Why so much $

 

"why so much $$"

$1200 ++ - Clutch
$800+ - Water Pump

oh and there's a Turbo underneath the hood, so THAT just might be MORE $$ too!

 

i dont know why, but that's the price i was quoted and paid. that's price from OEM supplier and i had a very good body shop work on the car. price of course includes taking off the old calm. apparenlty lots of stuff, grilles and all are glued on the old clam, so takes labor hour to remove them and reglue them to new clam.

i am sure you can pay less, but i doubt less than 7k.

 

I'm sure S2000 would meet all your requirements!

 

Used evo. Can be found for low 20's. Easy to work on and performs pretty well on the track

 

spec miata is a good choice, they are relatively inexpensive and plentiful; they are well balanced and place the emphasis on driving efficiency and on maintaining momentum.

you didn't mention if you want to race, do time trials or track-day events. your intentions will dictate the best car for you.

also, do you have a tow vehicle and a place to store a car? that will have a bearing on what you get as well.

if your budget is$20k for the year, you may want to look into renting a ride; it would eliminate your ability to work on the car yourself, but it is a pretty cost effective way to get on the track

 

Al:

What type of Porsche? My experience is limited to Porsche and Panoz (now Skip Barber with all Panoz cars sold). Probably the most cost effective racing is Spec Miata. You can also race 944's at a reasonable cost. It depends on how much work you can do on your own.

I find PCA racing very competitive with the top 3-4 drivers in the larger classes all capable of running at a higher level. My car has been reliable, for a dedicated fully-developed race car.

BMW club races are much smaller (30-50 participants vs. 200-300 for PCA's larger events). Many other viable options are out there (Viper; Vettes; Radicals) but I am drawn to Porsche. They are great engineered machines and my 993 RS is very rewarding as I've learned to get close to 99% out of it. I may move into a Cup Car at some point and would consider another marque at a higher level (if I could justify the economics).

Closing note, I think a spec Mini series would be a blast and the new Mustang "Cup Car" is quite a value for a factory built race car.

 

I have worked on and built many a race car over the years.


I think theE36 m3 is the best all around car.
Its easy to drive- very safe at the limit. Its a great car to learn in.
Parts are inexpensive since they are commonly shared with the E36 325 there are thousands of those laying aorund in wrecking yards .


You can buy aE36 M3 track car for 25k-30k
That has basic cage and safety and can be driven to and from event reliably.
A car that is more developed will run 30k+

What ever you do buy, remember a used race car is a USED race car.
Have it inspected by someone who specializes in these types of cars.

USED parts are not considered spares - Spares are NEW unused parts.That's how I look at them when valuing a spares package.

As always its not the cost of the race car its the cost of running it that hurts.


Just an FYI there are a ton of pitfalls out there and remember that old saying.
If it seems to good to be true it probably is. Who ever came up with that must have been talking about a used race car somewhere.


Hope that helps.

I would buy a MODERN car that can be driven to the track and can take track use.

Stay away from vintage cars if you do not or cannot work on them yourself.
Older cars which were raced in the 80's are nothing more than old cars that get smoked on the track by newer cars.

 

David,

I don't remember exactly which Porsche it was. I barely know the visual differences in the new ones, much less the older ones. It was similar to yours in appearance. NA and carbs. That's about all I remember. Happy New Year.

 

miata takes my vote, light, great handling, simple drive train with relatively cheap replacement parts. great project car for you.

 

Spec Miata, hands down.

Close racing, cheap parts, easy to work on, etc. Plus Mazda offers some of the best support in amateur racing right now I think personally.

 

Miata for cheap fun,

I would buy this car and save yourself some money.

http://www.salibello.com/

If I didn't already have a miata I would buy this car.

good luck

 

Spec Boxster.

 

+1 on the spec boxster listed for sale below. HUGE fun factor on track.

 

Miatas are dirt cheap and easy on the wallet for running costs as you can run cheap 205/50/15 tires.

You can get into nice 3.0 or 3.2 Porsche 911 for under $15K. They make great track cars. I know a guy who just picked up a nice 3.2 for $9K!

Spec Boxsters are becoming more popular and they are decent track cars - I know of a couple people who are driving them and they are holding up well.

914-6's arent all that much to get into. Original 914-6 's are expensive, but remember a Porsche six can be bolted into a 914-4 as well. Lots of cheaper six conversion cars out there.

I built my 914-6 track car for under $15K and it rips. But 914's are getting old and are plagued with lots of little issues if you dont get a car that has been recently rebuilt.

I run 15" cantilever slicks and can get thowoffs for $100 each so tire expense is OK. However the car is so light I get tons of track time with tires on my car.

I'm always fixing something on the car, but man its a blast on the track! 1750 lbs and 200 HP make it fairly potent little car. Nothing like running down GT3's, F Cars and Corvettes in a little 2.5 liter car.