/another off topic out from nowhere drunken post...
with $3K's...and a full garage...anything is possible....
glad to see that your still going for honda....but sit back and think what you really want....
If I had $3K right now...I'd buy windows for the house so I can keep this years heating cost down, so I can save money and throw that money into more parts that would spruce up my cars for next year...but I don't and you do, and you prolly don't even have a house and prolly still live with the rent's...that's cool to...cuz you can use that full amount of money to set up another car...OK...that didn't go anywhere...
try this...your into CRX's..but with $3K's a sec gen rex will suck up money left and right...spent wisely...you can hook up the first generation rex really sweet...I know..I have done it,,...blew it and it sits....but it will be reborn soon.
The basic 84-87 first gen CRX...stock, grandma driven, bought from Ebay for $1K...
Engine..to many options...it geared more for what you want to do with the car...drag, autocross, street vette killa....etc..It all depends on your budget and what you want to do.
if you already have parts for the second gen, or the delsol..then head that way.....but if you want to start from a clean slate...and build up something....then the best bet would be to go vist or lurk on Redpepperracing.com when you have a chance...
IMHO...anything after 1988 has turned into a rice-o-roni market...sure there are a lot of hard core "real" racers out ther to really hook up the car...but it dip's into the wallet like there is no afterlife. The older gen has the real racers that have spent many years finding out how to squeeze every pony out of their car...and still make it dance like a primadona...just go check it out...and you might fall in love with the body style and the funky suspension it has...and if not..then go find one of those guys that has one..and beg for a ride...it will change your mind drastically...and if not..then screw that I ever said anything here.
the simple $1K car, can be caged for $500, full stiff suspension for under $700, ZC'ed for $500, turbo'd for $300, and rimed and wheeled decently for the car you want for under $300...seat harness, under $200, LSD'ed for $250, and if you have a shop that can weld...then your options are endless.....
getting something that someone started and got half way thru is kinda good...it depends on what level their technical abilities are, their wiring jobs are, how they torque things, and basically...how new or good the parts are that they used are. A car can be posted as fully built..but they did a hack job that just got the parts on the car...and sometimes not on the right/safe way...its something that you have to go look at in person for....before you send money thru the system.
That why I say start from a clean slate, research what you want to do, what is possible, whats availible to the average market, and how you can get it....freinds help sometimes if they know of a car that has some parts sitting in the junkyard...some people can score greatly by lurking on the forums, and if you have the cash....then just buy new parts that have warranties..
and also...think...what other cars are out there that has potential to do what you want them to do...CRX's are light, can be made to be fast, or can be made to handle exception on different course venues...and also some other cars can also be classed the same way...
case in point...I wanted to drift...I dumped tons of money and time to build an AE86 so I can drift...while I already had a running car that was driftable...so I sold one, dumped money into the other one and got it up to the status of where it can have a decent chance and then it was all up to the driver (me) to make it happen.....I was going for style and old school..thats why the old Z...it looked hot out there...I just couldn't make it look hot doing what I wanted it to do...so as normal something happens and I fried the engine...but I can get an engine for it tommorrow if I wanted....for free...cux I have a freind...and freinds have freinds...etc..etc.. anywho...If I went with the norm and got an S13 to do for just drift...and dump that money into it...I would be just like all the other drifter wannabe's, and I would be drifting with no proble,...but I wouldn't stand out...unless I had ton's of seat time, and a lot of high dollar parts...but I found out that once I sat in a near stock S13...I could whip it around on my first try...so I guess I have some skill...but I wasn't doing as well as I did when I was in the CRX with blown ring...so I guess my real calling is a grip driver/corner carver....so that's why I'm going to keep the CRX, finish it, and try to make a name for myself with the creation that I can build out of my dinky homebuilt garage......
And also $3K's can go a long ways in building up a Z....if you start from a $100 junker.................................................................................................
wow...3 beers died while typing this post...