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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Who's prepping for the $2010 Challenge?

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Oct. 20, 2009 8:12 p.m. eastsidemav New Reader

I don't know about the later models, but I want to say the 86-89 ones weighed in between 2300-2400 lbs. Contrast that with about 1700-2000 on the Civic/CRX of the same generation, and its quite a bit of a detriment. There's more weight that can be stripped from the integra, though, and there is certainly more room in the engine bay if you wanted to try to swap in a B or K series engine.

IMHO, of the 1st gen integra/1st gen CRX/3rd gen Civic, I've always thought the 2 door hatchback integra was the best looking of the bunch.
Oct. 20, 2009 9:21 p.m. oldtin Reader

Anybody done an e28 for the challenge?
Oct. 20, 2009 9:31 p.m. patgizz Dork

jwdmotorsports wrote:

Do you mind sharing what cars you guys are thinking for next year?

possibly the oldest challenger evar

that or a 124 spider.

i gotta talk to per and see what will and will not fly without being in the exhibition class. while i will not stand a chance of winning anything i'd much rather have some competition instead of just being there.
Oct. 20, 2009 10:17 p.m. Tommy Suddard SonDork

I had the best idea ever today:

What engine is strong, and has very low compression for very high boost?

Model A (are they still cheap?)
Oct. 21, 2009 8:39 a.m. AutoXR Reader

My challenge dreams were crushed when my one and only teammate got stuck in China on business.

As bad as I felt putting 10 mos into a car by myself, it gives me another year to dial it in.

see u in 2010.
Oct. 21, 2009 9:32 a.m. dlmater New Reader

My son and I are in for 2010. Pushed the car off the trailer last night. We were there in 2008 but missed this year. Looking forward to being uncompetitive and having a great time.

Dennis
Oct. 21, 2009 2:14 p.m. Pseudosport New Reader

I’ll probably bring the Miata again next year if it’s still alive. Only plans I have are ditch the roll bar, add nitrous, replace clutch, remove exhaust, break all the rust bolts free so camber is no longer positive, and buff the paint again.

Then there is 2011. Not sure what to bring then. I have a 1994 Chevy S-10 SS that need body work and more power. Shold be an easy project.

Or maybe this

It won’t handle or be fast because most of the budget will go towards the body but I don’t care. I already have collected some cheep sheet metal from other peoples abandoned projects. Full quarters are going to kill me tho. Might be able to get away with the 80% ones. Anyway I still have time and I don’t want to give away all my plans yet.
Oct. 21, 2009 2:18 p.m. splitime Reader

Pseudosport wrote:

I’ll probably bring the Miata again next year if it’s still alive. Only plans I have are ditch the roll bar,

Don't ditch the bar. You should be able to just deduct it from your budget for 2010. As it is a free safety item in the current 2010 rule revisions. You'll need it if planning on the nitrous and going faster :)
Oct. 21, 2009 2:53 p.m. evildky Dork

wheels777 wrote:

We just got home from the $2009 Challenge. Calvin is already starting to measure up the $2010 car. The truck isn't even cooled down yet.

so Paula's car will be 2011, right?
Oct. 21, 2009 3:55 p.m. eastsidemav New Reader

Tommy Suddard wrote:

I had the best idea ever today:

What engine is strong, and has very low compression for very high boost?

Model A (are they still cheap?)

The block may be pretty strong, but the crank isn't. There are only three main caps.

You may find an untitled body and frame in the right price range. You'd probably be looking at building a special. At that point, I'd suggest a Locos-T. I've wanted to do one of those since I first saw pictures of them.

Similar to the A, a lot of non-Ford stuff from the same era tends to be cheaper, due to lower demand, you just get to contend with more rotted wood. Thats been the case of my perpetually delayed 28 Chevy.
Oct. 22, 2009 6:14 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

Pseudosport wrote:

Or maybe this
You just can't argue with Cool!
Oct. 22, 2009 8:02 a.m. White_and_Nerdy Reader

Pseudosport wrote:

Only plans I have are ditch the roll bar, add nitrous, replace clutch, remove exhaust, break all the rust bolts free so camber is no longer positive, and buff the paint again.

You could sell that hardtop for some good money to replenish the budget.

I just found a $400 Saturn SW2 5-speed on Craigslist. I'm pondering it as a winter beater to keep salt off the Miata, which the gf would prefer (the Miata's my only car right now). The thought has crossed my mind that it's a lot cheaper than the $1700 SL2 we ran in 2004, and that the remaining $1610 could buy a LOT of go fast goodies. The gf is not in favor of this idea, though...
Oct. 22, 2009 8:52 a.m. unevolved New Reader

White_and_Nerdy wrote: You could sell that hardtop for some good money to replenish the budget.

Troof. FMV on Miata hardtops is $1K for OEM, and $850 for aftermarket.
Oct. 22, 2009 10:59 a.m. Pseudosport New Reader

In reply to 914Driver: Shhhhh!

As for the hardtop I've already recouped all the value in the car so I get to keep it. Might ditch the bar to save weight for the autocross and run the hardtop at the drags. Not sure yet. Might have to weigh both and decide. Either way it’s cool that if I do run the bar for 2010 I don’t have to count it in the budget. That’s a good chunk of money to spend on other stuff.
Oct. 26, 2009 8:03 a.m. unevolved New Reader

We've already found a chassis and started buying parts for next year's car! I'm so excited already.
Oct. 26, 2009 12:04 p.m. Fair None

I am (finally) building a car for the GRM $20XX Challenge. I bought this E30 last Saturday:

The body is rust free - I love living in Texas. The paint is totally dead, though.

