My FD doesn't have a sunroof and I have to tilt the seat back one extra notch if I'm wearing the helmet because otherwise it's touching the roof. But on my FC I used to just pop the sunroof up and it would give me an extra inch or two for my helmet to poke out of. I guess that doesn't work in the rain or winter though.

Honestly I think you should buy a '93 Corolla and take an FD home with you. You can bring the car in, without the drivetrain (ship it separate). Then re-assemble and keep it as a track car. Supposedly in 5 years you'll be able to legally import a 1992 FD (although I don't quite believe that) so just keep your papers and in 5 years you can go through the process of having it legally imported and registered.

 

If you're picky about how you mod your car (lots of things you want done a certain way) I would get something close to stock.

 

Exactly

I haven't seen a good car on the market in a while. The last one I can remember was the BB R1 in TN with the BNR twins, GTC front bumper etc... and even that one had some small issues but it was a good car at a good price.

If I see something interesting that I don't buy myself I'll post the link here

 

In theory that's right (I could get an AE86 right now, but they're $$$$$ here now for a pretty one), but if you bring it in as a track car, you have to sign an affidafit that states that you will never try to register it as a road car.

And IIRC, the only way to bring a car in is to either register it (through an RI), or it has to be an actual race car (possibly a purpose-built one).

Bringing it in as parts seems like... a pain. There aren't enough tracks where I live (Road Atlanta is six hours away), and track days in the US are too few, too expensive. OTOH, I just went driving at Ebisu yesterday for $70 with timing. I did 50 laps, so that's a little over a dollar a lap. If I was to import one, I would want to be able to drive it, and it wouldn't be worth buying one for parts if the shell couldn't be used.

 

In order to buy an FD in the US, I would be pretty open to a lot of different stuff, as long as it's not too Fast and the Furious... Don't need no Euro lights, massive ugly body kits, cut springs, 20" wheels, etc. Small things like steering wheels, seats, and minor interior mods can be dealt with.

If I can only save up $5-6, I'll probably just get parts for my FC... and make it at least as fast as a stock FD. hehe. Then again, I would have just been doing what I always wanted to... but it needs a LOT of work. IE, if I get an FMIC kit because I don't have a turbo hood (decent excuse), I would probably have to get it installed. I would probably do well to pull everything off the car and paint the whole thing....sigh.

 

They don't let you drive on the track with the sunroof open though. And with my sitting position I don't think it would have helped.

My head used to touch my FC's roof without even wearing a helmet, and I won't compromise driving position to get extra room, so I'd rather just install a bucket seat.

If you're crazy tall (and a little skinny), you could always get a Bride Lowmax seat. Bride rails aren't always super low, but I think one company called Wisteria sells the lowest rails on the market, but they're $$$$ (about $300 at the current exchange rate).

 

Yeah I feel you there. That's why I decided to just come to the car instead! lol

 

I agree with the rotarymaz. I also enjoy the process of upgrading but having a RX with all the reliability mods already done (especially the vacumn line replacement) will save you a lot of time.

 

Vacuum line replacement isn't that big of a deal... If you change over to non-sequential you can get rid of a lot of them, right?

It's stuff like replacing fuel lines, PFD, fuel filter and sock, fixing vacuum leaks, seperation tank, radiator, tranny and diff fluid, etc that's a bitch.

What's the primary upside to going non-sequential?

 

My 7 just saw a weeks downtime for the vacuum hose job among other things. While I was at it, I replaced the stock omp lines with SS braided ones, put new oil nozzles in, new FPD, new turbo coolant lines, fc thermoswitch, and also installed Azeknights solenoids. I also installed my downpipe, new plug wires, and a new oil pressure sensor. When you start tearing down your car there are a lot of things that you "might as well do while I'm at it". That's where the money comes from. Not to mention all the easily broken parts like turbo inlet elbow, and solenoids are $70-$100. I bought my 7 and have already spent about $3.5k on just reliability mods.

 

I spent 9200$ on a some what stock FD that had around 1800 miles on a rebuilt engine and 96k on the chase. Though iv spent close to 7k in mods for it, if that gives you any idea.

 

Minus $8,000 for beer.

 

So true ^

 

you wont find a low mileage car. and it doesnt make sense to buy one. get as stock as possible. id come to the table with at least 10grand because you will need to dump more money in the car anyways. How much is up to you. get a loan. i only had 3k cash when i bought mine. a year later spent 4k on rebuild and other things that needed replacing.

also, ditch the FC and dump your money into the FD.

 

Hey hey, what's with that? Don't ditch the FC, especially if it's in good condition. I'm still trying to get my stock FD as fast as my FC

 

It's in pretty rough shape now... but the sentimental value means I don't want to sell it for what I could get for it in this shape.

I could get it turbo swapped and set up with new paint, rebuild, coilovers, new clutch, etc... for about $10,000... lol

 

They do exist... 93 VR R1 w/40k.... I even have the original tires that came with the car.

 

Yup. I just found my 93 vr touring with 40k. I have the original window sticker

 

Careful with the FD's man. I thought mine was as close to perfect as you could get for a used FD. The compression was perfect. Now I'm discovering that all the vacuum lines and rubber hoses are cracked and need replacing, the water seal is leaking. These problems just mean an engine rebuild. It was obviously overheated regularly even if the driver didn't abuse it and maintained it otherwise. The maintenance record was straight, he spent $400 on each oil change, even put in all name brand Japanese parts. But the fact still remains, heat killed it.

 

I am going to have to agree with this. I bought mine for 13k, still paying it off, and about a month after, my cluth fork and the master cylinder both broke.

So I would have to say that you should save up 15K + and get an FD that has been completely done.

Then right after I got my FD fixed, the driver's side door handle broke and iit took a while to get a low price replacement, since parts for the FD are not cheap.

 

Any other car this old probably breaks just as much... only difference is that as a collectible low-production car that was expensive to begin with, the total cost ends up being higher.

At least it's not a 70s Porsche or Ferrari...

At that point you'd be better off getting an NSX...

 

Bought a 93 VR Touring, with R1 front lip, and spoiler, 84K miles, 99spec JDM Motor, reliability mods, power fc, rb exhaust, bonez cat, 14k

 

That's a great deal.

An R1 with the dual oil coolers, and a rebuilt original engine would be nice, but you can't afford to be too picky when it comes to buying an FD in the US... unless you have an unlimited budget and free time to travel around the country in search of one.

I mean, there's only a few dealbreakers, like an automatic transmission or a V8 swap (no offense but I want to at least start with a 13BREW).

 

go to www.autotrader.com and do a search.

 

Might as well look on craigslist for a girlfriend.