Track Car under £600

Track Car under £600

Author
Discussion

RCD24

Original Poster:

33 posts

74 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Hi all, a friend and i are looking to get an inexpensive track car and put in around £300 each initially. This will then be prepped for the track with a few essentials for a total of around £1000.

Some thoughts i've had:
Peugeot 206 GTi 140 (or 180 if one can be found for the right price)
Toyota Celica
MK4 Golf GTi
Saxo VTR/VTS
IS200?

Trying to steer clear of the convertibles for the safety aspect and the fact I daily an MX5, Cheers in advance.

mac96

3,715 posts

142 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
RX8? With a bit of luck and careful buying...

RCD24

Original Poster:

33 posts

74 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Had looked into the RX8's, becoming a real bargain now most people are afraid to buy them with their reliability issues. Even read an article not long ago claiming they done well being used solely at the track and were being used as hire cars in some places.

ezi

1,734 posts

185 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Buy something with most of the work done already. So many people build cheap track cars and realise that they don't fancy paying £150+ per day to drive it, and then sell them for peanuts.

sheepman

437 posts

159 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
MG ZR/ZS? these always seem to do ok on the track days i've been on and i guessing they're pretty cheap.

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
puma

km666

1,757 posts

182 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
I'd have though there might a few E46 323/325i in that budget? Heavy to start with, but then the seats weigh a ton, layers of carpet and soundproofing. Or even better in my mind, a Honda Prelude if you can find one. Double wishbone suspension as standard front and back so a good base to start from.

RCD24

Original Poster:

33 posts

74 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Thanks for the suggestions guys, always liked those T-Sports and will certainly add it to the watch list. Any other suggestions welcomed as well as ideas for what I could do to the car I eventually go for. Cheers

RCD24

Original Poster:

33 posts

74 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
sheepman said:
MG ZR/ZS? these always seem to do ok on the track days i've been on and i guessing they're pretty cheap.
Good shout, seems to be a good few of them around this price point

RCD24

Original Poster:

33 posts

74 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
egor110 said:
puma
Not a bad idea, seen this one local to me. Thoughts? https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/for...

Plate spinner

17,649 posts

199 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
ezi said:
Buy something with most of the work done already. So many people build cheap track cars and realise that they don't fancy paying £150+ per day to drive it, and then sell them for peanuts.
Agreed, this will be the route to best value.

Just make sure it’s MOT’d.

Levin

2,019 posts

123 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
I'm not sure an IS200 is the car for you. Only the Sport came with an LSD, and prices on those are going up because all of them are coming to Ireland. Having been in an IS200, they're not exactly lively in a straight line unless you rev the head off (and even then...). An IS200 is a lovely place to sit though if you were looking something as a daily driver. The stereo is also excellent.

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
RCD24 said:
egor110 said:
puma
Not a bad idea, seen this one local to me. Thoughts? https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/for...
It’s got the usual puma rust but mechanically there pretty bomb proof .

Your budgets quite small 600 for the car then 300 for mods .

Usual puma mods are fiesta st brakes decent pads and tyres .

The trick with pumas is buy them cheap and enjoy them if it fails the mot in a year due to rust scrap it .

There’s a guy on here who got one for £300 then another for £100 although he had to put a clutch in it .

Bowlers

431 posts

92 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
I would have these on my list for a very cheap track car.

206 GTi
MG ZR 160 (VVC)
318Ti (E36)
Ford Puma/Fiesta Zetec S/ Sport KA
Saxo VTR/VTS
Primera GT

Add a set of track tyres, remove some unnecessary weight and upgrade the brake pads/fluid.

driving

SidewaysSi

10,742 posts

233 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Just put my Alfa 147 2.0TS up for sale for little more than that.

3 door, non sunroof, 62k miles, full history and cambelt done etc. It is an agile thing and would make a good base for a track day car IMO.

addz86

1,439 posts

185 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
A Clio 172/182, it’ll be pretty rough at that price but so longs as you make sure the cam belts been done you can’t go wrong.

ChevronB19

5,737 posts

162 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
I hate doing ‘for a little bit more’, but ex MG Cup ZR cars are really really cheap (ditto saxmax), and for that you get a fully prepared race car. You could easily spend the difference on improving a £600 car and end up with something not as good. They are ‘starter’ race cars for 14 year old plus, so often very well prepared from the wallets of worried, rich (or both) parents.

I’d look at the above, plus ex MX5 championship cars, ex MR2 championship cars.

rallycross

12,744 posts

236 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
ChevronB19 said:
I hate doing ‘for a little bit more’, but ex MG Cup ZR cars are really really cheap (ditto saxmax), and for that you get a fully prepared race car. You could easily spend the difference on improving a £600 car and end up with something not as good. They are ‘starter’ race cars for 14 year old plus, so often very well prepared from the wallets of worried, rich (or both) parents.

I’d look at the above, plus ex MX5 championship cars, ex MR2 championship cars.
Generally about £3k Starting price for the above plus whatever needs fixed to get them back to being track ready - miles off the buyers stated budget - but a good idea if you can find an ex race Car cheap that needs some recommissioning - will also be a better investment than turning a road car into a track car/ an ex racer will always be worth something.

ChemicalChaos

10,360 posts

159 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
First question - do you want the safety net of FWD handling, or the tail happy fun of RWD? If RWD, you can also partake in drift days which doubles the versatility of the car.

Second question - can you cheaply and easily get bolt on performance bits? A friend and I once looked at an old Jag for the silliness value, but there was nothing off the shelf to modify it with. Meanwhile, E36, MX5 and Clio owners are bewildered with choice.

Third question - are you intending to drive to and from events, or trailer it with a support vehicle? If the former, something practical enough to get a spare set of tyres and some tools into is a massive bonus.
Secondly, something highly strung or unreliable is going to make things a lot worse if you have to get home in it again afterwards.

Whatever you choose, overall it also should be fun! Here's my track toy! (reminds me, we must update our thread on it!)
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/va...