Jim bailey - 928 International

Every so often even the planets line up !!

JG928S4

Just Drive!!!!!!!!!!!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoID=16791689

Stuie

Thanks guys... All great advice and I appreciate every comment and suggestion and will take them all to heart.

My story is mostly, I haven't got much cash. I had an opportunity to trade my motorcycle (a 97 Triumph Tiger) for this "beater" 928. It was probably stupid on my part as it really is a beater. It looks VERY cool from say... 20 feet on the outside but, the dash is trash, the seats are ripped up, the door panels warped in the middle, the emissions are hacked up and off. The alternator isn't charging, I got one window to go down but the passenger window and sunroof don't open. The tint is peeling...

I think there is a homemade cherry bomb muffler welded where the catalytic converter "used to be".

In retrospect, I probably should have sold the bike and bought a better car but, that 14yo kid that always wanted a 928 in this 39yo man body made me do it.

Pretty stupid on my part but I sure do love looking at the car when I walk out in the garage... even if it's a ****ty example of one.

So, throwing money at a nice car or throwing money into this to restore it isn't really an option for me but, man, I need a way to drive it. I am not sure the police around here will appreciate my need to drive it now and then "to keep the fluids circulating" if you know what I mean?

So, since some important stuff has been stripped and a lot of the rest is just old from sitting in the Texas sun for 4 years outside of someone's house immobile. I was just wondering if it just might be an option to make it a purpose built race car... for that 14yo kid trapped in this man body!







My 914 almost back on the road after 12 years of being covered in a garage...

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Sounds like you just need to do some driver education/school events (ie: track days). This will "circulate the fluids" and you can pretend to be racing so long as you abide by the rules of the club running the event. Probaby 3/4 of the people there want exactly what you want...

You will need the car to be safe first, but most clubs do not require anything more than a safe car with perhaps a fire extinguisher. A great way to find out if you want to really race.

F451

Interesting about auto-x. I've never seen the attraction to it - it actually looks pretty lame to me. But not knowing anything about it (except pics in magazines - little courses - lots of cones - short runs), I thought I must be missing something about it. Sounds like I wasn't.

For me, I'm planning on attending a performance driving school. Then a DE day or two or three. Then attend one or more of the Track Attack events the PacNW guys run a couple of times a year and go from there.

BC

I did not say anything intended to incite negative feelings toward the cone carvers (or killers, depending) - I just feel the time spent on one of my experiences was sub par, and the other one was at midnight for god's sake, so its was really out of the ordinary.

jheis

Sounds like the autox scene here may be a bit atypical.

Our local course is not the usual sea of cones in a parking lot. Kind of hard to describe, but we've got four elongated ovals back to back or one figure eight on top of another. It's even got elevation changes in the "go-kart" section through the center of one of the ovals along with an off camber sweeper. Virtually unlimited options for variations in course layout.

I've gotten as many as 15 timed runs in a day.

Apparently other's MMV.

James

V8 Man

Stuie !

I find myself in a similar position. Low budget, but still want to have fun racing. For me the building process is the whole point. Learning as I go, updating as my performance grows. As others have remarked I`ll wait a couple of seasons before I attend any races, but I`ll try to go to as many trainings as possible while I wait.

I`m following JimB`s advice ragarding how to build my car. I have decided which class I want to race, and studyed the rules and regulations that goes with that class.

IMHO it would be foolish to buy a complete car without knowing if I like racing cars in the first place. I`ve raced motorcycles, but that`s totally different I would think.

As many have said; make sure your car is safe regarding brakes and suspension and take it to a track and try it for a spinn I`m sure your car is able to scare you enough to get your heart pumping

For me the experience with the sound, the smell, the heat, and the scares is the whole point of going to a race track. The pole positions, and winnings can come later

shmark

I'll reiterate again, buying is a LOT cheaper than building. If you want the fun of the build then that's different. I was $20k into my 914 before I stopped, could have had one race-proven with a logbook for half that. However...

Autocross is a ton of fun and the cheapest way to "race" by far. Several years ago my local PCA was the most fun, long courses and lots of fun runs. Lately they have really gone downhill, to the point I won't run with them any more...water under the bridge. My local SCCA is great. Yes you get 4 runs max, but they have it so organized it's fantastic. They run separate morning and afternoon sessions so you're only there a 1/2 day, and watching the wide variety of cars running is almost as much fun as driving. And it is extremely competitive.

DE days are also great and in this area, my local PCA is fantastic. Highly organized, lots of track time, good instruction, really a good weekend. I wish they would talk to the autocross committee... Maybe it's not competition, but if you're jones'n for track time it's a great way to go.

Fabio421

Why not track the 914? It should be more rewarding and cheaper to fix if you break something.

Jim bailey - 928 International

It is also WORTH more ... and not that inexpensive to fix since the transmission is a Porsche box.

shmark

Sorry, lost control of myself there for a bit...but I am a big fan of 914s, love them and they are awesome track cars. You'll learn momentum driving better than in anything else. My most memorable image is at a DE being waved past by a 996tt. Rewarding? Very. But a Yugo is expensive if you're tracking it. A good 914 track car will have lots of expensive parts too, and Jim is right.

JEC_31

Hello Stuie,

You have a 914. You must already know that Porsches are a hobby that requires some disposable income. Not nearly as much as Ferraris but more than, say, Mazdas.

But now you have a sweet little collectible 914 that it would be a shame to rip apart (and spend MORE of your limited resouces on) to take racing. You probably don't want to spin it into (or get punted into!) the barrier either.

You must have SOME amount of disposable income - you didn't restore a 914 by dumpster diving (I hope!).

And you also own...

Restoring a 928's interior is expensive. Getting one painted to any degree of perfection is also expensive. And once you're done (or "mostly done", as cars are never done of course) you don't want to mess it up.


And you want to go racing.

I submit the following proposal:

1) Research total cost of repairs and modifications required to get some track time in your area (a very active 928 area, BTW!). New brakes, tires, fire extinguisher, etc. Hint: DIY is financially mandatory.

2) Research running cost: how many tires, brakes, fluids, etc per year.

3) Create budget to accomplish these, and ONLY the necessary repairs and mods, staying in your disposable income's ability to handle them and the running cost.

4) Get that 928 on the track!



- Josh