Track Car - want advice and as much info as poss.

[Ben Lessani]

Ok, after seeing that TopGear episode where they use that diesel BMW to race, I always get the urge to want to build up my own track car. Now, not always the usual - obv. a Golf maybe isn't the best track tool, but what is. I know at least with the Golf I could run a 16v ABF KR at about 160 bhp reliably, or run a 2.0T with some minor mods, a Corsa could run with a red top at 160 bhp with a close ratio rallye box. I would gut the entire interior and only have a minimal dash - it doesn't have to strictly be MOT'able, but it would be nice.

I'd love to make a little racer, pushing a reliable 150 bhp (but with promise of upgrading to 250 bhp with minimal cost). But the plan is to make it reliable on a budget, what cheap mods help out basically, and for what cars?

I've seen a few MK2's where the front ARB has been replaced with one off a Passat with a little fiddling, which was almost twice the thickness. Upgrading the springs/shocks - whether the budget coily's are sufficient, I like the ones I have on my Golf and could imagine they would be pretty good on the track, obv a bit hoppy on uneven roads. Replacing all bushes with poly ones, stripping down the interior to nothing, fitting a purposeful rollcage, replace the side and rear windows with plexiglass, get low weight alloys and decent tyres.

But what cars (not just restricted to VW) are a good choice, given replacement costs of disks/pads etc. I'm not a pro and it would be something to learn in on track days, then progressing onto competitions.

Budget wise, lets say 3-4k, throw some ideas my way. Also, what kind of costs do you run into for a 1 day session, new tyres, disks pads, anything else, roughly - whats the running costs, how frequently do you change the oil etc.

[Diamond Hell]

Start with this thread

[monkeyalan]

Nissan Primera P10 eGT or Sunny GTI (if you can find one).

150bhp (reliable) out of the box, fully independant multi link suspension giving fantastic handling, very cheap to buy.

uses the same basic engine as the pulsar gtr so 250bhp is easily attainable once you bolt a turbo on.

[Ben Lessani]

I was looking at the Britcar 24 Hour comp. - thats what they did in TopGear, almost 2500 just to enter, plus all other costs. Most people view it as being about 5k per player for a cheaper car.

Other things I need to bear in mind is getting a Spec B racing licence, which requires a pre-requisite course ADRS (something like that), so I'd be looking at about £400-500 for that alone.

Are there any amateur competitions (Scotland preferably - but wouldn't mind travelling) that you can enter, where winning promises a monetary reward? I was reading into the 2CV 24 Hour endurance race which looks a good cheap laugh and a good learning ground too. I'd like to get a team together and go into this, and make it a little more of a hobby, not so much just the occasional track day.

I'm 22, as with my friends who'd like to join me, is there any competitions out there for someone as old as us (you know what I mean!) that we could enter which would mean a payout for a win?

I know I'm jumping the gun, but I've always wanted to race for a living (who doesn't eh?), but how does one get into it exactly, I've got some money saved up and a decent (and growing) amount of mechanical knowledge. I'm too old for karting, so what else is out there, and is there any good forums out there which maybe deal with what I'm asking?

[DarnPB]

Try a 7esque car, ie Westfied, (if you can find one cheap enough) or a Tiger, Robin Hood etc. Caterhams and Westfields you will pay for by their name, but a well sorted Robin Hood, despite being very much at the lower end of the scale, would easily suffice. There is a single make race series for these cars so they can't be that bad. Lots of cars similar that are variations on a theme produced by the likes of Tiger, Dax, Robin Hood, Locust etc. Do a little homework and look up kitcar sites.
Lots of these cars are based on a donor car that are widely available in scrapyards, so parts are not an issue and if you have a bit of an 'off track' experience, these type of cars are easily repairable by panel replacement, which are usually fibreglass.
A number of engine variations available too from bike engined screamers, to Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota to Rover V8. I have even seen a Jag V12 squeezed in.