Challenge Car Ideas

I've only actually tried to build one Challenge car before, but I never got it to a point where it would make it to Florida, much less survive a flogging. That car was a 1998 BMW 323iS. I have a couple of far less reasonable ideas I'd like to share:

• Triumph TR6 or Fiat 124 Spyder with a 2jz Toyota straight six
• VW-based Bradley GT (or similar 1400lb fiberglass death trap) with a turbo 13B rotary

I realize either one of these bad ideas, if realized, would need to be trailered to and from the event. My hope with the BMW was that I'd be able to drive it both ways, but it was too expensive to get it to even be reliable enough to even drive it to work, so I bailed and sold it to a kid who lowered it to the bumpstops and put blue headlights in it.

I'm not an expert in any way but from my experience last year I'd suggest just a running vehicle for the first time. I spent a lot of time on my Miata but I could have run out as bought and had just as much fun. Don't get caught up into trying to be special cause just being there is what it's all about.

beware the handling characteristics of a rear engined very lightweight cars. hard to get turning, even harder to get them to stop turning.

Recommended formula for a Challenge beginner:

• Buy a car for $2000.

• Buy a can of paste wax for $7.

• Come to Gainesville.

(I am a 11 time Challenge participant. This is NOT the formula I ever used, but I am much smarter now).

Starting with a running car that doesn't need to be trailered is a big plus.

Also, start with a car you are fimiliar with.

Miata roller Klze Pair of junkyard ko3 or 16g turbos Decent used struts, coil over sleeves, springs, bump stops

Here are some other ideas for those with more time than me:

Buy two old dodge caravans. (Turbo and auto if possible). Fit front clip of one into rear of other. Turn up the boost. 400+ hp twin engine awd minivan.

Or, grab a ford aerostar. Weld a few sprockets to the driveshaft at even spacing. Attach old sportbike motors to driveshaft sprockets via chains. 600hp, quad engine, rwd minivan.

Realistically, I don't see how either would fail to win.

I attended and crewed a few years before actually campaigning a car myself.

What I campaigned...
In 2014, budget of about $1,000.
11th place but developed more that a tick, less than a knock in the drags. Sold at a loss to another competitor and got home via Hertz.

In 2015, budget of nearly $2,000.
10th place. Better prepped and sorted car to begin with. Drove it 1k miles to the event and 1k miles home. Still DD it. Took may daughter to and from daycare today.

These are completely separate cars that competed with no shared parts.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/i-need-help-with-a-salvage-auction-purchase-able-t/103085/page1/

Don't loose sight of The Challenge's original intention which was to prove that you don't have to spend a ton of money to go racing. The premise was that there was still good racing to be had in cars costing less than $2k.

Buy a 2000 dollar v8 then take everything off it. I mean off with the fenders, bring out the cutting wheel and cut every off the car. I saw this done before but I don't remember where

He's right. Really right. Buy a car. Heck, a van. Buy nice tires. Drive it's balls off. (Van has a bonus in that you can sleep in it on the way down to the track. So hardly any expenditures!)

Then again, I vote ls400. Ultra plush, cheap, I bought mine from a stripper for 400$. And they do have a shift kit for that transmission!

I'm planning a v8 swapped and lowered ranger with a 5spd..... I'm doing the mechanicals for this year and it's going to look ugly but I'm not a show car guy either.....

pav5069 wrote: Buy a 2000 dollar v8 then take everything off it. I mean off with the fenders, bring out the cutting wheel and cut every off the car. I saw this done before but I don't remember where

What are the rules on this? Just how far can you go with this??? I mean, in safety's name.

The Challenge is still on the bucket list. However, for a first time, my plan would be any car that I trusted to go there and back without breaking down and still have room in the budget for a set of reasonably used R compound tires.

The beer budget is alloted to be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over the challenge budget.

or be like me. buy a car with a blown engine out from under a tree that's sunk in the ground until it's sitting on the exhaust and full of ants and mouse poo. make sure you do it 3 months before the event, then get it completed and painted in time to throw it on the trailer and pull it 1000 miles with no tuning time

on second thought, don't be like me.

In reply to pav5069:

Sport Compact Car did this with a Sentra and Hot Rod did it with a Coupe deVille and a C4 Corvette

M030 wrote: In reply to pav5069: Sport Compact Car did this with a Sentra and Hot Rod did it with a Coupe deVille and a C4 Corvette

Hot Rod also did it with a Pontiac full-size even further back.

pav5069 wrote: Buy a 2000 dollar v8 then take everything off it. I mean off with the fenders, bring out the cutting wheel and cut every off the car. I saw this done before but I don't remember where

Does anyone have a picture of Alan McCrispin's turbo Miata with no bodywork?

.

Trackmouse wrote: Then again, I vote ls400. Ultra plush, cheap, I bought mine from a stripper for 400$. And they do have a shift kit for that transmission!

Sadly, no easy, bolt in lsd.

Buy a car four days before event. Remove interior in parking lot of hotel at event. Acquire used tires the morning of competition and mount them on way to Gainesville Raceway.. Win trophy...

Wow, I really did guess that trophy well.

Stampie wrote: I'm not an expert in any way but from my experience last year I'd suggest just a running vehicle for the first time. I spent a lot of time on my Miata but I could have run out as bought and had just as much fun. Don't get caught up into trying to be special cause just being there is what it's all about.

we ran tow yard vehicles for years Sentravalanche Mitsuwatanabee

Buy mx6 pff Craigslist. Decide chassis is too scruffy. buy other mx6 800 miles away and keep in friends garage for four years. Acquire hodgepodge of parts including crap you didn't know you bought. (I had no idea i had fd wheels for it for like 6 months). Nearly give up. Get a divorce and move to florida. Decide to try again since challenge is like....2 hours away.

[URL=http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/pav5069/media/1340531021219244873_zpsehs31v2x.jpg.html][/URL]

Do this!

mndsm wrote: Buy mx6 pff Craigslist. Decide chassis is too scruffy. buy other mx6 800 miles away and keep in friends garage for four years. Acquire hodgepodge of parts including crap you didn't know you bought. (I had no idea i had fd wheels for it for like 6 months). Nearly give up. Get a divorce and move to florida. Decide to try again since challenge is like....2 hours away.

Where the hell is Ben BTW? I haven't heard from him in some time.

For me, it is always a budget issue with getting to and from Florida, but I would love to make it down with the pesky little wedge Nissan I snagged this year, it's far enough under budget to make a very very quick little car out of with a lot of cheap parts.

In reply to WOW Really Paul?:

I've been wondering that since the weekend trip to Chicago that he and his swmbo were to take

I too noticed the lack of Swank recently.