Motors Its been decided!

Ok, my friend who broke up with his now ex just over 4 months ago has decided to man up and quit being a girl.

He had his phase of lusting over a £10K Audi A8 4L V8 TDI, and now its 2011 we have been talking about hitting a track day locally at the start of easter then taking a very big brave pill and hit the Nürburgring.

So to turn his little idea into reality i've decided we should set a budget of ~£1K to purchase and modify a car so it is suitable for the track.

My ideas so far have been a MKII golf or a BMW e30, mainly because there built like tanks and the fact that spare parts can be found on the side of the track at the ring there is that many going round it.

Any other idea's on what car could be epic?

Must be light, able to bolt on monster sized stoppers and have great handling to begin with. I've got to say i would rather something with a chain driven cam, rather than a cambelt due to the hardwork this engine is going to be given.

I also want to say non turbo, just because its going to be a banger with high mileage, and a thrash around the ring will just melt the turbo's bearings, which presents a problem I would rather not have to fix. A torquey relaible lump of ~150hp should be enough for us new kids to the game of death.

Once said car has been chosen, it'll be stripped, caged and serviced, with minor modifications such as poly brushes to replace the knackered rubber ones, better suspension or just plain new stock components, proper seats up front and of course decent brakes that don't fade after one hard lap.

 

I can't believe i'm going to say this but a civic.
maybe a pug 106 or 205.

 

you sir, are realizing my dream



damn you






gl hf though

 

I also did think about pug 106, Sh*tty Saxo and MK1 clio's as there all basically the same with the exception of the clio as you can get a 1.8 RSI, which is the same engine my volvo uses, and has buckets of torque.

but then my logical mind kicked in, light weight car, 750-800Kg designed for inner town driving, going flat out on a track like the ring, if something happens like hitting the armco those little cars will put up as much fight to physics as a wet cardboard box to a well placed punch.

they also have a narrow track so any lateral G at high speed may cause a roll over, again in a vehicle with a roof mainly designed just to keep the rain out, not the tarmac.

So small hatchback for the moment is shelved unless I can get a decent deal on a full cage with in the budget set.

Note for now, the intention is to drive this car over, with other friends in the back up car. If this track car dies there, then we'll push it into the English channel and leave green peace to deal with it, maybe a French trawler will catch it and give it a new life.

 

Visit some tracks, in the canteen there's always a for sale board. Check out some of the track prepared motors for sale.

You'll get more for your 1k, the folks who owned the car before you will never recoup the money they spent on adjustable coilovers and race seats. Track tyres alone cost more than your budget so you'll be sure to find a bargain.

Take the shortcut and save some pennies There will still be plenty of work you can choose to do on the car so its not like you're doing yourself out of the fun of prepping it. Tearing out carpets and seats takes an hour or 2 tops, that's the only bit you wont get to do again.

Good news really because it's a right PITA, all the wee trim clips and stuff trying not to break them so you can ebay what's been removed.

You'll still get all the fun of setting the ride height, corner weighting it (basically relocating the battery and other heavy items so the car is balanced fore and aft, left and right), and setting some seriously mean geometry on the suspension!

Good times.

 

If you're building a track car from anything less than a big saloon and you will need a good cage with door bars to be truly safe.

Personally I'd get a slightly scruffy E30 316i and shoehorn an x25 engine in there. Couple that with a good cage and buckets and you're away. I'd be investing in a car which will make it there and back again, then you can sell it when you get back. Always good markets for a decently prepped track special.

 

Whenever I've been to Castle Coombe for VAG driver days, the track has been virtually ALL MK1/2 Golfs or S or RS wagons. Nothing inbetween.

VW don't do anything with a chain apart from the VR6 which starts in MK3. You might be able to scrape one on that budget. The more popular option at Coombe is an ABF 16v transplant into the MK1. If you don't want to be fiddling with the lump, I'd say the E30 is the superior option.

However,

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1802146.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2292682.htm

Or I've always liked Corrados....

 

I'd get an E30 or E36 personally, depending on which one you can get the better deal on. One of my friends from uni bought an '98 328i and has been having a great time on track days. (its now got a full roll cage, bucket seats, been stripped out etc)

I wouldn't get an Audi 80 personally, not supposed to be a particularly great handling car...

