spec camry?

driving down to my parents house today, i ahd a little too much free time to think. always scary....

i put my wifes 99 camry out on track for a session once, just because i had broke the car i had taken to track. got me to thinking then, and now again.

take a late 90's camry. 4cyl auto. limit mods to intake, header, exhaust, pullies, bolt on turbo, computer tuning with factory ECM. nothing that requires going inside the long block. on suspension, limit it to springs, shocks, sway bars, bushings, and chassis bracing. all upgrade parts must be availible through ebay. for dirt cheap.

wheels and tires: 15 inch wheels max, 300 treadwear minimum. must retain full factory interior and safety devices. muct be able to pass NC vehicle inspection, therefore all street equipment and emmissions. no limit on brakes, aero, etc other than the stipulation of no welding or structural changes. would allow for body kits, ricer wings, etc.

i figure this would be a dirt cheap, daily drivable, everymans racing class. you could probably get the car bought, built, and commutable for 2500. put that as the claimer rule to keep guys honest.

what do you think? ive been on ebay looking at the cheap parts for this car most of the night. im really thinking about this.

what the hell is wrong with me?????

michael

There's a guy who randomly shows up around here with a late '90s Camry he uses as a $500 track day and autocross beater. ATX, probably a 6 cyl, and it's got plenty of dents. He parks, hauls some Hoosiers out of the trunk and slaps them on, and does surprisingly well.

The problem with that is that late 90's Camrys and beyond are terrible terrible vehicles.

I think the series could potentially be too dangerous to be worth it as well, considering the risk of the drivers losing their souls or their will to live after spending that much time behind the wheel of a modern toyota sedan.

My family generally agrees that the best car we ever owned was a base-model 87 Camry sedan. 4 cylinders, 5 speed, and 203k miles of abuse. The thing rusted terribly. The 94 and 96 Camrys that followed it were never quite as good.

A track full of rusty, stock (except for tires) 87-91 Camrys would be a massively amusing. Use minimum weights to account for auto/V6/wagon versions.

The hardest part would be keeping the structural rust from collapsing in T1...

ours has 240k and no soul. or enjoyment. or payment.

best part of that car is ignoring the hell out of it. but i swear it could be fun......

i think im tying to talk myself into doing it for giggles next winter.

Michael

Anson, where are you?

RedS13Coupe wrote: The problem with that is that late 90's Camrys and beyond are terrible terrible vehicles. I think the series could potentially be too dangerous to be worth it as well, considering the risk of the drivers losing their souls or their will to live after spending that much time behind the wheel of a modern toyota sedan.

+1

Every Camry I have driven has made me want to put a gun to my head.

Do you think I could run our 4Runner in Spec Camry? I think it could probably do pretty well considering the other cars in the class....

Why would anyone, ever race an automatic?

Oh, wait. People w/ limb disabilities. Sorry.

Why do people constantly try to reinvent the wheel? Spec E30 and Spec 3 await all of you would-be racers with cars you'll actually enjoy driving, and have real, live aftermarket support. Bonus: they are right wheel drive.

"But BMWs are too expensive to fix!"

Keep believing that. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

Dusterbd13 wrote: driving down to my parents house today, i ahd a little too much free time to think. always scary.... i put my wifes 99 camry out on track for a session once, just because i had broke the car i had taken to track. got me to thinking then, and now again. take a late 90's camry. 4cyl auto. limit mods to intake, header, exhaust, pullies, bolt on turbo, computer tuning with factory ECM. nothing that requires going inside the long block. on suspension, limit it to springs, shocks, sway bars, bushings, and chassis bracing. all upgrade parts must be availible through ebay. for dirt cheap. wheels and tires: 15 inch wheels max, 300 treadwear minimum. must retain full factory interior and safety devices. muct be able to pass NC vehicle inspection, therefore all street equipment and emmissions. no limit on brakes, aero, etc other than the stipulation of no welding or structural changes. would allow for body kits, ricer wings, etc. i figure this would be a dirt cheap, daily drivable, everymans racing class. you could probably get the car bought, built, and commutable for 2500. put that as the claimer rule to keep guys honest. what do you think? ive been on ebay looking at the cheap parts for this car most of the night. im really thinking about this. what the hell is wrong with me????? michael

There's a couple reasons why it won't work.

1) The auto won't hold up to a turbo setup worth installing
2) Nobody has cracked the stock ECU, you aren't going to tune with it.

