Well, then I'm not concerned. I'm running a stock steel wheel with my slicks.
Well, then I'm not concerned. I'm running a stock steel wheel with my slicks.
Ok, here's another one:
Here at Wreck Racing we've got a few older MSII (megasquirt) units. I'm not sure any of the current members know where they came from and none of them work. I think several were donated by DIYautotune 4 or 5 years ago. All of them were either smoking the last time they were used, or had half the components torn off in a desperate attempt to switch them from EDIS to coil-type ignition control in the small hours of the morning (unsuccessfully). So, they've been sitting in a drawer in an unused desk for years.
Anyway, I'm wondering how to price one of these units if we were to spend the time to repair it and use it in a future competition car. The rules state:
"If parts or vehicles are already owned by the competitor, they must be figured into the budget at fair market value at today’s prices."
So, is it legitimate to use the fair market value of an old, broken MSII ecu plus the cost of the repairs? I'm not sure the best way to determine FMV for this either, except to watch for similar items on ebay or CL (and I think they'll be very uncommon). Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.
You could discount off the parts that are fried on a per piece basis. 100 parts, FMV of a working unit is $200, 25 parts are fried, then knock off $50 from that. I'd call that perfectly fair.
I'd see what fair market would be for a lot of several fried units would be, divide that number to get to the price for one, and then add dollars spent for materials to fix it.
I'd pay maybe... $50 or less for a fried unit if i thought i could fix it.
JohnyHachi6 wrote: Ok, here's another one: Here at Wreck Racing we've got a few older MSII (megasquirt) units. I'm not sure any of the current members know where they came from and none of them work. I think several were donated by DIYautotune 4 or 5 years ago. All of them were either smoking the last time they were used, or had half the components torn off in a desperate attempt to switch them from EDIS to coil-type ignition control in the small hours of the morning (unsuccessfully). So, they've been sitting in a drawer in an unused desk for years. Anyway, I'm wondering how to price one of these units if we were to spend the time to repair it and use it in a future competition car. The rules state: "If parts or vehicles are already owned by the competitor, they must be figured into the budget at fair market value at today’s prices." So, is it legitimate to use the fair market value of an old, broken MSII ecu plus the cost of the repairs? I'm not sure the best way to determine FMV for this either, except to watch for similar items on ebay or CL (and I think they'll be very uncommon). Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.
The way I see it, any way you can reasonably justify your assumptions is fair game. If you find a few CL/eBay ads, average the prices and you've got FMV.
I think i know the answer but want to be sure.
our $2010 car puked a rod through the front of the block - can I remove the cost of the original motor - pistons and rods and start fresh? We also want to update our paint scheme - leave the cost of the bondo in , but just adjust our paint budget.. any concerns with this?
AutoXR wrote: our $2010 car puked a rod through the front of the block - can I remove the cost of the original motor - pistons and rods and start fresh?
if the 'cost of the original motor' was an added expense, i.e. not part of the car as you purchased it, then yes.
We also want to update our paint scheme - leave the cost of the bondo in , but just adjust our paint budget.. any concerns with this?
i would think so
AutoXR wrote: I think i know the answer but want to be sure. our $2010 car puked a rod through the front of the block - can I remove the cost of the original motor - pistons and rods and start fresh? We also want to update our paint scheme - leave the cost of the bondo in , but just adjust our paint budget.. any concerns with this?
That's what we did when we were prepping the Civic for 2010... Just removed the cost of the old engine, and made a new setup. We didn't make it to competition (also for throwing rods) but that's neither here nor there.
Regarding paint, I would think if you sanded "all" of it off, it's the same as removing a part from your car and could therefore be removed from the budget as well.
WilberM3 wrote:AutoXR wrote: our $2010 car puked a rod through the front of the block - can I remove the cost of the original motor - pistons and rods and start fresh?if the 'cost of the original motor' was an added expense, i.e. not part of the car as you purchased it, then yes.We also want to update our paint scheme - leave the cost of the bondo in , but just adjust our paint budget.. any concerns with this?i would think so
i concur.
Simpson Parachute from Yellowbullet.com $40.00.
our 2011 GRMC possibilities include a 24hr Lemons car and ex SCCA World Challenge Prelude!!!!
So if I put $20 worth of Bondo on the car and sand off 80% ......
Is there a deadline for registration?
It's usually officially sometime in Aug (I think), but generally gets extended until sometime in Sept. IIRC.