Good luck in your hunt and remember, we want some pics when you've found your steed!

 

I agree with the go German idea, you'd be giving yourself the best chance as they are basically good, extremely solid, easy to work on machines from the start. Everything's well laid out, and if you're on this site, the attention to detail will appeal to your inner geek.

 

You both make very good points, but mentally i would never feel happy taking a car that's been modified by another person than myself even if there a pro because if anything happens like a something major coming loose like a brake caliper under heavy abuse causing a failure to stop in time, then at least I've got myself to blame not some little ***** who cross threaded the bolts holding it on.

Also by stripping and preparing the car our selves we will become educated to the mechanics of said vehicle, so when something gives, we've already got a good idea of how to repair and pray, rather than kicking the tyres and looking in the haynes manual for the elusive section 7 or 8 that precedes the task in hand to access component B.

I am fairly mechanically minded, and will tackle mostly any task head on and succeed usually spending twice as long and missing a few pints of blood, no haynes required, however my friend is a chemist and makes an effort at servicing his car, but ultimately his dad bales him out, so if anything this will be a massive but needed learning curve for him.

 

306 gti6 or rallye.

Both can be had cheaply, decent 3l engine coupled with a 6 speed box, and can be supercharged if needs must at a later date.

 

2L, but please don't spoil a Rallye.

 

Damn fat finger smart phone syndrome of course its a 2L jobbie, mine was lovely until I ignored the cambelt interval.

 

na, if its a rallye it stays a rallye, anything such as engine swaps should only be done on readily available 1.1L bags 'O' sh*t

I honestly think a fat german like a BMW e30 or e36 with straight 6, or a golf MKII is still the best bet, the amount of spares to be found minutes from that area must be amazing, plus many people in the same cars can help fix, or poor the petrol all over and help light the mofo, will be a pig to burn as the interior would have been stripped out! lol!

 

I think you're maybe a bit too excited right now, have a calm down and think it through.

If you're thinking about submitting any car for scrutineering that you haven't done a full inspection on, I'd suggest stopping right now. I've seen the chewing out you get for a simple ps leak, woe betide anyone that submits a car with an actual safety concern like brakes you haven't inspected.

There's no mechanical experience to be gained from stripping a car, only some blood, a lot of sweat in hot cramped conditions, and plenty of tears when you realise despite best efforts you've still managed to break something.

Well, I guess you get to see the 18 gauge welded into the floor pan where it rusted through and you weren't told, or the crinkled boot under the carpet from the rear end shunt you didn't know about. A track prepped racer can't hide it's secrets like a banger can.

I'd much sooner buy a loved racer at 1k than a neglected bangernomics thing from someone who's only getting rid of it because that noise is getting louder and to take it to a garage now would be breaking a habit of the past 3 years.

I can't help but think you're setting yourself up for the school boy error here, either way I wish you all the best with it. When you stitch together a new personal best lap, it feels better than sex.

 

I've been to the ring a few times and it seems to me that the locals seem to favour e30 bmws and mk2 golfs as you said (unless they have a 911 GT3 RS!). I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing!

I would choose a mk2 golf, but that's mainly personal preference. If you are handy with spanners a donor mk3 would yield a 2.0 16v with 150bhp standard (a bit more if you use a mk2 golf head/injection system) along with bigger brakes. You could then use a b3 passat front arb as its far stiffer than the standard mk2 without resorting to expensive eibach. If you really wanted to push this route to the limit I believe you can use a combination of mk3/passat parts on a mk2 to give you a widetrack front end, but I think that goes beyond your simple track toy.

 

Could you get a typre r integra for that money?

But I guess that wouldnt be that torquey

 

Have you thought about an Impreza sport since you're going down the non turbo route?

 

The ABF unit I've already mentioned. An oft used choice in MK1s and sometimes MK2s. Sesterfield is right in that the VAG parts bin at that age is ripe for customisation. G60 brakes would be my choice, and there are plenty of cheap suspension upgrades to be had.

However, the E30 is hands down the better car (standard). Of course rust can be an issue and parts are likely more expensive/difficult, but it's swings and roundabouts.

The fully adjustable coilover market is fully developed for both cars, but the cost of the coilies is likely to be more than £500-600 for either.