Guest Nikolai Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Hey guys, been reading everything and I just have to ask. I currently am cleaning up a '77 and want to make it as autoX and road racing worthy as possible. I bought the car for $450 and it does have some rust issues that I'm working through. I have in my possesion a 2000 4.3 I plan on putting in, as far back and low as tollerable mated to a WC T5. My question is what would you do if you were building a track car as described? I'm trying to do this as cost efficient as possible, deffinately not a show car. Chassis wise, I'm going to leave it alone beyond the bolt on shock braces, front and rear. What else would be suggested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 If you want a cheap autoexer than leave the engine alone and work on the suspension, tires and wheels. If you can stay in the stock or near stock classes, you will have a much better chance of doing well. Swapping to another engine will put you into a non-stock class where you will undoubtably be less than competitive. In fact, you will most likely need to bring a bag to carry your *** home in after the guy with the turbo rotary engine in a bug eyed sprite hands it to you. You also need to ask your self how much of a "track" car you want and how much you will drive on the street. Look at some of the recent threads on spring rates to get a good idea what suspensions will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 81na ZX Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Swapping in a 4.3 will put you in E Mod, if I'm understanding its not a nissan motor. Without gutting your car down to 1800lbs (inc. driver) and dumping a ton of money into the car, you'll get your *** handed to you. If its a Nissan, you'd end up in SM2, where you'll get eaten up by Vettes, cause well they are "the car" for SM2. A stock motored car can be fairly competitive in E Stock, just not in my region... I know from experiance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Regarding an autocrosser and roadracer....you might want to decide on one, as suspension setups are a bit different between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nikolai Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Regarding an autocrosser and roadracer....you might want to decide on one, as suspension setups are a bit different between the two. I understand, I'm going for a more of a mix of both. I forgot to add that the 4.3 will be turbo'd with a similar setup to the sy/ty's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 His point is, a mix of both means good at neither. If you're just doing it for fun and don't care if your car handles very well for either, that's fine. People just usually dont' have a dedicated track car unless they're serious about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 81na ZX Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Well if you want to be competative in autox: You'll need atleast 5lbs/hp Close to min weight (1800 inc. driver) soft slicks (like Hoosier R25a compound) Remove/move weight to get more than 51% of the mass over the rear (i.e. 48/52 or better distrobution) Probally end up with a wheel rate equal to your corner weights Cage and a bunch of other chassis stiffing That might get you competative in your region depending on your driving skill and your competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nikolai Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Well I'm not looking to win my first time out or anything. Just more of looking for follow by examples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Start searching this site for suspension modifications. Bump steer, camber plates, coilovers, spring rates, struts, etc. That should keep you busy for a while. There's a lot you can do, and without a more specific question it's kinda hard to know what info you're looking for. If you just want general info on the Z suspension, just start searching. It's all here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 what everyone won't let me forget is that its better to build up a 240z since its lighter right off the bat. get an adjustable suspension (coilovers) so you can change your spring rates to the type of racing you are doing.. don't settle for regular spring/shock combo's.. you can also get adjustable control arms that will allow you to adjust toe and camber. talk to JohnC (beta motorsports) and the Modern Motorsports guy.. tons of great info and great parts for your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 For Autocross I would think about installing power steering unless you have arms of steel. I think that you should look at the suspension and brakes first and drive it that way to see what you have and then think about installing the different motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zguitar71 Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Get some 15x7 wheels with a -12 offset (3.5" back space) from a company like Diamond they are heavy (steel, 21 LBS) but only cost $65 (4 for $260) or so, Goodyear G-19 cantilever slicks R250 compound ($750), some stiffer springs like the Arizona Zcar springs ($200) and some Tokico Illumina shocks ($375 on Ebay (new)). Do not touch the motor. Strip the interior/exterior and add a roll cage that will stiffen the chasis ($1500?) and get a good racing allignment ($85) and a good seat and harness($450). Get a LSD ($750) and a 3.9:1 rear end ($150). Try to get the car to the minimum weight (2100 LBS in Fprepared autox for a 2.8). Autox in Fprepared and I am not sure of the road racing class mabey EP, ITS? Drive the car for a couple of season and do not worry about winning. Get the feel of the car and get consistant and to the very limit of the car with that cheap set up. Then upgrade (suspension, $$$ light weight wheels, brakes, ect...) as money comes in. The motor will be the last thing to worry about for the car but when you get there most Fprepared car have 250HP+ to the rear wheels, require race fuel and rev to 8000+ RPM. You will not win with that super cheap set up but if you are a good driver you will not be last either and you will learn great things for not much money. I have watched people with under developed cars beat people with very developed cars for their class (autocross) over and over again because they are good drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Diamond quotes some of their lighter weight 15x10s at 18 lbs. Did you just buy the cheapest ones they had, or are their advertised weights wrong? See links for 15x10 @ 18 lbs. http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/RoadRaceSeries.htm http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/AvengerSeries.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zguitar71 Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 I bought 15x7 to fit the slicks I am running. The only wheels they had at that time were 21 LBS (2 years ago). I would have bought lighter ones in that size if they had them. I am currently building a F prepared car that will have 16x10 wheels probably from Kodiak, they should weigh around 15 pounds. I am very ready to get into a real race car and return my current car to the streets only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 My question is what would you do if you were building a track car as described? I'm trying to do this as cost efficient as possible, deffinately not a show car. Chassis wise, I'm going to leave it alone beyond the bolt on shock braces, front and rear. What else would be suggested? If you're looking to get into racing on the cheap there is no better way than buying a car that is already built. You will save 100 to 200 percent over doing it yourself. What your describing above is an EMOD car for SCCA SOLO II. It's a wide open class that's really fast. Not a good place for a beginner to start. Prepared cars are really fast, MOD cars take that to another level. I'd really recommend using your daily driver for a year to get some seat time and experience. The real trick in building a race car is to figure out what you're going to do with it and build to those rules. You won't save any money buying things over as you change your mind. There's lots of advice on this thread and many of the responses are biased to the individuals program. You need to figure out yours and go with that. For what it's worth I have what you'd call a low budget autox car. I bought it wrecked for the parts for my EMOD project and ending up fixing it. The plan was to get seat time in the slow version before getting really crazy. That said I should tell you that my initial purchase of $2500 has grown into about $8000 mostly in suspension, brakes, wheels. The car routinely sets TTOD but has been specialized to autox and hillclimb competition and would make a horrible track day car. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Cheap autox/track day car? Get everything on the car structurally sound, in good working order mechanically, and dependable. Replace all the rubber bushings with urethane ones. Stainless steel brake lines help pedal feel a lot and your are probably cracked. Flush the brake system with quality fluid. Get as much a performance oriented alignment as possible. Then go run the car at 8 or 10 events, get some seat time, then decide how far you want to go with mods. You will increase your driving skills a ton, learn a lot, and have a good time. Once you start modding stuff, your pocketbook is the only limit, and you will get a better idea of the direction you want to go and how far. The main thing is you can learn a lot and have a ball with a basically stock car that's safe and dependable. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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