5K

One of these ...

I'd build up a 300BHP 4.6 for my V8, along with some choice brake and suspension mods, and fit a narrowed TR8 rear with LSD, along with a better diff ratio.

Might even have some change for a quick blowover

5k??? use 4k to get the mini exaclty how i want it, steel flip front, 6x12 blac revs, lowered, speedwell interior. resprayed in same colour. just make it a completely road going minter. and spend the other 1k on 318 tourer with some big dog black rims lowerd. sweet

finish what I started...

Cor, if £5k did magically appear in my bank account, I hope I'd have some time to make a decision! Problem is, I love everything!

That much would get me another P6B though, an an LPG conversion!

get my fiat engine built to full on race spec with the supercharger (about 200hp)

and buy a curse word load of bits for the red kitten, get a cage welded in, and buy some 13x10 split rims for the rear, 13x7s up front.

'oh and obviously put it in a savings account for a rainy day etc etc' YAAA RLY!

I love the way we are so content that we can get spare money out of 5k, it would all get trickled away, but for a lot of us, this is all we need!

Just looking on ebay completeds, those old Pontiacs are shockingly cheap, infact banger material ones getting broke in Hebden bridge! I guess theres a load of rust etc to look out for etc, is there whats the rest of em like anyone know? engine a good un to start with? 5.0, 5.7? I imagine interiors wear and parts are costy.

*starts saving quick*

F-Bodies: Get a 5.7 if possible. But if not a 5.0 will do as a 5.7 lump is cheap enough. Don;t bother trying to tune the 5.0 its a bit of a non-starter. Theres 20% difference in capacity between the 350 and the 305 but when built to the same spec the 350 has more than 20% more power than the 305....

They rust, usual unibodyplaces - sills, arches, screen surrounds, etc. etc. just do the usual checks. The T-Tops can leak and squeak and can be expensive to sort out of they do either or both of these. Look extra for rot in floors on cars with T-Tops.

Be wary of cars with the factory 5 speed. Its not the strongest in the world and can fail. Do the usual checks, whining, jumping out of gear, baulky changes. The 4 speed auto can also fail if the TCV cable is not set correctly it burns the trans out. So bad shifting autos are best avoided unless you have a built TH350 trans in your budget. I have seen a number which have been retrofitted with the TH350 trans when the stocker blew.

General use and abuse signs should warn you off cars which have beenb thrashed and are potential money pits.

Most stuff is cheap as chips for these but panels can be frighteningly expensive if you need to get something shipped.

Decat and remove the emissions gear and you can get something going well with these.

There are two families of motor - the Gen 1 and the Gen 2. Gen 1 comes in early and later models depending on the rear seal type and a few other changes. Changeover year is 1986. From about 1990 or 1991 you get the Gen 2 engine which looks similar is 5.7 v8 only and has a number of improvements, but a lot less tuining stuff available which means less choice and higher cost of bits. The Optispark ignition on these engines is great until it fails. And then its a ballache to get to as its crank triggered and behind the front pulley - best course of action is to fit an MSD replacement. Fit and forget.

The Gen 1 comes with 2 forms of fuel injection - the 86 and later version is better.

the Gen 1 can easily have the EFI removed and fit a 4 barrel carb and manifold instead. This is what most people over here do as we don;t have US style emissions to deal with.

Check also for weak springs. I've seen a few which look lowered but are just sagging.

Hmmm. If I had 5,000 to spend on retro related gubbins I think I would have 3 options.

1. Use it to get any remaining bits for all the retro projects I have now. Suspension for the monza, late senator engine for the monza. ECU and 5 link kit for the mk1. The list is a long one but 5K would easy cover that.
2. Use it to build a barn so I could get my retro tat hoard out of the elements. I could just do it for that and should be able to get 8 or 9 cars in.
3. Spend it all on an absolute shitter of a 911

Decisions decisions