Buying a track day car

[2mAn]

^^^ not enough 3 wheel motion, but i still approve

[craiggroves91]

e36 m3 FTW!

[j0oftheworld]

Mine was built..
M50 tuned, G250, 4point, susp, wheels/tires, brakes, interior race parts etc.. all for what a halfway decent E30 is costing these days. My friend and I drove double duty for the first year and it never skipped a beat. I literally added race brake pads for the first event.
Now that she's proven herself to me, she's getting the royal "because racecar" treatment. Stay tuned! :p



Sig pic is from very 1st event..

[jlevie]

Appearance and interior isn't very important in a track car, but mechanical condition is. Track use puts a lot of stress on the drive train and suspension and those need to be in like new condition. Unless you buy an ex-race car you should plan on a complete rebuild of at least the suspension & cooling system. That alone will run several thou over and above the cost of the car.

[andrewm]

A lot of people are questioning the act of the cheaper car? Because I'm a maintenance whore. If I am buying the car to race, I'm going to rebuild the suspension, shifter bushings, repack bearings, brakes, etc.

I dont care about the paint, or a lot about the interior. Finding a car with bad paint, a little suspension play and no AC in FL - that car isnt gonna be more than $1500. Even if the car is a $3,000 car - I'm probably gonna drop the subframe, put poly bushings in etc. So why pay for the nicer car if I'm gonna replace all the parts anyways.

It can be advantageous to buy a built car if that's what you're looking for. But we're entry level, it seems like getting our feet wet makes sense...then again, I suppose there are times you run before you walk.

Thoughts?

[bowtie2bimmer]

^ exactly.

We know bushings and worm parts need to be replaced. Thats not part of the 1500. But like he said no a/c down here kills the price on any car so its not too bad to find a car. We've also been lookign for miatas, mk1 mr2's. etc.

[JRKOUPE]

all good info here.......

what else do you want to know?....

just get the friggin car you prefer?!........convert, sedan, gti..... etcetcetc...

everything else you know. What more thoughts are there?......

find a solid car for 15oo......freshen and prep it....go race.

if u get an e30 let us know, we can help a lot!!! ..if not ...good luck.

[andrewm]

What I'd be interested to know, since I'm jumping into this thread after it was started - how nice of a car would you guys look for? I mean, obviously I'm trying to avoid rust, but how well maintained? My personal taste would be to find a clean body, but that needs a lot of work. I'm okay with replacing wheel bearings, etc just so I know it's done.

Would it be better to get a car that doesnt need the immediate maintenance? Or would you still do them anyways?

[Wild Ride]

Having gone both routes when buying e30's both sub $1000 and top dollar. I thought I might weigh in.

One option if you are tearing everything apart anyways: Buy a non runner i car for $500 with a decent interior, original paint (no accidents) and compression from someone who can prove they actually flushed the coolant, oil and brakes regularly. Part the interior to recoup on the initial investment. Then take everything apart and do all the wear items consumables, motor mounts bushings, hoses, head gasket, suspension, brakes, brake lines etc because you will eventually break every 20+ year old wear item on the car. Spend 3-7k plus and 100+ hours making it fully track worthy and hate the previous owner for all the corners they cut. At best it will be a 3k car when you are done that will take time and re-engineering to be fully reliable and consistent.

Option two buy a real sorted track prepped car (not a beater with a roller job) that someone has invested 20-30k into and is selling for 5-10k. Go to track event fully prepared and have fun. You will love the previous owner for spending all of his blood, sweat and money so you could enjoy the turnkey fruits of his labor at pennies on the dollar.