Like all good stories, this one began with friends, a campfire and a race track.
Nearly 25 years ago, we were sitting around during an evening at Road Atlanta. The track had gone cold, and the conversation turned to all the excuses often heard about racing–like why it was seen as too expensive or complex to do.
After a few …
I'm sure beer was involved.
It certainly was when we decided to turn two rusty carcasses of BMW into a single race car. I still blame Guido.
Back in the glory days of eBay when you could buy cheap dodge turbos. And find $800 projects on local eclassifieds.
In reply to alfadriver :
Inflation has definitely made it harder. I feel like my serious years were in the sweet spot of available cheap lsx truck motors and pre 2020 prices on everything going up.
alfadriver said:Back in the glory days of eBay when you could buy cheap dodge turbos. And find $800 projects on local eclassifieds.
Idk, here's what I found in literally three minutes of searching. Wishbone Civic, Camaro, or Celica. Take your pick.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1452724905149089/
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/756461232209262/
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/746292516569956/
Inflation has made it harder but technology and rule changes have made it easier. Chinese turbos, cheap and fully programmable ECUs, and tires no longer being in budget all add up.
If you take the median score of the top 1/3rd of the drag race I bet the times have gone down, maybe significantly.
The best way to know where you're going, it to remember where you came from.
My first autocross was in that old V8 Monza in the $1500 Challenge and it was WET! The workers just kept picking up cones and everyone had such a fantastic time. The vibe was unmatched except at successive events. I didn't even pass tech at the drag strip and a competitor Phil Kime was right on the case with a solution to fix the problem and we raced later that evening... against a turbo minivan with an enormous nitrous tank running low 14s!
In reply to spkorb :
I wish I had tried to buy that Mazda Cosmo that showed up. It didn't compete but if I had had the cash I would have another project I hadn't gotten around to yet :)
A lot of good..... well ideas start over beers. It was a bar conversation in Hawaii that led to Ironman triathlon. The guy winning the first one also lost.... because beer.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Always better selections in Florida. It's been a while since i saw an $800 Alfa in Michigan.
Forgot one clarification- eBay was awesome before every Tom Dick and Harriet sold new stuff on eBay- so back when it was almost all stuff people decided to sell to clean out their storage.
it's still working, but finding stuff 22 years ago was more fun.
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