My search for a cheap track car.

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Joey D
So you are telling me that S-10 I posted a couple posts ago wouldn't be a good track vehicle?
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How many tens of thousands has the owner put into the project though?

You can make any vehicle a competent track car if you throw enough at it. But that's not the idea of the thread is it.
 
I don't know how much it cost, it was built by a young engineering programme through GM a few years back.
 
Joey D
I don't know how much it cost, it was built by a young engineering programme through GM a few years back.
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All of which suggests that is was not a cheap project.


Rather than trying to turn a light truck into a sports car, you need to turn around and go look at that Fiero again.
 
Eric.
All of which suggests that is was not a cheap project.


Rather than trying to turn a light truck into a sports car, you need to turn around and go look at that Fiero again.
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No but go to the S-10 forum and you'll see several examples of cheap track trucks. Any thing you buy cheap is going to cost money to get going whether it be a truck or a Miata.

Yes the S-10 is an extreme example, but it was just showing what one can do with a truck.
 
Must have changed since I've been on there then which was a couple years ago.
 
Anything cheap will cost money to prep, true, but with the Miata, I'd be confident with a stock one on stock tires with nothing but aggressive brake pads on it. Again, nothing is as track-ready in stock form as a Miata... nothing cheap, anyway.

But to each their own... if the truck can be done within budget, then why not? Again, the reason for my suggestion is that you'll learn a lot more about performance driving with a car which you can push straight to its limits in reasonable safety than you can with a car with lower limits that you have to drive within. But if the threadstarter likes the S10 and can afford the mods, I can't see any practical reason not to go in that direction. (not that becoming a track-rat is ever practical, mind you... it's an expensive hobby... :D )
 
Still the EG civics still looking good, they're cheap as chips, parts are cheap and easy to source, strong motors (i should know i have got 2 of them) really light once they are stripped out
 
gibson
I decided to wait till i can afford both my bad habits, cars and women, to get a track car.
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So, now what? Are you just going to look casually to see what's out there or is the whole plan off for a long time?
Either way I think you made a good decision. Now you can take some more time to see what you truely want out of the car, plus with that extra cash you can get some more goodies for whatever car you decide to get.
 
gibson
I decided to wait till i can afford both my bad habits, cars and women, to get a track car.
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You can never afford both of those unless you happen to find the right woman, or make a whole lot of moola.
 
go for the car. easier to deal with and won't take half of your property as she has has to get out of your life. :lol:
 
A woman ain't a bad habit! Especially if she has her own job! Nothing is better than being young DINKS! (double-income-no-kids) Helps you afford a lot of things... :lol:
 
hemisport15
So, now what? Are you just going to look casually to see what's out there or is the whole plan off for a long time?
Either way I think you made a good decision. Now you can take some more time to see what you truely want out of the car, plus with that extra cash you can get some more goodies for whatever car you decide to get.
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I'm just gonna look casually, if I see a good deal, I'll jump on it. Besides, I can have sex with a woman, I can't how ever, screw a car.
 
gibson
I'm just gonna look casually, if I see a good deal, I'll jump on it. Besides, I can have sex with a woman, I can't how ever, screw a car.
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:lol:

Teenaged Hormones > Adrenaline
 
Reventón;3237323
Actually...people have done the latter. :sick:
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thats...disturbing.:nervous::scared: My neighbor has about 5 or 6 mopeds he might give to me, so if i can refurb em an make some cash of em, i might look harder for a car. Right now I'm in the middle of shaving and relocating the tailgate handle on my truck. 7 bucks worth of tin and a garage full of tools does help.
 
I-ROC
brilliant!
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guinness_dance.jpg
 
i might go the DD/ track rat combo, my truck, even with teh 4 banger can hit 45 in my neighborhood and stop in about 150 feet.
 
Joey D
So you are telling me that S-10 I posted a couple posts ago wouldn't be a good track vehicle? Please. I'll say it again, small trucks are perfectly capable of being track vehicles.
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That is not an S-10. Note the tube frame. A tube frame car with an S-10 body on it =/= S-10.


Suggestions for a track car....
-Mk1 VW GTI. I know, it's FF. Drive one, then judge. Could be used for on and off road events.
-Miata. The perennial autocross car. Fairly cheap and plentiful. Don't like a convertible? Find a hard top.
-DSM (Talon/Eclipse/Laser). Turbo, AWD. 'Nuff said. Oh, and can be found cheap, as well.
-Neon ACR. Cheap, light.
-Late C3 or early C4 Corvette. Probably out of your price range, and difficult to find in manual guise.
 
Slicks
That is not an S-10. Note the tube frame. A tube frame car with an S-10 body on it =/= S-10.
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As I've said, it's an extreme example but it's not less of an S-10 then anything else purpose built for racing.

But if you want other examples:
Road racing S-10
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/757727/5

Here is an actually SCCA pickup racing series
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=391203572

I am not saying that a truck is the best thing to race, all I'm saying is that it isn't as bad as everyone makes them out to be. If he already has an S-10 I don't see why he shouldn't be able to beef it up a bit and take it to the track.
 
Well, without wanting to fight someone else's argument, it's not an extreme example of an S-10 - it's not, and has never been, an S-10 in the first place. And is therefore irrelevant to the argument that an S-10 could make a good track car.
 
Actually it started life an S-10 off a Chevy showroom, so yes, it was an S-10 at one point in time.
 

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