In a few years time

[Falcon500]

Well in a few years time im planning a trip to america (possibly even sooner well see) and while there im planning to see the sites and my biggest ambition is to pick up a car! Now this wont be just any car I intend to pick up somthing that would make a good club racer and som,thing that is so diffrent (niot hard with most american cars here) that people will just gawk.
The necesitys are light weight and v8 engine and also manual
So far my small option list includes
chevy Monza Spyder (ugly as sin but a lot of potential)
Ive been tiold a 70s mercuary comet or a ford maverick might be a good idea (im told their cheap too and share parts with a ford falcon but never seen one i dont know what size they are)
AMC AMX (thats a possiblity if its a wreck)
AMC Hornet (sligtly more likely)
And a Triumph TR8 (of course i dont need to leave home to buy one of them)
Any ideas/info on the cars i have on my list or any others worth adding?
Ty al for your time

-Nick

[Matra et Alpine]

Well in a few years time im planning a trip to america (possibly even sooner well see) and while there im planning to see the sites and my biggest ambition is to pick up a car! Now this wont be just any car I intend to pick up somthing that would make a good club racer and som,thing that is so diffrent (niot hard with most american cars here) that people will just gawk.
The necesitys are light weight and v8 engine and also manual

Take the long route home and pick up a Sylva Stryker, Westfield, Caterham or Lotus Elise. You can get a V8 in the Westfield if you want the slowest option :)

[fpv_gtho]

Well in a few years time im planning a trip to america (possibly even sooner well see) and while there im planning to see the sites and my biggest ambition is to pick up a car! Now this wont be just any car I intend to pick up somthing that would make a good club racer and som,thing that is so diffrent (niot hard with most american cars here) that people will just gawk.
The necesitys are light weight and v8 engine and also manual
So far my small option list includes
chevy Monza Spyder (ugly as sin but a lot of potential)
Ive been tiold a 70s mercuary comet or a ford maverick might be a good idea (im told their cheap too and share parts with a ford falcon but never seen one i dont know what size they are)
AMC AMX (thats a possiblity if its a wreck)
AMC Hornet (sligtly more likely)
And a Triumph TR8 (of course i dont need to leave home to buy one of them)
Any ideas/info on the cars i have on my list or any others worth adding?
Ty al for your time

-Nick


obviously i guess you want to veer away from the shelby cobra replica's, have you heard of i think its called an Alpine Tiger? Theyre a small roadster with a small V8 in them. i dont know if the performance of them is anything special but surely they'd be a thrill to drive

[fpv_gtho]

i just had a crazy thought, have you heard of the Lotus X7? its a clubman type racer but rather than a high revving, deep breathing 4 in it, its got a 240kw Gen3 LS-1 in the front end. i think you can buy them new for about $40K which i imagine is out of you price range but theyre apparently serviceable at any holden dealer

[crisis]

i just had a crazy thought, have you heard of the Lotus X7? its a clubman type racer but rather than a high revving, deep breathing 4 in it, its got a 240kw Gen3 LS-1 in the front end. i think you can buy them new for about $40K which i imagine is out of you price range but theyre apparently serviceable at any holden dealer
WHAT!!!! a prehistoric pushrod dinosaur, and from GM no less. Falc would rather cut off his accelerator foot.

[fpv_gtho]

lol i think for the performance given over a 4 cylinder he wont mind who makes the V8

[SHAKER]

dont waste ur time in the states falc, ive seen the most gorgeous sports car ive ever seen in my life....(besides the almight cobra!hehe).its called a bolwell nagari, the one i like in particulary is the Nagari Roadster (its basically a convertible). However only 13 were ever built, (there are a lot of roadsters which were converted from normal bolwells-hardtops). They were available as a complete car or a DIY kit back in the 70s, they weighed 912kgs and came out with a 302 windsor, or the heavy 302 clevo which bumped it up to 1035 kilos. The standard 2 barrell windsor could propel it from 0-100kmh in 6.3 seconds and 14.2 1/4 mile times..With the gutsy 8 inch differentil and top loader gearbox and xw front suspension, the car would be as tough as nails and could be hammered all day without the worry of over stressing a high revving turbo engine. Dont get to excited though as the roadsters now fetch up to 50000 dollars and and a hard top will fetch around 30000 dollars.

