morcus
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 08:32 PM |
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The track car ownership experience.
This is aimed mainly at people who own or who have owned cars just for off road use (in the track sense), especially those who don't actually
race.
Basically I finally moved into my new house and for the first time I have a garage and if my plans work out I should be much better off financially
once I've recovered from moving. I really want a project but running two cars on the road is too expensive still so I'm looking into the
possibility of buying a car as cheap as possible and tuning it for track use and was wondering if there were any pitfalls to look out for and
suggestions of what use I could get out of such a machine on a tight budget. Would I be better off biting the bullet and taxing and insuring such a
car so it could be used for roads aswell?
I've still not had a go on a track and hope to before comitting to anything but I'm also really intrested in trials and hill climbs.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 08:46 PM |
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I imagine the main pros and cons are:
You can drive it to the track
You many not be able to drive it back
You can afford for it to be your main car for a bit (say if you're repairing yours and you suddenly need a part)
You can enjoy it on the road at any time
The expense of taxing, insurance, IVA (maybe) etc.
It would be a better track car if just for the track (slick tyres for example)
Are you licenced to trailer it there?
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morcus
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 08:54 PM |
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Trailering is something I'd have to check as I've only got a normal license but that would be the plan.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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Wadders
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 09:35 PM |
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Now then lets have a think......
Cheap,
Road Worthy,
Track day capable,
Hill climb capable,
Your describing Rons finest 
Al.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 09:35 PM |
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I just track my locost, so it has slicks £15 a corner and passes most things.
I made the trailer with wheels under the bed, the bed is the same size as the car so it does not take up any more room when parked than a sierra.
When you go you want to be faster than anyone else.... which means that sphincter moments are unavoidable: D
Downside is that you require a tow car, if you just purchase a car off of ebay for £500 and rag it around a track you will be disappointed IMHO, to
make it any good will cost £££ so buy one that is already sorted.
Regards Mark
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ashg
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 10:03 PM |
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its a no brainer. being in ashford your 10mins away from lydden hill circuit. most weekends you can just turn up and pay £20 per 20min session
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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eddie99
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 10:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ashg
its a no brainer. being in ashford your 10mins away from lydden hill circuit. most weekends you can just turn up and pay £20 per 20min session
And not far away from brands!!
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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theduck
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| posted on 30/12/11 at 11:10 PM |
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I decided to take the jump to do just this as I think it's the best way of truly enjoying our cars. Buy snd track prepare cheaply though (where
possible) you don't want too much invested in something you or someone else might destroy on track.
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orton1966
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 07:05 AM |
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depends when you did your test
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
Trailering is something I'd have to check as I've only got a normal license but that would be the plan.
The towing question depends when you took your test, there was a change some years ago that affected the “standard” entitlements after passing.
It goes something like this:
if you took your test before that date you can tow almost anything (up to some quite serious weight)
If you took it after your limited to a very much reduced weight unless you do a “towing test”
From what I understand it isn’t a big deal to do just something to check
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morcus
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 07:19 AM |
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Thanks for the feed back so far.
I think a kit is still beyond my circumstances, though I've been doing alot of fag packet equations to try and make it work but my budget
won't go that far and I've only got a single garage with no power round the corner from my house, and I need something without a clutch
pedal (Which I probably should have said before). My old £400 1.6 205 is so far the most exciting car I've owned and wouldn't mind
something like that again but stripped and fiddled with. My plan was for the tuning to be done slowly over a very long period of time so that even if
the total spend was huge it would be so spread out as in the long run i'd be filling my time which stops me spending money else where.
I'm hoping to learn from doing this and I think if it worked turning a crap car from ebay gradually into a car taylor made for my driving would
be very rewarding.
Beyond track days, what kind of stuff can you do without a racing lisence? especially stuff you can do in the week as getting time of on weekends is
difficult for me (And probably the biggest problem facing the whole idea).
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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owelly
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 07:34 AM |
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For the 2011 PPC £999 Challenge, Frank bought an ex-BTCC V6 406 Pug for £600 complete with several sets of wheels with track tyres and spares. If you
had something similar, it would be good for the odd track day and for the price of an MOT, be ready to Tax and insure at short notice should
circumstances dictate!
