AJ Hartman Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 AJ: Sorry to hijack your thread, but learn from other's experiences, it's a lot cheaper. I love how this thread just spun into something completely different. Its still all good information to know tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidney Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I love how this thread just spun into something completely different[ AJ, Actually it hasn't spun into something completely different. What you are hearing are the experiences of racers who have gone down the same road that you've turn on. TJ has built a fast AI car that if duplicated with new parts would be well over the hypothetical $25,000 as it's full of NASCAR quality stuff. (Lots of Magnesium goodies underneith) However, TJ is the king of Ebay and pieced his 3rd gen together after hours and hours of computer time. He also has a family that has donated months of time helping him transform a rusted out POS into a real racecar. He's learned some things the hard way but most of those lessons are behind him now. My point being...one can either sign a check for a store bought racecar and spend anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 or piece one together at a fraction of that price. Being someone that works in Purchasing as a Quality guy, I have to fight the Cost vs. Price all the time. While TJ's car has a price tag of say $25,000, the cost is much higher than that due to the "Development" that went into it. What you have to decide is what "Cost" are you comfortable with. Sidney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 My point being...one can either sign a check for a store bought racecar and spend anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 or piece one together at a fraction of that price.... Sidney It's funny you say that. Had I been able to pay a shop to do all the work I have done on my POS in the last 3 months, it would have easily been 15k in just labor... Pretty crazy folks are willing to do that sometimes. I sort of wish I could afford to...but then I wouldn't put the car on the track in fear of tearing it up! LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 i hear what u guy are saying. I guess ill have to wait and see exactly where this road takes me. in the mean time here are some pics of my fenders. i've wanted to do this for a long time and finally got the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 i hear what u guy are saying. I guess ill have to wait and see exactly where this road takes me. in the mean time here are some pics of my fenders. i've wanted to do this for a long time and finally got the chance. There goes CMC! LOL!! Looks good! I found some fiberglass fenders that have everything I wanted....but steel seems to be better for pounding out at the track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic_Cobra Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Another vote to stay with the mod motor (since I have one). There is an aftermarket T45 out there. I bought the upgraded T45R from Keisler a few months before they started selling their new T45RS model. keislerauto.com for info. It cost me about the same as a new stock T45 but has better guts. If you don't find used rims, I think the R58 Cobra R rim and the Konig Villian from Maximum are the best bang for the buck. I've got a set of nice Toyo R888s on Cobra R rims, I'll sell ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cmy70go Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Yes, I am SURE TJ Bain has $50,000 in his competative AI car. Just because you can spend $100k on an AI car does not mean you have to to be competative. $50,000 I'll sell mine right now for half that and build another one just to populate the class! I'll even throw in what's left of the $50 roll of plastic from Coleman so they can have 3 spare aero packages. Hell TJ, If you can get yours sold for $50G, I'll let you sell my whole car for that, build another and have $25G left for a new trailer. AJ you certainly don't need to spend $50-100 grand on a competitive AI car. That money just buys all the bells and whistles under the sun. If you concentrate on godd quality parts where they're important you'll be in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Another vote to stay with the mod motor (since I have one). There is an aftermarket T45 out there. I bought the upgraded T45R from Keisler a few months before they started selling their new T45RS model. keislerauto.com for info. It cost me about the same as a new stock T45 but has better guts. If you don't find used rims, I think the R58 Cobra R rim and the Konig Villian from Maximum are the best bang for the buck. I've got a set of nice Toyo R888s on Cobra R rims, I'll sell ya. hey whats up jimmy? pm me about those rims and tires. let me know what u want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 AJ you certainly don't need to spend $50-100 grand on a competitive AI car. That money just buys all the bells and whistles under the sun. If you concentrate on godd quality parts where they're important you'll be in good shape. Thats the plan. thats where all you guys come in. you've all been through this. let me know if you have any of those good quality parts that are used and still in good condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 I see alot of the AI and AIX guys running some type of vent on their hoods to help with cooling and underhood air pressures. After staring at my hood (top and bottom) heres what i came up with. Any oppinions on cutting out the supporst, or "ribs" under neath the hood? made the templates out of thin sheet metal from a scrap hood. then 2 coats of fiberglass matting. Still roughed out rite now. I finally had to put money out of pocket for this project. At 50 bucks for a can of self etching primer, and the fiberglass materials. I also made some front bumper supports, and next on the list will be a front splitter which is already in the works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra4B Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 IMO it's pretty ugly and it will reduce your view of the road. Why not just cut basic vents vs.the whole Corvette Summer look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pederb Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Tiger Racing has all the body work you need and in Carbon Fiber http://www.tiger-racing.com/for_sale.