Ford Probes - Good trackday project?
Discussion
My G/F's father is a mechanic and has 2 probes rotting away and I was thinking whether they could be converted into a decent trackday special. I was thinking we might be able to canabalise one to make the other run.
Or would it be a complete money blackhole as I wouldn't be able 2 invest a huge amount of money and doubt if it would be used a hell of a lot. Just thought it would be a waste to just let them rot away.
What do you guys think?
Or would it be a complete money blackhole as I wouldn't be able 2 invest a huge amount of money and doubt if it would be used a hell of a lot. Just thought it would be a waste to just let them rot away.
What do you guys think?
The Hitman said:
Mr Gear said:
Same engine as a Noble right? But in a really s
t chassis...
Figured the chasis wasn't the best, didn't know they were complete barges t chassis...If you can get them for free or close too, then why not. I mean does it really matter how fast or slow they are??
Track days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
Track days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
300bhp/ton said:
If you can get them for free or close too, then why not. I mean does it really matter how fast or slow they are??
Track days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
I wasn't considering making it a track killer, but like you said, something for sTrack days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
ts and giggles. Unsure of the engine, but would be surprised if it were the V6.
If it was then I doubt I'd be able to resist the urge
The Hitman said:
300bhp/ton said:
If you can get them for free or close too, then why not. I mean does it really matter how fast or slow they are??
Track days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
I wasn't considering making it a track killer, but like you said, something for sTrack days don't have a winners circle....
They are very similar to a Mazda MX-6, not sure which parts come from where though.
But even if you leave them stock with some better rubber and uprated pads/fluid I think they'd still be a giggle and more fun than watching someone else on a track day.
Are they 2.0 litres or the 2.5 V6?
ts and giggles. Unsure of the engine, but would be surprised if it were the V6.
If it was then I doubt I'd be able to resist the urge
And sort of disagree with Mr Gear, as I can't see why you couldn't use them on a track day.
Ok stock suspension is a bit soft, but so what if it's cost you next to nothing for the car. Also pretty sure you could stiffen it up a bit if you wanted, or even go the silly route of simply cutting the springs to make it ride lower.
On a free car who really cares, it's not as if it needs to stay tidy. Just use it and abuse it and only fix stuff as and when it occurs.
Sure it won't be fast, but driven well it's probably still got enough performance to keep with much faster stuff that is being driven badly.
I honestly can't remember what the Mazda unit was like. The Duratec isn't the easiest to extract power from anyway although you have the 3L conversions going from ST220 lumps. I think the Mazda unit was slightly down on power compared to the Ford 2.5 but may have been easier to tune??
Go for it, ensure it is mechanically sound and the engine is in good healthy serviced order. Then check out these boys
http://www.fordprobestore.co.uk/store/index.php?cP...
Even lowering springs on there own will help. I personally would search ebay for a cheap bucket seat that works with a 3 point belt. Strip the rest of the seats/carpet out. Get some decent [second hand?] road tyres should be enough, I personally wouldn't bother with cut slicks, too much grip and no cage could end in disaster!
http://www.fordprobestore.co.uk/store/index.php?cP...
Even lowering springs on there own will help. I personally would search ebay for a cheap bucket seat that works with a 3 point belt. Strip the rest of the seats/carpet out. Get some decent [second hand?] road tyres should be enough, I personally wouldn't bother with cut slicks, too much grip and no cage could end in disaster!
Edited by Andrew_M on Tuesday 11th May 12:45
Used to have a mint condition 2.0 probe. They are heavy (lots of glass) and despite the 2.0 capacity only had 113bhp which was poor 15 years ago!
But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
Zordrak said:
Used to have a mint condition 2.0 probe. They are heavy (lots of glass) and despite the 2.0 capacity only had 113bhp which was poor 15 years ago!
But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
Cost is the bottom line in this. Is it possible to fit a turbo and perspex on the cheap?But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
Seems that one should be road going with little effort anyway so that's a bonus.
The Hitman said:
Zordrak said:
Used to have a mint condition 2.0 probe. They are heavy (lots of glass) and despite the 2.0 capacity only had 113bhp which was poor 15 years ago!
But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
Cost is the bottom line in this. Is it possible to fit a turbo and perspex on the cheap?But, I really liked it. 100% reliable, had big long frame-less doors and pop-up lights so you could pretend you had a proper coupe!
They are very low and wide so could actually pull some decent cornering speed. There's a lot of weight you could strip out. Wouldn't surprise me if you could could get 200kg off just from the standard stripping out techniques and maybe a bit of perspex in place of glass.
As for more power, the 2.0 engine was turbo'ed in other cars in the Mazda range so possibly look at that route or an engine swap of some kind.
Seems that one should be road going with little effort anyway so that's a bonus.
And do you have access and able to use a trailer? If it's a track car it'd be a lot easier to make it non road legal.
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