Hi everyone, long time lurker & reader of GRM, first time build project thread and I'm so excited to be doing this. After reading through jimgood, DusterMike & jh36's stock car threads, plus JG's recent articles about jh's former extra chassis, I decided it's time to get started on mine. It's a *very* long backstory though to explain where I'm at, what the plan is & why I'm doing what I'm doing.
At 25 (26 in March), I'm still basically a child in the racing/car world. I've been involved in Motorsports my entire life though thanks to my dad. He started racing a SCCA F Production MG Midget around 1992 & I showed up in '97; I always tagged along with him to races together which let me get hooked:
My dad always had a habit of picking up ***way*** too many project cars at once because he got a screaming good deal on them. His first racing project he picked up around '00/01, was a '91 Mazda RX-7 from a scrapyard in Sanford, FL:
This car is important for two reasons, one we'll get to later. His plan was to build it for SCCA's E Production class, so naturally he began to befriend fellow EP drivers. One of these gentlemen was Bill Minnear, someone who he'd raced with on track in the past, had a '90 RX-7 Coupe, and daughters my age so naturally we all hung out together.
Fast forward to 2008. My dad was still racing the MG, had just purchased the 13b & Tilton TRE dogbox for the '7, and Bill shows up to Sebring with this:
For those not familiar with SCCA, Production racing is expensive. Very expensive. The cost of a single piston for my dads 14.5:1 A series 1275 was the same as he was getting BMW M54's from LKQ for (We have a Spec E46 too, that story comes later). Dad saw Bills' brand spanking new ASA car, and I swear 11 year old me could see him drooling over the car. I also think this is where the want to build the RX-7 seriously died. Why spend a ton of money on the Mazda, when he could go twice as fast for half the cost? (I also needed braces at the time & he always egged me on saying the money he had saved up for the RX-7 cage went into my mouth, LOL).
2011: Bill still racing the Monte Carlo, but not for long. His LS1 grenaded at Daytona during our May event, and while it was rolling off of the wrecker, the welded tow bracket broke off, car rolled off uncontrolled, and came within millimeters of hitting his brand new Dodge 3500. By this time he was 75 & decided he'd had enough of racing. 2011 is also important because if I'm not mistaken, this was the first year of Trans Am's TA2 class. At the time our SCCA GTA spec stock cars were legal in TA2, until Howe was able to build enough dedicated TA2 chassis. At the time, I had just graduated from Quarter Midgets to real cars as I'd completed a Skip Barber 3 day race school at Lime Rock Park. I almost went to race in their series, as they didn't count my QM experience the same as Karting & I would've been competing against others without experience. My dad elected against that, instead having me learn to drive his MG first:
2013 comes along, and my dad & I had been sharing his MG together, along with a (at the time) ChumpCar Honda Prelude which had a separate owner, and my dad and I raced it for free in exchange for keeping the car on track.
Dad always had a love/hate relationship with this car; 2013 was the last year he raced the MG because the Honda was so freaking inexpensive to race. But it was Front Wheel Drive, which he hated with the passion of a thousand white hot burning suns. It was also the last year for the MG because we ended up building the Prelude so dang fast that the owner decided racing wasn't for him, and he sold it to us in September of that year.
In December I get a call from Bills daughter that her dad is ready to sell the Monte Carlo. My dad & I were sold in a heartbeat; he wanted to do everything he could to get me into Pro Racing on an amateur budget, plus wanted something he could have fun with during a regional SCCA weekend, and this was our ticket. $4,000 later,
In '14, him & I split the Honda in regional races and 90 minute enduros while we saved up for the LS3 motor we needed to compete in Trans Am. A few weeks after we ordered the engine, our plans were shot as Trans Am decided they had enough TA2 chassis built to not need field fillers anymore. When this happened, our drive to finish the car vanished. My dad realized that the Honda was probably as fast as he wanted to go anyways, as he was 65 and didn't trust himself in the car. For the stock car, we essentially turned it into a display car:
Since I'm 4 posts deep already I'll try to skip ahead. '15-'20 was filled with 3 Runoffs appearances for myself, 1 for my dad in a Spec E46 which he decided to build at the end of 2015, and the BMW ended up being the best racecar ever because we split it for 6 hour enduros, of which we were very successful with:
I made the decision (mistake?) to completely tear down the Prelude, which became mine after the BMW was built, so I could sell it and him & I finally build his RX-7 project together after sitting for 20 years. While the Prelude became an absolute beast of a car,
I unfortunately lost my dad in August of '21. In the process, I've inherited all of his, um, "projects". While the Prelude is now living with a very happy new owner in Virginia, this is a snippet of what I'm in charge of now:
Now that we're caught up, up next will be the game plan for the ASA car & the reasoning for it.
