wolke9 Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Has anybody used/considered using insurance claim and/or total loss vehicles as a good way to get started in racing? I'm not sure if the Flood and Salvage vehicles would be worth the money if you are just going to use the vehicle for racing. Newb here and I am looking at getting involved in NASA for as little $$ as possible. If it isn't possible, I guess I'll have to wait till I'm older and have more $$. Any thoughts?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkeF Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 This is one area where I've got some experience I bought a 93 RX7 with what I thought had a flood "title" and a blown motor as a donor to do an LS1/T56 swap. When I bought the car, I didn't read the fine print which basically stated that the title had been revoked and it was issued a "Certificate of Destruction" when in a flood in Florida. After 4 trips to the courthouse, 2 police inspections and 5 or 6 trips to the BMV, I was able to get it titled as an "assembled vehicle." With a certificate of destruction, the VIN can't be reused, but parts off the car can. So I basically used the chassis and suspension as parts and assembled the rest of it and slapped on a new Indiana Stave VIN. If it's strictly going to be a track car, then all this is a moot point, but may be of interest for some. In the end, it was a good setup for me. I took a car that only could have been crushed, and let it live to roll another day . One good thing about the car I picked up was that it was a fresh water flood. No rust, and all of the electronics still worked. I'd avoid a salt water flood like the plague (probably a lot out there with Katrina), especially if I want something I can feel safe driving at speed. Are you looking to get started in driving road courses, or do you have the experience and just want to join NASA? If you're wanting to get started with HPDE, then I'd either get a reliable track-worthy car with decent pads, brake fluid and tires and learn as much as possible (this is what I should have done looking back). Or, if the funding allows, you can purchase a racecar that's already been built up and start off in HPDE with it. Either way, if you're looking to do it on the cheap, you'd be better off finding a used car that's already been built (think miata, e30 3 series, honda etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolke9 Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Thanks for the heads up! My financial situation doesn't allow me at this time to invest thousands of dollars a year for racing. . . maybe one day it will. I want to get involved and hone my skills as a driver and am thinking that attending HPDE or CarGuys classes are the best/economical way to do it. . . I appreciate the feedback and hope to get more involved soon!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Doc Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Thanks for the heads up! My financial situation doesn't allow me at this time to invest thousands of dollars a year for racing. . . maybe one day it will. I want to get involved and hone my skills as a driver and am thinking that attending HPDE or CarGuys classes are the best/economical way to do it. . . I appreciate the feedback and hope to get more involved soon!!! Use the daily driver to start. Put the money towrds new brakes pads & fluids, make sure the tires are serviceable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renntag Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 That is excellent advice. Use what you have. Get involved in HPDE. Spend your money on tires, brakes, more track time. Note: dont buy expensive tires if it means you have to cut back on track time. For a long time I ran the best street tires I could afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce L. Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 for good getting-started advice, check out Dave Gran's new book http://www.goaheadtakethewheel.com/ all of the advice above has been spot on. cheers, bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Algozine Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 That is excellent advice. Use what you have. Get involved in HPDE. Spend your money on tires, brakes, more track time. Note: dont buy expensive tires if it means you have to cut back on track time. For a long time I ran the best street tires I could afford. Excellent advise. Nearly any street car in good mechanical condition can get you started. You don't have to beat the crap out of a car to learn how to drive. Also, another tip, use older warn out tires on the track. They are very cheap, and less tread depth means less tearing or chuncking of the tires. Any tire store will have good, used, high end tires to get rid of very cheap. Use the money saved on brakes and track days. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rook Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Not to hijack a thread but as I'm deployed right now I'm having a fair amount of work done to my car and it's always nice to get guidance. Stock brakes on a Mustang aren't anything special, would they still do fine for a first HPDE with good pads? My concern being memories of total lack of response at about 135mph (don't ask), hence my desire to upgrade to a 13" or 14" Brembo front setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkeF Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 If you're getting started in HPDE, I'd hold off on the brakes. Good pads, good FRESH fluid should do it for you. If you're really concerned, run some ducting to the fronts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nape Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I ran for the last two years on stock 10.5" (junk) brakes with Autozone pads, but I had decent brake ducting. It definitely teaches you how hard you can push the car when the brakes are fading, how long it takes them to come back, pushing back brake markers, etc. You won't be able to hot lap the whole session, but you won't do that starting out anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidfarmer Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 crashed/flood cars are great to race car donors. I found a wrecked Vette for my last car. Top was completely smashed in, but the car ran great, and was complete. I was going to chop the top off anyway, so it was a great deal for me. Great for a vehicle that will never be registered for street use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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