Goin' racin'!

[silentdeath55]

Well, my buddy and I are buying a cheap junker 4-cylinder car and racing it at a local track (slinger speedway, 1/4 mile). It should be fun. We already know a few guys who do it, so we're just going to join up with them and form a "team." We are driving to the junkyard tomorrow to check out the cars they have. The other guys we know have an '88 celica they got for $200. Not a bad deal at all (ok body shape, clean engine, good transmission). Anybody ever try this kind of racing or another? Any helpful tips before we start looking for a car?

[Warewolf50]

I havent done it before but it sounds like a blast, if only i knew something about cars.

[FragTek]

I used to race my '91 All-Trac Celica and it did pretty good. 1/4 mile head to head racing is a blast as long as you are appropriately matched up with an equal competitor. Bracket racing is fun too if you're good at consistency (I never really was).

[LeatherPants]

most important question.....what is your budget?

How much do you want to put in to the car and in to the mods. What are your goals?

[CoolHand]

Slinger is a circle track, it just happens to be a 1/4 mile in length.

I've ran dirt stock cars for going on 10 yrs now, and all I can tell you is have a blast, and pay attention. Every little detail makes a difference. The winners are the guys who realize this and take care of them all.

Three things you never ever skimp on when racing:

#1 - Your safety equipment. If you can't afford that $300 helmet, a good suit, a good set of gloves, a good set of driving shoes, and a good set of belts, then you can't afford to race. Its that simple. When you're laying in a hospital bed with a fractured skull, or 3rd degree burns over 30% of your body, that $500 you saved on your safety gear (and then later spent on shocks) is not gonna do you a ****s bit of good. (A word from the wise, always race with new belts, even if the sanctioning body will let you get by with old ones. NEVER buy used belts - If you buy a used race car, throw the belts away, or at the very least have them rewebed.) Buy a neck roll, I have on more than one occassion nearly broken my collar bones with my own damned helmet (when your head snaps forward in a wreck, the helmet will bottom out on your collar bones and break them both - which sucks a lot.). Buy a good seat, that's made from at least 0.080" thick Aluminum (NEVER use a fiberglass seat, I don't care how cheap they are. When you will end up with a broken back, and/or a big shard of fiberglass up your ***, they won't seem like such a good deal anymore.

#2 - Your tires. Take care of your tires. Regardless of if you are running on dirt or pavement, tires are what wins the race. They are your only connection with the racetrack, so threat them like it. You can have the best car out there, but if its on three week old tires, you're gonna get eaten alive. Keep as fresh a tires on that car as you can (unless you have to run street tires, in which case you want to run as soft a tire as you can find, with as little tread on it as you can find, just no cords or belts showing ). If you get to run honest to god race tires, keep fresh ones on it as much as you can, and take care of them when you're not racing (race tires hate UV, so keep them out of the sun, don't store them outside, etc., etc.).

#3 - The construction of your car. If your welds look like a hunk of chewed bubble gum, let someone else weld your cage together for you. Also, no matter what the rule book says, 6" square steel plates bolted to a thin sheet metal floor pan is not a valid way to mount a roll cage. Use your head, or you may loose it. If the rules don't allow you to build a solid structure to mount your cage to, go find a class or race track that will. (IE don't race there). Leave a good amount of open space in the interior of the car. The human body can stretch an amazing amount, even when belted in whith five huge seatbelts. The modifieds I run have a teeny tiny cockpit (about three and a half feet wide), which just barely clears my elbows when I'm strapped in holding the wheel. I have litterly dimolished the interior with my elbows during a crash, and consequently, both my arms will now go numb if I hold my them in the right place (its almost instantaneous), which, I am told, is due to nerve damage from K-Whopping the interior sheetmetal of my own car. Invest in a good aluminum steering wheel. It seems like a waste of money, but if you break your wrists from turning a stock steel wheel inside out, it will seem cheap. Buy a good top quality window net, and mount it securely. This does not mean two rivets and a zippy tie. I have had everything from sheet metal, to tires, to drive shafts bounce off a window net, so if you value your head (and your left arm and shoulder for that matter), take the time to mount it right. Mount at least three good sized pieces of pencil rod vertically in front of you under the windshield (goig from the dash to the roof, but welded to the cage). These babies will keep big things out, even if you get upside down and your windshield forsakes you (or like in my case, you don't have a windshield). And, along those lines, be sure your cage has a diagonal bar that goes from the right front corner of your roof hoop (the big square for tubing that is under the roof, right above your head), to the left rear corner. This bar looks like overkill when you're building a chassis, but it will keep tires and bumpers and the like out of your cockpit should you get upside down in a big mess. Don't sluff any of this stuff off either, I've seen some of the most serious crashes in the lowest (and therefore slowest) classes. IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!

Now, the doom and gloom aside, you are about to head out on the greatest adventure you are likely to run across. Have a hoot, and be safe.

See ya in turn four.

[CoolHand]

Here's a pic of my car from 2000:



That's the purdiest one we've ever done. Too bad it didn't look that good at the end of the season. I'm the goofy looking guy in the blue shirt and red hat leaning on the roof just behind the driver's side window. That pic was taken in front of my fraternity house (and those would be the other guys in the house).

