Hey guys I got a race car she's a 95 Escort GT with the 1.9 swapped in, 5 speed manual. It has a complete roll cage, racing seat/harness, and is completely gutted. Me and a buddy went to check it out together but ended up making a deal with the kid who owned it to split the cost three ways and make a racing team. However my buddy I saw the car with is getting a little power hungry and me and the owner of the car will have a talk with him and most likely boot him. He hasn't actually even put a payment on the car yet.

I will basically be the head mechanic and driver, I'm doing this more to gain a reputation and making connections with people and companies, the owner of the car strictly wants to be a driver, and I will end up buying his share of the car so he will just buy a seat when it comes time to race. My best friend will probably invest in the car just to be part of it even though he doesn't want to drive. So we will have seats available to buy into for races. When I say "buy into" you would just pay a share of the race expenses like the rest of the team. I'm just using this car to get my foot in the door, and will upgrade to a better car either next season or the following one. I will try to get local sponsors too. Like I said my main goal is to gain a reputation with a hopefully "winning car" (in the future) and get a bunch of advertising, and build connections for my dream of owning a custom car shop or speed shop.

I can personally fund my share of the expense by flipping cars on the side and working my job (I do both currently). Just need some ideas to do as much racing I can afford in and about Michigan, and looking for people to gain connections with and who want to drive! Let me know! Still need to paint the car, then pics. Sorry for the long post.

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86 Fiero GTX project now tearing up the street, My build thread! 3800sc, interior, wheels, suspension and more! https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/089483.html

[This message has been edited by IanT720 (edited 05-03-2013).]

Pictures?!

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Pictures?!

Have to take some, the body is banged up and there's panels welded on to keep the doors welded shut, coupled with the grey primer she ain't pretty haha, just going to brush on some flat black with racing stripes and call it a day haha. Otherwise the interior is very clean, no rust etc... Oh also has a fuel cell, race pump, and all the cut offs and fire system.

how long has the owner been racing professionaly?

if he doesn't know what he is doing you may spend a lot of money and only race once.

steve

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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't



Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: how long has the owner been racing professionaly? if he doesn't know what he is doing you may spend a lot of money and only race once. steve

This.... I have seen it more than once.As for where to race it.. Contact the SCCA office local to you. You will also have to find out what class of racing your car will qualify for.
Unfortunately, I suspect you will get stuck in a VERY Competitive class, with the mods it has. A plain stock car is some of the most fun racing you can get in the amateur leagues. And will give you the best chance at winning on the cheap.

The SCCA and NASA both require licenses that are not just handed out without prior racing experience. Even with Chump or Lemons races as your experience, you would still be required to take some driver training to see how well you play in traffic. The SCCA and NASA allow passing anywhere anytime but we have some pretty strict rules on how passes are made, who has the turn in specific situations etc. Races are much shorter, car rules are more defined and there is a much higher level of competition due to the cars being better built. Many SCCA and NASA drivers run Chump and Lemons so by no means am I knocking those series.

Lemons and Chump seem to be the two most popular series for "unlicensed" racers, so you are probably better off sticking with them. You get a lot more track time, although the "competition" is very limited. After all, how competitive can a worn out Crown Vic really be on tires with a tread wear rating of 200? You are really racing your self and their rules more than other very similar classed cars.

Based on your description of welded doors and banged up it would most likely not pass SCCA tech anyway. A "complete" rollcage is also debatable as there are many configurations and missing a door bar or main hoop diagonal will not get the car passed.

I can also guarantee, your "reputation" will not be how you envision yourself, for quite some time. Racing can be a very humbling experience.

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: how long has the owner been racing professionaly? if he doesn't know what he is doing you may spend a lot of money and only race once. steve

He bought a seat once, and took a professional rally driving course that's all, I have virtually none. We both have stake in this car so we will be getting our feet wet, not racing to win yet. Also why we have an escort not a BMW or something.

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86 Fiero GTX project now tearing up the street, My build thread! 3800sc, interior, wheels, suspension and more! https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/089483.html

I am glad you did not misinterpret my post as anything negative, because it can be tough to read things sometimes. You are on the right track, . The quickest way to get discouraged in racing is to buy the wrong car, dump a ton of money in it and then give up after constantly breaking stuff. Odds are you can use your car for a couple years to get your feet wet and then sell it for what you have in it and get something better as your skills advance.

