Budget built track cars

[YoungRookie]

I have been throwing the idea around of getting a 240 to slowly build up for a track car to use and at summit point race track. I wanted to see everyone elses cars that they are slowly trying to build for tack only use. I also was hoping that some people could post some tips and suggestions to help me with the whole process of building a car for this. Like what i should worry about modifying first and shit. I dont plan on having the car make a lot of horse power just something that would be fun to take down to the track on the weekends. It is going to be on a very limited budget so anyone that has any ideas for cheao mods please throw your ideas out there. I would really like to see some pictures of everyones budget built track cars, either the finished car or cars that are still in progress. Thanks ahead of time fellas and good luck on the track and be safe.

[240truk]

Are you looking to drift it? welding the diff is always a good start if you're on a budget. I always say suspension first too. Having power is not even that fun without stiffening it a little first

[LB.Motoring]

Im in the middle of a SUPER budget built track car.

AE86 300.00
Running Ka 50.00
Ka Tranny 00.00
BuddyClub Bucket 140.00
Nardy Deep 100.00


Custom mounts, Cage, and misc other, will be made by me.

and I pretty much have to buy some arms, Weld the diff, fuel cell/lines, and make some coilovers and Im set.

Its the only way I could do it, I work parttime to go to school.

Im sure when its all said and done, with rims tires and everything I should have spent 2,000 - 2,500~

[unicoladron]

bigger rear sway bar, strut tower bars, a decent set of coils. any chassis you find will most likely have blown bushings all over the place. get yourself an energy suspension master bushing kit. they are made for both s13 and s14. like the 2nd poster said, what fun is power if you can't handle it safely.

[devonkyle77]

z32 brakes.
and dont have a gf, that always helps the budget
lol
j/k morgan

[yudalicious]

Being a grad student that's accruing debt, I know all about budget builds. My current set up is:
-Pretty much stock KA except aftermarket exhaust, clutch, flywheel that I gathered over the years
-KTS coilovers, RUCAs, subframe spacers
-Sparco Evo driver seat, Personal wheel w/ hub and QR, stock passenger seat and stock belts
-225/50/16 RT615s w/ 16x8 Rota wheels
-Stock brakes, HP+ pads, ATE fluid (I'm going to try new compounds and possibly ducting as soon as I get a chance to)
-In the future I want to move to R comps, and with that move I will have probably a 4pt roll bar at the least with a 5 or 6 pt. harness and an accompanying passenger seat. Of course this probably won't happen until I'm out of school.

I think the trick is to keep a relatively stock engine. It'll force you to learn alot and also keep overall costs down. Good luck and happy motoring.

[240truk]

Originally Posted by devonkyle77

z32 brakes.
and dont have a gf, that always helps the budget
lol
j/k morgan

its true, that would help alot!!! Maybe thats why my car isnt built yet

[blueshark123]

Originally Posted by 240truk

its true, that would help alot!!! Maybe thats why my car isnt built yet

Deffitnetly puts a hit in ur wallet lol

[YoungRookie]

I dont really want to do drifting, pretty much just like nasa/scca auto x type racing. Maybe a few drifts events here and there or something. Imt rying to get back a coupe that i sold to a friend for 300 bucks that had no title or motor. It would be a perfect start for the project, I already have 2 spare ka's laying around, a bucket seat, some misc suspension and just some small little things that i have accumulated over the years. Does anyone have any pictures of their budget builds?

[240truk]

my sig is my budget track car. Had an SR but i got for super cheap cuz it came out of my friends crashed car.
If you dont really drift then I guess suspension, brakes and some good tires would be the way to go

[Risu2112]

I would def. prioritize Bushings, a cheap used LSD and break upgrades. A great way to keep costs down is lowering the frequency that you put your cars into the wall!

