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If Erica's Sky was a manual transmission I might be looking for something more practical, like a sporting sedan. But... I drove her little roadster and was underwhelmed... that car NEEDS a manual transmission DESPERATELY. Now I feel the need for a sporting rear-wheel-drive car with a proper clutch and manual gearbox (as it was meant to be). If a Sky Redline with a manual was available nearby (and remotely affordable on trade), I'd be seriously trying to convince her to trade up.
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Erica's car is a Saturn Sky.
(Those are snapshots she took shortly after purchase. One of these days I'll take it out for a proper photoshoot. Now if I can just convince Erica to model with the car...)
Doing a tranny swap in a modern electronics-laden car would be a nightmare. It's all so bloody integrated.
Far easier --and probably cheaper-- to just trade the whole car. Again, that's only if she's willing to. It's her car.
So anyway... with all the looking around I've been doing, and considering that right now I don't need a project like a Lotus 7 replica, and with budget considerations in mind... I'm leaning toward the Z3, mid-90's M3, 944, or a 914/4 (if one can be found). I probably wasn't clear at the beginning: I know I need to get rid of at least one GTI, but the key thing that started the whole "get rid of both" idea was how sweet and balanced the Sky felt. It's just missing the manual gearbox. Driving that car is what inspired me to start seriously considering swapping both GTIs for something low-slung and tight-handling. The FWD GTIs are both nose heavy (the VR6 more so), and even the VR6 with the Konis doesn't enter a corner like the Sky does. I love the motor in the VR6, but the handling just won't ever measure up. The only way to build a VW that feels balanced the way I want would be to do a major chop job... we're talking quattro or RWD conversion in a Corrado (with an anal-retentive focus on weight distribution... so probably a RWD VR6 with a 944's rear transaxle). That's WAY more fab work than I have the time or money for.
Ooh... long term project idea... stuff a VR6 into a Lotus 7 replica.
Incredibly fun engine in an incredibly fun chassis. But anyway, that's just an idea, and a long-term one at that. What I need right now is a driver. So I either keep one GTI, or get rid of both and buy something more fun that runs and drives.
Gawd I want the sun to come back so I can go carve some corners...
