track car, buy one or start from scratch ?

[rex16v]

hey, now do i buy a cheap little car for next to nothing and strip it and add to or do i buy one done, iv been looking and seen afew but some are a bit pricey for what they are.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Corsa-Widetrack-rally-car-race-car
your opinions......

[waynne]

Firstly hi and welcome to TorqueCars rex16v, nice to have you along.

An ex race car can be a good investment as they have premium parts fitted. Here are the pros and cons as I see it.

For a track car
It has been setup already. It is tried and tested and you will get the car with performance mods for a knock down price.

Against a track car
It will have had a hard life and may well be in need of some major mechanical work.

For a DIY track car
You get the car setup exactly how you want. It will be essentially new and unstressed so will potentially be more reliable.

Against a DIY track car
It costs a lot of money and it tends to be a trial and error setup. It can take a lot of work to arrive at the setup you need.

Because you posted a link and had less than 10 posts your post was held up in the moderation queue. I have approved it for you now

[Hansi]

I like the DIY better because then you build it to your standards and don't have to reset everything as you might have to do with and ex race car

[old-git]

Originally Posted by Hansi

I like the DIY better because then you build it to your standards and don't have to reset everything as you might have to do with and ex race car

This is fine if you know what you are doing. If, as I suspect. rex16v is just starting out, he won't know much (if anything) about setting a car up. Therefore, buying one already built and raced, even if tired, will get him into racing so he can gain the necessary experience. It will be cheaper and, if he doesn't like it, he can re-sell car for not much of a loss.

Building a car from scratch is VERY difficult without a lot of experienced help. I know, I am doing it and I think that I know a little about the subject. It is also a lot more expensive and will take a lot of time and effort.

Best (IMHO) to buy a car already built and get out there and have some fun whilst learning. Once uou have decided that you want you carry on you can choose what type of racing and the class you wish to compete in. Once this is finalised you can start to look at building a car to comply with the rules.

Whatever the car, homebuilt or bought, setting it up for ultimate performance is a never ending quest

[rex16v]

Thank you guys, im not 100% up on building up a track or rally prep car but im not to bad at doing some bits and pick things up fairly fast, i wont say price is not a problem (im not loaded) but i have alittle bit saved to go into it as a hobby and dont want to get burnt but dont mind some hard work if it works out cheaper OR i learn something out of doing it my self as long as the cost is not stupid.

Cheers guys

[waynne]

You will do well i'm sure. Keep us posted as to how your project goes and what you decide to do.

[steve09]

some good comments an tips here.


here is what i would do.

get a fairly powerfull rear wheel drive car like a RX-7, supra or 328i.(just my preferance you could do different)

and as they have already got a nice amount of power you dont really need to do much to the engine apart from mabye a new air filter, cams, and a bit of strengthening as it will be pushed hard,
then you can focus on the suspension and breaks.

if you get a car with sorted suspension on a track you will have alot more fun than if you dont sort the suspension and focus on engine, as you will be fighting it round the corners.