11 replies to this topic

[jaje]

I figure with all the builders here I'd post up pics of my SM build. I'm not a very creative fabricator or great mechanic - know enough to not make too many "stupid" mistakes but when new to a car it makes it a little daunting.

Procure a Miata: You can still find sub $1k Miatas - I did get lucky and pick up a '94 model with 1.8 liter.

Educate Thyself and Start the Tear down - I will admit I know little about SM but I've spent the better part of a week reading over the Enthusiast's Workshop Manual, NASA's most recent SM rules, and the SM Constructor's Guide by Dave Wheeler.

Spend Money Like it Grows on Trees - I found a built Miata that had legal parts on it but the car was too far modified to make it legal again. It also had one of the worst cages I've ever been in. Egress involves lying flat in a plane horizontal to the ground and worm my way in the car. I had to remove the seat b/c it was set up for a driver of smaller stature.

Road Trip: Go Get Parts Car and Gut Some More - I had to go get the Parts Car from Chicago and bring it back. Next was to Finish gutting the interior.

Prep Interior for Cage - After looking through pictures of what cage I will get (I've made my mind up to go with the Miata Cage) as it has the front horizontal bar mounts above and behind the dash rather than lower by my knees. In prep for NASCAR bars I started gutting the interior door sheet panels and removing the rest of the carpet and wiring on the firewall. Also found a cheap way to plug the passenger airbag hole in the dash reusing the stock airbag cover.

No Time During the Holidays but got some simple stuff done More Progress by removing the old rusted exhaust, converting power steering to manual, modifying the center console for mounts for gauges.

Adding Racecar Bits: Doing more prep work like putting trim on cut edges, plugging holes in the firewall, installing aero catch flush mount locking hood pins, replacing all hoses, and smoking some pork shoulder and ribs (I do live in the KC Metro area).

This weekend (as my bday present) I will be at RennsportKC swapping over the engine / transmission and suspension from the parts car. By then I will have a very cheap caged Miata for sale (hint, hint!).

[dstevens]

You don't want to start with an under 1k donor unless you know someone and get a great deal. Which means they basically give it to you. Typically a low buck donor will cost yo more in time for sure, and probably parts than spending a few grand more and getting something a bit cleaner. I ignored the advice and got bit hard in the ass.

[Ernie Jr.]

We might need a chump car. (hint hint) How much?

[granracing]

Jaje, forget the naysayers. Do what you can with your budget. I can tell you that I started out with a POS car, stock suspension, and what not using old Spec Racer Ford tires that I bought for $25 each. Just get out there on the track in a safe, and hopefully reliable car. Spend money on seat time, not go-fast parts.

First time I went down to the ARRC in my ITB car, a few told me "you're going down to Atlanta to drive that?" (It's a decent tow from CT to Atlanta, especially when a friends trailer breaks down in Boonesville NC on a Sunday LOL.)

When my car was being worked on, I told shops to put it on their alignment lift cause I'm not sure what would happen if they used a regular lift. What I can tell you is that BOTH of my $1k sub donor cars have done just fine out on track.

Have fun with it, and learn as much as you can along the way. A person can finish 20th and truly enjoy the experience, or finish 1st and not enjoy it as much. I need to remind myself of that. Once you get the taste of running up front, it's hard to turn back for better or worse.

Btw, Chump Car does NOT mean inexpensive. LMAO

[dstevens]

What I can tell you is that BOTH of my $1k sub donor cars have done just fine out on track. Have fun with it, and learn as much as you can along the way.

No nay saying, just what happened to me. Much more de rusting and refurbing parts than I would have liked. Now a lot of guys would throw stuff on the car without doing that and good for them. I went tub up and had I gone with a clean donor I'd be about 60 hours or so ahead. I could have thrown the suspension on the rusted a arms and not worried about patching the holes in the floorplan. Then left the grease covered drive train in and had some whiskey tango ride but that's not how I roll. My 1200, w/ top donor is going to be just fine, but only because I've busted my balls cleaning it up.

Got any pics of your build?

[dstevens]

We might need a chump car. (hint hint) How much?

It's already down to the tub, stripped, cleaned getting prepped for paint with more than 12k in new parts nad a freshened drive train waiting to be put on. No Chump Car for this chump.... But, my wife's new muscle car parts business is taking off and I may sign a lease for a 1900 sq ft shop in which case I'll have to move the shop from the garage to a real shop.

[granracing]

and not worried about patching the holes in the floorplan.

Aluminum tape my friend. LOL

Hey, I'm not here saying it's the way I'd WANT to build the car, but it was the way within my means. Especially in the beginning there were many areas that I needed to evaluate which would make me faster, if it would make it safer, versus which would make the car pretty.


Currently working on a hopeful SM build and can tell you it'll be way better than any car I've driven, but still will need to decide what's most important overall. That decision can change as one gains experience. Guess I'm not as impressed anymore with the size of the shop as with the quality of the work.

[dstevens]

Aluminum tape my friend. LOL

When the holes and rust through areas are big enough that your feet could dangle out in a good shunt, a bit of panel repair is in order. Like I said, depends on what the whiskey tango level is. Don't know that patching big flor pan holes with AL tape would be considered quality work in my book. Never should have got that one in the first place........

[granracing]

Never said "quality work".

[dstevens]

Guess I'm not as impressed anymore with the size of the shop as with the quality of the work.

[granracing]

That's why the shop I'm working with now won't let me touch the car. LOL!

[jaje]

You Daves are funny! I got a great deal on the car as the engine was not running well (would sputter and blow white smoke at start up). I negotiated with the owner about price due to the assumption the engine would need rebuilding and he dropped the price to under a $1k. The interior was nice and everything worked but the seats were pretty torn up. The top was bad as the rear window was cracked and a previous owner used 20-30 zip ties to stitch it together (giving it a nice frankenstein look). I didn't care about those issues as I was planning on rebuilding the engine anyway. The big problem with it is the rust in front of the rear wheels on both sides (it's not a lot and not through the metal but rust is cancer on these cars so I will be taking it to an AB shop to get the rust cut out and new sheet metal welded in place and treated / painted).

I've built a 944-Spec car before this so have some experience but always relied on shops for the very important pieces - and once again I will do this as well. In this build I found a Miata that was built for SM but the guy doing it did not read the rules closely or visit this board to ask for guidance. He gutted the interior and dash / heater, gutted the engine bay and built a home made cage that is quite terrible. However for the price I paid I bought a freshly rebuilt engine that runs strong, a refreshed tranny, hardtop, QR steering wheel setup, SM suspension, wheels / tires, and various other equipment (nets / belts / seat / fire ext / etc.). I will take off what I need from this car to put on my car - then have a cage put in with me to be there to work on fitment. In the end I'm hoping to have spent a total of $6k building this car. Could I buy a car in this condition for this price? Yes but it won't be the way I wanted it build especially the cage setup with seats and nets. I also find that if I take a large part of the build I will learn a lot and be more able to work on my car at the track (and hopefully not need to as I'm the normal Race Director [except for my class]).