Re: Cheapest car?

Guildenstern wrote:
Troy wrote:

After 8 years of racing we had a disappointing first experience last month. We rebuilt our motor and it crapped out after 2 hours. Only one guy got seat time but we all still paid. Try to keep the spending down while doing your best to maximize seat time.

Geeze that stinks, how long was your break in?

I don't remember. It was a collaborative effort on the build and break in. Steve goes throw some process to seat the rings. I would have liked to see more idle time.

While the motor was just  a simple re-ring. This was also our first event to actually get to put the suspension and chassis changes to the test. Those changes gained us about 5 seconds and we pull over a G in some turns. I need to go back and look at old telemetry to see how much that has changed. If were sending our oil up the side of the block instead through the crank, we'll kill the next motor too.

Troy

#35 LRE
1973 Datsun 240Z

52 (edited by mechimike 2017-04-20 04:20 AM)

Re: Cheapest car?

firegremlin wrote:

Speaking of cheap things, a good rule of thumb is that each minute of downtime costs you roughly $3 in lost racing time, if your build is cheap. So, if something can save you 30 seconds a pit stop, and you'll use it for at least 4 races, it's probably worth paying $50 for (for example, quick fill jugs + gutting your fuel filler stopper). If you think about everything in that light, having some things suddenly starts making sense - while other things, like "free" mods that increase speed at the expense of reliability, do not.

Showing up with a working car and not "fixing" anything in the morning usually means not missing green by 30 minutes, which is like $100 in your pocket, right there.

Going by your math, then, Sputnik has lost out on approximately $193,000 worth of racing over the past few years.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Cheapest car?

The beginning of a build:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/WolfgangZ/Cruisedance_zpsbgirn5xr.gif
The end of a build:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/WolfgangZ/window_zps6old4gdv.gif

Tetanus Racing Toxoid!
86 E30  It ain't cheatin' if it's junk!
Work in Progress

Re: Cheapest car?

We managed to score a 2.3 mustang at the end of the summit point race for 493.00.  Turn Key Race Car.

Entered it into a chumpcar race (VIR 24) for August and finished p18/84

I think that was 5 years ago.  We're still driving it.

Deals are out there.  You've just got to get lucky.

Silent But Deadly Racing-  Ricky Bobby's Laughing Clown Malt Liquor Thunderbird , Datsun 510, 87 Mustang (The Race Team Formerly Known as Prince), 72 Pinto Squire waggy, Parnelli Jones 67 Galaxie, Turbo Coupe Surf wagon.(The Surfin Bird), Squatting Dogs In Tracksuits,  Space Pants!  Roy Fuckin Kent and The tribute to a tribute to a tribute THUNDERBIRD/ SUNDAHBADOH!

Re: Cheapest car?

* If you want to race cheaply, I second the recommendation about joining another team with a track record of having a car that runs most of the time.
* If you want to own your own car cheaply, buy one from a team which is moving onto a different platform.

If you want to build your own car but have never done it before and don't have anyone on your team who is a professional mechanic, I would recommend spending a little more for a) a car that runs b) a professional cage installation by someone who has done cages for Lemons before.

Both of these options will go a long way towards making sure you can start your first race AND have a chance of finishing it.
It seems like every race I go to there's one new team that has to spend most of Sat (and sometimes even most of Sunday) trying to get their cage to pass safety inspection and/or repairing a car that broke on the starting grid. Why pay $1350 for the pleasure of working on your project car al fesco?

Until I got greedy and messed with our engine, our car ran flag to flag for our first two races w/ only a little drama when someone ran into our car. When I started touching my engine is when it took three embarrassing races before I had the car running right (this is what happens when you learn how to rebuild an engine using the internet and youtube and very little real-world advice). That's $3750 in entry fees ($4,050 now) plus garage rentals  and another $600 in UHAUL trailer rentals with only a handful of laps to show for those years.

the only reason I'm probably still doing this was because we were able to make a slow car last for the entire race and I got hooked. smile
-g

Myopic Motorsport's #888 Ceci n'est pas une Citron Thunderbird ("This is not a lemon" but a 1995 tbird w/ 93 V8 swap + shopping cart rear wing + engine mounted frito maker)
2017 Sears Pointless Organizer’s Choice
Frito Making Tbird from 2018 Sears Pointless Engine Heat BBQ - http://goo.gl/csaet4

Re: Cheapest car?

gunn wrote:

* If you want to own your own car cheaply, buy one from a team which is moving onto a different platform.

...except cases where they moved onto a different platform because the previous platform got the best of 'em wink

K Car Stalker

Re: Cheapest car?

firegremlin wrote:
gunn wrote:

* If you want to own your own car cheaply, buy one from a team which is moving onto a different platform.

...except cases where they moved onto a different platform because the previous platform got the best of 'em wink

Or it's a free car from NSF!      Then you're possibly in for a world of hurt!

Tetanus Racing Toxoid!
86 E30  It ain't cheatin' if it's junk!
Work in Progress

58 (edited by firegremlin 2017-04-21 12:36 PM)

Re: Cheapest car?

WHY DO I DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN OH LAWD WHY

K Car Stalker

Re: Cheapest car?

Need new parts, or want new parts. I just hate stuff like Brake rotors with bearings in them, Automatic Transmissions that need more money in tools than it takes to buy a new one, exhaust that doesn't just fit the first damn time, and I have a cockpit layout OCD. So mostly that was a lot of stuff bought on principle. Screw bad engineering.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Cheapest car?

Our heap is easily over the 5k mark maybe 6k. Although we did spend 3k on the cage alone. Tires are not cheap, good brakes are not cheap,  Our seat was over $400 w/o the pad and cover. Halo system, Hans and other safety gear adds up.

Back to the Furd, V6 will be fun for about 20 minutes then you'll wonder why everybody is passing you. and if you are using an auto, it's even worse.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"