Three new members here, starting our $2016 Challenge build.
The plan:
1) Buy the cheapest V8 F-body or Fox Mustang we can find.
2) Strip everything unnecessary out of the car.
3) Acquire and install junkyard heads, cheap cam, cheap intake, and junkyard Posi rear end
4) Research / build budget suspension upgrades.
5) Replace brakes and tires.
6) Come up with cool concourse theme. Knight rider KITT clone, if we do an F-body!?
7) Test and tune at local drag strip and auto-x.
8) Attend the $2016 challenge.
The team: Two scientists and an engineer. We've been gear-head friends since high school.
All 3 of us have a decent amount of drag racing experience, and we're shooting for a mid 12 second 1/4 mile time. I'm fairly confident that we can achieve that within the budget. We have no idea how this car will autocross, but we're going to have to do some test and tune practice runs with our local auto-x club.
As $2000 Challenge Noobs, we didn't want to bite off more than we could chew for our first attempt (sorry if an F-body for Fox is boring), although a slew of ridiculous build ideas and inappropriate v8 swap projects were discussed. If this goes well, maybe we'll do something crazy next time...
We're going to look at a 3rd Gen Firebird Formula (that we found on Craigslist) tomorrow. The car has a L98 350, 700-4r tranny, 3.42 posi, 155k miles, lots of wear and tear, some dents, and a fuel leak. We're hoping to score it for under $1000.
We'll keep this updated with photos and info to document our build.