Ford Probe 1994
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They weren't a big seller in Oz. that may be due to 2 factors:
1.price (at the time, ridiculous for it's spec. It didn't have anything special, except for it's alleged 'powerful' engine)
2. reliability. In Oz, we travel by car most everywhere. and we travel a long way to get to our destinations. 20,000km per year is absolutely nothing for mum's 'shopping trolley' or dads 'work car' which refers to 'limited use' small short trips to the shops and back etc.
I know one probe GT owner, who bitched about the dash rattle, the engine rattle off idle when cold, the crap airconditioning and the 'intermittent' remote-central locking-alarm-engine immobilizer, which often left him stranded, waiting for the Roadside assistance to come fix it (never was 'fixed' properly, he's still bitter about it)
The car looked nice, for it's time, but I can think of a lot of vehicles with better attributes for a lot less money to 'fiddle around with'
If you're in canada / US, there are heaps of exotic cars to be had for next to nothing, requiring a bit of tlc, and a small cash outlay to get perfect. It all depends on how resourceful and skilled you are.
I'm currently working on a mates Maserati 228, and a Maserati Shamal, my first Italian hand built car experiences. Picked the 228 up for 8K, the Shamal was 35K, both in almost immaculate condition (needed cleaning with proper industrial cleaning equipment) mechanically the 228 was a bit sad. he's spent about another 8 grand on the car, peanuts considering it's rarity and value. it's got a twin IHI turbocharged fuel injected 90 degree V6, and 4 spd auto, goes like stink, handles like a go-kart and he'll sell it for about 45-50K in a month's time.
The shamal is a little dented, had a few body scrapes and is a tad 'abused' (theyre almost a race-car, so of course you'd drive it like you stole it) currently working on the engine, a mechanical symphony. The shamal is a keeper, so He'll spend whatever is necessary to make it 'right' whereas in the 228, we rebuilt most everything except for the quaife differential, which I sourced new, only because the last owner ran it without oil for hmmm 100,000km (complete new rear end, apart from axles and brake callipers, basically).
Ive found a lot of myths about these italian cars along the way. most are not true, however there is a definite engine advantage in the fuel-injected versions over the cabed ones. the spec of the car is in general 'exoticar' not much different to a ferrari or lamborghini in engineering, but the Maser is rather understated. Nice if you want to street race, but dont want police attention
So thats an alternative suggestion... italian cars. Early Alfa-romeos, 105's giuletta's etc, fiat 124's, they provoke a passion, devotion and lunacy all of their own. late 80's and early 90's BMW's can fly and can be really made to look good. some M42 engined ones I'd avoid though. Mercedes benz in the early 70's had some reall classics, but the models didnt change much between 1960-1970. if you like that jap-spec look, a B16a engined honda cr-x is not bad and can really fly if worked. Audi A4's can be made to look dub-city without any trouble and go hard.
Speaking of go-hard... Subaru WRX (sti) cheap enough now, go like the clappers... 04 model is the pick of the bunch, but still a bit pricey perhaps.. my best mate has one and we work it pretty hard every now and then, but it also has to act as his missus' shopping trolley during the week, so it's not over the top. he bought it for 18K and spent maybe 5k on it in the last 12 months. lots of mods. looks nice too.
So many choices, so whatever you do, may I suggest this:
research thoroughly the car you 'like' and see what sort of things you can do and for how much, and exactly 'how much' of the work you can do yourself.
also look at some more abstract things... a lot of cars people say are 'shit' are only because the people who worked on them or owned them didnt give a crap about them. obviously you go looking for a good example if you decide you 'like' one of these cars, but the same applies. research research research.. car clubs, mechanics, owners' associations... performance engine builders, all have good sensible advice.
It all comes down to preference in the end, but whatever you do, if you do decide to go with a Probe, or whatever the case may be, find someone who knows that specific model car intimately, and annoy the living hell out of him for advice and knowledge.
Maybe itlaian or barvarian or american or british cars are not what you want, but there are plenty of cars out there that potentially offer more class, performance and satisfaction of ownership than a Probe GT, and for less $. (not trying to dissuade you)
1.price (at the time, ridiculous for it's spec. It didn't have anything special, except for it's alleged 'powerful' engine)
2. reliability. In Oz, we travel by car most everywhere. and we travel a long way to get to our destinations. 20,000km per year is absolutely nothing for mum's 'shopping trolley' or dads 'work car' which refers to 'limited use' small short trips to the shops and back etc.