[Falcon500]

hmmm well i more then likey should of said a budget is undertermined though i think by that time if jail bird (my partner in crime and the nut wholl be my co-driver/navigator) would more then likely be able to pull together 20k as i said a few years and id much prefer to go under that limit have some more money to do the suspension and stuff.
Crisis i cant be that much of a biggot im looking at a chevrolet monza ;) with its mighty 305 tpi engine :D
Sunbeam tiger fpv? the same car maxwell smart drove their smaller then the origonal 260 windsor powerd cobras and preformedvery similar 20k us asking price for one of them ive looked at them an interesting idea never the less.
I dont know the first 2 you mention matra (any info and or sticker prices on them?) but isnt the caterham a kit car? (frowned upon in classic rally and club meets) early lotus elsie sounds like a good idea thatll be fun though electrics are a problem i hear..still would like one.
Shaker i like your idea best but they are hard to get hold off dont forget. Id like aroofto reduce some road noise (id need to hear jailbird) and for that safe feeling...and some even came out with 351s rare as all buggery though its still slightly off budget and hard to come by.
Other ideas i ponderd today Costworth Sierra (a trip to pommy land doesnt exactly float my boat though)
Mazda RX7 (or earlier) cheap sticker prices decent performance handeling and considerd the ultimate club car here
Mustnags in general (although a Fox body cobra seems the most practical as faras price and light weight gos)
Studebaker avanti r2 or r4 (sigh i do dream somtimes dont i? 30k in this country)
Everone says go torana but meh(for the right price only)

And wheres NoOne? (odd satement :rolleyes: ) hed have a rough idea what some of my options would cost and no doubt has a bobs worth to add.
Ty all who helped im going to see jail bird tomorrow ill float the ideas with him

Cheers
-Nick

[Matra et Alpine]

obviously i guess you want to veer away from the shelby cobra replica's, have you heard of i think its called an Alpine Tiger? Theyre a small roadster with a small V8 in them. i dont know if the performance of them is anything special but surely they'd be a thrill to drive
60s roadster based on designed-in-50s suspension :)
Beautiful looking car and a REAL classic in rallying and racing.
Look to have to do a lot of rust repairs ( unless a Calif model )Nothing startling in performance and handling.
Tuning can do a lot for the former, don't know what's available for the latter.
Suggest you contact UK owners club where you'll find lots of help and pointers.

[Matra et Alpine]

lol i think for the performance given over a 4 cylinder he wont mind who makes the V8
Fastest track demons out there are 4-cylinder bike-engined Lotus 7 copies.
You guys just don't get enough exposure to what the cutting edge of fast sportscars are doing :-)
You can pick up a Lotus 7 copy for about 2000 GBP and add a SERIOUS bike engine for about the same again and you WILL NOT BE BEATEN :)
Unfortunately, these cars don't get stateside because of their strict crash requirements. In the UK we have SVA which allows us to engineer and build one-offs and as long as they pass an engineers inspection they get on the road. For those who worry about the Volvo SUV driven by mom on the mobile phone, get a full race roll cage fitted and carbon-fibre full race seats for a couple of grand and you'll survive a 'hummer-hit' !!!

[Matra et Alpine]

dont waste ur time in the states falc, ive seen the most gorgeous sports car ive ever seen in my life....it from 0-100kmh in 6.3 seconds and 14.2 1/4 mile times......up to 50000 dollars and and a hard top will fetch around 30000 dollars.
For 1/4th of THAT get a car that beats the 0-60mph by 50% :)
What do you WANT out of the car you're looking for ?
How important is comfort ?
Is it mainly posing or serious track use ??
Can try to help, but so far not sure you're preferences :)

[Matra et Alpine]

I dont know the first 2 you mention matra (any info and or sticker prices on them?) but isnt the caterham a kit car? (frowned upon in classic rally and club meets)
What period of classic are you wanting to do ?
If the kit was available in the period the class covers then there should be no problem. ( The Sylva and Westfield are Lotus 7 copies - the Sy;va is THE best handling package in the market )
We've had success with rallies now including specific classes for kit cars.
BUT, I don't recommend a Lotus 7 copy for navigational, night-time or cold weather rallies.
We competed on a night-time navigational event in December - in SCOTLAND.
We started with the hood up to try to keep warm and it was too claustraphobic and not enough spec to work the maps, timesheets and tripmaster. We finished the last 6 stages with the hood DOWN. In sub-zero temperatures at midnight. NOT RECOMMENDED :(
In the UK their is anotheri kind of rally - 'historic' - which is all about originality and lots of money and posing.
They can get upset if the road is a little rough FFS !!!

early lotus elsie sounds like a good idea thatll be fun though electrics are a problem i hear..still would like one.
Electrics will always be a problem with any classic British sportscar :(
Lotus Elan Sprints make excellent cars for tarmac events.

