After much thinking, I've decided to start looking for a 100% track car.

A few issues though.

1. It has to be a Porsche
2. It is not supposed to compete in anything else than club racing (amateur)
3. There will be almost no sponsors.
4. I have not decided the budget for the racing. First year will be almost only practice, learning and setting up the car.
5. I'm not a freshman on the track, but the performance doesn't need to be awesome.

I figured I'd have an open minded discussion with you guys, and see what there is to get. My first thought is a 951 or a 965. I know that the 965 is more expensive, but it will give me more 911 experience on the track.

So feel free to chip in a comment or two, and perhaps some pros and cons?
Cheers

 

944 Best low budget way to learn racing in a Porsche.

 

You really need to start by determining your budget for the car and then yearly expenses. This sport is anything but cheap.

I bought the 964 a year ago to go the same route your are thinking about. I had hoped to get by on $10k per year for 10 weekend DE events/year, normal maintenance (brakes, tires, etc) and some repairs. I exceeded the budget this year.

 

One thing it will be dependent on is the class and organization you want to race with.

I don't know what is available in Sweden. Do you want to race in a stock or near stock class? I would find a class and org that is consistently competitive and will have good fields. Then choose a car that can be competitive in that field.

I know that alot of people recommend the 911SC, 911 Carrera, 944, 944S2, and 951. Here in the US, you can find good competition for these cars. A 914 would be cool due to its low weight, but rust is a concern. The newer cars tend to be on the expensive side for a track rat, but obviously anything from 964-present would make a great track car.

Oh yeah, by all accounts, it will be cheaper for you to buy a car that is prepped for racing in the class you plan to race in. Unless you want the fun of building it up yourself, go this route.

Good luck,
Max

 

Buy a 964 Cup Car---you will have a full bore race car with pedigree.

 

I've recently gone through the same decision making process that you are now diving into. I started by deciding on a budget and set a maximum price that I was willing to pay for my track car. I then spent significant time researching all the Porsche models that fell in this price range and I spoke to as many owners of these cars that I could find. This was pretty easy during the track events that I attended with my 996 and the owners were very open and enthusiastic in their advice. I was able to ride with several instructors who drove models that I was interested in. In the end, I chose a 78 911SC that was in very good mechanical condition. I know that a 944 (and its variants) is a better balanced and inherently easier car to drive on the track, but I personally wanted an air cooled 911.

I will spend approximately 10k in the next month making the car safe and effective for the track and this is only the beginning. It will take another 15 to $2000 to get the IROC body parts that I want (next year). My plans also include a 3.2L engine bump in one or two years. I could have saved a few dollars getting used parts but I don't want to trust my safety on the track to a used part.

As you can see, the numbers rapidly add up. It might be more economical to buy a race prepped car. They sell for far less than what the owners have put into them.

 

Do not build one from a stock 944s2 in showroom condition !
Contact Terry Heath at Euromotorworks CIRPCA region,he has a S2 and also a 928 ect...
Also Jim Brillhart has a great 911 he MAY sell also in CIRPCA.
Happy hunting !

 

I must agree with Gregg Lewis - do not build your first race car yourself ! Decide what car and class appeals to you, find a car that runs well in that class, buy it, and you are starting with a known quantity.

 

Oh, I don't know. That's what I'm doing. However, if I bought a built race car I probably wouldn't save any money because the first thing I'd do is tear it down and rebuild it the way I wanted. I do think those interested in building their own race cars need to have very good reasons for doing so (and saving money is is dubious).

 

"I bought the 964 a year ago ...I had hoped to get by on $10k per year for 10 weekend DE events/year, normal maintenance (brakes, tires, etc) and some repairs. I exceeded the budget this year."

tom is right, tracking or racing is expensive. i don't race, just DE's. 35 days so far this year. brake pad alone cost me $2500, tires: $5000, rotors: 1800 and many other expenses too.

 

Thank you all,
Very glad to read your input, as many of you have been in my situation before me. I'd really like to build my own racecar, but I'm simply not a good enough mechanic and don't really have the time to do it. So I'll probably be looking for a car that is used on the track already and just hope they have not crashed it too much. I know the 944/951 is a very good budget race car to start with. It's just as mentioned, I'm also a bit fan of aircooled rear engine Porsches. So my softspot is for 911..

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In one way I'm a bit lucky. Porsche is a little bit overrepresented so almost everything available. The car shouldn't be stock, but have proper track setup. However I'm not interested in engine rebuild every 24h run.

Tom, it would be very interesting to hear what you did to your car and what have exceeded your budget. For me, the budget is to make sure my expenses doesn't run away to sky high amounts. I guess you, just as me and probably the rest here, don't really drive Porsches because it's such a cheap hobby..

 

Geo:
Several reasons:
-most people do have the knowledge or skills to do it right.
-most do not have the experience to know what to put on the car and what not to.
-most people do not have the proper working knowledge of suspension geometry

For those of you that have prepared/built/crewed race cars before, then it is different.

 

Actually, Gregg Lewis inadvertantly brought up a good point. He is basically referring to the fact that by becoming involved in your local race/porsche club chapter, you will find alot of race-prepped cars for sale. You will also be able to get an understanding of the specific car's capability and history.

It sounds like you would be best served by getting an example that is probably 95% complete and has all of its wear parts (engine, suspension, tranny, brakes) recently replaced/rebuilt. This way you will be able to hit the ground running. It might take some time, but you will certainly find a few cars where the person has gone to the trouble of getting the car to that point and then run out of money for whatever reason. You could swoop in (cue sounds of vultures, please) and get a great setup that way.

Max

 

Well, those are good answers. I just didn't ask any question.

I'm just not a fan of blanket statements. As with anything you need to be informed and know what you are doing. It's very easy to buy garbage race cars and illegal race cars. I'm not saying everyone should build their first race car, but I'm not going to tell someone not to either. Either way you go you need to be educated about the process.

Oh, and unless you are planning on racing in a class that allows suspension pick-up point relocation, knowing about suspension geometry is a non-issue. Being able to adjust the alignment is one thing. Being able to alter the geometry is quite another.

I don't totally disagree with you. I don't totally agree with you either.

 

Having a "working knowledge of suspension geometry" is exactly that.
I did NOT say you had to be able to re-engineer the car.

A track car will not handle near its optimum with stock street alignment settings. In order to do any alignment changes away from stock, it is necessary for SOMEONE to understand:
-which adjustment to make?
-which way to go?
-and how far?
Then when tracking the car, as conditions change, or as tires wear, etc, etc, the same questions come up again:
-"yesterday the car was doing that, but now the car is now doing this
-Do I need to make a change,
-if so, what do I change, do I go more or less, and how much..??"......

That is what I meant by "working knowledge", and yes, it is ALWAYS an issue with a track car.....