They sure look fast on “America’s Wildest Police Videos”!!! Plus they always seem to be on sale on Craigslist for between $1500 and $4000 depending on age and condition.
99/2000 Mustang is the perfect choice if you like the style. There is an enormous market for performance parts. Recommend that you buy one that has not been altered by, well, someone like yourself. Best to learn from your own experiences at age 20 and not buy someone else’s problem. Rear drive is generally easier to work on than front wheel drive (civic, etc), plus there is more potential. “No replacement for displacement” after all.
What state are you in? Do you have an emissions inspection?
i live in washington i was thinking about a mustang gt but i just heard they arent really reliable. but the research i have done they are decently reliable. and also thats why i was looking for a decently quick car that was stock so i can learn how to do upgrades and see it for myself so i can do it as i get older do you know what is a really good year for the mustang gts
My suggestion would be a Fox body Mustang of the late 80s/early 90s with a 5.0. These cars run very well bone stock and there’s an absolute mountain of aftermarket parts out there that can turn them from fast into eyeball smearing fast.
A swap to a 460 engine is a common one on these cars if more cubic inches is a requirement.
Another big plus is that these cars are some of the simplest around to service. They’re a piece of cake.
ya something like that would be nice i was thinkin like a acura rsx type-s with turbo i wasnt sure yet though i just wanted to hear other peoples opinions
i meant by fast 0-60 and it doesnt need a top speed of like 200mph i dont intend to ever go that fast. the main reason is also there is a track that i can go to around where i live and race our street legal cars thats why i was lookin for decently quick if anything i would go for faster yet somewhat reliable you understand what i mean?
i just wanted to say thanks again to all you guys for giving me great feedback i just want to make things very clear i see that there are a hyandful of you thinking i want a fast car to drive it all over the community speeding. that is not it at all where i live there are a couple race areas you are able to go to and pay to race your street legal cars around a couple courses. of course yes there would be obviously some speeding here and there on the roads but that is not what i plan to do everywhere i go. i just go with a huge group of my friends to the tracks. and no i am not a high school kid i am in college. cars are just something i love to learn more about and work on thank you everyone hope your all having a great evening
So you want to go fast on the track AND you want this track car to be your daily driver. I just can’t think of the car to pick as it will more than likely break no matter what you buy and then you have no transportation. Can you afford things like motor mounts breaking and the fan chewing up the radiator (a co-worker in WI. raced his M3 on the weekends and getting away with 500.00 in damage/accelerated wear was a good weekend). Mind you this guy could not race every weekend.
Myself, for a fun car to race (road race) I would go for a 914 (if any are left) as I can work on any part of the car.
Some other mechanics had drag cars and they were better mechanics than drivers as one broken driveshaft at about 80mph scared my co-worker so much that drag car got sold.
You wouldn’t really need to buy a turbo kit for the Miata, they sell a kit where a nice 302 will bolt right up to it.
It also helps that they are driven by people who are usually pretty skilled behind the wheel, and more often than not there are half a dozen crusiers to outmanuver a drunk guy on those shows. But the acutal car isn’t particularly fast.
If you look here
You can see that P71 takes almost 9 seconds to get to 60 MPH. In comparision a newer V8 Mustang will get to 60 in about 5 seconds, a V6 Mustang in about 7 seconds. Even something as mundane as a 4 cylinder Camary can best the P71 in most areas of performance.
The Crown Vic is well built, reliable, and cheap to operate, but it’s not a fast car.
Acura Integra- fast, fun, excellent handling- but buy one that is unmodified and owned by a mature (over 35) adult- my son owned an Integra (he is 24) and LOVED that car! He even let ME drive it! And, to be honest, it felt nicer than my daughter’s BMW 3-series! Whatever you do, DON’T buy a used Porsche! He bought a Boxster- nothing but expensive mechanical problems- he dumped it and learned his lesson.
How about the Subaru WRX?
I just bought a used '87 Camaro z/28 with a 350 motor. H vin, factory carburetor car. $500.
I would recommend a vehicle like this or a fox body mustang.Both could be strong cars and still be street driven if you don’t go too radical with the power modifications.
Both vehicles handle extremely well.
Fastest car on a road coarse or a drag race? FWD or RWD? Arguably the the Neon SRT-4 could be the most bang for your buck if FWD is your choice.
It’s doable, I’ve had a Kenne Bell supercharger on my Mustang GT for 5 years now, and haven’t had any issues.
I disagree: any car today can go plenty fast enough to get yourself (and others) killed, and I don’t think most drivers of riced-out POSs drive any more safely because the underlying car doesn’t perform.
Actually, I’d steer a youngster away from “boy racer” cars because (from past experience) you get loads of unsolicited stoplight race requests, and a testosterone-laden young man might not be able to endure the perceived slight to his manhood that constantly turning down these requests would amount to.
Rather than take a slow car and make it look fast, I’d recommend a fast car that looks slow. I’d also recommend a car the youngster bought personally: while youth may have no respect for personal mortality, they will drive more conservatively if they’re risking many hours of labor tied up in their car.
the biggest problem with that route is that it’s going to be difficult to find a stock fox body 'stang.
An often ignored car and a great one for having some fun with is an older Merkur XR4Ti. These things are pretty much obsolete but can still be found in good shape for a comparatively small amount of money.
They’re based on the Cosworth and use the Ford 2.3 Turbocharged engine. With a little engine work these cars can flat scream. One guy has run one on the Bonneville Salt Flats to the tune of 208 MPH. Not too shabby for a 4 banger. We have a local road race course near here and a few years back a gentleman showed up with one of these cars (running the stock bottom end, mild head work, and updated Turbocharger with 21 pounds of boost) and was cleaning the clocks of the guys who were running 427 Corvettes, 428CJ Mustangs, etc.
They’re also kind of weird looking and draw looks on the street. Here’s a snout shot of mine. They only came with the 2.3 but this one has been outfitted with a 5.0; Trans Am hood scoop and all. 
In that case, I think a Civic would be a good choice. I have seen on television (I think the show was “Hotrod TV” or something like that), where they did a low budget project on a Civic. They were able to make a pretty quick car for less than $5,000. The car was only about half the cost. The rest was spent on repairs and aftermarket upgrades.
You can find a pre-2003 Mustang coupe with the V8 for far less than $10,000. Even a 2003/2004 can be less than $10,000, but not the SVT Cobra. I think that this is your best bet if you want to race all competitors.