wtb cheap / reliable track car for fun....
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I've been looking for basically the same thing and ended up deciding on a miata, but an e30 or an older honda can be had for the same price. i've seen a few of the slower honda challenge cars (read: competitive but the slower classes) go for about your asking price, fully prepared with cage and all. for around $4k you can find a lightly modded miata or e30 in decent shape that's basically ready for teh track, and you can get a cage for $800-1000 for both cars, plus the price of install. miatacage.com for the miata cage and kirk racing for an e30. if you can weld the cage yourself you could have a lightly modded car with a full cage for under $5k.
the cheapest i've seen a spec miata go for is $9000-10,000 and from what i've seen, if you're not wanting to be competitive in spec miata you're just wasting your money by buying one. most of them have engines built specifically to the SM rulebook that jack the price way up. if you put the same money into non-SM-legal engine mods you'd have a decently more powerful engine.
the cheapest i've seen a spec miata go for is $9000-10,000 and from what i've seen, if you're not wanting to be competitive in spec miata you're just wasting your money by buying one. most of them have engines built specifically to the SM rulebook that jack the price way up. if you put the same money into non-SM-legal engine mods you'd have a decently more powerful engine.
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From: Seattle, WA
I'm not an expert on Spec RX-7s, but from what I've seen, you're not going to get "reliable" and "$4000" in the same sentence. I'm not sure you'll get "reliable" and "Spec RX-7" in the same sentence either. 
You can get a Spec Miata for a lot less than $9k - $10k. I've seen lots of cars listed for less, and keep in mind that asking prices and selling prices are not one and the same, especially in a winter economic downturn.
You can get a Spec Miata for a lot less than $9k - $10k. I've seen lots of cars listed for less, and keep in mind that asking prices and selling prices are not one and the same, especially in a winter economic downturn.
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From: Covington WA, USA
Yes, but I think sspicollo8 nailed what I was trying to get at before. Scot is not asking to buy a competitive race car. Scot is looking for a track day car.
Buying a street car in decent mechanical shape and modding it for the track may well be cheaper than buying a race car and trying to turn it back into a track day car. For a track day car you don't have to worry about the spec class rules.
You can buy decent E30 street cars for well under $2K. I assume the same is true of Miatas. That leaves you a lot of your $4K budget to prep the car for teaching and fun on the track.
Buying a street car in decent mechanical shape and modding it for the track may well be cheaper than buying a race car and trying to turn it back into a track day car. For a track day car you don't have to worry about the spec class rules.
You can buy decent E30 street cars for well under $2K. I assume the same is true of Miatas. That leaves you a lot of your $4K budget to prep the car for teaching and fun on the track.
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From: Redmond, Washington, USA
I agree with Steve about the RX-7 (and I've owned three rotary-powered cars, so I'm really not a hater). They are slow (we often lap them in our Spec Miatas when we're in the same run group, in a 30-minute race), and not reliable. There are many reasons why the class has all but disappeared, while Spec Miata and Spec E30 are thriving.
As to building a reliable, fun track toy for $4k, forget it, if you're including a cage. Buying a decent car, putting a decent suspension on, getting race tires/wheels and a cage (bought and welded in, properly), will cost more than that, by a good bit. And you're likely to find quickly that the tired old motor is not up to the task, at least without a significant refresh/rebuild.
My son flew down to Los Angeles to buy a donor Miata, drove it up to Seattle, and built a decent car (a very tired old engine). By the time he was done (still with a tired old engine), he had spent something like $13,000. No way could he have had a track-fun and -safe car for $4k.
As to building a reliable, fun track toy for $4k, forget it, if you're including a cage. Buying a decent car, putting a decent suspension on, getting race tires/wheels and a cage (bought and welded in, properly), will cost more than that, by a good bit. And you're likely to find quickly that the tired old motor is not up to the task, at least without a significant refresh/rebuild.
My son flew down to Los Angeles to buy a donor Miata, drove it up to Seattle, and built a decent car (a very tired old engine). By the time he was done (still with a tired old engine), he had spent something like $13,000. No way could he have had a track-fun and -safe car for $4k.
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Originally Posted by 124Spider,Feb 23 2009, 08:29 PM
I agree with Steve about the RX-7 (and I've owned three rotary-powered cars, so I'm really not a hater). They are slow (we often lap them in our Spec Miatas when we're in the same run group, in a 30-minute race), and not reliable. There are many reasons why the class has all but disappeared, while Spec Miata and Spec E30 are thriving.
As to building a reliable, fun track toy for $4k, forget it, if you're including a cage. Buying a decent car, putting a decent suspension on, getting race tires/wheels and a cage (bought and welded in, properly), will cost more than that, by a good bit. And you're likely to find quickly that the tired old motor is not up to the task, at least without a significant refresh/rebuild.
My son flew down to Los Angeles to buy a donor Miata, drove it up to Seattle, and built a decent car (a very tired old engine). By the time he was done (still with a tired old engine), he had spent something like $13,000. No way could he have had a track-fun and -safe car for $4k.
As to building a reliable, fun track toy for $4k, forget it, if you're including a cage. Buying a decent car, putting a decent suspension on, getting race tires/wheels and a cage (bought and welded in, properly), will cost more than that, by a good bit. And you're likely to find quickly that the tired old motor is not up to the task, at least without a significant refresh/rebuild.
My son flew down to Los Angeles to buy a donor Miata, drove it up to Seattle, and built a decent car (a very tired old engine). By the time he was done (still with a tired old engine), he had spent something like $13,000. No way could he have had a track-fun and -safe car for $4k.
Just 2/3 way through a SM and have $3k on a $4k clean straight donor car.
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