Racing? That looks like a normal day on my way to and from work... 
Photography Credit: Nick Pon
[Editor's Note: This article originally ran in the February 2014 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.]
Low-dollar endurance racing has proliferated in the American motorsports world, and newcomers will encounter no shortage of stories about teams’ geneses and the twists their crapcan careers have taken.
You’ve perused some of them perhaps, and discovered that your first step in preparing a car is deciding to what end you’re building. Do you just want to have fun? Do you want to get people’s attention? Are you out to win at all costs?
Positive answers to those questions do not demonstrate mutual exclusivity, but for a team looking to win, the biggest factor is likely to be quality of drivers. If your squad isn’t chock full of racing grit already, fret not. Very few teams are competitive in their first handful of races. Instead, they learn endurance racing’s ropes, have a chance to develop the car, and train drivers with oodles of cheap seat time.
Before you get there, however, you need to decide which car to build. With enough development, just about any model can win, but a solid cluster of winning car types has emerged over several 24 Hours of LeMons and ChumpCar World Series seasons. (While the series differ in some regards, the same general car types have demonstrated success.)
We’ll cover what to expect from each car type later, but first we’ll reveal some common threads for all crapcans that emerged during our research.
With those common threads in mind, let’s take a look at what sets seven of the most competitive car types apart from one another and what to expect from each one.
Teams who campaign BMW’s 3 Series–in particular, the E30- and E36-chassis cars–stand atop crapcan podiums far more often than those running any other car type. With a well-balanced chassis, plentiful go-fast parts and a couple of strong powerplant choices, the 3 Series represents the easiest path to first place in the hands of a capable team. These Bavarian machines generally pack enough punch to hang with anyone on long straights while remaining nimble enough to scoot through corners.
Photography Credit: Nick Pon
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Mazda’s first-generation roadsters remain a popular choice for low-buck racers who can count on an abundance of aftermarket parts and a tough, if underpowered, engine. The lightweight chassis and small-displacement B-series engine mean the Miata is pretty easy on consumables like brakes, fuel and tires.
While horsepower circuits present significant challenges to the stock Miata, the flingable Mazda comes alive on twisty, technical tracks. Braver teams may try some “light” forced induction with stock engine internals to give a bit more power, but too much boost is usually a bad recipe for any low-buck endurance race car.
Photography Credit: photosbyjuha.com
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Honda’s compact–especially the three-door hatchback–and its sportier Acura cousin presents the front-wheel-drive enthusiast with nimble, lightweight hooptie options.
The Integra will have a bit more power from its stock B18 engine, but the lighter Civic may be able to throw down similar lap times. Cheap engine swaps remain an option, though most Honda engines seem to possess the same foibles under endurance racing’s duress.
Photography Credit: Ken Neher
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Chrysler’s long-running compact car brings surprising capability to the crapcan table. A bit of test-and-tune can supply cornering ability, and front-wheel drive can render it a wet-weather warrior.
The base model’s single-cam engine is fairly bulletproof while providing mediocre power. Upgrading to the twin-cam engine improves the package to an E30-esque power-to-weight ratio, but it typically knocks down the reliability a notch.
Photography Credit: photosbyjuha.com
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Until the GT-R was legally imported to the U.S., the Z-cars were the company’s premier sports car here. Dating back to the sleek 240Z in the early 1970s, the Datsun and Nissan Z-cars give crapcan teams the luxury of good power from inline-sixes (Datsuns) and V6s (Nissans). They also provide a general sense of nostalgia for the days when Datsun dominated the club racing scene. The engines may not be as durable and eager for abuse as a BMW six, but they can last if treated with kid gloves.
Photography Credit: Chuck Anderson
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In the early days of the 24 Hours of LeMons, the rotary-engined RX-7 managed several wins before the first E30 took a checkered flag. That winning way hasn’t sustained, and a typical RX-7’s success correlates directly to a team’s experience with the high-revving, lightweight Wankel engines.
When naturally aspirated, both the 12A and the later 13B engines burn similar amounts of fuel to piston engines. Add turbocharging or port the engine to watch the fuel evaporate quicker. Add both to create a berserk racing machine that empties a stock tank in 45 minutes. It won’t win, but it’ll be fun as hell to drive.
Photography Credit: Ken Neher
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The Mustang is perhaps the best piece of American muscle to grace low-dollar endurance racing. Eight-cylinder versions can throw down blistering lap times on horsepower tracks, though the rudimentary suspension can make technical circuits more of a challenge.
Its Fox-platform cousins, like the Cougar and Thunderbird, have found some success, too, since they share many components. The V6-toting Mustang is a decent alternative that sees slightly improved fuel mileage under race conditions. The most reliable Mustangs, however, are normally aspirated four-cylinders, but don’t expect its Pinto engine to produce enough pace to win outright.
Photography Credit: Ken Neher
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Racing? That looks like a normal day on my way to and from work...
And now we play the game of "which cars on the list are still available for the budget mentioned" 
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In reply to BoxheadTim :
Thanks for pointing that out. 2014 wasn't so long ago, but I was surprised at what was on the list. I'm sure someone will post some great examples currently for sale, but I don't recall the last time any of these have appeared in cursory Marketplace/Craigslist searches besides the BMWs and Hondas.
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