Also, just a little FYI, a race car is like a black hole that you throw money into. So, just keep that in mind.
Even a street stock will quickly make playing in the NXL look like a cheap hobby.

Also, race cars . Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[silentdeath55]

Thanks for the info CoolHand! I'm sure I'll be using some of it in the near future. Our budget isn't to extensive at this point; however, the other guys we know havn't spent a whole lot so far (i think less than $1000). We have until this spring to scrape up some change for the car though. Anyone else with racing info??

[CoolHand]

Thanks for the info CoolHand! I'm sure I'll be using some of it in the near future. Our budget isn't to extensive at this point; however, the other guys we know havn't spent a whole lot so far (i think less than $1000). We have until this spring to scrape up some change for the car though. Anyone else with racing info??

You don't have to spend a ton of money to race . . . . . . . but you sure can if you feel the need.

My main concern was just to make sure you don't skimp on the safety gear. I've been in, and seen some hard core crashes in my time, but the scariest ones always seem to happen in the lower classes, especially fires (which is why you need good safety equipment). A gasoline fire in a busted streetstock is several orders of magnitude scarier than an alchohol fire in a modified (mainly because I've never seen a mod burn, not once, but I've seen at least a dozen street stockers go up).

All I'm saying is be careful. Racing is always going to be dangerous, no matter what speed you are running at, but if you use your head, all but the most freak stuff can be mitigated pretty well.

Have a good time. And post up some pic when you get a car found.

[silentdeath55]

Well, we went to the junkyard and found a few "cars." The one in best shape was a plymouth horizon. The interior was perfect, so we could probably get a few bucks off of ebay. The only problem is there wasn't a gas tank on it. If we bought a tank for it, it would probably cost more than the car itself. The other car we found was a plymouth or dodge. I think it was a laser. I would rather get the laser, but it's automatic. We're probably going to wait a few weeks because the owner of the junkyard told us he just ordered a bunch more. I will keep you updated on car choices. I can't wait :)

[HoppysMag]

Well, we went to the junkyard and found a few "cars." The one in best shape was a plymouth horizon. The interior was perfect, so we could probably get a few bucks off of ebay. The only problem is there wasn't a gas tank on it. If we bought a tank for it, it would probably cost more than the car itself. The other car we found was a plymouth or dodge. I think it was a laser. I would rather get the laser, but it's automatic. We're probably going to wait a few weeks because the owner of the junkyard told us he just ordered a bunch more. I will keep you updated on car choices. I can't wait :)

well if your gunna race, your probibly gunna end up gettign a fuel cell to replace the gas tank anyway

[Glickman]

my dad is taking a trip soon to test drive, and get a business dealership going with a company called indy street car. www.indystreetcar.com
for those too lazy, and need a little poke to get them going



imagine taking that to the grocery store

[CoolHand]

. . . . The only problem is there wasn't a gas tank on it. If we bought a tank for it, it would probably cost more than the car itself. . . . .

A Winston Cup grade cell would, indeed, cost more than the car.

However, there are several alternatives, and no matter which one you pick, I would never race a car with a stock fuel tank in it. NEVER

Stock gas tank + rollover = big ball of fire => you = crispy critter => BAD

Plus, don't underestimate how much effect gas sloshing around in that big stock tank will effect the car's handling. They don't call that huge side to side wiggle (that usually ends in a spin out) a "tank slapper" for nothing. You make the move once, and then you fight the fuel from there on. Its best just to spring for a nice HDPE tank inside a steel can, filled with non-reactive foam.

The foam will stop the slosh (and thereby save you from the majority of the tank slappers), and will also keep the gas from exploding should the cell ever get punctured and catch on fire. It will still burn, but it won't explode, and that is a good thing.

We run an RCI 32 gallon cell in our Modifieds (without the foam incidentally), but you could get by with a 10 or 15 gallon one real easy I'd say. You can buy a 12 gallon Speedway brand one (which is made by RCI IIRC) which is already in a steel can with a tipover vent valve and the pickup fittings in it for $160, and then add about $30 for the foam, and you've got yourself a fuel cell that should survive just about anything you can throw at it.

Let me know if you have trouble finding parts, I've been at this a while, so I already know the places that are cheap and good to deal with.

Have a good holiday.

[HoppysMag]

my dad is taking a trip soon to test drive, and get a business dealership going with a company called indy street car. www.indystreetcar.com
for those too lazy, and need a little poke to get them going



imagine taking that to the grocery store

that takes all the fun out of buying a old indy and running from the cops

oh and this

" Transmission Factory automatic " GHEY

[skife]

that takes all the fun out of buying a old indy and running from the cops

oh and this

" Transmission Factory automatic " GHEY

Agreed.

[CoolHand]

my dad is taking a trip soon to test drive, and get a business dealership going with a company called indy street car. www.indystreetcar.com
for those too lazy, and need a little poke to get them going



imagine taking that to the grocery store

An automatic tranny is not necessarily a bad thing.

I'd worry more about the three link rear suspension and the CV axles.

That thing is gonna drive like a VW beetle with fatty tires.

A wing and pointy nose do not an Indy car make.