I have a dirt oval 15 minutes away from my house, they have a mini stock class, allows any American or Foreign 3, 4, or 6 cylinder. Must have 4 post roll cage and remain stock. I have been looking 100 mile radius. Cars I have found are all beat rust buckets and have questionable cages. The pricing is all over the place from $800 to $4-5K. The expensive ones appear to be the cheaty cars; for example EF Honda Civic with a cheater B16 or B20 in it. Is this the one class where it is better to build then buy?
Sounds way cheaper to buy and gut/cage a (crapalier neon civic accent sentra) than to spend 4-5k on one
In reply to trigun7469 :3-4-6 cylinder?
I know what I’d race. The Jaguar 4.0 6 cylinder all aluminum 4 valves per cylinder rugged, durable, reliable and fast!
I know cavaliers were pretty popular at the one local to my parents. It has been 20 years since I bought my street stock for cheap with tires and trailer, but it had a sketchy cage that would not use for actual racing. I worked out deal for cost of good tubing and some beverages to get it replaced. Something like that could be an option, or could weld up your own.
Cheap? Neon with Twincam transmission.
Fast? Integra.
Sturdy? Cavalier, probably. Not Honda based, anyway.
Rwd allowed? If so v6 sn95 mustang for cheap and fun
Ranger50 said:
Define “stock”.
Neon 2.4l.
No. Just no. I had a friend who told me, with a straight face, that the wheels on his car were stock. Eight inch bells on Rabbit center sections are custom parts made of stock components. They are not stock parts as stated by the OP.
Race car rules seem to have an amazing ability to remove peoples reading comprehension skills.
Suprf1y
UltimaDork
10/4/18 5:55 p.m.
Post the rules and we can make a meaningful recommendation.
Here the fast cars are pretty much split between Cavaliers and Civics. I’d lean towards the Cavaliers since the suspensions seem a bit more durable. While buying a car is usually cheaper than building this is one class I’d build new for as I’ve seen more sketchy cages in these cars than anywhere else.
I had almost the same scenario, except it’s asphalt tracks near me. I bought an already built neon dohc manual for $2k, cleaned it up and went racing! It’s incredibly fun!! Most of the cars are pretty cheated up and the tech inspection is pretty much a joke around here. Unless you’re a cage builder, it seems more economical to buy a built, proven competitive car and give it your own touches. Pre purchase:
And post:
Id recommend going to watch a race or 2 and see what’s fast. Get yourself into the pits and observe the tech inspection on the top 3 or 5 cars. You’ll need to be aware of how close they’re looking and at what. You’re gonna have to “bend the rules” to be near the front.
Streetwiseguy said:
Ranger50 said:
Define “stock”.
Neon 2.4l.
No. Just no. I had a friend who told me, with a straight face, that the wheels on his car were stock. Eight inch bells on Rabbit center sections are custom parts made of stock components. They are not stock parts as stated by the OP.
Race car rules seem to have an amazing ability to remove peoples reading comprehension skills.
Enjoy not even having fun.
This is why I said “stock” needs a definition. What I said is completely buildable with no custom parts. You may have to scour a bit for the oe parts to make it work, but they are “stock” parts. Can I modify the “stock” parts?
I have a set of “stock” Ford E7 cylinder heads too.... They cost me $1700....
frenchyd said:
In reply to trigun7469 :3-4-6 cylinder?
I know what I’d race. The Jaguar 4.0 6 cylinder all aluminum 4 valves per cylinder rugged, durable, reliable and fast!
OK, I want to see a dirt track Jaguar. It would probably do pretty well, while looking like a particularly deranged Top Gear episode.
Do you have a link for the rules for this class? A lot of them tend to ban some specific combo that somebody used to win with, while overlooking others completely. And what sorts of cars are usually on track? A while ago I had posted about a dirt track class that looked like GRMers would probably populate it with Porsche 924s and Nissan 240SXs... turns out everybody was running Fox body Mustangs.
FWD stock body 6-cylinder? I imagine a manual VQ-equipped Maxima would be a very quick choice.