[Andrew Bohan]

no way, if you put your car into the wall enough times, you'll just quit racing.
saves A TON of money in the long run

[svensko]

I'll probably build a budget track car after graduation, assuming I go to grad school. I'll probably strip my chassis, get new door hinges, a new driver-side window switch or somehow wire my own, then I have a (unfortunately) long list of mods I'd like to do to it. As far as the engine, I'll stay NA KA with SOHC pistons that are have reliefs for the valves, the S13 cam combo, header, intake, flywheel, and exhaust and then focus on suspension and brakes with full poly bushings. I'll eventually finish it up with some cheap engine insurance in the form of oil/diff/tranny coolers and accusump. I'm sure it'll run me more than I want but it seems like a car I could go beat on and still daily drive without too many problems.

[SW20Racer]

it sounds like you know whats up with the suspension so heres what i have to offer.

even if you dont plan to do a whole lot of drifting, a welded diff would help you cover all your bases.

search for "free horsepower tricks", things like DIY grounding kits etc.

im taking the budget build approach with my tercel (project auto-x) and something that definitely saved me some cash was extrude honing the stock manifold ($200 compared to over $300 for an aftermarket header) and fabbing up a manifold back straight through exhaust

take horsepower to weight into consideration (along with wheel diameter)

[Andrew Bohan]

careful building a high comp KA

i did it and it blew in 300 miles
but now i know what to do

[svensko]

Originally Posted by Andrew Bohan

careful building a high comp KA

i did it and it blew in 300 miles
but now i know what to do

Please bestow your knowledge onto me.

I've considered LS1 miatas but they just seem a bit overpriced and overpowered for a beginner track car.

from http://www.racingconcepts.net/

The Holiday season is upon us (since September it seems...) and there is no better time to start an LSX Miata conversion. The LSX Miata is the perfect fulfillment of your wish for an 11 second roadster that can be built for around $10-15k. How is this possible? Check it out:

• The average price of '90-'93 Miata is about $2,500.
• The fair market value of an LS1/T56 drivetrain is $3,500.
• Our Complete LSX Miata Conversion Kit is $3,499.99.
• Misc. items, like cooling and fuel systems, roughly $1,500.
• Total invested: $10,999.99!!!
• Find the right deal on chassis/drivetrain and you can save even more!

What can you expect from an LSX-powered Miata?

A 2400-2600 pound roadster that produces 285-300 horsepower/torque and retains the handling and drivability of a factory Miata.

The only advantage I see it having is that Miatas are way more common than 240SXs are sourcing parts would probably be a bit easier.

[Risu2112]

By the way I just spent 3 months looking for an LS1/ T56, it's _VERY_ difficult to find anything in half decent condition for 3500. In that 3 months the few engine+trans that I found were between 4200 and 6000. Any thing under 5000 was seriously stripped of everything, starter, alternator etc/etc/etc.

Ended up having to pay about 5k for mine after finally loosing my patience. I'm also in CA though, maybe it's just more expensive out here.

[svensko]

Originally Posted by Risu2112

By the way I just spent 3 months looking for an LS1/ T56, it's _VERY_ difficult to find anything in half decent condition for 3500. In that 3 months the few engine+trans that I found were between 4200 and 6000. Any thing under 5000 was seriously stripped of everything also, starter alternator etc/etc/etc.

Ended up having to pay about 5k for mine after finally loosing my patience. I'm also in CA though, maybe it's just more expensive out here.

That's what I was afraid of. I don't think I need more than 200 HP anyways until I'm beyond comfortable with 200.

Apparently the Toyota 1UZ can be had very cheap (under a grand from what I've heard) but then fabrication would be an absolute pain. You'd also have the Nissan Nazis breathing down your back for not using a VH45 or whatever goofy engine Nissans have.

[Andrew Bohan]

5k sounds about right.

as for the KA,

i mixed some toluene with my 89 octane that was still in the tank, and came out with about 98 octane. had an safc so i played with that and the timing to get it running pretty close to ok. it was slightly slower than having a bone stock SR.

when i ran out of that tank of gas, i filled up with straight 91 and the motor blew 80 miles later.

shoulda planned out my tuning schedule a bit better.

