OldGuy

I have this urge to race. I have another urge to save my TT from my stupidity. I like crewing for the open wheel cars and just being at the track. An open wheel car costs $16K ready to race (formula continental) I have a love of Porsches. I dont have a desire to race 2 liter fords (formula continentals) A freakin race ready 914 is flippin $30K and thats a 914 for gods sake!! My desire is to be on the track in a Porsche!! I dont have $30K lying around ( if I did I would go see Viper Bob!! JUST KiDDING sorta) So anyone got any ideas??

SKip in Boulder how did you get a cup car? A.win the lottery?B. independantly wealthy C. Just made it happen cause you wanted it to? SKip do you need any crew help for your west coast visits?

nman413

Spec Miata.

OldGuy

Jauder I tried rearranging Miata to come up with Porsche and
it did'nt work:
Atiam
Taiam
MaiaT
Amiat
Itama
Tiama
Maati
It just doesnt spell Porsche.

ca993twin

Paul,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have raced motorcycles but never been on the track in a car. If that is correct, I'd suggest that before you go nuts and invest in a race car, you dip a toe in the water and try a couple of low key DE events in your Porsche. Use some common sense, and your car should be none the worse for wear (remember all that tape all over my car?). You may find that you:
a). hate racing a car,
b). are sufficiently happy with DE in the Porsche that you don't need to race
c). get bitten by the bug really bad, and MUST HAVE a race car.

If it's c). Spec Miata would be slow but fun. You might also try your hand a go-karts (rent one at Jim Hall's school in Oxnard, and see what you think). There are some Porsche track cars available that are not cup-car quality, but not cup-car dollars. That would be another fun way to race. But first... toe in the water.

Eyal 951

OldGuy, if you want, I'll let you drive my car. You'll see that it has a lot of potential for the track. I am in the process of some work. a tad over a grand, and when i get it back together, I'm looking at 270 RWHP and about 300 RW foot pounds of torgue. that will move the 2800-2900 pound car well. better so then an NA 993. with the appropriate mods, the 944 turbo is a car that can lead a 993 TT on the track. Its a very easy car, and very cheap car, err, porsche, to get a lot of performance out of. you can pick one up between 7000 and 9000 depending on what condition interests you. you can go for less then 7000 as well, but I doubt you want to mess with those. If you can work on the car yourself, it helps... of course I have some 951 knowledge myself, and I have no problem donating my time. there is also some good tuner support of here in So cal. Danno at Guru Racing in Santa barbara, tim at speed force racing, and some others. Danno is great with tuning and mods, i do a lot of work with him.
~Eyal
P.S. 270 RWHP is JUST the begining, 400 HP is no far stretch at all.

Bob D.

If you must have a Porsche, don't feel like a 914 is in any way subpar. IMHO 914s are among the most underrated cars ever made!

A 914 will be fun, and likely competitive, at any event or venue involving a turn. I have owned 914s from 70 HP to 220 HP, and all were a total blast.

Tom W

I've seen plenty of good drivers in spec miata's pass less skilled drivers in 993s or other Porsche's. I would not say thay are not "fast". Are they as fast as a tt in the hands of a driver who knows what he's doing? No.

I used my cabriolet in about 8 DEs until I decided I liked it enough to get a car I wasn't paranoid to damage when I make a mistake. I bought a 964 with cage and pretty much "race ready" for $23k. I spent $5k in needed repairs and $5k in optional enhancements to get a car I'm very happy with and is defintiely "race ready" (except for the driver).

Anyway you look at it, a Porsche race car isn't cheap to buy or maintain. It does not have to cost $100k though.

OldGuy

Eyal thanks for the offer I appreciate it. But even if you get the car say for 10K then how much to get it racable, rollbar etc etc etc?

