- Joined
- Oct 4, 2011
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- 26,889
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This is directed to the car folks in this forum...
The car in my avatar, my beloved '76...I'm debating on....going "all the way" with her, or trading up. '76 corvette, completely aftermarket suspension, fully adjustable, poly bushings, tubular upper and lower control arms, top end rebuild on the motor with '87+ vortec heads, aluminum intake, new cam, carb, headers, 2.5 inch true duals, no cats with glass packs, 100% red neck nascar style side exhaust (I was on too much of a budget for the real side pipes, and honestly, I never liked the fact that you lose ground clearance with them), many weight reduction precautions (according to the local scrap yard, it weights 3,200 pounds with me in it) and willwood aluminum calipers with slotted rotors. Oh, and after market wheels and tires. Basically, a LOT, and I mean...a LOT...of BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS have gone into the old girl in the last 10 years. Up till now, I've always been on a shoe string budget. For instance, all that I have list above, was done at around....5 grand. I've done a LOT of other work, like fixing the steering column, turn signals, various electrical issues, parking breaks (which still don't work....but apparently didn't work even when new....bad design). Cost of the car? 2,500. Total money spent, including cost of car, over 10 years? 10 grand. And that has yielded me a car that, when everything works right, and I'm in the zone, can score lap times at Lime Rock that are in the 1.02-1.05 minute range. Which is fast, for an old car, with a non pro driver. To compare, C5 Z06s with mild mods are getting 55-58 second lap times.
My car is fast, but not crazy. It handles with the best of them, but it's no lotus exige. It pulls hard, but it's no dodge hell cat. And I DO race, when time/money allows. Tires in 275/295 size are pretty darn expensive. No matter WHAT brand.
Now, last year, I flirted (hard) with the idea of selling the car, and buying a newer corvette, C5 model year, 98,98, or 2000. Those can be had right now for 10-15K. Hell of a deal, in my book, and will get me to what I want, speed wise, a LOT faster, and a LOT cheaper. I've more or less hit a wall with my current sled. From here on, getting more speed becomes VERY expensive. BUT. I got a promotion a little while back, and I make a lot more money than I used to. At first, I thought, no way it can last. But last it has. And mind you, I'm not willing just yet to change my lifestyle, as I still don't believe it's really going to BE...most of the new money coming in goes to the mortgage, student loans, and college savings for my kids. BUT.
In the next couple years or so, I am looking to take a few more steps in project weekend racer. Here is my delima. Spend the cash to do what I really want with the '76....which is, basically, turn it into something that it truly isn't...but was MEANT to be....or save time AND money and buy something that will be pretty much what I want right out of the box. The issues that need to be addressed with the '76 are....sloppy steering...there is about 2 inches of play in the wheel, which, at high speed turns...is HUGE, and, I am told, is pretty much factory standard with these old cars...ever races cars back in the day had slop like this. Personally, I just don't see how people dealt with it, but, I guess, if you're used to it...and then, there is the power. I figure, with my current block, I am making just under 400 hp on the motor, for just under 300hp to the rear wheels. I want 400hp to the wheels. This would mean an entirely new motor. I would LOVE an LS series motor, instead of my gen 1, 2 bolt main, small block. Again, $$$. And last...the worst bit...the frame. It's....weak. Limp. The last time I hit Lime Rock, on the last turn, which hits right after a down hill section, so you can hit it HARD AND FAST, due to the Gs, I hit it so hard, that two things happened....my engine stalled (due to gas flooding one side while leaning out the other side), and I cracked my windshield (even though the T-Tops were on). This HAS a fix....a 20,000 dollar fix, in the name of an SRII Frame.
SRIII Motorsports Inc.
These folks have my solution...but it's not cheap at ALL. All told, I think that my ideal for my current cart would set me back....40 grand. I HUGE chunk of change, no matter WHAT kinda money you make. The positive is, this would not be an all at once cost, but over time.
VS
Selling what I got for about 8K, and combining that with some savings to buy either a C5 ZO6, and super charging it, or a C6 Zo6, and just driving it as is.
