whats a good cheap drag car ?

Spider

Registered User
ok i need a car that i can drive on the road but also Drag. well i Drag car i can drive on the road :rolleyes:

what a good cheap car to modify and easily buy parts for cheap ?

I'm thinking of a Mustang. or maybe a S-10 with a 350SB

need something automatic.

fuel injected would also be a plus. the FI kits are kinda expensive for the carb conversions.

year, make, models, years.

i really need something that can be easy to work on so easy major repairs can be done outside instead of having to bring inside the garage :)

any help would be great.
 
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Any 87-93 Mustang Coupe (notchback). Plenty of bolt ons, fun to drive, easy to work on. No good if you cant drive a 5-speed.
 
Why does it matter if he can't drive a stick? For a stang get a c-4 and a stall converter. You could even get a built aod that will handle some power. I know quite a few fuel injected 5.0's running good times with a c-4 behind them that are also street driven.
Later
Shaun
 
well

Auto 86-93 mustang CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

any 5.7 Camaro/Firebird 87 and up Not as cheap to do up but good foundation...Perhaps harder to find a good starting point to work with

My advice on cheap drag cars that are fuel injected and auto...Definitely go mustang if you can...PArts are cheap and plentyful
 
for just drag
Grand national if you can find one
loads of after market
we have a local that works in a machine shop that claims he got his GN for 4000 and put less than 5-6000 in parts into it and he runs a 11.02 which i have actually seen
claims an 11s car for less than 10k
 
a 1990-1994 turbocharged acura integra gs or gsr

Apprx. Cost- 5,000 after turbo kit

the car is cheap
it will take a beating
hella light=hella fast
fun to drive
very sophisticated for its day (like our cars)
Parts are more plentiful than most any other car considering it swaps almost everything with civics.

an easy 12s-13s car if you know how to drive

The bad- FWD

LEARN TO DRIVE A STICK.....YOUR DRIVING EXPERIENCE WILL THANK YOU!
 
n easy 12s-13s car if you know how to drive

Heck I can do mid 13's with a stock 87 mustang and some slicks with a 5 speed....Acura my hiney! 11's with under 5,000 total

And it wont cost you an arm and a leg if you explode something
 
xThunderbirdSCx said:
a 1990-1994 turbocharged acura integra gs or gsr

Apprx. Cost- 5,000 after turbo kit

the car is cheap
it will take a beating
hella light=hella fast
fun to drive
very sophisticated for its day (like our cars)
Parts are more plentiful than most any other car considering it swaps almost everything with civics.

an easy 12s-13s car if you know how to drive

The bad- FWD

LEARN TO DRIVE A STICK.....YOUR DRIVING EXPERIENCE WILL THANK YOU!

Not a big rice fan. Gotta admit it though, the rice holds its own. I rode in civic that had a turbo GSR motor in it and it was as you stated.... Hella Light and Hella fast. I was very impressed. They scream and you can beat on em all day. Thats if you want to go the rice route. Other wise, the mustang is the cheapest most dependable option
 
1st gen RX7 with a granny's kit ($350) and build up whatever 302 ya want. Still keep the full interior and only weigh 2600lbs race ready :D



or just spend $1500 on a not so abused 302 mustang and put 2 kits on it. When you split the block just get another junkyard 302 shortblock and do it again :D
 
Yep, it's hard to beat the Fox.

Don't forget about those other Foxes, the Fairmonts and Thunderbirds. They can be had cheaper than a Mustang usually.

Next choice would be a late Seventies or so G-body Malibu. They have a similar rear suspension as a Fox and are only second choice because they weigh a bit more, but probably not more and a couple hundred pounds.
 
Turbo honda's.... Yeah get one if you like blowing ring lands and splitting cylinders.. Then watch the tranny give up after you build an engine to handle the boost. Fox chassis car's are cheap to build and race. I race my stang constantly and I'm putting the fairmont futura back together again and will start racing it. Flat out they are the best bang for the buck.
Later
Shaun
 
big block S.C. anyone???

So let me get this right...... You come to this page and you want to build something???? Well lets stuff one of those "crate" 514's in there and go 11's all day long... Better yet, add a spray and look into the bottom 11's or even a high 10's....
Simple, eazy, and a real sleeper at the local drive in's.....I know as I do drive one all the time......Rich
 
What do you call a drag car personally? The term "drag car" is a bit broad as people tend to think something open header with big tires and a big cam is a full fledged drag car.

