Which Challenge Car (not what you're thinking)?

So this will be a fun exercise. A What Car? Thread for a GRM specific base.

We all want to run effortless 12 second quarter miles, get 50 mpg, hold fifteen children in complete safety, outhandle a 911 Gt2 around the 'ring, and never require any maintenance. All for around $400.

Well a few Challenge cars have done pretty good in all of those categories. Most, anyway. So here is the crux. Pick a Challenge car from any year, and explain how you'd want it for a DD. So, a tube frame microcar with a V8 in the rear end is probably not going to be on this list, but there were plenty of less extreme cars which still performed amazingly, even by modern-sportscar standards, and were built for very few dollars. Which one would you build?

Since I DD's a Miata for longer than the Challenge has been around- I would probably pick one of those builds.

(or be a homer, and attempt to DD our Alfa Spider. With some development, it would have been not too bad. Other than the really obvious rust that would eventually consume the car here in Michigan)

I want a lowered Jeep,straight six,5 speed, 2wd.

DeadSkunk wrote: I want a lowered Jeep,straight six,5 speed, 2wd.

What is the 50 foot overview of that combo?

All of my Challenge cars have been DDs.

5 spd SVX

Cadillac SLS (The Ratty Caddy)

323 GTX

Yugo from Hell

84 GTI

CRX Si

01 MINI Cooper S

Turbo Miata (The Mumpkin)

Of these, I enjoyed the MINI and the 323 GTX the most on the street. The SLS had all the bling inside, but that's not my cup of tea for DDing.

If I was going to build one from scratch with the goals of a street driven Challenge car, the Jeep would rank very high. I think there was a turbo Caravan in the early years too.

My wife would have to like it too, and that is a tough combination. She's not into cars.

If it was just me, no question it would be a turbo Miata.

DeadSkunk wrote: I want a lowered Jeep,straight six,5 speed, 2wd.

I was almost disappointed that mine is 4wd for this reason.

That said, i'm just going to go with my own car. After all, i do normally daily drive it.

Swank Force One:
1990 MX6 GT
Stock motor
Stock transmission
2nd gen MX6 suspension of your choice
Big sway bars
Big junkyard turbo of your choice
Stopper screw in VAF to prevent boost cut, chipped ECU if you're feeling rich and swanky
As much rubber as you can cram under the damn thing

Trapped 110mph at GRM $2012 with a blown headgasket, blown clutch, blown turbo, and enormous exhaust leaks. Handling is.... "exciting."

Eats up highway miles, got over 40mpg on the way down and back.

Steve Hoelscher drove mine.

Steve said: I think I said when I got out of it that it was the hardest car to drive. Hard to remember specific details now as I drove 25+ cars that day. I remember it having power. LOTS OF POWER!!!! In large, totally unpredictable, amounts. Managing it was kinda like trying to drink from a fire hose.

Fun to me!

In reply to tuna55:
I still think the coolest Challenge car ever was the Jeep Cherokee. I'd like one done up in similar fashion as a DD. It would essentially be a 2 door hatch back, but I could autocross it. I just think seeing a Jeep handle so well looks absolutely "wrong" that it would be cool.
.....and I forgot to add the turbocharger in my original post. With the original interior it would be a useful DD and fun.

A very high percentage of. Challenge cars have gutted interiors.

For a DD, I want a simplified interior, but not gutted. I also want a radio, and possibly AC

Many have a cage. I don't want a cage in a DD.

Kinda biased, but I'd have to say AMC Spirit. The Spirit is almost as useful as a Cherokee! Out of all our Challenge cars, this is the one I personally want the most. Yes, even over the XJ-R.

-The hatch is big and the rear seats fold flat, so there is a TON of room for storage. You can fit 4 slicks back there and have room to spare.

-It has a real independent front suspension unlike the Cherokee (which strangely handles worse than the straight axle!) so it is more comfortable going down the road.

-It is very comfortable to drive and cruise in. Ours has plates on it and is fully legal, and I had the pleasure of putting it around Gainesville while we were down there. It does real car stuff!

-All our turbo XJ-R 4.0L stuff bolts in. Parts availability for the mechanical stuff is fantastic and dirt cheap. Trim/body parts are a bit harder to find but they are out there. We were able to get everything we needed within a Challenge budget.

-They made an AWD variant (the SX/4) and it rules. I would love to get one of those.

-It turns heads everywhere. In fact, we got even more looks out of the Spirit than we did with the XJ-R. Someone on the way to the track while at the Challenge in an Astro van tried to race us, and kept calling it a "Gramlin".

I think the most obvious daily driver candidate that did well was the Q45. No crazy mods, no stripped interior, just balls out fast for a super cheap luxury cruiser.