I know one probe GT owner, who bitched about the dash rattle, the engine rattle off idle when cold, the crap airconditioning and the 'intermittent' remote-central locking-alarm-engine immobilizer, which often left him stranded, waiting for the Roadside assistance to come fix it (never was 'fixed' properly, he's still bitter about it)
The car looked nice, for it's time, but I can think of a lot of vehicles with better attributes for a lot less money to 'fiddle around with'
If you're in canada / US, there are heaps of exotic cars to be had for next to nothing, requiring a bit of tlc, and a small cash outlay to get perfect. It all depends on how resourceful and skilled you are.
I'm currently working on a mates Maserati 228, and a Maserati Shamal, my first Italian hand built car experiences. Picked the 228 up for 8K, the Shamal was 35K, both in almost immaculate condition (needed cleaning with proper industrial cleaning equipment) mechanically the 228 was a bit sad. he's spent about another 8 grand on the car, peanuts considering it's rarity and value. it's got a twin IHI turbocharged fuel injected 90 degree V6, and 4 spd auto, goes like stink, handles like a go-kart and he'll sell it for about 45-50K in a month's time.
The shamal is a little dented, had a few body scrapes and is a tad 'abused' (theyre almost a race-car, so of course you'd drive it like you stole it) currently working on the engine, a mechanical symphony. The shamal is a keeper, so He'll spend whatever is necessary to make it 'right' whereas in the 228, we rebuilt most everything except for the quaife differential, which I sourced new, only because the last owner ran it without oil for hmmm 100,000km (complete new rear end, apart from axles and brake callipers, basically).
Ive found a lot of myths about these italian cars along the way. most are not true, however there is a definite engine advantage in the fuel-injected versions over the cabed ones. the spec of the car is in general 'exoticar' not much different to a ferrari or lamborghini in engineering, but the Maser is rather understated. Nice if you want to street race, but dont want police attention
So thats an alternative suggestion... italian cars. Early Alfa-romeos, 105's giuletta's etc, fiat 124's, they provoke a passion, devotion and lunacy all of their own. late 80's and early 90's BMW's can fly and can be really made to look good. some M42 engined ones I'd avoid though. Mercedes benz in the early 70's had some reall classics, but the models didnt change much between 1960-1970. if you like that jap-spec look, a B16a engined honda cr-x is not bad and can really fly if worked. Audi A4's can be made to look dub-city without any trouble and go hard.
Speaking of go-hard... Subaru WRX (sti) cheap enough now, go like the clappers... 04 model is the pick of the bunch, but still a bit pricey perhaps.. my best mate has one and we work it pretty hard every now and then, but it also has to act as his missus' shopping trolley during the week, so it's not over the top. he bought it for 18K and spent maybe 5k on it in the last 12 months. lots of mods. looks nice too.
So many choices, so whatever you do, may I suggest this:
research thoroughly the car you 'like' and see what sort of things you can do and for how much, and exactly 'how much' of the work you can do yourself.
also look at some more abstract things... a lot of cars people say are 'shit' are only because the people who worked on them or owned them didnt give a crap about them. obviously you go looking for a good example if you decide you 'like' one of these cars, but the same applies. research research research.. car clubs, mechanics, owners' associations... performance engine builders, all have good sensible advice.
It all comes down to preference in the end, but whatever you do, if you do decide to go with a Probe, or whatever the case may be, find someone who knows that specific model car intimately, and annoy the living hell out of him for advice and knowledge.
Maybe itlaian or barvarian or american or british cars are not what you want, but there are plenty of cars out there that potentially offer more class, performance and satisfaction of ownership than a Probe GT, and for less $. (not trying to dissuade you)
Re: RE: Ford Probe 1994
thx 4 da post..!!
JoeyB said:They weren't a big seller in Oz. that may be due to 2 factors:
1.price (at the time, ridiculous for it's spec. It didn't have anything special, except for it's alleged 'powerful' engine)
2. reliability. In Oz, we travel by car most everywhere. and we travel a long way to get to our destinations. 20,000km per year is absolutely nothing for mum's 'shopping trolley' or dads 'work car' which refers to 'limited use' small short trips to the shops and back etc.
