Track car build - base car idea's?
Discussion
Hello ladies and gents,
Me and a group of college friends are looking to build a track day car. We're all new to it and need ideas of what car and the cost of said car.
My suggestion was a Beemer 3 series compact... Strip it and get some grippy rubber.
NOTE: Were all newly qualified mechanics around 19 yrs old so we would be tackling all jobs ourselves as MONEYS TIGHT.
Thanks all.
Me and a group of college friends are looking to build a track day car. We're all new to it and need ideas of what car and the cost of said car.
My suggestion was a Beemer 3 series compact... Strip it and get some grippy rubber.
NOTE: Were all newly qualified mechanics around 19 yrs old so we would be tackling all jobs ourselves as MONEYS TIGHT.
Thanks all.
I was in the same position recently but opted for something older instead. (a group 2 e21 replica) Until that point though, a Compact had been top of the list. They're cheap to buy, easy to maintain and because of the Compact cup there is plenty of advice and information available. The 2.5 would be pick of the bunch for me but the later cars have traction control instead of LSD's. You could always fit an M3 diff & rear beam but that's when bits start to get more pricey. The later cars are also heavier.
Have you considered things like this?
http://classifieds.seloc.org/ads/pmbw-320i-race-ca...
Have you considered things like this?
http://classifieds.seloc.org/ads/pmbw-320i-race-ca...
I went for an e30is thinking it would be lighter than an e36, not sure thats true once they are stripped though ?
Compact sounds a good shout though, especially a 2.5 !!, id try to find a non sunroof model, cos youll want to take that out eventually, and you might want to spend some dosh on driver training, id say as soon as you have sorted basics on the car such as brakes
Compact sounds a good shout though, especially a 2.5 !!, id try to find a non sunroof model, cos youll want to take that out eventually, and you might want to spend some dosh on driver training, id say as soon as you have sorted basics on the car such as brakes
I would go for an E36 Compact - I paid £400 for my Compact, 69k miles on the clock and did a trackday in it when my E36 M3 was having its engine rebuilt and it was really good fun, I wasn't expecting it to be! I swapped the road wheels/tyres from the M3 onto the Compact but everything else was standard and it was brilliant.
For the price I don't think you can beat it - you could always fit a 2.8 into later on which is what I've done or just buy an E36 328 but for £400 it'll be a bit of a dog (good donor car) but lots of cheap Compacts around.
Easy engine swap and would be a good college project - I did the swap with basic tools, didn't even use an engine crane.
For the price I don't think you can beat it - you could always fit a 2.8 into later on which is what I've done or just buy an E36 328 but for £400 it'll be a bit of a dog (good donor car) but lots of cheap Compacts around.
Easy engine swap and would be a good college project - I did the swap with basic tools, didn't even use an engine crane.
Although I love BMW 6 cylinder engines, the Compacts 4 cylinder engine is pretty good too. You could even get a Superchip ECU remap, as per the Compact Cup.
I like MX5's but being 6' 3 and eleventy four stone I find them a little snug. I don't think you'd go far wrong with either car though.
I like MX5's but being 6' 3 and eleventy four stone I find them a little snug. I don't think you'd go far wrong with either car though.
How about the E36 Compact but do it up based on the standards for the 750MC BMW Compact Cup?
http://www.bmwracedays.co.uk/
It'll give you a 'standard' to work to and then give you a market to sell to later on
http://www.bmwracedays.co.uk/
It'll give you a 'standard' to work to and then give you a market to sell to later on
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