The car in my avatar, my beloved '76...I'm debating on....going "all the way" with her, or trading up. '76 corvette, completely aftermarket suspension, fully adjustable, poly bushings, tubular upper and lower control arms, top end rebuild on the motor with '87+ vortec heads, aluminum intake, new cam, carb, headers, 2.5 inch true duals, no cats with glass packs, 100% red neck nascar style side exhaust (I was on too much of a budget for the real side pipes, and honestly, I never liked the fact that you lose ground clearance with them), many weight reduction precautions (according to the local scrap yard, it weights 3,200 pounds with me in it) and willwood aluminum calipers with slotted rotors. Oh, and after market wheels and tires. Basically, a LOT, and I mean...a LOT...of BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS have gone into the old girl in the last 10 years. Up till now, I've always been on a shoe string budget. For instance, all that I have list above, was done at around....5 grand. I've done a LOT of other work, like fixing the steering column, turn signals, various electrical issues, parking breaks (which still don't work....but apparently didn't work even when new....bad design). Cost of the car? 2,500. Total money spent, including cost of car, over 10 years? 10 grand. And that has yielded me a car that, when everything works right, and I'm in the zone, can score lap times at Lime Rock that are in the 1.02-1.05 minute range. Which is fast, for an old car, with a non pro driver. To compare, C5 Z06s with mild mods are getting 55-58 second lap times.
My car is fast, but not crazy. It handles with the best of them, but it's no lotus exige. It pulls hard, but it's no dodge hell cat. And I DO race, when time/money allows. Tires in 275/295 size are pretty darn expensive. No matter WHAT brand.
Now, last year, I flirted (hard) with the idea of selling the car, and buying a newer corvette, C5 model year, 98,98, or 2000. Those can be had right now for 10-15K. Hell of a deal, in my book, and will get me to what I want, speed wise, a LOT faster, and a LOT cheaper. I've more or less hit a wall with my current sled. From here on, getting more speed becomes VERY expensive. BUT. I got a promotion a little while back, and I make a lot more money than I used to. At first, I thought, no way it can last. But last it has. And mind you, I'm not willing just yet to change my lifestyle, as I still don't believe it's really going to BE...most of the new money coming in goes to the mortgage, student loans, and college savings for my kids. BUT.
In the next couple years or so, I am looking to take a few more steps in project weekend racer. Here is my delima. Spend the cash to do what I really want with the '76....which is, basically, turn it into something that it truly isn't...but was MEANT to be....or save time AND money and buy something that will be pretty much what I want right out of the box. The issues that need to be addressed with the '76 are....sloppy steering...there is about 2 inches of play in the wheel, which, at high speed turns...is HUGE, and, I am told, is pretty much factory standard with these old cars...ever races cars back in the day had slop like this. Personally, I just don't see how people dealt with it, but, I guess, if you're used to it...and then, there is the power. I figure, with my current block, I am making just under 400 hp on the motor, for just under 300hp to the rear wheels. I want 400hp to the wheels. This would mean an entirely new motor. I would LOVE an LS series motor, instead of my gen 1, 2 bolt main, small block. Again, $$$. And last...the worst bit...the frame. It's....weak. Limp. The last time I hit Lime Rock, on the last turn, which hits right after a down hill section, so you can hit it HARD AND FAST, due to the Gs, I hit it so hard, that two things happened....my engine stalled (due to gas flooding one side while leaning out the other side), and I cracked my windshield (even though the T-Tops were on). This HAS a fix....a 20,000 dollar fix, in the name of an SRII Frame.
SRIII Motorsports Inc.
These folks have my solution...but it's not cheap at ALL. All told, I think that my ideal for my current cart would set me back....40 grand. I HUGE chunk of change, no matter WHAT kinda money you make. The positive is, this would not be an all at once cost, but over time.
VS
Selling what I got for about 8K, and combining that with some savings to buy either a C5 ZO6, and super charging it, or a C6 Zo6, and just driving it as is.
