Jaguar XJ6. Got mine for 3500 and immediately brought it up to near perfect for 600.

Unmodified 914... maybe a '75 or '76 since they're often cheaper.

Very easy to work on. Fair amount of space under the hood, fairly simple configuration, cheap/easily accessible parts, lots of aftermarket support...

The hardest part is getting under the thing or getting them jacked up because they sit pretty low. I drive mine up on long 2x4 ramps then jack it up and put it on stands.

Does it have to be all weather? You could go with a tube frame + VW flat four. I've seen a few custom builds out on the street, they look fun, but I've never driven one.

With two 944's, it lets me take my time to fix whatever comes up, park one, drive the other. If I didn't have two of them, I'd have to take it into a shop as I don't always have the time to invest to fix them.

I guess I should have thrown in cheap parts and easy DIY. The 944 was an easy buy in but maintenance cost is keeping it in the garage collecting dust. What fun is it to have a great looking fun to drive car if you can't afford to keep it running? :(

Is a Mazdaspeed Miata easy to work on?

Milt, what year Jag? Edit... I'll just check your sig. :D

Dude, I live in So Cal! But seriously it is not a DD... I have an econo box to get me to work.

914 could be a possibility

Here is a whacky idea...

Cars for Sale: 1987 Saab 900 Convertible in Gardena, CA 90248: Convertible Details - 305364148 - AutoTrader.com

Two words: Cowl shake. I had a ride in one that was 'almost new'. The ride and cowl shake were horrendous.

I had a similar two door coupe once, that was fun car for under $200.....

That's the main reason that I don't have a Porsche, parts cost. I could probably afford it now, but I couldn't when I had and sold mine.

The MSM is basically the same, but the piping for the turbo and intercooler do take up a bit more room. Still, they are pretty darn reliable, so you don't have to work on them much. The MSM is faster, stock it's probably similar to a 911SC. With a few hundred bucks worth of upgrades, it's probably in 3.2L Carrera territory for grunt.

What I really love is the handling. The MSM suspension is upgraded from most regular miata, so it's a much tighter machine. But they are about double the $$ you're asking about.

That said, there are plenty of MSM guys that upgrade their suspension, so it's not that uncommon to see MSM suspension for sale used.

Miata

Mustang

1980s GTI, MR2, CRX-si, Scirocco 16V, E30, E36 come off the top of my head.

Pretty much any car from Bring-A-Trailer that fits the $5K cap the OP placed.

Drove a friends 92 Miata today. He'd been complaining about clutch slippage with a fairly new clutch and slave cylinder. 5 minutes on google looking up the issue. 10 minutes adjusting pedal with a couple of wrenches and it's fixed. He's happy as a clam. He paid less than $2,000 for this thing with 117k miles. Put $1,000 in to paint and he's got a nice tight car that handles well, has decent power and shifts and stops like a sports car. I'd drive one in a heartbeat. Our Chumpcar is an early 90's Miata and we've got one 1st and one 2nd in 24 hour events on a junkyard driveline and stock suspension and brakes. The 1st 24 hour event all we did was add gas and oil. The 2nd one we changed out tires due to hotter weather and brake pads. No other downtime or mechanical issues. I was impressed.

Gtv6
e30
e28
944
2002
912
mb-sl

Mr2

Not anymore. Not for a decent one.

Hard to find now but I,ve had 2 different 1988 Toyota Celicas with all wheel drive. Powered by an intercooled 4 valve 2.0 L turbo making around 200 hp. It was made in small numbers to homologate the combo for international rally racing. Unbreakable toyota quality and fairly fast. I used mine mostly in the winters here and destroyed them with rust. Picked thenm up less than $2000.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1315617872.jpg
Just missed this last week on Ebay. But reserve was above your $5000 limit. HaHa

that's really horrible unless it comes with the front fenders and normal headlights.

THis is what I want or a Caterham. I don't know that I care if I build it or someone else (assuming it was built well).

All joking aside The Miata is hard to beat. If you need a back seat I like a Jeep Wrangler.

Dude fix the 944. If you have all the parts you can do it in a weekend, no problem. Hell I'd knock it out for you in a weekend if you'll buy the plane tickets and give me a little cash... ;)

Hell yeah. I love the way these things are fast and wild to (track) drive.