retard car idea 101

So craiglist and all the junk watching has sprung a horrible thought into my mind. What kind of car could be thrown together to run the 200? challenge, one lap of america and now the land speed challenge in ct?

I think the GRM team built the berkeleying thing

I think you could do it with a shelby charger, but it would take alot of parts swapping.

Yep, they're pretty aerodynamic with a set of headlight covers. Alternately, a Lebaron coupe actually did set some land speed records with a 2.2 turbo motor. It is actually more slippery than the Daytona and just as easy to swap parts (and just as heavy)

I think a 924S with a blown motor and a V8 would be a good option. narrow body with less frontal area and nearly all the 944 upgrades/fixes bolt on. Wheels and tires are hard to find cheap though.

An 80's 200sx with the VG30 and some suspension work might be fun, provided you could find one that wasn't headed for the salvage yard.

Judging by what is posted on my local craigslist, I think an 80's Accord is the best starting point from an availability standpoint.

There was a V8 1st gen RX7 down on the Oregon coast, already setup for hillclimbs, etc.

Aerodynamic does seem to important more than the idea of being able to haul all the stuff from track to track, could use a trailer.

aussiesmg wrote: I think the GRM team built the berkeleying thing

true but need to run that down the highway

Turbo Alfa Spider.

I modelled our car after a LSR car that I help on.

With a decent belly pan and good nose, the Spider is capable of 200mph with about 300-350hp.

It's already a good vintage race car- quite competetive, so it's a pretty easy track car.

And making a challenge car...

Either that, or a Miata.

Open car- take advantage of the "Brooklands windscreen" rule for the Challenge.

Eric

miata for a week touring the country with tools... might as while get a locost then

alfadriver wrote: Turbo Alfa Spider. I modelled our car after a LSR car that I help on. With a decent belly pan and good nose, the Spider is capable of 200mph with about 300-350hp. It's already a good vintage race car- quite competetive, so it's a pretty easy track car. And making a challenge car... Either that, or a Miata. Open car- take advantage of the "Brooklands windscreen" rule for the Challenge. Eric

turbo alfa for a week not able to have a tow vehicle for support may make that a bad idea

Fox body Mustang.

What's this Land Speed Challenge in CT you speak of? I just googled it and got nothing...

And remember, for One Lap, no support vehicles or trailers are allowed...

A Daytona Turbo won the Economy Class a few years ago.

Some people run a milano in the one lap of america as well ( I actually know the guy that sold it to them, along with most of the modification parts it has). It might take more than $2009 to buy a milano and make it reliable and make it handle well enough though.

A rally prepped 'buru seems like a good choice. I watched Solberg win in the mud, snow on tarmac and catch air on the Nurburgring. Seems like a swiss army knife that might not win overall anywhere but would do pretty well at all of them. The $2010 Challenge would be an almost impossible budget so you do that first, then the other two.

problemaddict wrote: And remember, for One Lap, no support vehicles or trailers are allowed....

They all seemed to have trailers

walterj wrote: A rally prepped 'buru seems like a good choice. I watched Solberg win in the mud, snow on tarmac and catch air on the Nurburgring. Seems like a swiss army knife that might not win overall anywhere but would do pretty well at all of them. The $2010 Challenge would be an almost impossible budget so you do that first, then the other two.

An early imprezza with a wrx drivetrain swapped in went through the classifieds here several years ago for $1500.

racerboy000 wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Turbo Alfa Spider. I modelled our car after a LSR car that I help on. With a decent belly pan and good nose, the Spider is capable of 200mph with about 300-350hp. It's already a good vintage race car- quite competetive, so it's a pretty easy track car. And making a challenge car... Either that, or a Miata. Open car- take advantage of the "Brooklands windscreen" rule for the Challenge. Eric

turbo alfa for a week not able to have a tow vehicle for support may make that a bad idea

Hense the suggestion of Miata for the non-belivers.

To make a real good choice, need more info about the LSR challenge.

