Cheapest race car

What's your thoughts on the cheapest car to buy, build and run in low-budget endurance racing?

Based on what I see on the entry lists locally, Civic's, Neon's and 3-series' seem to be the popular choices, but finding cheap and (almost) rust-free here is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Whichever one one of your teammates already has like 10 of laying around.

Barring that, I would say craigslist>sort by manual and sub-$1k.  Maybe a Hyundai Accent or something?  You want light (for consumables) and cheap (for crashables and explodables) and not much else matters after that unless you want to be competitive.

EDIT:  Also depends on your capabilities- can you bend and weld a cage yourself?  If not you probably want a more common vehicle with readily available kits.

The cheapest racecar is one somebody else already built.  Unless you have a burning desire to build your own, buy somebody else's and just take care of whatever it needs.

In reply to Duke :

Agree completely, +1

In reply to Duke :

I agree and have gone that direction many times- but be sure to know what you're looking at, and assume anyone selling you a racecar is attempting to kill you with it.

Slower and lighter will be less consumables and if the car's in lower demand then also a cheaper buy in. We bought our first lemon for $740 and sold parts to get back under budget(more to pay us back) and for performance only cut the springs and did a light tune up. It's a low power car so we get 2 or 3 races from brake pads, a few more races for rotors, 3ish gph on fuel and a full weekend on tires(unless at CMP[cheesegrater]).

I've heard D powered hondas aren't great in endurance, but B, F and H cars are pretty reliable. YMMV

Neons are plentiful, reliable and perform well.

e30 and e36 are great racecars but will use more and pricier consumables. However they can be pretty quick in low-budget racing.

W201 and W124 Mercedes to me though is the correct answer. You can find them everywhere for lower prices. The drivetrains are reliable. Big brakes, cheapish brake components, decent tire fitment, overbuilt cooling system, bulletproof automatic trans, good suspension geometry. In the Lemons South region we've had a lot of races/classes won by 80s Mercedes.

Two cars come to mind, the Saturn and the S-10. Saturn sedans seem to be plentiful, cheap, and no one wants them. Its a GM 4cyl, so I have to believe that a well-maintained one will run well, if not quickly.  There were sportier versions that can contribute better brakes and bigger tires too.  

The S-10 is hard to find in rust-free condition, but 4cyl RWD models are not popular up North and can be had for cheap. Pretty stout underneath, relatively lightweight, especially if you lose the bed and windows, and you can swap in ZQ8 bits for better handling. The S-10 is popular in drag racing, so you may even find one with a cage in it. 

buzzboy said:

e30 and e36 are great racecars but will use more and pricier consumables.

Not true at all in my experience. 3 series parts are cheap and everywhere. My E30 used nothing but brake pads, tires and fuel. The stuff that breaks and is expensive on these two chassis are usually the stuff you take out and throw away for a race car. E36 cooling system needs to be dealt with up front but beyond that I've not spent much at all running either chassis.

Miata.

If you want to be competitive, there is a reason why there are soooo many e30, e36, and miatas.

With the miata, you can swap engines if you need more hp.  

The bmws  are almost stuck with the stock engine which can be pricey to rebuild.

What series are you aiming for?

A racing kart with a Briggs or a Rotax. 1/4 the cost of endurance-racing a car. 

In reply to chaparral :

How much does a weekend cost?

Keep in mind that endurance racing is split up amongst 4 or 5 people usually.

Our 4 cylinder fox chassis mustang is cheap in every aspect.  Also upgradable to a V8 when that time comes.   Most of our failures were self inflicted.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Right now I'm just looking for ideas from people with experience, and suggestions beyond the standard Bmw/Miata/Honda that's the initial answer to most questions.

There's 2 low-budget endurance series running in Ontario at the moment, plus it could be run in the regional series, or even just lapping to have fun.

wvumtnbkr said:

In reply to chaparral :

How much does a weekend cost?