To me a drag car is a 4-link car that is, tubbed with 33x14.5x15 tires, staggered front end, 1.000" lift cam 290/290 duration at .050", wheelie bars, 25.2 SFI spec roll cage, aluminum case hog-head, with titanium yoke, aluminum 35-spline spool with a turned down lightened ring gear and gundrilled axles, gundrilled rotors that weigh 3 1/2lbs. a piece, fully rollerized aluminum drummed tranny with a 6500 lockup 8in. converter, reverse manual VB with trans-brake, 2Step with MSD 7AL-3, all behind a 700 or higher HP motor, etc.......LOL

You don't want a five speed car because of inconsistency. ET and reaction time wise. You don't want anything forced inducted, especially a turbo car for God's sake, because that is inconsistent. And by consistency i mean +/- ONE hundredth.

I would actually go with Rich's recommendation. Go big block and stay N/A, get a nice tranny with a trans-brake, and throw it in an SC. It would make a nice consistent, easy to tune car to play with during spring, summer, and fall. There are waaaaay too many Mustangs out there owned by people that "want to make a cheap drag car."

No such thing as a cheap drag car, unless it ran 11's or 12's.
 
CMac89 said:
No such thing as a cheap drag car, unless it ran 11's or 12's.


Horse ~~~~! Fox Body......Exhaust, Intake, Gears and a 100 shot!......12.40's consistantly with a two step installed....in a 5-speed.


Yeah, there is no replacement for displacement....yes there is. A small block can run the same as a big block all day long. Thats an old head fad. Show me a shady tree mechanic with a big block Chevy or Pontiac running the same as the Fox bodied stangs with forced induction. Be it nitous or what have you, the Fox body is running faster and blowing the doors off the competition.

Look at the dude that recently posted 9's with a V6......Big Block Who? Call me when you are out of Beer!
 
Read it again, he said he thinks N/A is best for consistancy to the HUNDRETH of a second. He also said drag cars arn't cheap unless they are 11-12 second. :p

I am willing to bet that 9 second V6 wasn't cheap to get that quick.

That is just how I read it tho.. ;)
 
....Big Block Who? Call me when you are out of Beer![/QUOTE]
Well between posting the first time and now I just went for a ride around the block.... Just for fun I hammered it and got the front end up in the air.... There is no beer around here, just plain a lot of horsepower... That and a whole lot of torque to do the job...........Care to come over for a ride around the block anyone???????????????????????.........Rich.....P.S. you might want to bring a chancge of panties...............LOL
 
Feld said:
Read it again, he said he thinks N/A is best for consistancy to the HUNDRETH of a second. He also said drag cars arn't cheap unless they are 11-12 second. :p

I am willing to bet that 9 second V6 wasn't cheap to get that quick.

That is just how I read it tho.. ;)
Thanks, Feld. I see someone understands:) .

12.40's? You jokin? For a Big Block it's more like, take the air filter off to run 12.40's on stock polyglass tires.

I'm sure he didn't run 9's N/A either. I'm sure if you build a "drag car" the only competitive racing you can do is bracket racing. This is part of the reason you need consistency although it is nice to have a car that you'll know what it will run everytime down the track and not plus or minus 2-3 tenths.

I don't see any other racing you can do. Organized category racing is waaaaaay too expensive to be competitive in.

BTW, listen to Rich. He knows what it is.
 
Tbirdsc Colonel said:
for just drag
Grand national if you can find one
loads of after market
we have a local that works in a machine shop that claims he got his GN for 4000 and put less than 5-6000 in parts into it and he runs a 11.02 which i have actually seen
claims an 11s car for less than 10k

I would have to agree

I got my GN for $2700
For a rebuilt motor it was under $3 grand
Turbo under a grand
FMIC about a grand
tranny about a grand and a half

so for a little over 9 grand I have a ?? sec car ...

I'll say it ran 13.2 at 107 BEFORE I did the tranny,converter,FMIC and had pep boys BS tires on it on that run


you could get an 86-87 Type alot cheaper then a GN some have floor shifter and if you get lucky (doubt it) and find a WE4 model TType they are lighter and supposedly a little faster then a stock GN

you can ch eck on www.gnttype.org
www.turbobuick.com
www.turbobuicks.com

also you can check out my friends site..
http://www.freewebs.com/turboparts/engineparts.htm

he might no guarantee have a car for sale... good luck
 
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well looks like a mustang would be the best for me to build. just thinking about driving a stick shift gives me chills... cant stand it. i would rather put
3k in a transmission just to give me more durability then drive a stick.

anyway. 93 mustang i would think would be the best, cheapest way to go since you can buy so many mods for it and the mods are cheap and easy to get. so many people have mustangs parts and help would be easy for me to get and i think i would enjoy modifying these cars more than i would a honda. if i like to drive a stick i would go with a ricer but i dont :)

i checked into the other cars mentioned and they all cost to much and aren't that available in my area like the mustangs are.

toyota supra is what i would really like to have since i heard you can mod the crap out of them without having to build up the eternal parts. but I'm limited with wanting to drive a auto.

thunderbird v8 would be cool but i need something easier to work on, something lighter, smaller and not as cluttered in the engine compartment.
 
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