E-

sorry wrote ct meant maine http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=3ecr6490g3hspei0bfubdds0o1&board=33.0

I have a rally car that would do 2 events but would like to have a car to do all 3

JFX001 wrote: Fox body Mustang.

Good suggestion but trying to make it handle and go fast will eat up most of the budget and around her even rusted out hulks are $1500 right now if its a 5.0.

I have this tinkling for a handling wagon ,,,,,, not as flat out fast but would be alot of fun

racerboy000 wrote:

JFX001 wrote: Fox body Mustang.

Good suggestion but trying to make it handle and go fast will eat up most of the budget and around her even rusted out hulks are $1500 right now if its a 5.0. I have this tinkling for a handling wagon ,,,,,, not as flat out fast but would be alot of fun

Point taken, but out of the box, it would be a good start.

Otherwise, I'd probably opt for a V8 RX-7.

Yeah that call will be made in the morning for the one in the classifieds, I have to import the car.

MrJoshua wrote:

problemaddict wrote: And remember, for One Lap, no support vehicles or trailers are allowed....

They all seemed to have trailers

Yeah, i noticed that just after i posted. It must be a change that happened within the last few years. I haven't been paying attention...

racerboy000 wrote: sorry wrote ct meant maine http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=3ecr6490g3hspei0bfubdds0o1&board=33.0

the honest answer is that it heavily depends on the classes.

Realistically, it would be pretty easy to make A challenge car capable of competing in a LSR challenge and the One Lap challenge.

The key is to choose a car that would be competetive in it's class.

For instance, if there was an NA small displacement class for the speed challenge, I'd give heavy thoughts to a Civic- fast cars, good space, easy to fabricate a proper roll bar (the hard one is the bent 3, and many fabricators will sell JUST those for cost to help out- I asked once).

If a V8 is your choice, the Mustang or 80's Camaro would be hard to beat. Contact Andy about making a Chevy V8 on a VERY tight budget, and visit your local circle track swap meet to find the parts to fabricate proper rear end parts. Even though I'm a Ford guy, if I'm not mistaken, the SBC is a cheaper net choice. On that note, a 70's Vette would be a stretch, but another good choice (I see those on ebay every once in a while for cheap).

Anyway, think $20XX challenge first, swap some parts for the other two races to comepte, and you are all set. Just got to choose the proper class for the One Lap and the LSR stuff.

Competive for those events its more to have fun. competive in most of the classes will require funds

racerboy000 wrote: Competive for those events its more to have fun. competive in most of the classes will require funds

Knowing what Wheels has done, I would somewhat disagree.

Anyway, sometimes, it's about low hanging fruit. Checking the rules and records, without much doubt, you'll be in either Super Street or Real Street. To save some degree of money, under 135 mph means no roll bar, between 135 and 150 means a 4 point bar. Assuming that you go unblown to have some degree of reliability, the classes E, F, G, H, &I all have records below 150mph for both gas and fuel.

ECTA Records- http://www.ecta-lsr.com/RecordsCars2.php ECTA Street Rules (I think)- http://www.ecta-lsr.com/rules/carstreetcat.htm One Lap Rules http://www.onelapofamerica.com/rulesForms/index.shtml

And the REAL low hanging fruit is the H class, with records merely at 90mph. H= 1.01 to 1.50 l. Can you find a 1.5l Civic? Those have done well at the challege, and will have enough space to make the One Lap sort of comfortable. G is a good engine class, too- up to 2.0l, and it being as popular as it is, you'll see speeds of 130+ mph in the record books.

For the most part, the one lap will be a lot tougher to be competetive. And there's no real "economy" class- since it's cheapest class is $20k.

Something else to consider- cars that you can swap engines in and out of. Again, the Civic/CRX can do a swap pretty easily, doing a pretty sweet <1.5l for the LSR, perhaps a Integra swap or something for the Challenge and/or One Lap.

Or, you can find a 1300 Alfa. .

Eric