Hey,

My name's Chris, I'm a 17yr old High school senior graduating in only a couple short months. At the moment I own a 2000 Acura Integra GSR, I've been working on it for about a year and it's turned out pretty nice. I've been brought up in a big motor sports family (always been around cars, dirt bikes, R/C cars ect.), and I'm ready to tackle my first real project car this summer. With the money from selling the Integra (5-6K, maybe a bit more if I take the time to part it out), plus the 5-8K I should be getting from my summer employment I plan on having a decent amount of funds I can put basically all of towards a car to get the project started. I've been considering options from another Honda, S13/S14's, ae86, but the car that's always stuck out in my mind as the clear favorite is an S30. But at the same time it's the option I know the least about. I've got complete plans drawn out for the other options and I'm here to gather information, and see whether it's within my means to take an S30 (2-seater) in decent shape and get going on a project. It's not something I expect to complete in a single summer, nor a single year, but if It's within my means I'm ready to give it a shot. If you guys could provide any kind of insight, or point me in the direction of some good readings (or good places to buy parts for these cars) that'd be really appreciated. I have a very very rough idea of what I'd like to accomplish this summer, and an even rougher idea of long term goals but I'll post them below.

Pick up a clean, running S30 for $5-9K with minimal rust

Spend the summer (and approx 2.5K) fixing any small problems to keep the car in running order and rebuilding the suspension (Struts/springs, camber Kit, Sway Bar Kit, Urethane Bushings, some kind of Chassis bracing/stiffening)

Long term Goal is a reliable L28et driven car, putting down 250+whp.

Thanks

Edited April 5, 201014 yr by 10cjennings

Wow, for someone who isn't that familiar about S30's, you're one of the few that is in the ballpark budget wise.

Check out the how to buy an S30 section on zhome.org. It a good primer on what to look for in these cars. Being in Fla., you'll have plenty of options. Wait for a rust free starting point. The cost of fixing rust dramatically exceeds the cost of buying a good body to begin with.

After that the world is your oyster...stock (ish) S30's are very cheap to maintain, easy to work on, great to drive and definitely head turners...as to upgrades, the sky is the limit budget-wise, but you can define your own destiny there.

Of your options, definitely go with the Z. Much simpler vehicle to set-up / work on and, IMHO, stands out significately more.

I'm looking forward to updates as you proceed.

Welcome aboard.

Hi bro, welcome . Love the S13/14 but you'll love the Z even more! Besides having a good road racing history, and winning the SCCA C-production championship 10 years in a row, they have a huge rally history too. Check out Zpoint.nl and read up and watch some of the vintage rally videos from the 70's. For parts there are the usual suspects named throughout this forum like MSA aka MotorSportAuto, Victoria British now called Black Dragon, Arizona Z Car for more race stuff, Z Barn, Tomie Power USA.com, Cusco, HKS, ACT, Center Force and so many others. For sure get cleanest car you can. If Florida presents no good ones then ship one in from one of the Dry States for about $700, there are more rust free Z's out here than back east. There are around 46 in my town alone! Read up on IZZC.com, here and on other sites to learn as much about the Z and the differences in years as you can. Pick up a copy of Dsport magazine, just about anything you read there can be applied to Z's too .

Edited April 9, 201014 yr by WingZr0

Wow, for someone who isn't that familiar about S30's, you're one of the few that is in the ballpark budget wise.

Check out the how to buy an S30 section on zhome.org. It a good primer on what to look for in these cars. Being in Fla., you'll have plenty of options. Wait for a rust free starting point. The cost of fixing rust dramatically exceeds the cost of buying a good body to begin with.

After that the world is your oyster...stock (ish) S30's are very cheap to maintain, easy to work on, great to drive and definitely head turners...as to upgrades, the sky is the limit budget-wise, but you can define your own destiny there.

Of your options, definitely go with the Z. Much simpler vehicle to set-up / work on and, IMHO, stands out significately more.

I'm looking forward to updates as you proceed.

Welcome aboard.

Hi bro, welcome . Love the S13/14 but you'll love the Z even more! Besides having a good road racing history, and winning the SCCA C-production championship 10 years in a row, they have a huge rally history too. Check out Zpoint.nl and read up and watch some of the vintage rally videos from the 70's. For parts there are the usual suspects named throughout this forum like MSA aka MotorSportAuto, Victoria British now called Black Dragon, Arizona Z Car for more race stuff, Z Barn, Tomie Power USA.com, Cusco, HKS, ACT, Center Force and so many others. For sure get cleanest car you can. If Florida presents no good ones then ship one in from one of the Dry States for about $700, there are more rust free Z's out here than back east. There are around 46 in my town alone! Read up on IZZC.com, here and on other sites to learn as much about the Z and the differences in years as you can. Pick up a copy of Dsport magazine, just about anything you read there can be apply to Z's too .

Yah, I've got a couple weeks before I can even list my current car for sale. Then once that gets sold I can start my search for a nice S30, I've been reading up as much as I can get my hands on so if you guys have any more recommendations let me know.

Thanks!

I suggest that you send a PM to Carl Beck he also lives in Florida and can be of a great deal of help. He also has a website Zhome and is a member here . Perhaps he will see this thread and post . If you use the search function on this web site you will find a great depth of information.

All the best Gary