hey all... just hoping some experienced members can share some knowledge about their first car... sorry but this is kinda a long post, please read the entire thing if you can stand to
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i recently picked up a '98 cavalier z24 with the intent of making it my first rallycross car... i had looked at results from local rallies and already own an automatic tranny 2000 cav that im very comfortable and familiar with so i figured it would be a good enough, cheap, easy to repair car to (more then likely) beat the hell out of while i get a feel for rally.
car cost me $1200 and the brakes, suspension, body and basically everything on it are in great condition... only problem is the engine has 260,000km on it... it failed the E-test from NOx emmisions, but mechanics told me the engine itself is making great power, and i drove it yesterday and everything seems great.
so now im trying to decide if i want to spend $900 (says the dealership) in repairs to have a throttle body cleanout, new oxygen sensors, ect done to have it pass emissions and let me get it licensed, or swap in a used engine i found for $600 with only 2000km on it....
problem with that, is my school auto shop (which helps me out with everything on my car now) wont even touch the 2.4l DOHC engine because apparently its murder to do any work on... teacher told me if ANYTHING goes wrong on that engine, id be better off to scrap the entire car then to frustrate myself trying to fix it. so id have to pay a shop $1800 in labour to do it the swap, which i clearly dont have.
so, based on this situation should i pay $900 to fix up a engine with 260,000km that will likely die soon under racing stress, pay $2400 for new engine in a $1200 car, or just drive the hell out of the car till the current engine dies and scrap a otherwise good car? thought about this for about a month and im no closer to a decision
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any help at all is MUCH appreciated.
Thank you!
Grant