Track car questions

[Feersty]

DJ, don't get ahead of yourself...

[Sijray21]

buy this:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/124457771.html">http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/124457771.html</a><!-- m -->

change the brake pads, check brake fluid, and check tires as well as the usual maintenance and call it a day :wink:

just expect to keep your car a daily driver while getting some seat time. Then you can decide for yourself if this is route you want to take (instructor, hobby, or all out race/comptitive).

[Mike]

DJ, don't get ahead of yourself...

:?: many of us have successfully driven on track while in college. come to think of it, nobody had any real issues.

[ViPER1313]

buy this:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/124457771.html">http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/124457771.html</a><!-- m -->

change the brake pads, check brake fluid, and check tires as well as the usual maintenance and call it a day :wink:

just expect to keep your car a daily driver while getting some seat time. Then you can decide for yourself if this is route you want to take (instructor, hobby, or all out race/comptitive).

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.....

[Sijray21]

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.....

yeah, that's what i was thinking too....please don't take that CL promotion seriously folks

[D_Eclipse9916]

Yeah that looks way too good!! I have decided on an mr2, I made a few calls today.

My friend that I am helping with an engine swap is going to give me his engine for free. IT is actually my best friend and I personally take care of his car, so I KNOW it is in perfect condition along with the transmission.

Since we will be doing his engine swap, we will have all the right tools and jacks to throw the engine in my car, and will not take long, as it is in plug and play.

My priority is to find a straight body, paint not necessarily an issue, and interior not necessarily an issue. Brakes and suspension are things that I will have to worry about.


Thank you everybody for their advice. I know that an mr2 is gonna be terribly slow compared to my gsx, but I cannot afford to take my gsx into a wall. Maybe down the road as I get more money I will be able to afford a turbo motor into it (senior year or out of college) but right now I want a ton of racing experience.

[.RJ]

Save yourself the hassle and buy this - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/123218261.html">http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/123218261.html</a><!-- m -->

Good luck finding a straight, clean, non t-top mr2 thats got a blown engine for cheap.

[Chris]

I just insured the BMW (only liability and bodily injury) and it actually doubled my insurance!

I'm planning on driving it on the street for a while and relying on a tow truck if necessary.

[ViPER1313]

I just insured the BMW (only liability and bodily injury) and it actually doubled my insurance!

I'm planning on driving it on the street for a while and relying on a tow truck if necessary.

Wow....my friend just added the SHO to his policy and it added $27 a year to his rates hock:

[Andy]

I would say to consider insurance costs, but you drive a GSX which is a whole lot more to insure.

In terms of getting the 2 ready for track, I would say you will have spend at least 1500 bucks in maintenance and light suspension mods. It will be just enough to get the car ready for track.

[Chris]

I just insured the BMW (only liability and bodily injury) and it actually doubled my insurance!

I'm planning on driving it on the street for a while and relying on a tow truck if necessary.

Wow....my friend just added the SHO to his policy and it added $27 a year to his rates hock:

WTF! Try $600 buck for me... I don't get it. I need to turn 25.

[ViPER1313]

I dont either - he is 20. I think his insurance company is called Drive - it is an offshoot of Progressive.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I would say to consider insurance costs, but you drive a GSX which is a whole lot more to insure.

In terms of getting the 2 ready for track, I would say you will have spend at least 1500 bucks in maintenance and light suspension mods. It will be just enough to get the car ready for track.

Why would I need light suspension mods? Why cant I drive it stock? Maintenance? The only thing that could be wrong is the brakes and suspension thigns that COULD have a problem. Even the brakes I could possibly get after he upgrades.

[.RJ]

Why would I need light suspension mods?

Worn out shocks, torn bushings, balljoints, tie rod ends.....

Maintenance? The only thing that could be wrong is the brakes

On an old car, you'll find lots of shit busted when you start prepping it for track use.

[G.Irish]

Depends on how ragged out the suspension is, and how durable it was in the first place. You certainly can get away with driving it on track stock for awhile, but chances are your shocks are gonna be worn out so you'll wanna upgrade soon enough. Then while you're down there you'll need to replace old fatigued bolts and bushings.

[Andy]

On MR2's above 100k, this is the standard parts checklist that more than likely are shot. Check out MR2OC.com if you haven't already. It's commonly agreed and my own personal experience backs it up.

Maintenance stuff that I replaced.

Shock mounts, shock boots, shocks. All bushings replaced with poly bushings. Ball joints, tie rods, street brake pads, track brake pads. The caliper slides were both seized on my car but when you buy new slides and dust boots separately, you only end up saving 20 bucks a caliper. So I replaced both front calipers. Same thing with one of my rear calipers so I replaced that too. Brake rotors. Belts.