Steve I have raced motocross.I have even raced on the track with Mcgrath AND Paul Tracy. But I am getting tired of talking to the emergency room folks on a first name basis! Yes I should do toe in the water! I just dont think I have the same passion for racing a Miata. I dont know. I went to bed SUnday and for two hours all I could see was turn one then turn 2 then 3 then Omega--8 then 9 and the front straight. Man that was fun! Then watching the vintage Porsches was a hoot! hearing them come screaming donw the front straight was intoxicating. I could sell all my racing bikes and buy a car, but then my oldest would run away from home and join some Motocross circus!

Bob I thought the 914 would be perfect! I have nothing against it but I was talking this weekend to some of the vintage folks and they were talking 25-30K for a raceable 914! thats the only thing that hurts the 914. Ithought the 914 would be the perfect match.

Eyal 951

first of all, if your buying a 10K 951, your either buying a neer prestine pre 89 non S, or an extremly good condition turbo S or 89 car. for 8000 you can get a very good looking and running car. race prepared? depends on how far you want to go. things are cheaper for this porsche then they are for the 993 TT. I'd say the car, plus 10-15 K should get you about 300-350 RWHP, a great suspension setup, a roll gage (you want a roll bar, or cage) leaving a few grand to spare for whatever else. Remember you have a good amount of support in the 944 comunity here, with guys happy to help install parts, give advice, fix things, strip the interior, buy all the parts you dont need...
~Eyal

nman413

Paul, DEs man. See you at Thunderhill for Tracquest in August :P

911

OG,

You and Addison (previous invitation) are more than welcomed to join me at the Willow Springs kart track the next time I'm out there. You guys can drive the kart as long as you want. Just let me know. I may be out there on June 26th or 27th, but that depends if I can get my chassis straightened out.

Btw, I recently bought a new engine two months ago -> Parilla Leopard 125cc (competes in the TaG class). This is a non-shifter engine with an onboard starter (great feature). I've already been out to Willow Springs 4 times with this new engine. It's very, very quick. Around Willow the TaG class is only about 2 seconds slower per lap than the shifter karts.

Costs for Kart:

* Chassis = $3k
* Engine = $600-$2,200 (non-shifter 100cc - 125cc engine)
* Kart Stand = $250-$600
* Starter = $200 (if you choose 100cc engine)
* Tires = $175

So, you are looking at roughly $6k to get started with a new kart. You already have a truck so you'd be set. I'm sure most of your tools could be used for the kart.

With your background in motocross, I really believe you would adapt fairly quickly to cars and karts. Anyway, let me know if you are interested, Paul & Addison.

Rich

Mark in Baltimore

Pretty effin' funny, OG.

Definitely start tracking what you have and see how much you like it. I just started club racing my 993 in D stock after doing DE's for about a year and a half. Getting the car set up to race is really not that expensive if you're going to stay in a stock class. Setting up a car or buying a car for the GT class is going to cost quite a bit more moola than the requisite seats, harnesses, battery kill switch, driver suit, decent suspension, etc. that is the minimum for a stock class.

Having said that, please don't ask me what I've spent on my car to get it ready. Ignorance [I]is[/] bliss. All I know is that it's not a lot and doesn't require FU money to make it happen.

OldGuy

I was just reading here in the library about the liter class motorcycle
motors you can buy and race for two years without tearing it down. I have not found the chasis people are sticking them in yet. I know they go in radicals but those cars are like 50-75K.
These motors used are 1-2K according to the article.

911

That's good to know, Tom W. I've thought a lot about getting an older 911 to do some vintage racing, but those cars aren't cheap! I talked to a few guys and their early '70s 911 ran between $20-$35k. For that amount, I'd rather get a 964.

But, my "dedicated track car" days are still a few years away, and that's why I'm sticking with karting for now.

Rich

OldGuy

Rich I am gonna have to take you up on that. Let me know what your time frame looks like and if you make that June Date.

Mark in Terpland.
can you race a TT in stock class? OhMyGawd that sounds dangerous! What do you gotta put in your car??