Shaker i like your idea best but they are hard to get hold off dont forget. Id like aroofto reduce some road noise (id need to hear jailbird) and for that safe feeling
Fit a roll cage for safety.
Get Peltor helmets and radios to make sure you can hear.
Rocks and rough rodes make shouting difficult.
Get a mic amplifier with a volume control on the driver - it helps us navigate if we can switch of your mutterings :)

Other ideas i ponderd today Costworth Sierra (a trip to pommy land doesnt exactly float my boat though)
Get rally-prepped cars by the bundle of you come to UK.
Come to Scotland and avoid the 'poms' :)
Get "Motorsport News" weekly paper for competitions news and cars for sale.
- Austin McHales' GrpA Opel Monza is for sale this week for 2300 pounds.
- Or how about 2 ( yes TWO) Corollas, one rally prepped for 1850 :)
- 1964 Mini Cooper 'S' for 12K. Full FIA papers so can do ANY historic rally 'out of the box'
- No full cossie Sierras this week, but theire is a competition rolling shell for 1500.

[NoOne]

The necesitys are light weight and v8 engine and also manual
So far my small option list includes
chevy Monza Spyder (ugly as sin but a lot of potential)
Ive been tiold a 70s mercuary comet or a ford maverick might be a good idea (im told their cheap too and share parts with a ford falcon but never seen one i dont know what size they are)
AMC AMX (thats a possiblity if its a wreck)
AMC Hornet (sligtly more likely)
And a Triumph TR8 (of course i dont need to leave home to buy one of them)


I honestly believe you'd be wasting your time, not to mention shipping costs buying an American car as they are far from lightweight.

No offense intended, but all the cars you mentioned are crap. :p

If you really wanted an American car for club racing (not sure what that is) definitely go for a Ford Mustang preferably late '80's or newer, 225hp easily tweaked to 250+, they also handle and brake well and priced decently because there are billions of them here ($5,000 to over $15,000 - depending on year and condition).

If you're looking for something a little more nostalgic, you are going to be really disappointed. Musclecars or their less muscular family versions used to be reasonably cheap are now priced way above what they should be, and thats the biggest reason I'm out of that scene for now.

Best advice I can give - not knowing what is available to you there - is to go with one of the suggestions Matra et Alpine gave.

[Batmobile_Turbo]

Take the long route home and pick up a Sylva Stryker, Westfield, Caterham or Lotus Elise. You can get a V8 in the Westfield if you want the slowest option :)
you could get an 80's corvette.

[crisis]

I have mentioned before that my mate races in what was called club cars but I think has a different name now. Check out CAMS website and have a look. You can race any car that raced in any race category and shoehorn any motor from the same manufacturer. (I think). He races little Datsins with RD20det motors which he is told can be bought for a couple of grand. They tend to be reliable and go forever. $20000 is not much of a racing budget, there are other costs apart from the car, but you may scrape together a sponsor or two. Beware the seductive siren call of motor racing. My mate started in formula V, " I just want to race, I dont care about being competative". Then when he had won enough of those race after buying and wrecking several cars he decided he wanted to go into club cars, only racing and not being competative and all that shit. I wont tell you how much I think it has cost him to get to this point because his wife might one day read this and I think he doesnt even admit the real cost to me, (out of courtesy I dont ask).

[Matra et Alpine]

Get rally-prepped cars by the bundle of you come to UK.
Come to Scotland and avoid the 'poms' :)
Get "Motorsport News" weekly paper for competitions news and cars for sale.

2 Cosworth Saphires for sale this week. Full rally prepped shells, engines and suspension. Only 5000 each. What's the cost to ship to Oz ? A grand ??