New wires, cap, rotor, plugs, valve cover gasket, air, oil, fuel filters. New fluids. If you get power steering, the electric PS pump has to take EHPS fluid from toyota and BG flush your coolant system. If you decide to do it yourself, you have to find 6 bleeder valves scattered across the car.
91/92 MR2's don't have PCV valves, so you have to unload a can of carb cleaner into the intake manifold. After one weekend at the track, my car would idle 1.5k until I cleaned up the intake again.

Also, if you get a T-Top car, save yourself the aggravation and get new t-top seals. If the guy you're buying it from says it hasn't been replaced but it doesn't leak, tell him to get inside and take a hose to the car. I promise you he won't do it. I talked my lady down ~1500 bucks off the asking price by pointing out all the standard problems with this car. Also, Red, Black, White did not come with clear coat, so those respective colors are going to look like poop. Quy and my cars are evidence of that.

New tires.

The fun stuff: Shocks, springs, poly bushings, sway bars, strut bars, turbo brakes, SS lines.

Outside of the shocks,springs, bushings, turbo brakes. I didn't have any of this stuff for track this past october nor at the couple of autocrosses, and the car was still loads of fun.

[Dave]

damn, that is a lot of shit. Definitely not buying an MR2 till I have a better job and a trailer now, thanks Andy .
Also DJ, as I'm sure you know, the mr2 handles nothing like the GSX. Things you can do with the GSX will make the mr2 look for the closest wall and make a beeline for it. Yes, it will be slow in comparison, but the driving experience in that car will be much more rewarding. That said, the mr2, when driven correctly, will make the GSX feel like a dump truck trying to navigate 33W. I used to daily drive and track the Supra, daily drive the 300+ hp Talon and yet I still love jumping and driving around my 127whp 240 (except for the horrible exhaust noise and funky idle). That actual drive is far more fun than I've ever had in the Talon, aside from being sucked into my seat.

[Dave]

for the record, I reveiwed my logs and I put less than $300 into the 240 in the past 7 months, and that includes putting on a new header. It would make a PERFECT beginner track car......

[D_Eclipse9916]

I knew about worn out suspension, did not realize about the pcv valve. Thats alright, I got tons of carb cleaner for some reason (other people's cars). GSX feel like a dump truck??? I drive my friends mr2 ALL the time, my gsx definitely is more controllable. driving a 1g and 2g are completely different experiences, I actually invite you to drive my car. Its very nimble for a heavy car.

The mr2 is very lackluster and light on its feet. It doesnt have the power and the steering feel doesnt feel right compared to my gsx. I feel at home in the gsx, too bad I cant afford to track it.

crap, just read your post over again and I had read it wrong. Yes the gsx is a little bit heavier, but definitely handles far better.

However, I know the mr2 with slight suspension mods will make it better. The mr2 is very rewarding and I dont beleive I drive the car incorrectly, I would hope that maybe andy can stand up for me as he saw me drive an mr2 in autocross and I stood my own and attest that I am not a ignorant bastard that is too self-confident and would kill himself. Or maybe I Am and im just blind too it.

Thanks for all your advice, and Andy, most those things are not a problem. The engine I am getting is from a friends that I take care of and will include all engine and tranny parts, it has new plugs, wires and all that regular crap. I am looking for a hardtop. I dont beleive it will be too hard to find a car with a straight body (dont care wether it has good paint) and throwing 500-1000 bucks into it to make a beast track car would not be a waste. One of my friends owns a shop and gets some pretty good deals on me for aftermarket mr2 stuff.

For tires I am already covered. I have a set of 3000gt rims that quy used that one day at autocross, I have replacement tires for those so I am covered for tires.

PS- I already posted on MR2oc.com, one step ahead of ya buddy.

[Jeff]

I know nothing about the MR2. I will start off by saying that, lol. It is a neat little car though and I like Andy's. The only reason I am bothering to post is to mention that I think when Dave said "incorrectly" about driving it; he was not implying that you lack the ability/skill, but rather that the car at high speeds is a much different animal from a rather gravity-bound DSM. I wish now more then ever that I would have never bothered to fix and paint the Daytona. Driving it as it was and making it mechanically pristine would have been a better plan. For $500 I had a running 5-speed turbo car. Now....almost $2000 later... I have a big pile of half orange metal and some parts.

I just though of another useful thing to post. When it comes to buying cars w/o good engines and swapping engines, and making old busted cars alive again....it is TOO much of a hassle at times. I have 2 in pieces now. ItÔÇÖs hard to find the time, money, and sometimes the motivation to go out and work on it. I say that even with lifts, air tools, heat, and a dry non-dirt floor to work on. Saving the money and buying a good-running car, and keeping that engine and tranny as a spare might be a better idea.