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Tiger Racing has all the body work you need and in Carbon Fiber http://www.tiger-racing.com/for_sale.html Might I suggest a simple lift off 03/04 cobra heat extractor hood....? $199.00 As a comparison, I used to run the 2000R hood and even at 6'0", I had to keep the seat fairly high to see over it. I went to the 03/04 cobra hood and was able to lower my seat 1.5"....HUGE difference. I do like the fact you are doing your own work though! Keep up the low budget build...we need more of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 IMO it's pretty ugly and it will reduce your view of the road. Why not just cut basic vents vs.the whole Corvette Summer look? my boss said the same thing about corvette summer when i was making my hood. I have to check this movie out. And it really doesn't obstruct my view that much cause they are towards the front of the hood. they obstruct it less then the cobra R hood i have on my 98. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 Tiger Racing has all the body work you need and in Carbon Fiber http://www.tiger-racing.com/for_sale.html they have nice stuff but i think you are forgetting the low budget part. i actually went to that site to see if i could get an idea for my hood, but their set up is diferent. would have been way to hard to duplicate something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AI Saleen Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 This car makes your car look stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAKBITN Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Was a great movie in it's day.Cool car even for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Was a great movie in it's day.Cool car even for now. It also looked better when the thieves painted.....and I have always had a thing for Annie Potts!!! Her role as the hooker was a great start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 is that the corvette from the movie? that thing is hideous.... so i guess mine is too haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted May 18, 2010 Author Share Posted May 18, 2010 been a good amount of time since i posted but a change of jobs and buying a house took up almost all my winter. finally have some updates. any tips or anything that could be changed or done better is appreciated. Got the cage in. Decided to do nascar style door bars to make ingress and egress easier. painted my rims. wanted to make them a little more custom and this is what i came up with. drew out on scotch tape what i wanted cut it out with an exacto. painted the rims black with the tape still on. peeled off the tape and then clear coated the whole rim and my name is the original color of the rim. made some custom brake pedal covers for the price of free. took into account that i like to left foot brake sometimes and heel toeing to make the shape of the brake pedal the way it is. wanting to make it easier to get the car on the trailer, to work on, and loose some weight i came up with this. the support isn't really meant to take an impact but more to hold the cover on and as a place for my tow hook. how the sides are held to the fender. they are bolted together and you can see in the one pic the wire safety pins that hold it on. the whole thing can be taken off and put on is about a minute with no tools. i don't have a picture of it but i can stand on the splitter. made some window that just pop in and out for storage and hauling. just some cobras front and rear with DTC-60's front suspension. heres where i expect some comments. keep in mind im on a very tight budget for the moment (buying a house seems to do that) but i did koni SA's with h&r race springs. MM caster camber plates and bumpsteer adjusters. Also went with steeda X2 ball joints to restore roll center. a good eye will catch the stack height on the bumpsteer adjusters due to the X2's and increased caster. I had to build the tool to measure bumpsteer but after alot of trial and error got it well within the rule of thumb of no more then .020" per inch of bump and droop. rear suspension. koni SA's and h&r race springs and MM HD lower control arms. pretty basic and simple. unfortunately i didn't get the ones with adjustable perches cause they make the rear sit too hight imo due to alot less weight. no need for a pic but also added MM full length sfc's, relocated the battery and added an extinguisher wanting to pass the 50/50 rule i just painted the primer black for now due to time. did and HPDE a little while ago before I did any of the suspension and found out that the "squirelly" feeling in the rear end was an extremely worn out upper control arm axle side bushing. needless to say they were replaced with poly bushings. kept factory rubber bushing on the chassis side. The car ran good and otherwise felt good. As far as engine mods go, I have a bbk 75 tb and cold air... and thats it. I know I'm wayyy underpowered (even for my car weighing in at 3030 w/ me in it in full gear.) I took out some more useless stuff, but also added sfc's so im hoping for 3000 even. so long story short, I'm all ready for the comp school on the 28th and my first races on the 29th and 30th of this month save for a few tiny things i have the next week and a half to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raznkane Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Awesome man!! I know you put a lot of time and work in this cause I'm doin the same thing. Good luck in the comp school and keep us posted. Hopefully I will be a year behind you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Hartman Posted May 19, 2010 Author Share Posted May 19, 2010 thanks. it is alot, especially trying to find time with everything else i have going on but it will be worth it. even the littlest tasks can really eat up some time. you also doing all the work yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raznkane Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Hired the cage out but it's me on everything else. Seeing projects getting done like this one keeps me going, thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron B Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Great Job! 3030-3000 PERFECT weight! looks mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHarsay Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Looks good. I do have a suggestion (since you brought it up) On the down tubes to the rear shock towers, from the main hoop, add another small leg and a base plate to the trunk floor next to the shock towers. Hope that makes sense. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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