Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
This would be a needle in a haystack, but possibly a 91 Honda CRX. Assuming it doesn't have 300,000+ miles and hasn't been molested (very big IFs), should be reliable, and will get around 45mpg highway.
It's lightweight, so it should be reasonably quick, and the handling is very good from what I've read.
This.
The CRX is my favorite car. You can generally find them with DOHC and even Type R engines for under 4K. Not to mention they are quick and handle like a dream.
EDIT: This CL posting has a completely bad ass CRX for just under 5K.
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/1150026506.html
Fast and economical. Looks great.
Hmm. It might be hard to find a CRX that someone hasn't riced out or driven the hell out of. That B18C1 is a great swap, the B18C5 is even better, but a bit rare. The thing is, you just don't know how good a job they did until you have the thing for a while, lots of little things, emissions, wiring harness, motor mounts, seals, dash hookups, etc, can cause you headaches if they didn't do them right. And of course if someone did a swap like that, they probably drove it pretty hard. Also, as a guy who's had a couple of hot Hondas, it will probably chew axles if you have a 200+hp CRX/Civic.
This does bring up another possibility though, it's not as uncommon to find an unmolested Prelude, which are a bit more comfortable, in a 4G or 5G package, with ~100k miles and a 2.2 or 2.3L Vtec motor.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/...st=1539&standard=false
Silver on Black 2001 Prelude, 68k miles, 5speed, $5k. Pretty classy car, and can be pretty mildly modded to the ~220-230hp level with bolt-ons and a tune without sounding like a fart mobile. Jackson also has an excellent supercharger kit for this that I installed, but be warned, your fuel economy will go to crap.