The (non-running) engine cleaned up nicely after several hours of detailing. Its not sticking around long

The ridiculously clean interior is why we bought the car. Won't make it lighter, but it sure is purdy

Box flare mockups have started. This doesn't look quite right yet

I have always wanted to build a car for this challenge and this year finally rounded up enough local volunteer builders to pull it off. I think we can get it done in time for next October, but we have an ambitious plan in mind. I spent the entire weekend cleaning up this thing and pulling out the random spare parts from the interior and trunk. I'm searching for the cheap V8 engine now. I'll start a thread when we've made some progress.

Thanks,
Oct. 26, 2009 12:09 p.m. MrJoshua UltraDork

So this brings up the question of whether or not we have a shop class.
Oct. 26, 2009 12:24 p.m. Fair New Reader

MrJoshua wrote:

So this brings up the question of whether or not we have a shop class.

Yea, I was worried about that perception, so I called the GRM staff and was told to "build it". We're building the car at the garage at my house, which might have a few more fab tools than some folks' garages, but it is a lot less equipped than real race shops. I know I can't use our own suspension parts for cost or a discount, which sucks for us, but I understand why that would be unfair. So we're hitting the junkyards and scouring CraigsList just like every other competitor, and hand building anything we cannot afford to buy. We'll document every penny spent on the project and would be just as vulnerable to a protest as anyone.

Some of the fast UTCC 2008 entrants

Our "shop class" entry had a stock/junkyard motor and no paint

The problem I see with having a "shop class" is similar to the problem with the UTCC event's shop class... many of the "privateers" at that event have had their cars totally built by a shop, but they're usually much better funded than most shops' own race cars. When we went to UTCC in 2008 as a "shop class car" we parked near the 4 car transporters of some of the non-shop entries, and were quite humbled. I'm no millionaire, and as a small business owner don't have time to work on this during the day - so I will be working on this after hours with team members that are 100% volunteers, too.

Speaking of which - Dallas area GRM readers send me a PM. Our team needs help.
Oct. 26, 2009 1:09 p.m. jwdmotorsports HalfDork

Give me an estimate of what you would be willing to pay for the following potential challenge car.

1989 Civic DX Hatchback - Owner claims 40K miles on D15 motor (does not have paper work to back it up). No interior. Needs a new front fender. Dent in rear quarter. Won't start with the key, has to be roll started. Brake booster is toast (per owner) so the brakes don't work.

He's come down $250 via email. But has revealed new issues with the car after further questioning that he didn't originally reveal. I told him since he's 3 hours away I wanted to know exactly what he had before I made the drive.
Oct. 26, 2009 1:25 p.m. MrJoshua UltraDork

The "Shop Class" at the challenge is a little different than it is at the UTCC. We cant pay anyone to do work on our cars. I understand that the level of knowledge and skill of some amateur hobbyists surpasses that of many shops so trying to label the small business owner as automatically better at this kind of thing is probably foolish. I think it actually might broaden most shop owners minds to try to build a car this way. I am all for you guys entering a car. Don't be sad when I beat you.
Oct. 26, 2009 2:02 p.m. Nashco SuperDork

jwdmotorsports wrote:

Give me an estimate of what you would be willing to pay for the following potential challenge car.

1989 Civic DX Hatchback

Sounds like a basket case version of an extremely common car that's a long ways away...why not keep your eyes peeled for a better car to start with? You might be better off if you find a better car (that costs more) to start with, keeping in mind that every car you buy for less than $1005 is basically free if you can recoup enough parts off of it.

Bryce
Oct. 26, 2009 2:33 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork

Fair, I'm digging the Velvet Jones interior treatment.
Oct. 26, 2009 3:18 p.m. Fair New Reader

MrJoshua wrote: We cant pay anyone to do work on our cars. I understand that the level of knowledge and skill of some amateur hobbyists surpasses that of many shops so trying to label the small business owner as automatically better at this kind of thing is probably foolish. I think it actually might broaden most shop owners minds to try to build a car this way. I am all for you guys entering a car. Don't be sad when I beat you.
Hehehe... I won't be surprised at all - we're GRM Challenge virgins, afterall! It is more difficult to build a car on this type of extremely tight budget, for sure, but "luckily" we haven't been burdened with bloated budgets or excess funding on many of our personal cars that we've built in the past. I'm sure we'll still learn a lot doing this project. Excited!

914Driver wrote:

Fair, I'm digging the Velvet Jones interior treatment.

Ha! Maybe I need to find a disco ball.

I think the camera and lighting made the carpet and seats look like crushed velour, but its really just a cheap replacement carpet set and some eBay seats with fake micro-suede insets.
Oct. 26, 2009 5:51 p.m. eastsidemav New Reader

The $500 Fireturd is in my garage - there's pretty much no room to work on it, though. I knew it was bigger than the CRXs I usually accumulate, but didn't realize how much bigger until it was in there.

Anyone got a wrecked 4th gen laying around near cincy? :)
Oct. 26, 2009 5:58 p.m. MrJoshua UltraDork

Fair-You guys definitely get the putting things where they dont belong aspect of the challenge. Your fabrication abilities and knowledge seem top notch. Now you have to see if you can make a car handle without shocks that cost $1k+ per corner.

BTW-hurry up and build the LSx E46 mounts, I am getting impatient!

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