CMC costs / budget

[MattS]

Hey guys, I've got a few questions about the cost and maintenance on your CMC cars. I'm in Florida where they're not currently running the CMC series but there are lots of NASA events. SCCA A-Sedan is probably a bit more than my driving experience is ready for, and definitely more than I'm interested in spending.

 

Can you tell me about:

 

How much life does the average midpack guy get out of their tires?

 

How do your transmissions hold up?

 

How do your engines hold up?

 

Much expensive contact?

 

Rotors, wheel bearings, misc weird things?

 

Anybody have an estimate on an average per weekend cost (just the car stuff)?

 

Also, I would much prefer to buy a car rather than build, but you're all in CA. I am in Dallas a few times a year, that's halfway... Any really serious sellers?

 

Thanks for the help. Any and all suggestions appreciated.

[indycmc]

the three seasons I ran (mostly mid-pack, no dnfs and one race win), I spent about $5-6K a season - I would the same tires all season - TOYOS are a great long running tire.

 

I had a tranny with over 135K on it before it let go - same with the motor.

 

No bearing problems - I found that without proper cooling, the front brake rotors would start cracking and last only 1 season.

 

I know that some of the guys had trouble with the Baer aluminum front hubs - I ran the Ford Cobra hubs with no problems.

 

I found that as long as I stayed out of trouble (no crashes or extended off road excursions) maintaining the car required very little effort and cost.

 

check out the for sale section, I have a 94 GT that needs less than $2K more to be a complete CMC car.

 

 

- Tim

[NickS]

Hi Matt -

 

The costs that Tim posted are pretty accurate. I have a spreadsheet I put together at the begining of my first season last year and I found I was pretty close to those figures. I'll forward it over to you in email.

 

- Nick

#45 Camaro

[allen murrell]

Could you email that spread sheet to me as well. I'm interested in running CMC and would like an idea of the expenses. We finally have a road course here in Louisiana and had the first amateur road races there yesterday. The organizers tried something interesting called bracket road racing. They grouped cars of similar lap times together to get a field of 9-10 cars on the track. It worked out very well. There were two guys there that were running CMC. They weren't really CMC cars but that was where they fit.

 

I have a camaro (78 model) that I autocross in CP. The problem is the car is almost GT-1 and is just too expensive to road race. The CMC cars appeal to me because it seems that once you have the car the racing itself is very inexpensive. Am I on the right track here or does CMC get expensive? I doubt I would travel with the car, probably just run at the local track for some time. Any help or advice you can offer to me on how to get started would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Allen Murrell

Delta Region SCCA

[NickS]

Allen - I'll get that off to you tonight.

 

- Nick

[allen murrell]

Thanks for the info, Nick. By the way, you have a great website. I really enjoyed watching those in-car videos.

 

Looking at your website, it looks as if you started with a car that was on it's way to being turned into a race car when you got it. I'm going to try to find a car at auction to start with. I want to spend as little as possible on the initial purchase and not buy anything I don't need, like working A/C, good interior, etc. Sound like a good plan to you guys?

[Lady in Nomex]

Third gen f-bodies are cheap and plentiful. I'd keep my eye on the classified section of the newspaper. Actually I got my first race car, an '84 Z28, from a CHP (California Highway Patrol) impound yard. Often you can find bargains there because owners cannnot/ do not want to pay the impound fees, and you can bargain with the impound yard owner to some extent. I don't know if you have those in Louisiana, but it is worth looking into!

 

_________________

CMC #37 Gekko Racing TA

 

[ This Message was edited by: Lady in Nomex on 2002-03-31 11:08 ]

[NickS]

Hi Allen -

 

Glad the info helped and you liked the videos

 

The guy I bought the car from was going to run CMC prior to moving to Hawaii. He had gotten as far as installing a 6 point bolt in cage in it, everything else on the car was still stock. Stock shocks, springs, bushings, etc etc.

 

I was able to get the car at a low enough initial cost, and did a lot of the work myself that I didn't make out that bad money wise.

 

By far, its always more expensive to build a car yourself vs buying someone elses car. I came out slightly behind on mine. Not counting the cost of my labor, I could have bought any one of the CMC cars that are up for sale now for the same amount of money I've put into mine to get it to the point where it is today. I can write up a rough list of what you'll need to convert a running street car into a competitive CMC car. Let me know if that would help.

 

Now, to some folks, there's always the 'fun' of building the car themselves, which is part of why I decided to go the route I did with my car. That's all fine and good, as long as you understand that you aren't going to save any money building the car yourself.

 

Donor car wise, go with an '89 and up car with TPI. I'd stay away from the TBI cars, those don't make enough power in CMC form. If you go older, make sure you get a carb car and put the spec carb, intake and cam on. I'd suggest going 89 and up with TPI as that makes more reliable power, has the stronger WC trans, better PBR rear brakes, etc..etc.

 

Hope that helps!

 

- Nick

[NickS]

By the way - you can get a car shipped from Dallas to Los Angeles for $500, and its bout $900 to go Los Angeles to Florida if I recall right.

 

- Nick

[allen murrell]

Thanks for the info Nick. Unfortunately I can't spend the 9 grand all at once that it would take to buy a complete car. Besides, I do enjoy building a car. I've been changing my autocross car every year for six years now (it'll never by finished). I'm checking the auctions for something to come up. Road racing is just beginning here in Louisiana so it's not that important to show up with a complete car yet. My idea was to get something from auction and run it till I can upgrade what needs to be ( shocks, brakes, etc.). Besides, the two guys that were running classed as CMC at the first road race were not within the rules. The 1LE car had 17" wheels and the notchback mustang had a torque arm, 17" wheels and quite a bit more horsepower than he should. Hopefully when myself and others start showing up these guys will play by the rules without having to be asked.

[WillE]

Nick-

 

I'd like a copy of your sheet if you dont mind. Probably plenty of things I'm not taking into account.

 

Thanks!