Topic: Intro & a few n00b (car choice) questions
Been lurking for a while. I've wanted to put together a team & build a car for a couple years. Finally pulling the trigger and getting involved. I think I'm going to take the 'pay & drive' advice and try that for maybe this fall (if not too late) and next season. Then look to put together a team & car for the 2019 season.
Couple years back I did a bunch of autox and ran a spec e30 (old rules, convertible days) for a few seasons. Was fun in the beginning but I got burnt out. It was taking up all my time and got to be super expensive running two cars at the same time. So it's been a while but I have a bit of experience both seat time and I've build a few cars. I really miss being on the track but I want it to be fun this time. I don't want it to be all about the checkbook or the 'go fast' mods (cheating).
My first question is about my expectations. It looks like this is a really fun group of people. The whole theme/costume part of it got two of her girlfriends and a girl she works with interested... didn't plan it but BS inspection may be easier than I thought if the team ends up being stacked with boobs. So question #1 part 1 is: Is it really as fun as it looks? Then question #1 part 2 is about my timeline and driver experience. I did a bit of carting as a kid then after college (when I got a job and could write the checks) I raced non stop for about 4 years. I'm trying to recruit the guy I used to share the autox car with. If I can get him then we'll have two people with prior seat time (but I guarantee both our helmets are expired right now). The rest of them are car enthusiasts enough that they will drag their husbands to car shows or drive 2-4 hours to a track and watch races... But zero seat time ever. We are all older (we all have jobs and DINK or just having kids) so money isn't an issue in terms of gear or getting to events. I still have the old autox car. It's been sitting so it'll need sorting. That said, is one year enough time to get three people experienced enough that we can do the 2019 season? I'm worried about me being rusty behind the wheel.
edit: Coming back to this. My thought is that I'll get my autox car back running & safe this winter then we can spend next summer doing some autox events, open track days, etc. so they get seat time. Then we can also volunteer (even as non-drivers at first) for needy teams just to get a feel for the Lemons events, organizers, safety, tech, BS factor, etc. (also to get the girls as much seat time & experience as possible to make sure they really like it --and to make sure they don't put another car off the track)
Question #2 is about putting the team together. My thinking is we'll try a season and see how it goes. If everyone loves it then we'll look at a second season, possibly changing themes and go from there. I'm also thinking that a team of five or even six or seven would be ideal. We all have jobs, spouses, either kids or trying for kids, etc. If we all end up at a race we can figure it out but with 5+ people that allows life to happen, things to come up and people can bail. I'd rather have everyone going into it be on the same page and in it for the fun (worst case we'll get a second car if everyone shows up to every race) than be stressed & trying to make it to the track after half the team bailed. (not money but just bodies & physical help) So is that a decent line of thinking or am I off the mark?
Question #3 is about waivers. #3 part 1: We've been kicking around ideas for a theme but it would require a weight waiver. As a first-time entrant should I just accept that as a non-option and move on? It would be borderline overweight and nothing crazy. Something I'd expect that an experienced team to be granted no big deal but a new team maybe not. Along with the weight waiver, the vehicle would NOT be fast but it would be an awesome theme and a great new/first time team way to make an entrance. #3 part 2: Are there dollar amount waivers and also is it smart to show up to a first event with a heavy vehicle? My biggest concern is roll center and drive ability for the inexperienced --both for us, and for others because having something that heavy may mean that our lines are different and if they aren't expecting it... With regards to asking about a $$ waiver at our first event, it would only be in the instance for that one vehicle type. If we end up going with that, should we just show up, be honest and see what we get? (we aren't going to win our first event so I don't care if we start at -900 laps)
Question #4: BMWs and BS factor. I had a competitive spec e30 car for a long time. Means I have a TON of spare parts --everything from engines to gearboxes, diffs, suspension stuff, etc. How does it work with "stuff I already had"? I had a big storage unit full of a couple cars and shelves upon shelves of parts & motors. How you'd put a dollar amount on our old spare race motor that's been sitting (not even sure if it has oil in it or not, no holes/hoses plugged, etc.) for eight years? Same with springs, shocks, swaybars, etc. Forget about all that stuff --I have piles of old gasket sets, gasket materials, belts, etc. I have a big pile of metal (and delrin) and fabricating tools (all also roughly 8 years old). I read things when people talk about fat swaybars or shiny suspension bushings. Regardless of the vehicle we end up going with, if I have bars of aluminum stock that I can turn down into solid bushings (and I know about spring rates & suspension geometry). Will that come down to BS factor stuff or if we did a bmw what should we do for dollar values? Gosh I have a whole electronics bin with piles of stuff --enough to make custom ECUs & things. Should we start easy and just avoid all that stuff?
Question #5 (continued from #4): Just like I've been working on a team for a while, I've also been working on a couple cars. Old couple down the street from us has a V-12 jag that they stopped driving about 2 years ago. I've had my eye on a parked e36 for about a year, I also know of two bmw e21s (2-4-1 deal) that I can have for free I've also had my eye on a Volvo I might be able to get for free (or maybe $50). I guess in typing through this I'm really thinking that the weight waiver is probably a bad idea for a new team's first race. Problem is that leaves us in a spot where the 'usual' cars are cheap & easy to someone with a ton of fabrication skills. (I can probably build a cage better than I can drive.) I was thinking about picking up a car this fall, gutting it this winter and starting to sort through the engine & drivetrain. I don't even want to stay within the spirit of the rules --I want to black & white stay within the rules. That means I don't want to put 2 years worth of work into a car and then get -700 laps at BS if we did it legit.
#6: Are things like plywood, paint, decoration & costumes (for the car) considered into the $500?
If you read through all that I appreciate the time you spent reading. Hopefully someone has a few words of wisdom. I feel a lot more lost than I did my first day at a spec e30 event lol.
Thanks.
edit: the buyback thing. I read the rules. I'm not trying to cheat or be a dick but I've built cages & cars before. It's not cheap and I value my time. I also value my safety and the safety of everyone on the track. I don't want to put two years into a car and lose it our first weekend. I haven't gotten an answer on the suspension bushing stuff so I don't know. It won't cost me anything but time to turn down some aluminum bar stock into a solid bushing --or fab up some bracing, seam/stitch weld, etc.
edit #2: What all is counted in the $500? Spray paint? Welding wire? Grinding discs? Sandpaper?
Thanks again, sorry for so many questions. Just want to know what I'm getting into before I go down this road. I'm really not worried about the money part of it. Just don't want to spend the time and then have it turn out to be something different than we were expecting. Thanks.