If you're going to make a spec Camry class, why limit to auto? That seems like it would be more expensive when (not if) the stock trans takes a E36 M3 after being abused on a race weekend. Manual Camrys exist.

By the way, "Spec Camry" or not, i'm always on the lookout for a clean 88-91 Camry V6. To race. Seriously. Let me know if you know of one.

bringing back memories of my "Spec Rio" proposal...

i honestly didnt know that there were automatic camry's. or that the ECU had not been cracked.

so we take the turbo off. that will actually limit expenses.

and i usually want to put a gun to my head after driving our camry. it sucks. bad. but with my spec camry idea, it may just suck less.

i just need others to join me in this so im not the only fool modding a souless appliance. (seriously, i think driving my refrigerator to work would be more fun)

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: bringing back memories of my "Spec Rio" proposal...

my thoughts exactly...

93EXCivic wrote: Every Camry I have driven has made me want to put a gun to my head.

I personally feel poking my eyes out with a sharp stick.

I've never had a problem with Camrys, at least the earlier ones. But you really need to recognize them for what they are. Cheap beaters that will start all the time. It's like my Prizm. I didn't buy that car to be a hotrod (Ok, so maybe there was some research into a turbo for the single cam putter in it) I bought the car to be dead nuts reliable with minimal (as in none) attention. I think a spec Camry series could be amusing personally. Of course, I'd probably watch Spec Taurus, or Spec Malibu as well and be entertained. Nothing like watching someone give the absolute doom thrashing to a E36 M3box like that.

Dusterbd13 wrote: i honestly didnt know that there were automatic camry's. or that the ECU had not been cracked. so we take the turbo off. that will actually limit expenses. and i usually want to put a gun to my head after driving our camry. it sucks. bad. but with my spec camry idea, it may just suck less. i just need others to join me in this so im not the only fool modding a souless appliance. (seriously, i think driving my refrigerator to work would be more fun)

Take a gander around ToyotaNation.

LOTS of people mod camrys. Yes, they're soul-less and life-sucking in stock form.

But believe it or not, they CAN be somewhat fun. At it's core, a Camry is merely a 4-door Celica. (Or is a Celica a two door camry?)

Will people on here laugh at you for it? Yep. A select few will absolutely do so. (Not naming at the moment.) But who cares? It's your car.

Step 1: Go to the junkyard and nab a manual transmission out of a 94-99 Celica GT. Swap it in.

mndsm wrote: I've never had a problem with Camrys, at least the earlier ones. But you really need to recognize them for what they are. Cheap beaters that will start all the time. It's like my Prizm. I didn't buy that car to be a hotrod (Ok, so *maybe* there was some research into a turbo for the single cam putter in it) I bought the car to be dead nuts reliable with minimal (as in none) attention. I think a spec Camry series could be amusing personally. Of course, I'd probably watch Spec Taurus, or Spec Malibu as well and be entertained. Nothing like watching someone give the absolute doom thrashing to a E36 M3box like that.

I <3 early camrys. They started to lose their appeal to me after 1991, but even the next generation can be and look interesting in 2-door manual transmission form. (Yup, they're out there.)

The new ones? EPIC DO NOT WANT.

^ I've seen a few of those two door manual ones. They are rather amusing.... biggest problem around here is a select immigrant group has chosen the Camry as their car of choice, and so every possible early/manual Camry has been snapped up, so the likelyhood of me getting one is nil.

The biggest issue I see with this idea is that I hate Camrys so so so so so so so so so so much, because every time I find myself stuck on a 2 lane going 5mph under the speed limit it's cuz of some schmuck in a Camry (ESPECIALLY gold ones, what's up with that?), that if I found myself on a track in one, surrounded by them, I'd go straight from "race mode" right into "demolition derby" mode, prolly before the flag drops. Heck, prolly whilst still in the pits. Nothing good can come from this, except the possible upside of there being less Camrys, but then the schmucks would just drive something else 5mph under...

mndsm wrote: ^ I've seen a few of those two door manual ones. They are rather amusing.... biggest problem around here is a select immigrant group has chosen the Camry as their car of choice, and so every possible early/manual Camry has been snapped up, so the likelyhood of me getting one is nil.

Google image search "Swegyptian Camry."

Also obligatory:

Oh that's nice right there.

I choose Spec Rio/Accent over Spec Camry

I keep finding Rios with blown motors for $1000... cant be that much to swap a new one in and start building a car