Sofa King wrote: So if I put $20 worth of Bondo on the car and sand off 80% ......
you would not be the first challenger to charge their budget only for the 20% that stayed on the car. 
AngryCorvair wrote:Sofa King wrote: So if I put $20 worth of Bondo on the car and sand off 80% ......you would not be the first challenger to charge their budget only for the 20% that stayed on the car.
Or deduct the amount that fell off between challenges.
Pardon the FNG, but this strikes me as odd. What's the deal with no welded in roll cages? Is welded-to-the-floor cage a handslap offense, or full on DQ? I assume this stems from some SCCA-speak that fears extra chassis stiffening.
Jrod - who just traded a 10 year-old Mustang nitrous kit for an 84 vette. Minor assembly required.
JRod wrote: Pardon the FNG, but this strikes me as odd. What's the deal with no welded in roll cages? Is welded-to-the-floor cage a handslap offense, or full on DQ? I assume this stems from some SCCA-speak that fears extra chassis stiffening. Jrod - who just traded a 10 year-old Mustang nitrous kit for an 84 vette. Minor assembly required.
Its the extra chassis stiffening. You can have one but you must count it in your budget.
JRod wrote: Pardon the FNG, but this strikes me as odd. What's the deal with no welded in roll cages? Is welded-to-the-floor cage a handslap offense, or full on DQ? I assume this stems from some SCCA-speak that fears extra chassis stiffening.
There is no prohibition on welded-in cages. They are completely legitimate.
However, if you use one, you do not get to exclude it from your budget, because it brings with it a performance advantage (stiffening).
I think it would be better to define where you can attach the cage instead of letting everyone use them for performance. A rule clarification stating that you cannot attach to any suspension pickup points would not only be a more likely rule change, but would also dictate that the cage is for safety only, which is the intent of the "free cage" rule.
crisd wrote: Reason: Cars such as a Merkur XR4ti has the rear suspension points inside the passenger compartment as do other competitors with hatch backs (like a 300ZX or Honda CRX) have the same advantage over others who have notch backs or pick-up trucks. This difference is substantial as the cost of the car can almost double yet offer no advantage over those with hatch backs. Essentially you're giving hatch back owners a $500 or so unfair advantage.
Welcome to the discussion!
i would argue that hatchbacks have a big berkeleying hole in them, which negates the $500 unfair advantage. mazda mx6 owned G Stock for several years, the ford probe GT did not. the lack of a fixed bulkhead across the rear makes them very twisty.
In reply to crisd:
of course we want to see it! (especially if it's a flat-face econoline/falcon, an A-100, or a Corvair 95)
Unless you are running a 9.99 or faster, a roll cage is not required. Since that has never been done at the Challenge, I think it is a moot point.
Assuming it is not a convertible, even a roll bar is not required unless you run faster than an 11.5. Only a small handful of cars have achieved this lofty goal, so if you are required to use a roll bar, you are in a pretty elite class.
If you are running this fast, you've got much bigger budget problems (like after market axles, etc).
I don't think anyone has ever budgeted $500 for a roll bar/ cage. I'll bet Andy builds them for about $70 worth of scrap steel.
crisd wrote: The last thing I want to have to do is cut and reweld (spend more money) on something that could have been useful in the first place.
With all due respect, if you are not prepared to do things multiple times (and sometimes in completely illogical ways) just to save a few pennies, you don't get the Challenge. There are a lot of cars that have made multiple appearances wearing different paint schemes, motors, even 1 car which came prepared to swap transmissions in the parking lot so they could have an automatic for the drags and a manual for the autox. Some cars have built ENTIRELY new cages to save a few pounds. Excessive labor is part of the game, and the money for a few welding rods is completely inconsequential.
No pity here.
I've seen an instance where a lathe was purchased to get bushings zeroed out on the budget sheet. This is for a chassis that has cheap and plentiful options. Tedious work, but if you can save a buck here or a penny or two there, then it's worth it in the Challenge. This is an OCD game, and the only winners are the guys (and girls) that pay close attention to detail and settle for nothing less than perfect.
chrisd. I just looked at your profile page and your build looks cool so far but don't you mean that you put the front of the Buick into the back of the truck? Back on topic I can see a structural advantage in your case because you now have strut towers in the bed. I think you may have to take the budget hit for the roll bar on this one but that's just my $.02.
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