Always a good question. A weekend of Lemons for me is usually like 3-5$ per minute of driving. I've not found much cheaper, even something like autocross.  

The purchasing analyst in me wants to know is that $3-$5 per minute calculated as total dollar per minute to run the car or is it total dollar per minute for each driver, which would make it $12-$20 per minute.............I'm assuming it's the former.

$500 per driver per weekend, is expected for a Lemons race.   Plus the annual $100 tire fee.   Every fourth race we need $100 brake pads.  Used Mustang parts are everywhere so we run a lot of cheap parts.

Race the car that you know inside out. Because it’s gonna break. After a few races you’ll know what breaks regularly and will learn to treat it gently. In our case it’s the transmission. SHO trans are made of glass, treat it like fine crystal and it will last a while. 

In reply to BMWGeoff :

We run in the Luckydog endurance series here in Ontario with a K20 powered 2nd gen crx.

 Its quick,light and has been very reliable for us even with the untouched junkyard drivetrain with 250+k on it.

 Having said that theres a couple of 2008'ish civic si sedans that appear fairly stock and are plenty quick.

BMWGeoff said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Right now I'm just looking for ideas from people with experience, and suggestions beyond the standard Bmw/Miata/Honda that's the initial answer to most questions.

There's 2 low-budget endurance series running in Ontario at the moment, plus it could be run in the regional series, or even just lapping to have fun.

Ahhh gotcha.  Miata is still the answer.  There is a reason sooo many teams race them.

I probably have 50 or so races under my belt.  Have 7 wins.  

We race an 87 rx7 with a gm 60 degree v6 swap.  I also regularly race an e30 and a 79 rx7.

It will be much less stressful to go to a race and know that somebody will have expertise and spares.

Otherwise, for off the wall choices, go for a newer Japanese sedan like a v6 Altima or maxima  or infinity.  Those seem to be fast and do rather well with plenty of parts support.

buzzboy said:

wvumtnbkr said:

In reply to chaparral :

How much does a weekend cost?

Always a good question. A weekend of Lemons for me is usually like 3-5$ per minute of driving. I've not found much cheaper, even something like autocross.  

Sorry, I was asking about the karting.

A front running champcar team charges 1k to 1500 for 4 hours on track.  Still a damn good deal!

BMWGeoff said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Right now I'm just looking for ideas from people with experience, and suggestions beyond the standard Bmw/Miata/Honda that's the initial answer to most questions.

There's 2 low-budget endurance series running in Ontario at the moment, plus it could be run in the regional series, or even just lapping to have fun.

I can meet you in Winnipeg August 23 with a race ready Integra.  Caged, Kirkey roadrace seat, non adjustible Konis, 4- 15x8 inch stock car wheels, surge tank for full 2 hour stints at full yahoo, 72 hours of brick like reliability at the Edmonton Chump races.

Or, how about a Cheater twincam Neon?  WCMA legal IT2 car, it would make the points inspectors lose their minds with Konis and camber plates and coilovers and such, but you could pull a few of those parts out.

Or, a well used twincam Neon ministock car, stock car cage and tons of dents... You'd need to stand the wheels up and balance up the spring rates...

Or a 88 Prelude stock car...

How much money do you have? I have a car for you, no matter the budget.  

HO scale slot cars.....  after that it gets crazy expensive fast.

BG chassis. 

If buying a built racecar, something to consider: make sure the cage would pass tech in whatever series you plan to run. I know Lemons and Champcar have pretty specific cage requirements so I’d guess other budget endurance series might too.

A Focus, SVT or 2.3 Duratec, would be near the top of my list if I were starting from scratch and wanted to do something that wasn’t BMW/Miata/Honda.

Edit, I’m also a fan of the light and simple twin cam Saturn S Series, although you’d probably have to get creative when it comes to performance mods. Downside: plastic body panels shatter instead of denting. Upside: body panels are stupid easy to replace.