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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Wadders
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 10:31 AM |
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Bargain or what....might struggle to find an ex BTCC with an auto box though
My pal has a square shape 3 series bmw for track days, no interior, roll cage etc, goes well, bits are plentyful and dirt cheap, It's T&T
for the occasional trip to the shops, reckon you could get an auto one for not a lot.
Al.
Originally posted by owelly
For the 2011 PPC £999 Challenge, Frank bought an ex-BTCC V6 406 Pug for £600 complete with several sets of wheels with track tyres and spares. If you
had something similar, it would be good for the odd track day and for the price of an MOT, be ready to Tax and insure at short notice should
circumstances dictate!
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macc man
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 11:13 AM |
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I met a guy at a track day at Oulton Park who bought a 328i BMW stripped it bare, and used it as standard. It was realy quick beating many expensive
cars. Cost him £200. He said he will get £100 back for scrap once he is done with it. It doesent get any cheaper than that.
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will121
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 11:57 AM |
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i started of with a road legal fiesta for track days as didnt have a trailer or tow car, but to insure, MoT, tax was about £460/year which i wanted to
put to more track days, also made more modifications like throttle bodies and removed the cat which made getting a MoT a pain as needed to convert it
all back to standard each year.
if you have space for storage of a purly track day car and trailer and use of a tow car then i think thats a better way to go then not got the hassle
of getting it home should anything go wrong, i had to drive mine home without a clutch once!
however one advantage of having a road legal car which is often over looked is the ability to take it out between track days to ensure everything
still works ok, mine may sit static on the drive for 2 months without moving till i get it to the track to find brake siesed etc.
if you can store and looking for purly track day car some thing like below would look good with coilovers etc fitted and a good place to start
tinkering and lurning and didnt even make a £500 starting bid, and even if sold it on after a few track days shouldnt loose to much
eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace
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theduck
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 12:06 PM |
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Just if you are going to strip it and use harnesses please fit a cage!
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bobinspain
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 01:14 PM |
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I was at a track day at Brands 12 years ago and a guy there was flying around the circuit in a 10 year old Vauxhall Vectra.
Turns out the car was bog-standard. The driver was very experienced and very skilled and so got more out of the car than any bystander (me) would ever
dream.
A lot of the posters here have offered very sound advice (owelly, Will Macc man etc). It needn't cost you the earth to have some cracking
driving days out.
Good luck in your quest, (whatever you decide).
Bob.
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bobinspain
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 01:23 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by will121
getting a MoT a pain as needed to convert it all back to standard each year.
The guy doing my import here in Spain got an Ultima ITVd (MOT) for a client who then dropped a £20k, 820bhp 'Crate' engine into it.
He said "there's no way I'll be able to get it through ITV for you next year,with that lump in it."
The client (a surgeon), said, "don't worry, my mechanic will remove the crate engine and drop the original back in for the day of next
year's test, then back to the crate engine straight after the test."
(How the other half live eh?)
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morcus
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| posted on 1/1/12 at 01:52 AM |
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Again thanks for the feed back. The Ebay thing would be the sort of thing I'd be aiming for but I'd rather do the stripping and such
myself, though I'm not likely to find many track cars with autos ready made like that one.
a 90's BMW would be the sort of thing I'd be intrested in as they're cheap and plentiful so lots of spares and if it does all go
wrong just flog it for scrap and keep or sell any decent bits.
I'd love to have a second car that was road usable but I don't think I can afford it right now.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
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hillbillyracer
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| posted on 1/1/12 at 09:37 AM |
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A mate & myself have a mk3 Astra 2.0 sport bought on ebay for £250, stripped it out & did PPC in the park, quite possibly the lowest value car
on the track but far from the slowest. Later entered into the £999 challenge once we'd fitted much of a salvage SAAB 9-3 turbo in place of the
Vauxhall bits. Total cost so far around £800 & it's not a slow car!
We are lucky in that though we dont have much money to play with we do have tow vehicles, a trailer & somewhere to work on/store the car etc.
I'd go with the cheap car stripped like we have & others have suggested & if the bug really bites & you can afford it then
you'll have more of an idea of what you want in a car.
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