Cool Cars For Playstation Money
I'm the last of my friends to resist shelling out for a Playstation 3. It's not that I don't want one. Getting online and whupping their butts around Laguna Seca when Gran Turismo 5 comes out in the spring is a regular daydream. But I also have a Jeep with a noisy water pump, a leaking dishwasher and a bazillion other uses for the $500 it would ultimately cost. If I'm going to blow $500 on something, shouldn't it be at least half-way practical? Naturally my mind turns to cars (a hobby that defines the term "half-way practical"). Living in Southwestern Ontario means anything under $500 will almost certainly have serious body integrity issues but just for fun, what can you get for PS3 money? A wallet-sucking, driveway-staining eyesore, that's what. But an eyesore with potential.
E21 320I
Some assembly required but probably worth the effort. Alternatively, later generation E30s can be found at this price all day long and you can go Spec E30 racing for under $15,000. But these earlier 3-series are just so cool. So what if it's in boxes? A Playstation comes in a box.
5000S Quattro:
Cram a V8 under the hood and make the other drivers at the Tall Pines Rally envious of your complete lack of concern for personal safety and well-being.
Firebird:
I can't think of a less appealing combination than a V6, automatic F-body with green-to-purple flip-flop paint. Tired of people questioning his manhood, the seller is only asking $400, which leaves $100 on the table for a dozen cans of flat black spray paint without going over the $500 24 Hours of LeMons budget cap. A V8 / 6-speed swap would go further to cure the erectile disfunction.
Supra Turbo:
The R154 transmission alone is worth the $500 but I wouldn't have the heart to part it out. A replacement 7M-GTE block isn't difficult to find but that's the easy way out. I'd rather drop in a 2JZ, throw a set of R-compounds on some cheap alloys, then go pay Howard Dexter a visit. Hmm... suddenly a Playstation seems like completely practical investment.
