

I may have to look more at these Miatas, sometime down the road.

We had an entertaining conversation about a *cough* second car driving up to Washington yesterday in fact.

I'm familiar with older model BMWs, and it occurred to me since I pretty much can deal with the typical problems of an E46, perhaps a '03-'05 330iC might be a nice weekend car. I'll have to look into this if we ever decide to get back into some kind of sticks and bricks house or condo in FL type of thing.

[60Driver]

Also this particular car has just had the 2.7 gone through, by a Porsche Specialist out of Texas. Carrera rods and pistons, very mild cam, and a set of Weber IDFs to replace the Bosch mechanical injection. No sunroof, moderate suspension upgrades (adjustable Konis, bigger sways)...I just plan to put a set of 17" Fuchs with some Michelin Pilot Sports on them and drive the piss out of it daily.

Ran a similar but slightly more developed RS Repro for years. She still sits in my garage waiting for more time on my part. Depending on Cam that 2.7 with Webers will be snotty on the street. You will love it but it will require a lot of love.

[Doc_Glock]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...urgring-video/

That looks...fun.

I may have to look more at these Miatas, sometime down the road.

We had an entertaining conversation about a *cough* second car driving up to Washington yesterday in fact.

I'm familiar with older model BMWs, and it occurred to me since I pretty much can deal with the typical problems of an E46, perhaps a '03-'05 330iC might be a nice weekend car. I'll have to look into this if we ever decide to get back into some kind of sticks and bricks house or condo in FL type of thing.

I sort of fell into a 2001 3.0 Z3 for cheap. I scorned the Z3 as not much of a sports car when I was reading all the magazines back in the day. I didn't want to like it much. I was wrong, and I love this thing. I have driven it back to back with 3rd and current gen Miatas, and S2000s and would not swap cars with any of them. Granted I am an enthusiast driver and not a race car driver, but it excels on mountain roads and the throwback semi trailing rear end is a hoot. It reminds me of the old 5.0 Mustang in a lot of ways. Torquey, kinda clunky to shift and a great kick in the pants.

It is based on the a simple and relatively bullet proof E30 suspension, and the engine has responded to some minimal replacement of plastic parts well.

They are cheap, easy to work on and under valued IMO. Just be sure to get enough engine because I think it would suck with the 4 cylinder. Of course, just about any minivan is faster than an early 2000s sports car any more, I think it is still quick enough and tons of fun to daily drive.

[rd62]

Hundreds? It's a stock, base-model 911, with virtually no options, other than a factory short shifter...so it weighs ~2370 pounds, it is about 100-pounds heavier than a '73 base which was ~2270 curb weight. And the 2.7 base is 150-hp to the '73's 2.4 base 140-hp. If you're comparing it to the 2.7 RS then yes, down on power by comparison (210 on the RS).

If you want to lighten it, ditch those impact-bumpers and retrofit a '71-73 style set of bumpers and boom - that extra 100 pounds is basically gone.

Also this particular car has just had the 2.7 gone through, by a Porsche Specialist out of Texas. Carrera rods and pistons, very mild cam, and a set of Weber IDFs to replace the Bosch mechanical injection. No sunroof, moderate suspension upgrades (adjustable Konis, bigger sways)...I just plan to put a set of 17" Fuchs with some Michelin Pilot Sports on them and drive the piss out of it daily.

It's not a competition car or a car meant for tracking. Like I said, I've got the Alpine which I'm setting up for B-Prep Limited SCCA Solo and will work fine for HPDEs and maybe the occasional open track day. - I'm pretty much done racing cars heavily for competition. Solo is a nice one a month Sunday past-time and allows me to stay sharp and refine my ride. The Porsche is just for driving.

Sounds saweeeeeet!

[RevolverRob]

Ran a similar but slightly more developed RS Repro for years. She still sits in my garage waiting for more time on my part. Depending on Cam that 2.7 with Webers will be snotty on the street. You will love it but it will require a lot of love.

Sweet car! What color yellow is that (the original RS paint-code, or a different one?). My Sunbeam is in need of new paint and I've been leaning towards one of the Porsche yellows.

As for snotty, yea, I'm unsure on the cam situation. Knowing my buddy he wanted it to idle a bit rough to sound nice and he wanted it to pull harder off the line, but still drive pretty well without crazy maintenance. His mechanic has been building vintage racing P-cars and other exotics for about 35-years, so I imagine when described as a "mild street" motor it's not too far from that. Even still, it'll require considerably more maintenance than a new Mazda Miata would. But then again, it's a vintage Porsche. And frankly, since I was about...6-years old, I've been in love with Porsches and always wanted one, but never actually owned one (come close a couple of times...).

When my friend bought this one about 5-years ago, as a driver/mild restoration project, I took one look at it and started teasing him, "Man, thanks for buying and restoring my Porsche." Now it's back to bite me in the ass, "So Rob, are you ready to buy your Porsche?"

Sounds saweeeeeet!

Right?

Now for the real challenge...convincing my wife. Who is already like, "You have a sportscar! And we have a 5-door hatchback with adjustable suspension and sticky tires. Why do we need another sports-type car?" - To which my reply is, "Because Porsche."

I think the deal is going to be, I get a 911, she gets a house (aka I get a garage). Apparently, "I got you a dog! You get a dog, I get a Porsche!" Isn't seen as an equivalent trade...

[60Driver]

Paint is original code 73 Chrome Spec Yellow.

