budget estimate for prepping Miata?

My dad was given a brochure for some kind of time trial/sports car club (I haven't seen the brochure) at a car show at the old Meadowdale Raceway recently. He is proposing that we get an "old Miata" and use it for this purpose. Apparently this is one car at a time, race against the clock type stuff.

So I'm wondering, not including the cost of what I assume will be a mechanically sound Miata, what kind of costs are we looking at?

I'm assuming: Roll cage Race compound tires/wheels Brake pads Suspension? (not sure if this initially necessary?)

I'm also not including (at this time) the cost of a trailer and helmets/race gear.

Any advice appreciated!

Depends entirely on the class/rules set by your local sanctioning body. Teams running LeMons/Chumpcar may have a total of two or three grand in their track cars, including purchase price. DIY Spec Miata racers may have a little as five grand in their cars, if they're starting with an early car. I think that Supermiata/Miata Challenge time trial cars were targeting ten grand in build costs. Turnkey, zero-mileage Spec Miatas from a race shop start at around twenty five grand.

Since you're mentioning a roll cage, I'm guessing this is going to be a track-only car. You're not going to do better than a proven (used) Spec Miata. Here's a quick example:

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/2580801928.html

Is it autocross or time trial? Big difference in prep between an E Stock autocrosser and a track-prepped car.

I'd have a really hard time looking at a Miata in my garage that only got driven at the track a few times each year, unless there were another next to it that I could drive on the street. :)

If all you'll need is a roll bar rather than a whole roll cage it's super cheap and you can keep the car usable on the street. If you don't care about being fast, for HPDE or non-competitive track days you can get by at first with nothing more than a $500 roll bar, $100 alignment, some fresh fluids and better brake pads. All I did for my first lapping day in the Miata was add some Koni adjustables and a roll bar and it was totally fine except the brakes were totally AWOL before the second lap was done. Pads are a must!

Seconding what unevolved said, if you gotta go the whole nine yards and dedicate it to track use with a cage and whatnot, you will save some money and LOTS of time buying a used race car.

I was going to point out that car on Milwaukee's CL too.

Well first of all, find exactly what the club requires. It may be as simple as a roll bar and a helmet. I'd say start by doing the minimum. If you have a good time, then start building up the car. The longer the list of things that you think you need to do, the less likely you are to do it. You don't have to be competitive, but you do have to be safe.

Thanks guys! I'm guessing it's a roll bar that would be required, but I'm still not sure about what organization this is with so I'll have to find that out to determine the exact requirements. (this is my next step)

If it were just me I'd go straight for an used Spec Miata, but my dad apparently knows someone that has a Miata that doesn't get driven much, and he seems to have his sights set on getting that particular car.

There was some discussion of where would the trailer get stored, etc... but I'm more in favor of keeping it street driveable, at least at first. We'll see what happens, I'm guessing this is just talk but who knows.