Track car for under a grand ???

[fubbychucker]

I've been thinking for a few years now about getting a car for track days I've got about a grand spare and was wondering if there anything that was worth getting for about this sort of money taking into account that I'm going to need to do any work that's needed with this money is it worth it or should I keep putting the pennies away for a bit was looking at a 76 viva with a 2.9 cosworth engine in it but missed out been looking at saxo's since any help or advice gratefully received

[onemorelap]

Don't laugh but you could do a lot worse than this (not mine btw)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1023868.htm

[Matt_N]

Could parts be a bit of a problem for that Maestro?

For a grand you're looking at things like:

- Pug 205 Gti
- Mk2 Golf Gti
- Proton Satria Gti
- BMW E30
- Not sure if Saxo VTR / VTS can be had for <£1k?
- 200sx
- MR2
- MX5

Of course you then need to factor in at least another £1k to get suspension, brakes, bucket seat, tyres etc...

[onemorelap]

Matt_N said:

Could parts be a bit of a problem for that Maestro?

For a grand you're looking at things like:

- Pug 205 Gti
- Mk2 Golf Gti
- Proton Satria Gti
- BMW E30
- Not sure if Saxo VTR / VTS can be had for <£1k?
- 200sx
- MR2
- MX5

Of course you then need to factor in at least another £1k to get suspension, brakes, bucket seat, tyres etc...

Don't know about parts availability for the maestro, quite a few race in the MGCC series and it just looked a bit of a bargain tbh, even if some money needed throwing at it.

Have seen some ex stock hatch XR2's for around the £1K mark.

Similar spec 205's tend to go for slightly more.

Have seen a part built saxo being readied for the now defunct saxmax series for £1K with the cage all done and it came with a load of spares as well. Don't know if it's still for sale. Check the classifieds on the 750mc.

Anyway all of the above is a bit pie in the sky if the OP is looking for a roadcar as opposed to the track only option.

[fubbychucker]

Cheers for the idea's guys I'm looking at trackdays at Oulton park as I'm in Chester and would only be a short drive I hadn't considered an out and out track car but something like that maestro could be a laugh and as most of the major work has already been done it would leave me cash for a trailer and spares
Is there any specific's I need to check out when buying a track car like that

Edited by fubbychucker on Friday 8th May 11:52

[Chris71]

Stick with the Citroen theme and get an AX GT (possibly with a VTR/S transplant) or a ZX perhaps?

Never actually driven a tweaked AX (the standard one was less than impressive, although nothing that decent suspension and a bit of go wouldn't cure) but it's got all the right ingredients and the Citroen stigma guarantees it'll be better value than the equivilant Pug. That said, there's a couple of PHers around somewhere with a 205 GTi track car that cost them less than a night out.

[onemorelap]

fubbychucker said:

Cheers for the idea's guys I'm looking at trackdays at Oulton park as I'm in Chester and would only be a short drive I hadn't considered an out and out track car but something like that maestro could be a laugh and as most of the major work has already been done it would leave me cash for a trailer and spares
Is there any specific's I need to check out when buying a track car like that

Edited by fubbychucker on Friday 8th May 11:52

If its an ex race car (such as the maestro or an ex-stock hatch car) the obvious thing to look out for would be accident damage.

These age race cars get a hard life and have the battle scars to match. However although some can look cosmetically "poor" in most cases the important mechanicals have been looked after and maintained.

Another tip is that it can be relatively easy to check the history of an ex racer if you know who drove it, when, and in what series it competed. The power of the interweb makes for easier research from reading old race reports etc to check for accident damage before viewing the car.

Outside of this the benefits of having an ex race car as a track car are IMHO:
1. Increased safety, full cage, race seats, harnesses, fire extinguishers etc.
2. A car set up for the track. If you haven't driven anything like these types of cars be ready for a suprise as to how quick you will be in comparison to more powerful road cars.
3. You will probably need to trailer but a better option if you do have a problem on the day.

For your budget i think if you went for an ex-racer it would be difficult to find one that isn't a bit "worn round the edges"
However if you can see past that and find one that is sound struturally and mechanically then happy days.

Another route would be to find a stripped out road car.
This is the route i 1st went with a 205 GTI which was developed over time.
Although it was enjoyable, by the time it was finished i might as well have bought an ex- racer instead as it cost a lot more to get it to the same point and there were some irritating "breakages" along the way that came with trying to turn a road car into a track car.

[NickXX]

This is mine - bought it stock for £800 with a year's tax. Changed the wheels, front bumper, stripped most of the interior and a couple of other tweaks and it's a superb little track car.

Fitting coilovers before taking it back on track. The beauty of the e36 is that parts are cheap and plentiful.

[fubbychucker]

Cheers for the info guys very helpful i'm trying to buy a 2.5 e30 if this fail's then i'm going to put some more money away and look for an ex race car rwd preferably so recon i'm going to need quite a bit more cash if i get this bmw for under £500 though i think it will do the trick reasonable power reasonably light and cheap for tuning and parts plus its rwd I'll keep you posted

[pewe]

It's not what you drive it's the way you drive it!
At Keevil on Sat. the guy next to us was in an MG Metro with different dampers as his only mod. and he THRASHED the pants off most others - even the two sisters (no not Nuns) in their Williams Clio.
There were also quick Civics,MK2 Golfs and lesser Clios being punted around at high speed.
Cheers, Pewe
PS M-Sport Events have got it right as far as I'm concerned.

[s3fella]

How about a fast road spec Mk2 GTI, 2l 8v with 155hp, konis, powerflex etc etc? Road legal and great on track too

[Nobody You Know]

Easy mate, I have already built a MK3 Golf 16V that was properly rapid for under a grand and my current E30 project is due to come in at about £950.

Have a look at the thread 'would anyone be interested in this?' about building cheaper track cars. perhaps you would be interested.

[Silver Pellet]

This looks reasonable value.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1015018.htm

[dwilkie]

I'm using my 216 Coupe as a track car now I've got the Vitesse, it's light, revvy, easy to get parts for, and intially for track use MG ZS/620Ti 285mm brakes and a set of Konis give it all it needs and the brakes will fit under the standard 15s.

Then of course you can transplant the twin cam version of it's D16 engine in easily and cheaply (on the list) for 130bhp, then turbo charge it or tune it as is. No Vtec but I've seen a couple running high 160's on the D16 with some aggressive cams and aftermarket managment. Nice to drive too