[Anchorman]

Ah, yes, the early days...at least he was wearing a helmet.

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[flash]

are we now talking about the caterham (like the lotus super 7)?

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[benspeeder]

I still encourage the Miata - you guys WILL rack up that car at least a little bit and you want something cheap to fix. Heck, I bought and entire 968 to have spares to go with my race car - yep, that's two of em so I can be sure I can campaign competetively. (Although the temptation is strong to sell it to recover the race car build $$)

A very imortant consideration is where you may want to race the car. I bet 10 cases of beer you guys evolve into racing and you would want to make sure the car you buy transfers into a racing class competitively.

I know SCCA classes the best so here's some info - the MR2 will race in ITA and get trounced - the Integras, Hondas and Miatas seem to dominate ITA. The turbo Miata would be classed in ITE and race against Vettes and Vipers, same with the 951 - ITE. That turbo Miata might beat them on a short road race track. Anything super charged or turbo charged seems to not fit into a class very well. Not many cars racing in ITE - very costly.

A Miata can be had for $10K ready to race and run up front if it has a real race motor and you can sell it easily.

The 944 fits into ITS but needs a $8-10K Milledge engine or similar to compete. The 944 can also race in the 944 cup with just a stock motor, race with NASA and be very comptetitive. That's a good choice and fits better with NASA than SCCA.

Here's a link to the rules and car classes for the SCCA - these rules seem to transfer well to other clubs and classes - I think most clubs copied them to a great extent - particularly on the safety requirements. If you comply with SCCA you will be good to race with any club from a safety standpoint.

Improved Touring are the regional classes I recommend looking at to help guide a car purchase. The 968 will race in Improved Touring R. I believe my car is the first 968 built for ITR in the country.

http://cms.scca.com/documents/Club%20Forms...9-05a%20GCR.pdf

Hope this is helpful

Cheers

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[Eric_K]

<!--quoteo(post=73162:date=Jun 3 2009, 07:25 PM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Jun 3 2009, 07:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->seriously though - for a first dedicated track car, i would keep things as simple as possible - low tech - less complicated than modern cars to work on - spend the time on driving and not on tweaking - to that point, i would consider cars that have a large following of low income owners and a variety of resources for parts and such

that's why i suggested a 951<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


"simple as possible - low tech - less complicated" <> 951

My 968 has mated with a 951 and I can tell you the 951 engine is not easy. The 951 can be a great track car but you better be ready to turn a wrench.


I would suggest a Lotus Exige but if a S2000 is too small then probably not.

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[flash]

i am not saying that you won't have to work on it - i'm jut saying that it requires a lot less specialized skill and high tech tools to make it go than most modern cars

heck, i would even go so far as to stick to a carburetted non-computer controlled car for a first one, but it would be hard to find a car that would suit both drivers

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[Cloud9...68]

Whatever you end up choosing, I really envy you guys. Wrestling over which dedicated track car to buy is a problem we should all be so lucky to have [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[flash]

i'm still stuck on what to build - part of me wants to see what i can do with a 968 - part of me remembers fondly slashing around in the mgb and wants to do that again - part of me wants to go much faster than either of those, which means open wheel

lol - i don't think any of them are likely to happen until next year

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[Anchorman]

Cloud, I certainly understand your view. This is not a situation I expected we'd be in. However, don't forget that it was brought about as the result of my son's Maserati being totaled! This endeavor is carrying with it more than a trivial price tag.

I think we're further leaning towards something light - probably a Miata. My son is getting details on the supercharged one we've located in Ohio. We're told that it can run with the best of them - meaning Porsches, BMWs, etc. Could be fun.

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[pmcrespo]

Ha! I just found it... I'll try to get you a number....

   

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[banditsc]

Nahh, that blower is way to small...

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[Anchorman]

It looks like this thread has come to a conclusion - at least, for now. My son has done a deal for the Miata that was linked in Post #8; the car gets picked up by a carrier on Wednesday, should be here by the weekend. This is a highly modified Flyin' Miata - supercharged, no less. Should be lots of fun. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I don't think we'll be getting to a track for a few months, but the car is streetable, and we're looking to register it so that we can do a little "testing".

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[pmcrespo]

great! Congrats, be safe, and have TONS of fun!

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[Mark]

never mind

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[Anchorman]

Thanks, Crespo, we're looking forward to a very different driving experience.

Mark - is there something in particular I shouldn't pay attention to?

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[benspeeder]

Anchorman and son - great choice - sounds like a decision to buy a widely race car - the beauty of it - you guys will kick the crap out of any other Miata you see at the track - and there are tons! That will be really fun :-)

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[Anchorman]

Thanks, Ben, we're looking forward to this. It's got so much stuff that we have no experience with...lot's of learning to do. One of the enticing things the seller said was that if you've gotten tired of doing point-bys for Porsches, BMWs, etc., this is the car that will stay with those. It was picked up by the carrier today, should be here easily by the weekend. The car was driven onto the carrier - along with "six tires and rims, 2 totes, and a box containing one racing seat." One small decision is whether or not to register it. From what I understand, the cat has been deleted, so it probably won't pass NJ inspection.

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[RS Barn]

Jim,
I know of a place who can make a very quick, DE car. Can win PCA or SCCA classes
Full legal and safe roll cage, Very fast
18,5K
Pete

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[Mark]

<!--quoteo(post=73526:date=Jun 8 2009, 05:10 PM:name=Anchorman)-->QUOTE (Anchorman @ Jun 8 2009, 05:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Mark - is there something in particular I shouldn't pay attention to?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Nope I was just really late responding in this thread and a couple of posts I responded to you had answered basically the same way as I read further down. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] I couldn't figure out the delete of the post. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[Anchorman]

Hey, Pete, that sounds good. Is that including the car, or do I have to supply it?
Jim

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[RS Barn]

Jim,
That is the completed car with cage .
Pete

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