I've given up!

[JScharF]

So recently I made an important decision! I was looking at options of what I could do with the money I will be earning this summer and at the beginning I was deadset on fixing up my eclipse, but I've lost interest in it now. From a distance my eclipse looks really good, it goes 60 mph, what else do I need. I paid $3k for a perfectly fine car. Engine is rebuilt, not too much to worry about in it anymore...

Like I said, It goes 60 mph, (of course it goes more... topped out at 130) but whats the point. If you go fast on a highway or anywhere theres always a risk of being caught. One morning on the way to school I left about 5 minutes before class, I was really behind, going 110 on the way, halfway there I thought to myself one of these days I am going to get caught doing this, slowed down in the bottom of a smaller hill and as I came up there was a cop waiting for me, luckily clocked me when I was down to about 70, gave me a written warning.... I really wanted to put a turbo in and juice it up more, but there's no drag strips anywhere near me, no kids with cars that would even compete.. There's absolutely no reason to be fast in my eclipse anymore.

So, to make up for my not going fast in an eclipse anymore... DIRT TRACK RACING HERE I COME!

Anyone here ever do it?

[Thor06]

My dad and good friend are dirt track drivers and I go along just about every weekend. Its good fun, but I could never spend the kind of cash they do to do what they do. You might be able to find cars for cheap, but you get what you pay for in this hobby... you best be ready to sink twice what you you bought your Eclipse for MINIMUM.

[JScharF]

Yeah, I am not starting this year anymore, I am going to run hobby stock so that will be a lot cheaper than if i were to run something like mods or sprints. They tell me on some dirt forums that for around $4-5000 I can get a really good race ready car. I will be working through the school year, I dont drink or anything really so almost all my money gets saved. My uncles are racers, and one of my dad's friends has a couple cars and a trucking business. I am going to call him and ask him if he wants his name on another car next year :P

Thor, What class do they race?

[Thor06]

The both race whats called a "street stock" up here which uses a stock body hung on a cage built up from its frame, they are limited to (I believe) 360 cubic inches so most build bored out 350 Chevy's, and most people use power glides with Ford 9" rears but turbo 350's and Chevy 10 bolt rears are used too. I dont know what my dad has into it, but I believe my friend has around 9-10 grand into it and he did it in a pretty budget minded manner. Up here we have whats called a "mini stock" which uses the Pinto 2.3L I4 and I believe early Mustang 4 speed manual trannies, which is what I figured your hobby stock is. I'd be closer to believing you could build a good one of those for 5k, but I dont know that you could build an actual good any kind of racecar for that.

I actually put some thought into making a Talon dirt track car, but I have a hard time spending that kind of cash on something you cant drive on the street. If I was going to dump 10 grand into a car, it would be a streetable "hot rod" of some sort... whether it be a DSM, an F-Body, a Fox Body, or an old Impala or something like that.

[JScharF]

Yeah I know what you mean, It would be nice to drive it on the street, but I've got a paid for eclipse thats all I really need. I would race 4cyl but there are none around here. My cousin had a 81 2.3 mustang with several parts engines in the garage, woulda done it but theres no tracks around here that have 4 cyl races.

[Thor06]

What I wanted to do for the 4 cyl class here is build a NA wideblock stroker 4g63 to mate to a Starion or RX7 tranny, then use DSMlink to tune it to the tits. They are limited to carbs though, so fuel injection wouldnt be legal.

So what car are you planning on making for this racecar? What rules does the class need to abide by?

[JScharF]

I'm actually waiting on the rules to be mailed to me as we speak. Hobby Stock is very similar to Street Stock. Monte Carlo or something similar with a 355 small block chevy.

[JScharF]

The only rule my uncles told me when I talked to them about it was that you need a 108 wheel base minimum.

[Thor06]

Yeah, sounds pretty similar. My buddy Scott is running a Monte Carlo right now actually, and my dad is running an Impala I believe. Are you going to be buying a turn key or a roller, or buying a street car and building it from the ground up?