I'm going to leave it here for now though & come back tomorrow afternoon, once I have some sleep in my system 
Welcome to the asylum!
Looks like you're going to enjoy the show here. Glad to have you!
Sorry to hear about your dad, I'll be following along
I enjoy the story (and lots of photos) for a nice morning read. More please.
Good morning and thank you as well......pssst does the shop have a lift?
I have ASA chassis #ASA9415, picked it up July 2022. It is a roller without engine or body, it is actually pretty decent, everything on it is aged but tight as in new stuff but left to set for 20 yrs in a shed. I have a boss 302, super T10 and a 67 Rustang body [no floor left] to go in/on it. Planning on a vintage trans am vibe.
This is why I like GRM, we get a thread with a title "Another ASA Stock Car." :)
Sorry to hear about your dad, but I'm looking forward to reading this thread.
I'm just a few months older than you, so also just a baby in the racing world, and I'm bumbling my way slowly through my own stock car project (currently working on the dry sump system). I don't know the history of mine at the moment, beyond the fact that it was a Richard Petty Driving Experience car at one point. I'll be following this thread closely, I'm sure I'll learn loads!
Awesome story! Glad to have played a minor part in stoking the fire.
Hey everyone! Sorry for the complete lack of updates, "tomorrow afternoon" had to turn into 6 months due to life getting in the way. Changed jobs, sold the intended LS3, and also managed to sell all of my dads MG parts & race car collection to a new owner in West Virginia. Needless to say, I finally have the shop space and time to get started on the ASA car!
To turn the clock back a bit, I almost sold the ASA car back in November of last year when a friend reached out to me with a customer looking to get a SCCA GTA car. My original thought was I have enough race cars with the BMW and Mazda project, and with the ASA car not being legal for Pro racing anymore, I was on board. He came and checked out my car, but passed on it due to him wanting a running car. About a month later, while perusing the Trans Am ruleset for giggles, I discovered this:
Having discovered all of that, I decided to keep the car and do a complete tear down with the goal of making the Sebring Trans Am race in 2024 in the SGT class. '24 is special to me as that's 30 years since my dad was able to do his own pro race, the '94 12 hours of Sebring in a GTO Camaro. That gives me about 5-6 months to tear everything apart, respray the chassis from yellow to battleship gray, modernize where I can, and source a new LS1 block to get a new engine built. I'm going to try to keep it close to GTA/GT2 rules as possible so it's not a one trick pony but we'll see what the finished product looks like.
759NRNG said:
Good morning and thank you as well......pssst does the shop have a lift?
Before my dad passed, the tuner we used in Tampa closed his doors and we bought two from him for a steal, something like $1k. He never installed them but I'm holding onto them for when I get most of my projects done and can focus on shop maintenance, lol!
What's the plan for the bodywork? Does someone make non-TA skins that look like a 6g Camaro?
In reply to SpeedRacer41 :
You had my curiosity.
Now you have my attention.
robert777 said:
I have ASA chassis #ASA9415, picked it up July 2022. It is a roller without engine or body, it is actually pretty decent, everything on it is aged but tight as in new stuff but left to set for 20 yrs in a shed. I have a boss 302, super T10 and a 67 Rustang body [no floor left] to go in/on it. Planning on a vintage trans am vibe.
Nice!! I have to go back and look at my chassis number but I'm pretty sure it's #9515. I almost wish mine was a roller, looking at everything I have to take apart and redesign/rebuild is very overwhelming.
I have an LS1 in the chassis now with a nice observation hole in the side of the block, I'm going to try to pick up another LS1 block and build it to GTA/GT2 spec. I can't go full blown with a build as I need to at least last a whole season, I'm on a budget, and Trans Am limits SGT fuel to 98 octane anyways.
For my body I'll probably be rocking a Five Star NA Sportsman body as it's a direct fit on our chassis, and won't require a hoop or cage redesign like what the Camaro build had to undergo. Jimgood has uploaded a fair amount on here in the past but here's another one: 
bumpsteer said:
What's the plan for the bodywork? Does someone make non-TA skins that look like a 6g Camaro?
So what Trans Am limits other classes from using is their top dawg TA bodies, made by Advanced Composite Products and Derhaag Motorsports. I could probably use a TA2 Camaro body if I wanted to, as long as I met SGT aero rules, but they require too much modification to fit our ASA chassis. The 5S NA Sportsman body *should* meet the criteria, as one or two of the ASA cars with their original Monte Carlo/Taurus fiberglass bodies ran a few Trans Am West races in the past. If not I'm outta luck but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it :D
AMiataCalledSteve said:
This is why I like GRM, we get a thread with a title "Another ASA Stock Car." :)
Sorry to hear about your dad, but I'm looking forward to reading this thread.