[svensko]

Originally Posted by Andrew Bohan

5k sounds about right.

as for the KA,

i mixed some toluene with my 89 octane that was still in the tank, and came out with about 98 octane. had an safc so i played with that and the timing to get it running pretty close to ok. it was slightly slower than having a bone stock SR.

when i ran out of that tank of gas, i filled up with straight 91 and the motor blew 80 miles later.

shoulda planned out my tuning schedule a bit better.

So you're telling me to run 93 all the time? What ratio were you running?

[Andrew Bohan]

i forget the exact ratio, i just remember it came out to 98 octane.

you could probably run 91, just have to adjust timing, etc. it'd run but it'd be so weak it's not even worth having that engine
if you have any gas stations that have 100 at the pump that'd be cool

or just run race gas all the time.

[svensko]

Whoever repped me saying that 240 parts are "wayyyyyyy" common, please find me a wiper arm for under $15 and a driver's side window switch for under $45.

[svensko]

Originally Posted by Andrew Bohan

i forget the exact ratio, i just remember it came out to 98 octane.

you could probably run 91, just have to adjust timing, etc. it'd run but it'd be so weak it's not even worth having that engine
if you have any gas stations that have 100 at the pump that'd be cool

or just run race gas all the time.

Honestly I think even a stock engine would suit me as I'd be focusing a lot more on driving technique and not going weeeeeee fast.

[yudalicious]

Since when did budget build thread turn into engine swap tech thread? As I said before, take the minimalist approach, modify as little as you can, because entry fees, random parts failing, brake pads, gas, tire wear, hotels, fluids, stuff adds up FAST. And once you start driving, you'll really get a feel for what you need to and don't need to mod.

[svensko]

I'm actually curious as to where someone finds a AE86 for $300.

[chibo]

Originally Posted by svensko

I'm actually curious as to where someone finds a AE86 for $300.

I am too, I've only found shitboxes for $3k

[swiftdrift]

Originally Posted by svensko

Whoever repped me saying that 240 parts are "wayyyyyyy" common, please find me a wiper arm for under $15 and a driver's side window switch for under $45.

Junkyards all daaaaay!

p.s. i didnt neg rep u, im just letting you know.

Originally Posted by svensko

I'm actually curious as to where someone finds a AE86 for $300.

and my buddy just sold an 86 coupe (sr-5 of course) Running carburator motor for 500

[SW20Racer]

an 86 for under a grand isnt hard to find at all i picked up a gts hatchback for 600 with mint interior/exterior before katrina wiped out south mississippi. its all in where you look, mine was listed as "5 spd toyota 900 OBO" and the description didnt go beyond that

[YoungRookie]

Yea i was wondering why my budget built track car thread turned into a motor swap thread. Im looking for people the built 240s with the ka motor either boosted or n/a. Im just not exactly sure how i should approach the start of building the car.

I do plan on having the diff welded as opposed to buying one. I would like to run kyb agx's and ground control coils, that is unless i can find a set of used coilovers for a good price.

Obviously i would need a cage, correct?

completley strip the interior and sound deadening

Stock ka, with just intake header exhaust clutch and maybe flywheel. and a few other small things. I guess the engine mods all will depend on what class i plan on running in, correct?

Freshen up the suspension bushing and what not.

What do people suggest for good track tires that are not going to spend my entire budget? Also what 15in light wheels that i could use just for the track would people suggest looking into?

[johngriff]

First step.

Buy a welder.

Learn to Weld.

Get a grinder.

Learn to grind.

Find some metal.

Go to town.

Being fast around a track is all about keeping the throttle at 100% all the time around the track, if you can do that,then you need more power.

So safety (welder + grinder), tires, and suspension.

Keep the throttle down longer, thats it.