jjewett

Jjewett,
Hate to be a downer but if you can find a $4000 S2 or S3 spider it would be pretty crappy and dissatisfying. At that price it would need a lot of work, which you would not have the money for, if the $4000 includes repairs, etc. So you'd be driving (maybe) a car with beat paint, ratty interior and mechanical issues. It would not be much fun. I got into mine at about twice that and was very lucky to find a good local car with a good history. Still, catching up the deferred maintenace set me back another $4000, with nothing major done. Obviously, if you do all your own work, it would be less, but then you'll be working on it rather than driving it. It's all what you want to do. I'd be careful about springing for a "cheap" 75-79, which most people think are lacking in performance relative to other years. It takes just as much to fix one up, but it would never be worth what an earlier or later car is. There is a decent looking one for sale for under $6000 out of Kalispell MT on the seattle craigslist that might be a good shot. I think you'd be better off finding a way to increase your budget and putting it into a car that is better up front than going cheap and speanding way more on repairs over time. Best of luck in your search.
Roger
Portland, OR