[fpv_gtho]

damn im at school for 7 hours and the forums practically explode with posts lol. if it were my money, i'd be looking for possible an old capri or escort, maybe just the rolling body them perhaps stick a 289 in it. i think that could be getting over $20K though to get a hold of a working engine and a decent body

[Falcon500]

Well the club cars i wish to race are manily for road rallys like what jim richards races porsches and stuff in and while im lieing between my teeth about only wating to be there im only starting out so my intention so far is to have fun.
And i know that 20k is chicken feed for racing but the reason i chose the road style rallys (like the targas and adelade classic) are because they prefer only mildy modified cars (you can go full out or use a kit car but then your treated like scum) keeping the costs down and usually ensuring close racing and in the proces frown upon kits and replicas.
And Youd be suprised how well the AMCs go on these courses NoOne i was suprised myself :p but its a lot of the less desirble ones that suprise people on these races. A ford perana (later model capri with a 302 clevland v8) came in the top 10 of the adelade classic amongst porsches a genuine GT40 and a whole hostof other classics (there was even a genuine one off lister race car from the 50s)
Im not terribly fussed upon perods they have classes for all stock bodied cars but the main focus is on classics as a preference id rather stick to 60s,70s,80s.
And those electricalproblem would be the lucas electrics wouldent they? the joke around this country is thats why the poms drink their beer warm lucas also make fridges :D
Well give us an oi if you get any info on an rs500 (i think it was a 3 door hatch sierra with that goofy looking spoiler) that kind of thing would be tops for the rally.

[fpv_gtho]

yeah the RS500 wouldve been the sierra Brock drive when bathurst was part of the international group a calender

[SHAKER]

in 97 or 98 a xw phase one GTHO won the adelaide classic, and couple of modified escorts have won the adelaide event to. If you want to race a car and have a low budget you cant really go past the mid 70s 2 door escorts, with there revvy 2 litre engines and abundance of cheap 2nd hand parts and panels around, it really is the cheap way to go motor racing. Matra those figures i quoted were for a stock 5 litre v8 with a 2 barrel carby, with a minimal amount of work on that engine with the solid running gear the car already has, they have pulled some damn quick times.....and that was back in the 70s, with some modern technology and a few dollars injected into them im sure theyd give a lot of small cars more than a run for there money. I saw one advertised with a holden 6 cylinder engine of all motors, it was in good condition and he was asking 12000 dollars for it.

[Falcon500]

Yeah but brock was uncompetative so he went to the next fad the BMW and was uncompetative again and went back to holden and never won a championship and hardly any races again.
Yeah a 74 model prosche won last year and the year before that but a wins not on the tally good perforamnce maybey but a whole few days of fun are what im after...for now
And that bolwell you saw couldof quite possibly been a Mark VII model they were built before the nagari and used holden 6 cylender engines...tyhe reason why they didnt use holden engines in the nagari (other then the fact they woke up :p j/k ) was becase holden wouldent give any warrenty on those engines were ford didnt mind it one bit. but a mkvii wouldent be too bad either theyd be a sight faser then a GTR XU-1.

[Matra et Alpine]

Well give us an oi if you get any info on an rs500 (i think it was a 3 door hatch sierra with that goofy looking spoiler) that kind of thing would be tops for the rally.
The Sierra shape was the original Cosworth-engined rally 4x4 from Ford.
The Saphire followed using a 4 door saloon body as it was easier to strengthen for the rough stuff.
There's always plenty for sale around the rally scene in the UK. There's one in this week that's only 10 miles from where I am. For a suitable fee I could buy and ship it for you :) :)

[Matra et Alpine]

in 97 or 98 a xw phase one GTHO won the adelaide classic, and couple of modified escorts have won the adelaide event to. If you want to race a car and have a low budget you cant really go past the mid 70s 2 door escorts, with there revvy 2 litre engines and abundance of cheap 2nd hand parts and panels around, it really is the cheap way to go motor racing.
and if you want to travel, then hit the original british islands in the Caribean.
They took LOTS of Escorts and they've mostly survived.
A UK firm specialises in importing them back and restoring them to better than original. For the price of a modern family hatch you can have the equivalent of a Mexico, Twin Cam or RW2000 !!!


Matra those figures i quoted were for a stock 5 litre v8 with a 2 barrel carby, with a minimal amount of work on that engine with the solid running gear the car already has, they have pulled some damn quick times.....and that was back in the 70s, with some modern technology and a few dollars injected into them im sure theyd give a lot of small cars more than a run for there money. I saw one advertised with a holden 6 cylinder engine of all motors, it was in good condition and he was asking 12000 dollars for it.
Most historic and classic events limit what you can add to the cars.
In the class we run, you are ONLY allowed to add 'PERIOD' modifications.
So if the part was available in 1973 we can add it, if not you can't.
So new technology may be banned.

