cheap manual, thinking Options

[96bluevert]

Lately I've been thinking about how much I would like a manual. I was contemplating buying a cheap ($500-$1000) older, reliable car to take out every once in a while so I can eventually get used to driving manual. I was looking at late 80's-early90's Honda Civics/Accords or Toyota Celica/Corrola/Camry, since Honda and Toyota are really my most trusted car companies when it comes to older and cheaper vehicles. Basically, I don't car about how the exterior would look, just so long as it ran well, had decent miles on it (<200k) and didn't need much extra repairs. I have thought about a swap, but that takes more time than I'd like..the celi IS my dd.

The whole reason I am looking into a cheaper car w/ manual so I can practice is b/c I figure eventually I am going to buy another car ( sometime after the celi) that is manual and I don't really want that to be my practice car since I plan on it being something nice.

opinions are appreciated..thnks

[jason]

i dunno, if you can pull out, that most the trouble. shifting gears is easy, its just the pulling out. and that changes from clutch to clutch. if you have a heavy car with a strong clutch its gonna be hard, if you have a lite car with a mushy clutch its going to be easy.

if you can pull out in a friends car without much thought or focus (like fluently engaged in a conversation) then i think you'll be fine with a new car or a swap in your celica