I'm just a few months older than you, so also just a baby in the racing world, and I'm bumbling my way slowly through my own stock car project (currently working on the dry sump system). I don't know the history of mine at the moment, beyond the fact that it was a Richard Petty Driving Experience car at one point. I'll be following this thread closely, I'm sure I'll learn loads!
You and I are probably going to be leaning off of each other heavily as we get our cars built... LMAO. I've already been comparing mine to the GRM article about chassis measurements, and sure enough mine is symmetrical except for the A arm mount on the drivers side. Easily fixed with a welder at least! Speaking of dry sumps, I get to flush mine to remove chunks & metal shavings of LS1 bits but that's a bridge I'll cross once I get to it too.
Nothing quite like a "weekend" update on a Tuesday but better late than never! LOL
Weekend update #1
Good start with a $600 LS1 block clearance sale to replace my LS1 with a nice observation hole in the side of the block:
Also came with a few good LS truck parts, a C5 oil pan and two intakes I can't use, so I can probably make up all the purchase price and then some.
In the chassis department, the nose has successfully been removed:
And with that, the discovery that my chassis, which was used for road course racing before we purchased it, never actually underwent a proper road racing conversion:
That's the drivers side A-arm mount, with a nice stack of washers to get it in the right spot, and below is the passengers side A-arm mount:
Next up is finishing the removal of the body, then get the current boat anchor of an LS1 yanked from the chassis. Also need to figure out the dry sump plumbing, as the pump itself only has an inlet and outlet port on the back side of the pump running to the passenger side of the oil pan. From the pan, there's 4 other lines coming out the drivers side, presumably to the sump tank in the back of the chassis, but I'll get that sorted shortly.
Quick update, after Googling the dry sump pump it appears it's a 2 stage scavenge only system. Not sure if the plumbing on it is accurate (Aviaid's diagram shows it isn't), but the pump appears to have been repurposed from its ASA days.
Welcome to GRM Man. Best group of folks you will ever find on the web.
Im really sorry that you lost your dad. I lost mine December of 22. Worst day of my life. He and I, much like you and your father, were very close and did all our motorsport stuff together. You are honoring your Dad's legacy well by finishing these projects and caring for his collection. While its a "mess" I know often Dads don't want to leave behind for their sons to figure out... Its a mess I know we both take on with the utmost honor.
I started a Thread detailing my process of doing exactly what you are doing... pressing on with the projects that have been left behind. Looks like you are a Florida guy too. Feel free to hit me up if you ever need anything. Or even just someone to drink a beer and remember your dad with...
You got this man. Pumped to follow along.
B13Birk said:
Welcome to GRM Man. Best group of folks you will ever find on the web.
Im really sorry that you lost your dad. I lost mine December of 22. Worst day of my life. He and I, much like you and your father, were very close and did all our motorsport stuff together. You are honoring your Dad's legacy well by finishing these projects and caring for his collection. While its a "mess" I know often Dads don't want to leave behind for their sons to figure out... Its a mess I know we both take on with the utmost honor.
I started a Thread detailing my process of doing exactly what you are doing... pressing on with the projects that have been left behind. Looks like you are a Florida guy too. Feel free to hit me up if you ever need anything. Or even just someone to drink a beer and remember your dad with...
You got this man. Pumped to follow along.
Just left a comment over on your thread man, it sucks we're in this position but I'm glad there's someone else who's going through the same thing who's got a solid head on his shoulders. Can't wait to see what we've both accomplished within a year or two.
You're correct about being a Florida guy, I'm in the Tampa/Plant City area if you ever need anything as well. I did a little stalking over on IG and noticed you're friends with Graham, we're trying to get together with another T3 driver and get our schedules aligned to get to a SCCA race on the same weekend since the other driver and I have tough schedules. If you could get to that weekend too I'll be sure to track you down for that beer!
In reply to SpeedRacer41 :
Yep... We are apart of a really crappy club to be in. But its been helpful to have other friends going through it too. Im in Gainesville and Graham is one of my best friends. We co-own our rally car together. Ill be at a race in august with him. Can't remember when or where but ill be there haha.
Happy Friday everyone & belated 4th of July! A healthy amount of alcohol put me behind schedule a bit but I do have updates, the old ASA Monte Carlo is no longer a Monte Carlo:
Next step which I've started on is removing all the wiring. I initially wanted to catalog where everything goes and label it, even though everything is being redone, and after coming across the below pictures decided to change my mind:
Fuel pump ground... Why, beats me.
Rain light connection which ran to the switch panel, this one actually impressed me tbh
Back side of switch panel
Lastly I finally got a good shot of the hole in the existing LS1, if you look very carefully you can see the drivers side valves!
