Why the *** do people want this as an scc project car.  It's the biggest piece of crap ever and was never intended to have any sport in it.  Someone please explain this to me.  

lol it edited out h-e-l-l so everyone is gonna think it's f-u-c-k.  yay for censorship  

cheap platform, that's pretty much the reason. There's potential, but i can't get over the looks. And no amount of krylon will ever change that.  But if i had to chose cobalt ss.  

Ya but there are so many better cheap platforms.  I drive an 85 Nissan 200sx.  Those can easily be found for under a grand and have way more potential than a stupid cavalier.  I've driven cavaliers and I really couldn't think of a worse platform to make a project car off of.  I guess the Cobalt ss would be ok, but there really are so many better cars.  SCC should do something unique, like a Subaru SVX or something.  That would be cool.  

i have a feeling you will love this, LOL


 

That dude needs be kicked in the nuts!!!!!  His momma didn't raise him right.  

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  On that note, that's old, I've seen that lots of times over the last couple of years.  That kid should not pro-create, for the good of humanity.  And if you want to talk about cheap platforms with big potential, time to bust out the first gen protege, 323 hatch, Mx3, or Escort GT.  Awesome handling and 250-300 hp is just a 1.8 turbo swap away.  J-bodies suck balls, and everybody knows it.  

Ok let me get this straight. a j body is crap but a base model civic or crx or what ever is that much better.  the don't inculde si or typr r.  base car to base car both are crap i will give the honda on out of the box handling but thats about it.  old sentras the same thing.  

why not? There are enough J body owners to warrent catering at least one project to them.

I think it is about time that SCC put together an underdog project.
J-body
Hyundai Tiburon
Suzuki Aero (or swift)
even a prelude.. you do not see those modded out often (at least not well)

The list goes on and on. Not everyone here drives (or is interested) in a civic, Evo, STI, or even a Miata.

Sometimes you need to play with a bad car to make you realize how good yours really is. And who knows, it might turn out better than expected  

I hear all that, and I even agree to a certain extent, but the fact remains that when I buy a car, no matter how cheap it is, I keep performance in mind.  Not just performance out of the box, but chassis dynamics, suspension geometry, and upgradability.  Look at the Neon, those things CAN and do kill the track with properly sorted suspension.  It was there from the beginning, engineered into the chassis.  When it comes down to it, we're all nuts for throwing money at a 14 year old car, but I'd rather mod a 14 year old car that has great chassis dynamics, and not just it looks cool and I've already got underbody lights, yo!!  

Well, look at it this way. I own a BMW.. the 318ti. To some BMW enthusiasts, the "worst" bmw ever built. It has an outdated rear suspension( taken from the E30), it has funky looks (it is a hatchback), and it only came with a 4 cylinder engine (in the US anyway)

to others, it is the spiritual heir to the original 2002. It is lightweight (about 4 to 500 pounds lighter than the same year M3), it's rear suspension is the same as the original M3, it harkens back to the original 1602 and 2002 hatchback (or "Touring") that was never imported to the US, and the 4 can be easily tweaked to provide more than enough power to put the squeaze on a stock M3 of the same vintage.

It all depends on your viewpoint. Do you recognize that a car can be good even if you do not like it, or are you a "badge *** like so many BMW owners are? I am not a J Body fan by any means, but I am interested to see what SCC can do with one.

That said, even though I own a BMW, I just picked up another 99 Hyundai Tiburon, it is almost the spitting image of my old totalled car (right down to the rare Dark Forest Green paint). They are just great little cars  

if i could spend 2500 bucks, no more on any car, it'd be a 1G eclipse GSX. AWD, turbo, more than 200 hp for less than 30 bucks (it is after all a DSM) and less than 3000 lbs, if only by a few. 'd really like to see SCC do a 1g DSM project  

The j-body is just such a horribly designed car though.  And that's not just some silly oppinion.  I've driven quite a few of these cars and worked on even more and they just suck. Keep in mind that this is SPORT Compact Car magazine not Compact Car magazine let alone Barbaric Economy Car magazine.  There are so many well designed cars that can be picked up for cheap.  It's easier for me though cause I live in vegas and don't have to worry about rust, but for a project if it's old, rwd, and cheap I don't think you can go wrong.  I think a BMW e30 would be pretty sick.  Cavaliers just suck.  

This is reason one why most tuners don't get respect among blue collar population. You mock american compact tuners and you know nothing about the potential that is truly there. You base your knowledge on the flawed manufacturing company and not what companies have been doing with these vehicles.

Case in point. Check out J-body.org. You'll found numerous Cavs and Sunfires running in the 12's and even 11's in the 1/4 mile. Mostly on home made turbo kits and some supplied parts from companies that aren't too well known. You've got to look at the potential. Yes, They aren't exactly show winners, but if you take a look at the 2.2 ECO engine that's currently sitting in them you'll find a powerplant thats capable of so much. Look at the NHRA times that these cars are able to hold down. And wait... They're leading a lot of the pole positions.

It's inherent that a cheap car that has the ability to be a well pretty powerful platform is going to get props among those who do tune them. And of course those who stay with only japanese and european vehicles will knock them for using such a cheap and widely avaible car

BUt in the end I don't support a J-body project car. The platform has been dead since 2004 and though followed greatly I believe most readers won't really follow it that much. I'd honestly go with the Sub-Compact genre of vehicles. Specifically the Otyota Yaris. Why? Well look what they've done in the lastest issue. It turned a full G on the skid pad. There are a few companies out right now that are developing and are currently offering many modifications. I'd go with a vehicle that can be widely purchased for a reasonably cheap price that could prove to those people who want to tune on a BUDGET what they can do to have an exciting vehicle in their garage.

I'm all for having Project Yaris. I mean, Blitz, Greddy, Tien, and many other well known companies know what this small platform can do.

Take a look at Yarisworld.com

There is a significant group of people that own and tune these vehicles. Not only in the U.S. but across the globe.  

^wow!  that was an eyeful of needless hate.  

 I own a '98 Z24 and an FC RX-7. I support this project.  I think if SCC wants to buy a car and modify it, go for it.  I would only ask one thing:  Do it thoroughly.  If you make it half-fast, it will embarrass the J-body community.  If you do it right, it will embarrass all of the people in doubt.  I will be the first to admit J's are not the best car on the road, nor will they ever be.  But there is more potential on the table than many know about or choose to admit.

 There was a decent article in Super Street long ago about the brand new Z24.  I can't seem to find it right off, but it outlined some of the possibilities for these cars.

 If you look around a bit, you will find out that Tein does support the 3rd gen J-body, as do a couple of other Japan based companies.  Why?  Cavalier Z24's were shipped to Japan and re-badged as Toyotas in the late 90's.  They were only available with an automatic transmission.  For all you JDM fad fans, you can get Toyota Cavalier parts and pieces (mostly cosmetic) from your local GM dealer.

 If i remember correctly, somebody (GM maybe?) was running around 700hp at the track in the late 80's with a turbo Quad4.  The new Ecotecs can be pushed a lot farther.  So go ahead SCC, pick up an Ecotec equipped J, build it well, and run upwards of 400hp reliably on pump gas.  In the childish spirit displayed so far in this thread, I triple-dog-dare you!