Starter track car
 

Hi all,

I have been thinking for a while about buying a track car. This will be my first foray into the world of track cars and I am working on a pretty limited budget. Ideally not spending more than £1000 for initial purchase/works/modifications.

Any thoughts on what would be the best car to go for. I was thinking 205 gti, saxo vts, mx5?

I came across this:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-m...i-e36/96438244

Will this be a good starter car. I like the idea of having RWD but will it be too heavy? Will it cost me too much in brakes and tyres?

Thoughts very much appreciated.

XR2?

nice story on the costs here http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...?storyId=25293

5t.

e36's make excellent budget track cars.

mx5, clios, saxos. doesnt matter what you drive it will be great fun on track.

Cant beat rwd though imo :)

325i is a great choice but I think you should go for the E30, not the E36. Better track car IMO and look awesome.

Exactly, quite fancy RWD.

Nice little story. Unfortunately the xr2 doesnt look like it's road legal and mine will need to be.



I agree that the e30 looks nicer, they seem to fetch a bit more money though. Most seem to be beyond my budget. What makes you say it makes a better track car? Lighter?

MX5 would be my choice, cheap to repair/parts and easy to work on

I have just been looking into insurance. Am I correct in my assumptions that for most track days you do not need 'track cover'. It's a case of if you damage your car then tough luck? What if someone elses crashes into you and damages your car? Tough luck again?

'Track day' insurance seems only to cover your own car? Am i right?

Not as cheap to buy though, and less powerful.

It is the power to weight ratio that matters and also the BM being quite a bit heavier rolls around more and is harder on the suspension brakes/tyres than the nimble and lighter Mazda. Remember it is a track day car not a drag strip car you want.

Agreed. Do you know much about them, which model I should plumb for? I'm guessing the 1.8 will be a bit more fun than the 1.6. Which models (if any) come with a LSD?

mx5 1.8is is the one you want. with lsd

Unfortunately that's 200 miles from from me.

This one is much closer:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-MX-5...-/270771424126

Looks nice and will do the job!:) do not discount the 1.6's as they rev harder and quicker, LSD is nice but not essential. one thing i would do is buy the stiffening kit, not expensive and stiffens up the chassis a treat and better than spending £100's or even £1000's on better dampers and springs as a first step.

yeah. lightness is key. everything is so much cheaper once you get light! tyres, pads, bushes, bearings, fuel, everything!

A friend from where I work is building a 205 GTi for a resaonable budget, more info here

If you are looking for an MX5, buy on condition, not age, milage or engine size.

There are three things to look out for. Rust, rust and rust.

Steve

BiL has a 1997/8 1.8 which he got for less that £800.00, the interior is poor but the rest of the car is sound/solid

Very true, this is going to be the case with pretty much everything you look at given your budget. As for the French also stuff factor in rubbish and unreliable electrics and them being cramped and difficult to work on. I would go RWD and an MX5 is a lot of fun and bang for your bucks and you can drive with the roof down - oh and a roll cage or roll bar would be a good mod!

http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Browse/...omponentID=522

Early 1.6's supercharge well too - bolt on and quite cheap :)

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-m...-sale/95869027

in budget & a bit closer?

I'd recommend a Mk1 Toyota Mr2, midengined, rear wheel drive, bullet proof 4age engine.

Ollie

having owned one may years ago rust is a real killer and parts expensive in comparison to the MX5 and quite slow in comparison. not all engines are bulletproof, they did two engines blue top and red top from memory, one is not so good and they do fail. We currently own a MK3 (convertible) 160bhp and 900KG and 40+ mpg which is a fantastic car unless it is snowing then it becomes a hedge seeking missile!

Fair play, I have lost count of how many Mk1s I've owned, currently own four of them, I've never blown an engine, red or blue top, parts are cheap if you know where to look, the mk1 mr2 community is close knit and we tend to look out for each other, the 4age is 122bhp so is on par with a mk1 Mx5 and is far less common. Agree on the rust issue, but you need to watch that on any car that age.

I went to see this one this morning. Absolute rust bucket!

Correct.

ford puma... ive just sold one to a lad on here For £300 we picked up another with buckets for £250
they drive great and stripped out can be around 950kg with 125 bhp from the 1.7

still a bit of stripping to be done mainly with the grinder but cant wait to get it on track

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...16196455_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...22935747_n.jpg

Any thoughts on this one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200725013994?

I went through a huge list and some of the suggest were suggested to me - I went for a Clio 172, got a 53 plate for just over £1000 on ebay. I was offered £300 for the turinis and £400 for the interior.

Job sorted!!

That sounds cheap. Was it an MOT failure?

How are you finding it? Done many days with it? Happy in the choice you made?

I think it was the best choice, its an awesome car, handles well out of the box and goes like stink for such a small car.

I have done 4 days and its never let me down.