Around here Rally is probably one of the least restrictive things to enter. Not only are there no cage requirements, but some people have even used rental cars for them. Solo has a pretty broad classing system but still allows anyone to run. Club racing is our door to door racing that has the most rules and is what I can offer the most advise on. For future reference, in case you want to work up to Club racing. Not only are the number of cage tubes required, but they have to be DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel. ERW (electric resistance welded) steel is no longer allowed. The tube outer diameter is also regulated (based on the weight of the car) as well as the wall thickness, mounting plates, location of shoulder harness tube, and several other rules. Just having a cage, by itself, does not mean it will be allowed in either SCCA or NASA club racing events.

The best way to learn is to keep asking questions.

quote Originally posted by SCCAFiero: I am glad you did not misinterpret my post as anything negative, because it can be tough to read things sometimes. You are on the right track, . The quickest way to get discouraged in racing is to buy the wrong car, dump a ton of money in it and then give up after constantly breaking stuff. Odds are you can use your car for a couple years to get your feet wet and then sell it for what you have in it and get something better as your skills advance. Around here Rally is probably one of the least restrictive things to enter. Not only are there no cage requirements, but some people have even used rental cars for them. Solo has a pretty broad classing system but still allows anyone to run. Club racing is our door to door racing that has the most rules and is what I can offer the most advise on. For future reference, in case you want to work up to Club racing. Not only are the number of cage tubes required, but they have to be DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel. ERW (electric resistance welded) steel is no longer allowed. The tube outer diameter is also regulated (based on the weight of the car) as well as the wall thickness, mounting plates, location of shoulder harness tube, and several other rules. Just having a cage, by itself, does not mean it will be allowed in either SCCA or NASA club racing events. The best way to learn is to keep asking questions.

Thanks, you know I try to be realistic specially with racing you really need to be. My buddy wasn't and that was most of the problem, we will have a talk but most likely he is out. Truth is I really would love to get paid for racing, I realize that's so un-realistic I don't even want to think about it. Doesn't mean I won't try, like I said I want to get my feet wet and get into the business a bit. While working on starting a custom car/speed shop. Owning that shop will fund my racing, and since I would already have my feet wet with that escort, I could get a nicer car to promote my business! Make sense? So shop to pay for racing, racing to bring business to shop! And who knows with a steady money source, I might be able to get into professional racing! Sort of a rough plan but not that un-realistic I guess. I had no idea it would be that technical, wow. Well I will think about that when the time comes I suppose. So as far as SCCA goes... Do chump, gain experience, take SCCA driving courses, get lisence... Besides getting an SCCA legal car, according to the class it would run in. Question is besides the car, and lisence, how do I then get into SCCA Club events/Professional racing? Kind of a grey spot. Thanks!

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86 Fiero GTX project now tearing up the street, My build thread! 3800sc, interior, wheels, suspension and more! https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/089483.html

Now thats a career path I definitely wouldn't mind

With the right attitude, enough motivation, and fortunate series of events you've got this. Good luck.

The simple answer is: It takes LOTS of money to go fast or go pro.

If you get involved with the operation of the club by volunteering and working a specialty you will get noticed. If you have skills and are a good people person, others will be more than happy to let you in on some of the "unspoken" membership privileges. For example, I am on a pretty short list of guys who get asked to instruct at our local track for special events like the super car experience(s) where you can drive a Ferrari, Lamborghini or other exotics as fast as you feel comfortable. Instructors are more concerned with when you are going to break the laws of physics than trying to slow you down. There are some influential people with lots of money at our local race weekends.

Depending on your skill and comfort level you may want to look at NASA first. They have more of a graduated driver training program including ride along instructors. The SCCA schools are typically instructors observing you from track side to see how you do with others. I started with the SCCA and have had a great time with them. Our local NASA club is not as popular. Other regions vary with NASA being pretty big. The SCCA will have you racing earlier than NASA does, but not everyone is ready for that level of competition without the extra, less competitive, (training) seat time NASA offers.