What to start a budget track day toy project with?
Discussion
Well I have moved house and need a project to keep me busy. I have longed for a track day toy and now have the "better" halves permission to have one. There are a few conditions though and my budget is very limited. But I appeal to the PH collective knowledge to come up with suggestions.
Firstly, and probably most limiting, is budget. I have round about £500 initially but upgrade cash will be made available as soon as possible. The car needs to be running when purchased, ideally with a current MOT. The wife will not allow a project to start without it actually being capable of driving. I am very happy to upgrade as I go along, so the ability to change/mix and match parts easily/cheaply would be good. I think that this is actually a plus for me as I haven't ever done a track day so having a car that is capable of "growing" as I gain a bit of expertise would be good thing. As it is going to be a track day toy good handling is a must, power can come later if necessary. I am not bothered what it looks like but good solid mechanicals are a must.
I have done some trawling and there seem to be a few BMW E30 or E36 with the 1.6 or 1.8 engines around for the right sort of price. There is the ubiquitous MX5, if you can find one for under £1,000 or possibly an MR2 but again finding one seems to be the issue. The other problem is that both the MX5 and MR2 appear to be pretty knackered at the sort of price point I am looking at.
Is there anything else I should/could be looking for? All suggestions gratefully received,
Jon
Firstly, and probably most limiting, is budget. I have round about £500 initially but upgrade cash will be made available as soon as possible. The car needs to be running when purchased, ideally with a current MOT. The wife will not allow a project to start without it actually being capable of driving. I am very happy to upgrade as I go along, so the ability to change/mix and match parts easily/cheaply would be good. I think that this is actually a plus for me as I haven't ever done a track day so having a car that is capable of "growing" as I gain a bit of expertise would be good thing. As it is going to be a track day toy good handling is a must, power can come later if necessary. I am not bothered what it looks like but good solid mechanicals are a must.
I have done some trawling and there seem to be a few BMW E30 or E36 with the 1.6 or 1.8 engines around for the right sort of price. There is the ubiquitous MX5, if you can find one for under £1,000 or possibly an MR2 but again finding one seems to be the issue. The other problem is that both the MX5 and MR2 appear to be pretty knackered at the sort of price point I am looking at.
Is there anything else I should/could be looking for? All suggestions gratefully received,
Jon
MK2 Golf GTi or MK3 Golf GTi 16v
They cope well with track abuse and need very few mods to get them to a decent track level. They are decently adjustable as standard. The MK2 is very light as well (mine was <900kg) or the MK3 16v engine is a superb lump.
Don't bother with the E30 BMW, anything other than a 325 or 318is is ridiculously slow and the 325/318is will not come in anywere near within budget (trust me my bank statements prove it)
I have built both and the Golf was the cheaper build by a mile and was just as quick and fun.
I will proably get abused for this answer but track car budgets can get out of hand very very quickly so I am recomending the cheapest option that will be fun.
They cope well with track abuse and need very few mods to get them to a decent track level. They are decently adjustable as standard. The MK2 is very light as well (mine was <900kg) or the MK3 16v engine is a superb lump.
Don't bother with the E30 BMW, anything other than a 325 or 318is is ridiculously slow and the 325/318is will not come in anywere near within budget (trust me my bank statements prove it)
I have built both and the Golf was the cheaper build by a mile and was just as quick and fun.
I will proably get abused for this answer but track car budgets can get out of hand very very quickly so I am recomending the cheapest option that will be fun.
Edited by T89 Callan on Saturday 19th September 19:20
If you really must start cheap. How about a Nova?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1248182.htm
Must go. As he's "not got nowhere to put it"
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1248182.htm
Must go. As he's "not got nowhere to put it"
I'd spend a little bit more than £500, anything cheaper is a bit of a shed.
EDIT: Here is a rough looking 106 GTI, but you never know it might be ok...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1240948.htm
EDIT: Here is a rough looking 106 GTI, but you never know it might be ok...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1240948.htm
Edited by EDLT on Saturday 19th September 19:38
I would also take into consideration the potential the car has and maybe not worry so much as to what it is standard. That's not to say you shouldn't start with something that has a bit of talent to begin with but look for a car that is receptive to engine tuning. When I looked for a track car I went for something cheap, easy to repair and easy to upgrade. By no means the best but still a lot of fun
What about this MG Maestro race car, OK its £1400 but you won't have to upgrade it at all.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1230844.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1230844.htm
Munter said:
If you really must start cheap. How about a Nova?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1248182.htm
Must go. As he's "not got nowhere to put it"
Lovely idea but as I am in deepest Surrey probably a little far to go! ;-)http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1248182.htm
Must go. As he's "not got nowhere to put it"
EDLT said:
What about this MG Maestro race car, OK its £1400 but you won't have to upgrade it at all.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1230844.htm
Brilliant idea but I would have to buy the trailer as well, fit a tow-bar to the family (read only and the other halves)car and use it whenever I wanted to go to a track day. Also I would look a bit of a tit turning up to a track day in this and then driving round like Miss Daisy as I don't know what I am doing! Nice find though.http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1230844.htm
EDLT said:
I'd spend a little bit more than £500, anything cheaper is a bit of a shed.
EDIT: Here is a rough looking 106 GTI, but you never know it might be ok...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1240948.htm
OK what is a sensible minimum to start with? £750, £1000?EDIT: Here is a rough looking 106 GTI, but you never know it might be ok...
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1240948.htm
Edited by EDLT on Saturday 19th September 19:38
Conian said:
porsche 924
Is there anything that isn't an absolute pup for my budget?A little out of budget but is this as good as it seems?
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORS...
Sorry for the long link, don't know how to shorten it.
Edited by Jonleeper on Saturday 19th September 20:41
Jonleeper said:
Conian said:
porsche 924
Is there anything that isn't an absolute pup for my budget?A little out of budget but is this as good as it seems?
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/PORS...
Sorry for the long link, don't know how to shorten it.
Edited by Jonleeper on Saturday 19th September 20:41
I started with this £300 325i:
And about £3k later ended up with a very enjoyable and competant track car:
Build thread here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Ring-shed E36 325i
And about £3k later ended up with a very enjoyable and competant track car:
Build thread here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Ring-shed E36 325i
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