With the 2.7 builds an "Early S" Cam = a very aggressive street cam. Mine has a WEBCAM variation on this theme that only behaves on the street with a Jacobs box instead of the original Bosch Ignition system. Basically it comes on cam around 4000K and will pull to 9 plus if I am willing to take it there. Other things to be aware of is that valve and carb tuning are critical on these motors and they prefer and OPEN exhaust. IF you already have not read Pelican Parts Forum, go there and Rennlist.

The Weber 2.7 motors get RPM NOW! and are true to the original RS sound and fury, for a dual street track car I would honestly go with a 3.2 motronic, easier to maintain, more torque, flatter power band. But for a purist 2.7 is where it is at.

I have been out of the PCAR club racing scene for many years and really do miss it. Like you I started with too much car and never really got that good, but had a blast doing it.

Basics on mine:

1970 911T, slight flare to run 16 7's and 8's
Full cage tied to front a rear suspension
2.7 as above, RS jugs, time certs etc etc
Adjustable Koni's, bigger torsion bars and sways, adjustable spring plates.
SC slotted rotors
901 gearbox (lighter but fragile) short shift kit with "airport" gears
RS style gutted interior
Paint is rough, but it was built and was a steetable track toy

I have owned it since 1984, 2 engine rebuilds and more $ than I dare add up. Built it with my dad and grand dad and my boys will learn to race in it. Props on the Alpine, friend race a Tiger...it was a handful!

Once you get yours, if you have any questions my amateur knowledge can help with hit me up. Oh and also owned a 2nd gen Miata. WAY easier way to play the cone game with almost equal smiles. Junior Pilots in my squadron used to give me S#$%, offered to run against any of them in autocross with it or break out the real race car. They shut up!

[RevolverRob]

Paint is original code 73 Chrome Spec Yellow.

With the 2.7 builds an "Early S" Cam = a very aggressive street cam. Mine has a WEBCAM variation on this theme that only behaves on the street with a Jacobs box instead of the original Bosch Ignition system. Basically it comes on cam around 4000K and will pull to 9 plus if I am willing to take it there. Other things to be aware of is that valve and carb tuning are critical on these motors and they prefer and OPEN exhaust. IF you already have not read Pelican Parts Forum, go there and Rennlist.

The Weber 2.7 motors get RPM NOW! and are true to the original RS sound and fury, for a dual street track car I would honestly go with a 3.2 motronic, easier to maintain, more torque, flatter power band. But for a purist 2.7 is where it is at.

I have been out of the PCAR club racing scene for many years and really do miss it. Like you I started with too much car and never really got that good, but had a blast doing it.

Basics on mine:

1970 911T, slight flare to run 16 7's and 8's
Full cage tied to front a rear suspension
2.7 as above, RS jugs, time certs etc etc
Adjustable Koni's, bigger torsion bars and sways, adjustable spring plates.
SC slotted rotors
901 gearbox (lighter but fragile) short shift kit with "airport" gears
RS style gutted interior
Paint is rough, but it was built and was a steetable track toy

I have owned it since 1984, 2 engine rebuilds and more $ than I dare add up. Built it with my dad and grand dad and my boys will learn to race in it. Props on the Alpine, friend race a Tiger...it was a handful!

Once you get yours, if you have any questions my amateur knowledge can help with hit me up. Oh and also owned a 2nd gen Miata. WAY easier way to play the cone game with almost equal smiles. Junior Pilots in my squadron used to give me S#$%, offered to run against any of them in autocross with it or break out the real race car. They shut up!

Truly awesome set of wheels.

Good luck with the sons! I hope they enjoy it. My dad got me hooked on cars as a kid and it was his boss's AI Mustang I raced. I think I got a motor oil transfusion at about 5-years old and I've been effectively obsessed with things with wheels since.

My oldest nephew (7 later this year) is getting close for TAG kart racing. But you can see his eyes glaze over and the focus come on intense when he sees quarter-midgets going in circles on dirt. I'm not sure he's going to get the bug like grandpa and uncle to turn left and right, but he's got the need for speed, it's there burning inside of him. Last time I saw him at home, he was trying to figure out how to mount a left-over weed-eater mower to his younger brother's tricycle.

[RJ]

Ok, Miata guys.

Budget is $10k.

Can I get a decent daily driver, MT, in this price point?

What are the things to look out for on a used purchase?

Any absolute Red Flags?

[RevolverRob]

Ok, Miata guys.

Budget is $10k.

Can I get a decent daily driver, MT, in this price point?

What are the things to look out for on a used purchase?

Any absolute Red Flags?

Absolutely yes.

I would look for a second generation (NB) Miata. Mainly, because I think it is the best-looking made, until they released the RF this year. The NBs all have the larger 1.8 liter motor (later versions of the first-gen NA Miatas had 1.8s as options). They also had optional 6-speeds with slightly better ratios for autocross and trackdays. Both NAs and NBs had optional Torsen Limited-Slip diffs. If you find an NB with a 1.8 and 6-speed, it should have a limited-slip diff.

Here is Road and Track's NB Buyer's Guide that lays out most of it - http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...-buyers-guide/

Red flags - avoid heavily modified cars, period. There are a lot of beat up Miatas out there and if you're building a race car/track toy/something you don't mind fixing a beat up Miata is perfectly fine. But you want a driver car - just avoid things that have been heavily modified.

I'm partial to the '99 10th Anniversary NB Miatas myself, the color is gorgeous, with a color-matched top and interior, they came factory 1.8/6spd/Torsen/Bilstein shocks. They're out there and your price range should allow you to find a cherry, low-mileage one. Similarly you could look for some of the other limited-edition models (all conveniently called "Special Editions) which tend to be optioned better than base models.

http://jalopnik.com/your-guide-to-ev...-so-1675339097