Streetwiseguy said:
Race car rules seem to have an amazing ability to remove peoples reading comprehension skills.
This needs to be quoted in the magazine
MadScientistMatt said:
frenchyd said:
In reply to trigun7469 :3-4-6 cylinder?
I know what I’d race. The Jaguar 4.0 6 cylinder all aluminum 4 valves per cylinder rugged, durable, reliable and fast!
OK, I want to see a dirt track Jaguar. It would probably do pretty well, while looking like a particularly deranged Top Gear episode.
Do you have a link for the rules for this class? A lot of them tend to ban some specific combo that somebody used to win with, while overlooking others completely. And what sorts of cars are usually on track? A while ago I had posted about a dirt track class that looked like GRMers would probably populate it with Porsche 924s and Nissan 240SXs... turns out everybody was running Fox body Mustangs.
If you thought that the Jaguar XJS with the 4.0 six would be too big and heavy but a quick check on Wikipedia says it’s about the same as a Fox body Mustang.
That all aluminum 4 valve per cylinder in stock form would make a lot more power and Torque than any iron inline six or pushrod V6.
Getting it lighter would be a simple matter, the sound deadening and comfort packages removed can get one down to 2700 pounds or even lighter assuming headlights and taillights etc are removed.
Stiff springs come from the 12V variant, actually the sedan springs fit as well and they are even stiffer. While a 4 speed automatic is stock, optional was a 5 speed manual. And it wouldn’t be that difficult to yank the automatic and replace it with a T 5, assuming you can find one strong enough.
Speed? The 6 will give the V12 a serious run for the money. And it’s a whole lot more reliable.
If the word Lucas scares you how do you feel about Delco? Yep, those parts can be adapted to use on the Jaguar because the Chevy Trailblazer was developed using the Jaguar engine. Chevy Trailblazer, GMCEnvoy, Buick and Oldsmobile even made a variant using that same engine.
If it is a quarter mile track with low or no banking there may be little to be gained from a larger engine. Handling and torque will be the way to go. If it is a banked track, or longer, or perhaps closer to an oval with straightaways than a circle then go big or go home.
trigun7469 said:
Rules:
http://www.eriez-speedway.com/driver-info/rules/
OK, so this one calls for front wheel drive, and no factory forced induction cars. It's a 3/8 mile oval.
A Cavalier or Saturn sounds like it would be a good choice for their ability to take a pounding, but the idea of a Maxima or Altima with a VQ35 sounds like it would be a good choice for horsepower.
Acura TL dominated at the track this year, I see they were trying to sell it. I imagine they took all the cheater stuff out 
They have all the races on the youtube so I was able to watch them.
bearmtnmartin said:
If it is a quarter mile track with low or no banking there may be little to be gained from a larger engine. Handling and torque will be the way to go. If it is a banked track, or longer, or perhaps closer to an oval with straightaways than a circle then go big or go home.
I raced hobby stocks on. 1/4 mile oval. ( back in my day) Torque was King. Pull ahead of faster cars and toss your car sideways going into the corner. Little bullrings like these the faster, more nimble cars didn’t stand a chance. The first 100 feet out of a corner determined the winner. Unlike road racing where you have a chance to beat them on top speed or out brake them. Once sideways enough of the track is blocked so passing is impossible.
Suprf1y
UltimaDork
10/9/18 3:55 p.m.
G6 GTP or GXP
Epsilon platform, 240 - 250 hp stock, which is apparently underrated and you can buy them for under a grand.
They dominate our local V6 class
In reply to frenchyd :
With a circular or banked track where you can carry speed all the way around the torque is not so important. Not saying it does not help but handling and keeping the front right Tire from melting is more important. On tracks where you need to accelerate down a straight and brake for a slower turn every few seconds then the more powerful cars have an advantage.
In reply to bearmtnmartin :
Most small town oval race track are two short straights followed by corners at either end. That’s because the stands are massively easier .( and cheaper) to construct straight than around a circle.
Banking is expensive and really hard to do well. So circle track racing is a misnomer. It’s mostly oval.