I know one probe GT owner, who bitched about the dash rattle, the engine rattle off idle when cold, the crap airconditioning and the 'intermittent' remote-central locking-alarm-engine immobilizer, which often left him stranded, waiting for the Roadside assistance to come fix it (never was 'fixed' properly, he's still bitter about it)
The car looked nice, for it's time, but I can think of a lot of vehicles with better attributes for a lot less money to 'fiddle around with'
If you're in canada / US, there are heaps of exotic cars to be had for next to nothing, requiring a bit of tlc, and a small cash outlay to get perfect. It all depends on how resourceful and skilled you are.
I'm currently working on a mates Maserati 228, and a Maserati Shamal, my first Italian hand built car experiences. Picked the 228 up for 8K, the Shamal was 35K, both in almost immaculate condition (needed cleaning with proper industrial cleaning equipment) mechanically the 228 was a bit sad. he's spent about another 8 grand on the car, peanuts considering it's rarity and value. it's got a twin IHI turbocharged fuel injected 90 degree V6, and 4 spd auto, goes like stink, handles like a go-kart and he'll sell it for about 45-50K in a month's time.
The shamal is a little dented, had a few body scrapes and is a tad 'abused' (theyre almost a race-car, so of course you'd drive it like you stole it) currently working on the engine, a mechanical symphony. The shamal is a keeper, so He'll spend whatever is necessary to make it 'right' whereas in the 228, we rebuilt most everything except for the quaife differential, which I sourced new, only because the last owner ran it without oil for hmmm 100,000km (complete new rear end, apart from axles and brake callipers, basically).
Ive found a lot of myths about these italian cars along the way. most are not true, however there is a definite engine advantage in the fuel-injected versions over the cabed ones. the spec of the car is in general 'exoticar' not much different to a ferrari or lamborghini in engineering, but the Maser is rather understated. Nice if you want to street race, but dont want police attention
So thats an alternative suggestion... italian cars. Early Alfa-romeos, 105's giuletta's etc, fiat 124's, they provoke a passion, devotion and lunacy all of their own. late 80's and early 90's BMW's can fly and can be really made to look good. some M42 engined ones I'd avoid though. Mercedes benz in the early 70's had some reall classics, but the models didnt change much between 1960-1970. if you like that jap-spec look, a B16a engined honda cr-x is not bad and can really fly if worked. Audi A4's can be made to look dub-city without any trouble and go hard.
Speaking of go-hard... Subaru WRX (sti) cheap enough now, go like the clappers... 04 model is the pick of the bunch, but still a bit pricey perhaps.. my best mate has one and we work it pretty hard every now and then, but it also has to act as his missus' shopping trolley during the week, so it's not over the top. he bought it for 18K and spent maybe 5k on it in the last 12 months. lots of mods. looks nice too.
So many choices, so whatever you do, may I suggest this:
research thoroughly the car you 'like' and see what sort of things you can do and for how much, and exactly 'how much' of the work you can do yourself.
also look at some more abstract things... a lot of cars people say are 'shit' are only because the people who worked on them or owned them didnt give a crap about them. obviously you go looking for a good example if you decide you 'like' one of these cars, but the same applies. research research research.. car clubs, mechanics, owners' associations... performance engine builders, all have good sensible advice.
It all comes down to preference in the end, but whatever you do, if you do decide to go with a Probe, or whatever the case may be, find someone who knows that specific model car intimately, and annoy the living hell out of him for advice and knowledge.
Maybe itlaian or barvarian or american or british cars are not what you want, but there are plenty of cars out there that potentially offer more class, performance and satisfaction of ownership than a Probe GT, and for less $. (not trying to dissuade you)
thx 4 da post..!!
Look for the Mazda MX-6 of the same year. Great car and very reliable. It has the same underpinnings as the probe, because Mazda built both, but Mazda did a better job than Ford. I put well over 300,000 kms on mine and was very happy with it. The guy I sold it to is still driving it after five years. He must have another 100,000 kms on it by now.
I rented a brand new one while on vacation, and it was a lemon. It died at an intersection. They replaced it with another one that one lasted 12 hours and it died in a parking lot. The third one didn't make it out of the car lot. Go with the Mazda.