[JScharF]

So I got the rules today:

They are almost identacle to this tracks rules.. (Not exactly the same)

http://www.murraycountyspeedway.net/...RA%20Hobby.pdf

108 wheelbase, no real weight restrictions that I saw, 360ci engine limit are the things that stand out to me.



I'm not sure if I am going to build or buy, I would personally like to build one to learn everything about the car, but for the money I could have an excellent built car already.

I went to the local junkyard and he wanted 550 for a peice of shit monte carlo sitting there, "Oh i can get 750 easy but I want it gone" Well Mark, I can get a fully race ready car for 4-5k. I dont see how you pay 500 for a body to build a car for 4-5k. I am going to go to the other junkyard near here and see what theyve got.

I would like to build my car too because I can work on it a little at a time, but if I buy one, then I'll have to wait until fall/winter to buy it (work work work, haha).

Thor where are you from? What tracks do they race at?

[Thor06]

Holy shit dude, you're in MN? So whats keeping your fool ass away from the MN meet?!

The classes are usually very similar across the sactioning bodies, I believe its usually smaller things like tires and shit that separates them. For example, I'm about 95% sure the only difference between NOPA and WISSOTA street stocks is what tires they are allowed to run.

I was a little worried that you would only be able to run there with that car, but it looks like you've got plenty of tracks around to go to. The no weight thing was a bit suprising, but you guys have enough restrictions that I cant see it being a big deal.

$500 isnt that bad of a deal for a car as long as the frame and all the body panels are good. If you want to build one then I would watch craigslist, ebay, auto trader, and whatever else for a good deal on a car. I think my dad got two junker Impalas for like $250 each and made one car, but he has a few spare parts and got to sell the front stub from the other one anyway.

I would throw that $4-5k idea out now if you really want to get into it dude. Sure you might be able to get a car on the track for that, but there is an ass ton of other shit you have to buy/worry about too man. You'll need atleast a couple sets of rear end gears, various springs and shocks to set the car up differently, several spare wheels and tires, not to mention its a good idea to have a spare motor and tranny. What about getting it to the track, do you have a trailer and a truck to haul it? Do you have a good set of tools to do the work it will need? Then theres the gas thing, I dont know what you guys run, but they run race gas up here which is about $6.50 a gallon, and they can burn as much as 8-10 gallons a night. Then there's fuel hauling too and from the race as well... racing is not a cheap hobby.

EDIT: I am about 6 hours north and east of you. My dad and friend both go to Emo, Ontario every weekend but every three weekends or so Bemidji, MN has street stocks that they have done before, and I believe they have gone to Devil's Lake, North Dakota and Grand Forks, North Dakota and Grand Rapids, Minnesota on occasion.

[JScharF]

I would come to the meet but im leaving tuesday for Milwaukee to visit a friend that graduated from my college last year and got a job at cargill. I wont be back until the 27th.

[JScharF]

I know I'll need extra parts and stuff, but I'm talking 4-5 for a race ready car, I realize I would need more in the long run. I'll be racing at Arlington and Redwood Falls if you know where they are. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but my dad worked for a trucking company in SW MN, one of the kids races and my dad and him are pretty good friends. I am going to call him eventually and ask if he wants the company on my car, see if I can get some parts out of him :P

[JScharF]

Hey thor thanks for the craigslist idea.... I might have found something.

race ready full cage,race seat and harness just get in and drive.305 in car is in great running order and trans is solid to.comes with spare 350 and trans and they both are in great shape also.and plenty of other spare parts.

$1200... Tempting :P

[JScharF]

JACKPOT.

Today I called my dad's old boss/friend...

82 olds cutlass cage/rollbars etc all there, 350 in it, tranny.... $450. Somethings wrong with the carb, but still $450 for even a caged car is good.

Then I was telling my friends that race already, and another guy stopped over that was friends of theirs... He wants to sell me I think it was a Grand Prix and a Malibu(?) race rims another 350 bored and whatnot and tranny, previously raced hobby stock with it, all his stuff... $700.

So, for 1150 I'll be getting 2 350s, 2 trannys, race rims, and 3 caged cars.

My parents think I have downs syndrome... but boy am I excited.