alexaqui

This is a terrible idea. It makes no sense to build a car unless you want to do the work yourself and learn about the car so you can support it on track.

I built 2 E36 track cars and am in final stages of the second build to a full race car conversion. The costs are astronomical. I only built the second car because I crashed the first one and all of the high value items survived the accident intact. There is a very poor return on the dollars invested for parts, labor, and time on any race car. Along with all the big ticket items like safety gear, engine mods, suspension mods, aero, data acquisition, there are tons and tons of little parts/things that add up. Take the E36 for example... a supposedly "cheap" car. If you change the 20+ bushings/balljoints/spherical joints on the car, you are easily going to spend $$$$ on parts and a lot of time on labor. Want to reinforce those weak RTAB pockets on the chassis? Sure, the part costs $35, except you have to drop the entire rear suspension and grind out the area right next to the fuel tank. Want to avoid fuel starvation? Buy the dual fuel kit and plumb it. It all starts to add up like crazy and when you go to sell the car, most of these things are expected and add very little value to the car.

My next track/race car is going to be purchased with a very clear view as to all the $$$$ it will take to get it to where it needs to be (they all need work).

For the record, the E36 S54 conversion costs a lot of money if you do it right. $10k+, which is far lower than Porsche motor rebuilds/replacements costs, yet is a lot of money for an old platform. The AER leading E46 last year spent $$$,$$$ racing last year during the season! That first $ isn't a 1 either... for a low cost racing series on an older/cheaper platform running on street tires!!!!

brownan

Race car is the answer. My 265hp base Cayman race car is faster everywhere than the 997.2 GT3RS I ran previously. More fun and safer. Cheaper? Well...who knows. The Cayman gets raced which is inherently expensive. But parts are certainly cheaper even if the labor rate is the same. Blew up a motor in the Cayman this year. Cost around $10k to replace. If I did the same in the RS it would have been $50k.

ace37

Mark Dreyer

Don Plumley

My Story:

In 2005, I took my pristine 1987 Carrera to two consecutive track weekends at Sears Point and Thunderhill. The car was just too nice to turn into a track beast, so I sold it and found a 1996 993 to turn into a DE learner car/track weapon. What a fun project that was - both building the car and learning to drive.

The best part was not caring at all about rock chips, etc. when I was on another bumper or dropping a wheel. It was liberating, and let me focus solely on driving. I also recommend a dedicated car for this pursuit.

That meant when I did the build, I made no compromises on safety because I didn't worry about the long-term value of the car. It's also liberating to take a cut off wheel to your roof to remove the sunroof!.

Alas, it's a change in life circumstances for me, so I'm contemplating selling the track beast. I'm worried that it will be hard to find the "right" buyer, but that's a topic for another thread.

To the OP: Go for it! A dedicated car is so much fun.

hf1

aryork

How about a Radical?

russell263

If you are considering this option, I will have my "almost" SPC build for sale end of this week. Everything is done except the cage and fire suppression.
Will come with JRZ Pros to hold you over until you sell them and move to the SPC JRZ Rs1 coils.
19,821 miles, less then 1000 on track (DE only), less then 500 miles on all of the suspension, fresh build and everything you need for a SPC race car minus the cage (and suspension swap).

I promise you it is not worth building a car from scratch, I know because I see the numbers on how much $ I am going to lose on this sale... Only selling because I just bought a GTB1 racecar.

Havent gotten around to pictures yet, here is one

agdamis

BMW e36 M3 or Boxster

dbbarron

As an alternative to buying a RC; Someone convince me why converting my current 997.2GTS to RC is a really stupid move.
My gut is it's just too nice of a car. Better to sell and buy a prebuilt RC.
Conversion to RC would devalue the car too much.

However, the car already has a full monoball GT3/RS suspension (except dampers) and GT2 CF seats and harnesses, AIM system

If I convert, I'd shoot for Stock class (J)

Sell:
GT2 CF buckets
Half cage
DSC controller

Buy:
Dampers
Strip/lighten/deletes (radio, AC, etc.)
Welded in cage
Halo seats
Potentially lexan windshields.
Weld sunroof.

Thoughts?

I keep high operating costs and don't get a proper manual (but GT4 clubsport has PDK too....); but would be an awesome platform.

hf1

There's no "however". Listen to your gut. Makes no sense to ADD $$$ to the car in order to make it LESS valuable on the market. Plus, this scenario corners you into a race class that may not have been your first choice if you were starting with a clean sheet and without a car.

In the end, it's your money -- others have spent theirs on much less sensible things. Someone has to build the race cars that other people buy as completed -- that may as well be you.

ace37

Olemiss540

Do you want to spend twice as much money to be 20% slower? Step away from the forums and the car parts websites, and enjoy your car.

kisik

I parked almost right next to you in our last track even in Club Motorsport. You have absolute stunning car (except missing a pedal). Please don't mess with it any more and just enjoy it. I can help you to move to Black group and become an instructor if you wish unless you think you must go racing. There is a new 997.2 class now.

Thundermoose

E46 M3 is pretty capable track car. Here's a lap at WGI