And just to stir the pot, if you apply the same new technology to a Lotus Twin Cam from the 60s you can breath REAL fire !!

BUT, the one thing they can never do is much the sound if a big V8 from burble to roar :) I don't like popping and banging turbos as much :(

[Falcon500]

Well that sounds kewl but ill have to refer you to the name of the thread and ill have to talk it over with my co driver but its defintly a option (and a good one at that) though fair waring id only want to go three door the saphs look kinda funny...

[SHAKER]

[QUOTE=Matra et Alpine]and if you want to travel, then hit the original british islands in the Caribean.
They took LOTS of Escorts and they've mostly survived.
A UK firm specialises in importing them back and restoring them to better than original. For the price of a modern family hatch you can have the equivalent of a Mexico, Twin Cam or RW2000 !!!


Most historic and classic events limit what you can add to the cars.
In the class we run, you are ONLY allowed to add 'PERIOD' modifications.
So if the part was available in 1973 we can add it, if not you can't.
So new technology may be banned.

And just to stir the pot, if you apply the same new technology to a Lotus Twin Cam from the 60s you can breath REAL fire !!
yes thats true, but the windsor engine was around in the 60s and ford modyfied it from the factory in the US and OZ. Theyres lots of escorts here, theyres a nice rs2000 going around here with a 302 windsor, he changed the logs to rs5000 hehe =P

[Falcon500]

Well i was talking to a mate and he suggested a datsun 240Z or 260Z now hows that for an option quck handel well light...and very importantly reasonbly cheap here.

[Matra et Alpine]

Well i was talking to a mate and he suggested a datsun 240Z or 260Z now hows that for an option quck handel well light...and very importantly reasonbly cheap here.
Good chocie and probably easy for you to get parts and replacement bits ?
There are a couple run in the events over here and they are nice cars.
That big straight six looks and sounds nice :)
That's the one ! Red with matt black bonnet and the whole "African Safari Rally" look would be fantastic and not too expensive.
http://www.zhome.com/History/Images/EAS11.jpg

[Falcon500]

Well its already was a damn nice engine but some new carbies repalcing the twin set up as well as a regrind of the cam and some exaust wouldmake that car truely live!

[fpv_gtho]

i'd say if you can get a hold of a 240z or 260z then go for it. as already said theyre a great car and havent got much going against them

[Batmobile_Turbo]

Well in a few years time im planning a trip to america (possibly even sooner well see) and while there im planning to see the sites and my biggest ambition is to pick up a car! Now this wont be just any car I intend to pick up somthing that would make a good club racer and som,thing that is so diffrent (niot hard with most american cars here) that people will just gawk.
-Nick
i have a Question, what is a club racer? :confused:

[Falcon500]

Well essentially its some one who races in a club event like the RX2,3,4,7 club(and what ever else is in between) on track days and so forth and also get involved in rallys events and club sponsored events and so forth....prehaps matra could give a better explination actually being involed in these races rather then a unemployed 18 year old who wishes to getinvoled in these races.

[Matra et Alpine]

prehaps matra could give a better explination actually being involed in these races rather then a unemployed 18 year old who wishes to getinvoled in these races.
Thanks :)
the broadest description of a 'club racer' is someone along for the fun.
Usually only race in club organised events ( hence the name ) as opposed to national and international series.
Each country has different local interpretations of the different classes and race series, so club racers can compete in anything :)
Usually it's the local track based or nearby rally events.
'Amateur' is another description, though many club racers accept sponsorship - usually local businesses - which can often unwittingly put them in the 'professional' group.
It's NOT their career for cost ( or age ) reasons.
I consider myself a club rally but track only fun days.
Trackdays on cricuits are NOT racing, they involve driving quickly with others on the track and occasionally try to see who goes fastest. But in the UK, the former is covered by my insurance and races aren't :)
I don't (yet) compete on track races as either the car is worth too much to race it ( the A610 ) or not competitive enough to avoid embarrasment ( the Bagheeras ).
Friends run Lotus 7 copies in open series races at local track and compete 6-8 times a year. Another one runs an A110 in 'historic' class of sportscars series at local track only.
I keep my eyes open for a 'different' track car - either an A110 ( tho' I'd set it up for rallying ) or an A310 to be different.

[Batmobile_Turbo]

ok, thanks for the explaination guys.