But I prefer the car I've got, the GS430. It's faster and handles better for still a very reasonable amount of money. ($3000!)

The Q45 is definitely a viable option as well. That car was just so clean! I've always wanted one.

Corvette roller skate decorated with a Chrysler minivan body.

NOHOME wrote: Corvette roller skate decorated with a Chrysler minivan body.

You do that for two grand and I'll buy it for three!

tuna55 wrote:

NOHOME wrote: Corvette roller skate decorated with a Chrysler minivan body.

You do that for two grand and I'll buy it for three!

Granted you would need a heck of a deal on the C5 wreck and be able to sell the spares so as to get the Vette almost for free. But of such stuff are challenge cars made. The Minivan I don't see as such an issue.

To be honest, I have a hard time swallowing a lot of the Challenge budgets, so either other humans are a lot more resourceful than I am, or they know how to do accounting! A quick test of a man's honesty is to ask their spouses what they think their husbands have into a car project.

I think I'd want to do a Fairmont wagon. Smallblock Ford, T5, low but not too low, just tighten it all up to remove the chassis flex and mild suspension mods.

NOHOME wrote: Granted you would need a heck of a deal on the C5 wreck and be able to sell the spares so as to get the Vette almost for free. But of such stuff are challenge cars made. The Minivan I don't see as such an issue. To be honest, I have a hard time swallowing a lot of the Challenge budgets, so either other humans are a lot more resourceful than I am, or they know how to do accounting! A quick test of a man's honesty is to ask their spouses what they think their husbands have into a car project.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Currently I'm drawn to a Jaguar of some sort with a Chevy big block/4L80E combo sourced from a boneyard.

ebonyandivory wrote: I think I'd want to do a Fairmont wagon. Smallblock Ford, T5, low but not too low, just tighten it all up to remove the chassis flex and mild suspension mods.

I smoke the same drugs you do. I 100% approve of this idea.

And this is a possibility :

dculberson wrote: I think the most obvious daily driver candidate that did well was the Q45. No crazy mods, no stripped interior, just balls out fast for a super cheap luxury cruiser.

I agree with the Q45 as well. But my commute, which starts on curvy mountain roads and ends crawling through west coast freeway traffic, isn't everyone's commute, so YMMV.

SVreX wrote: A very high percentage of. Challenge cars have gutted interiors. For a DD, I want a simplified interior, but not gutted. I also want a radio, and possibly AC Many have a cage. I don't want a cage in a DD.

If you recall- our Alfa was partially stripped. Still had carpet, and door trim. Should have kept the glass but changed to plastic.

Even had a heater- which was VITAL for the 2002 challenge, when it rained so much at the autocross- heat was really nice.

To daily drive? I would pick the MK1.5 MR2 from a couple years ago. It had a full interior and looked really nice plus it went like stink.

For those that doubt Challenge budgets---- show up to the event. You'll have far fewer doubts once you see the cars, meet the people who built them, and realize how much ingenuity and time went into the builds. We've had some "cheater" cars enter in the past----- but none of them were competitive. The top guys always play by the rules--- as no one wants to be "that guy" who cheated. After all--- the contest isn't about being cheap--- it's about building something amazing for a very limited budget--- what's the point if you cheat? The most valuable prize in winning the Challenge is earning respect and admiration of the other teams.

So come to the $2015 Challenge---- it will blow your mind. (and maybe your motor too....if you add enough nitrous!)

And yes.....these guys are extremely resourceful and creative!

To the OP---- my DD pick would be the 2nd Gen RX-7 that won a few year's back. That thing was docile, super fast, comfy and sorted. Heck, it even looked good! Jeremy Butts and Mark Kleckner did a heck of a job with that one!

SilverFleet wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: I think I'd want to do a Fairmont wagon. Smallblock Ford, T5, low but not too low, just tighten it all up to remove the chassis flex and mild suspension mods.

I smoke the same drugs you do. I 100% approve of this idea. And this is a possibility :

Must be an eastern Mass thing.

ebonyandivory wrote:

SilverFleet wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: I think I'd want to do a Fairmont wagon. Smallblock Ford, T5, low but not too low, just tighten it all up to remove the chassis flex and mild suspension mods.

I smoke the same drugs you do. I 100% approve of this idea. And this is a possibility :

Must be an eastern Mass thing.

I saw an old lady in Quincy driving an impossibly clean red Fairmont wagon on 10-hole Mustang wheels a few months ago. I don't know how it happened, but I almost followed her to her destination to throw money at her.

The Q45 was totally bitch'n.

SilverFleet wrote: I saw an old lady in Quincy driving an impossibly clean red Fairmont wagon on 10-hole Mustang wheels a few months ago. I don't know how it happened, but I almost followed her to her destination to throw money at her.

Is that similar to putting it in her G-string?