Hot Rod magazine ran a series of articles on building a CMC fox body. They started with a 1985 Four Eyes GT. One of my favorite series in that magazine. IIRC, they are all on the hot rod website right now. A little digging should unearth them.

 

That is good advise too Ice. I dont want to get so far into a car that I cant get back to a Vintage car when I see the right one.

I have been racing over 20 years, just most of it on 2 wheels. So I am used to putting my own equipment under me. I guess that IF I had a one of a kind Porsche race car driven by Hurley Haywood or something I could be more concerned with me, or someone else, damaging it. For a regular car that belongs to me it is not an issue.

Last year at Mosport though, while driving a friends car there, I did drive more conservative. I sure dont want to bring someones elses car in wadded up, or on the hook

 

I will check that out Brad. When I was Bumberas, a well known Houston area race shop, they suggested staying away from the Fox body though as the handling might be tough for us Porsche guys. They were saying the suspension geometry and set up was lacking. But I am going to check it out anyway. While I have time and no car, -- yet.

 

It depends entirely on what you want.

If you have been racing bikes for 20 years then I suspect you will become bored with the power of a 944 or even a 951 within a very short time... Yes HP does cost $ but again it depends if you would rather have a slow but fun, low hp car for cheap or a quick, high hp car for a bit more.

*shameless plug for 944/928 with a LSX motor*

Racing is going to be $$$ no matter what, so if its in your budget I suggest something with a little more go... but even in a 150hp miata, you'll have a good time

What bikes did you race, 600s or 1000s?

 

The power of 944 is not a feature of the car. It is low hp powered and will not excite you. Heck even 250 to 300 hp of 944 turbo is not all that much hp. However if you are looking for hp being exciting it will be an expensive constantly evolving game. In racing straight away speed does not matter very much when it comes to fun. Racing is 90% about the corners and straights mere connect one corner to the next. The straight is trying to run up along side the car you are trying to pass in the next corner. If you are in a pack of similaly powered cars running nose to tail fighting for position the excitement is not from hp or the speed, but trying to wring out 100% from the car so that you can pass the guy in front. Since both you can put your foot to the floor pretty easy the focus comes to down to cornering speed and braking skill. All combined with race craft so that you can have the best position on track to get infront and stay in front.

The thing is if you are in a pack of 500 hp cars or 150hp cars you are still doing the samething. That is driving the car in the corners and braking zones looking for edge.

 

Yep, back when I subscribed to it (it has come and gone as far as quality of their stuff, IMHO). Matt King wrote the articles. The second article was March, 2005. The third was Jully, 2005. Not sure about the first, and the third was supposed to be the last, but they left it open to the possibility of more. Hope that helps you in your search, I would recommend looking into it.

 

It's not the horsepower, it's the pack that makes it fun, challenging and rewarding. I often wonder why people will buy/build a car for a class that pits them against one or two competitors when for the same or less investment you can be racing with 10 or 20 or more.

 

because less people means less chance of having someone crash you out and more chance of winning

honestly, its because I find that having a variety of different cars is more interesting than a spec series... but dont get me wrong, a spec class is insanely good fun for the $ and a great way to analyze your strengths and weaknesses compared to other drivers.

 

Unfortunately, I won't be at the Aug TWS event, or else I'd take you for a ride in my car. You might call BJ at Clownshoe Motorsports and see if he'll have a passenger seat in his car for that event. As mentioned, the power of these cars is not a key feature, but the handling, feedback, and confidence they deliver more than makes up for that.

It was also mentioned to talk to Al Fernandez, and I'd add Todd Covini as well. Both of them came to 944s from AI/CMC, and can give you both perspectives.

944Spec in TX is in it's inaugural season (if you don't count me running in class by myself last year), and already has a great bunch of guys, close competition, and it's growing fast. AI/CMC is well established in TX, and the competition there is fierce as well. They are two totally different animals of course, and for me it boils down to brute force vs. delicate precision. I've been a 944/951 guy for a long time, so when I decided to go racing (relatively cheaply) the choice was obvious.

 

I had a chance to briefly look at the Hot Rod site and it took a bit to find. It was interesting. Except it took a year to build the car. And he found out what we all know. It is more expensive and it takes longer. And dont try to run stuff from the junkyard. It works some time. Most times not.

 

As I have missed this year and looking for next season, I am going to TWS and see some the cars and classes. I certainly will contact these guys and see if I can catch a lap with them in both the 944's and the CMC cars. Or at least to strap in to a couple just to see how it fits me.

One thing is that in my 951 my helmet is completely up against the liner and I can not move my head. Of course in a race car I could move the seat some but it might throw off the pedals and wheel some too.

The 944 or the 951 classes, or the Mustangs, are all I really have an interest in at this point. Then the Vintage race car.

Thank for your offer and advise too.

 

I have raced and ridden just about all kinds of motorcycles, except for the spike tyred ice racers I came up through the motocross wars and moved in to the Open class. Then some flatrack. Mostly Yamahas, a Bultaco and even some Harley, a Ducati once. And even one side car. Then a go on 500cc two strokes and on the 1000's.

And I owned a few street bikes BMWs and rally bikes. One of my favorites was I had one of the first KTM 950's. Really "like a dirt bike except much faster."
In 1985 /1986 I had the first model of Yamahas V Max. Now I have a 1986 Porsche 951. It is amazing how fast that orignal VMax still is as compared to the Vmax's of today. It took Harley 15 years to get the V Rod up. And of course Porsche developed that engine for the V Rod.

I probably should have come to cars sooner. But for all those years the motorcycles were it for me. And I cant complain. I have been on some type of motorcycle on six different continents on this Earth. It was fun. And I only got injured big one time. You know the old saying "Never put 100% confidence in race advise from somebody with a 100% healthy and unhurt body." I have been qualified to give 100% advise now for a while.

I am looking forward to having fun with this, and then to the Vintage cars, and to hopefully no big crashing.

 

My region has a 6' 4" driver with a long torso. He fits in his 944 spec just fine, but does require a custom roll cage. A bolt in one sits a little to low for where his head is. With a custom the top bar runs right at the top of the car.

So the car will fit a tall driver and still keep good leg position. Bolting the seat down to the floor with not sliders and pulling seat pad will help keep you as low in the car as possible. I am 5'7" and stil very low. So low I have trouble seeing out the with my wiper in place. So I just don't run a wiper.

 

Yes Joe I think the custom cage is in it for me either way.

I thought the same thing as the cockpit side of the car is so deep that just about anybody short of the NBA can fit there. But the roofline is low.

Maybe I was just looking to move my seat to help me centralize this body mass !

 

I have probably 6 to 8" to the roof in my car. As for weight distribution these cars tend to shift from 50/50 front to rear to 51/49 when you strip them out. This is because it is easier to get weight out of the rear. So moving the driver back tends to get us back close to 50/50. Plust we tend to run a 1/4 to 1/3 tank of gas most of the time. Except for enduro's of course.