heavychevy

Some of you may know my problems with MTI (houston) and the they did to my car, well long story short, even with rebuilding the motor elsewhere it still has problems cooperating with my turbo system. The car is a C5 coupe with a 427 C5R motor built with low comperession for boost at first, but I'm thinking of taking off the Turbos and making it an NA race car. So I can actually enjoy the car for once. Most of what I know I'd need are:

Coilovers (Penske I guess)
Cage
Tranny/Diff Cooler
Wing
Gutting
different wheels and tires
Fire Extinguisher
Intake

Car Already has sufficient motor, radiatorw/ oil cooler, fuel system

what else would I need?


I'd probably start off racing NASA or PBOC.

Gray Ghost GS

Hey Dez, I think a good place to start is to review the SCCA and NASA racing rules. I believe some of the more recognized shops charge approx. $8K for a race compliant cage and fire suppression system. Need to add race seats and 6-point harnesses. Also recommend front and rear Tow Hooks to support recovery operations. Good luck! Mike

spazegun2213

a rough guess would be 10-15K for ALL the things you listed.

its much cheaper to buy a race car for the right price i may sell mine, complete with an ls6 and penske's

mwvettec5

AU N EGL

Coilovers (Penske I guess) $4700 http://hardbarusa.com/hardbar/produc...products_id=65

Sway bars needed $600

Suppension busings: $300

Cage, gutting & painting inside~ $6,000

Tranny/Diff Cooler plus lines and electrical $1,000

Wing $1600 to $2000
Extractor hood: $1500

different wheels and tires: CCW C10s $2700 / set Hoosier R6s $1700 / set. Times TWO ~ $8,800 ( cant race with one set of wheels )

Fire Extinguisher Few hundred

Intake- few hundred

Brakes: Stoptech $5,000
( the stock C6Z front brakes wont last long

Brake Pads: $600 ( Several sets per year)

alignment, corner balance: $1000

Toss the turbos on the 427, tune your engine $400

Seat and Harnesses $600

Steering wheel and hub adapter: $500

that adds up fast

Not counting wheel, wing or extractor hood $20,000
With two sets of new wheels, no wing. That is close to $30,000

Before you hit the track.

What was Phoenix selling slightly used T1 cars for?

heavychevy

20k doesnt sound that bad to me since I own the car already and those are my only expenses.

The great thing is that with a Corvette I can learn to do some work myself, which I've always wanted to do anyways. Either way that would probably still be cheaper than even a T1 car in terms of total expenses. I may need to get the Pistons changed at some point as I think I'll only be in the 450 whp range with the low compression pistons I have.

If I dont sell the car in the next two months, I'm making it a race car for sure, at least I'll know all the details of the car. NASA and PBOC would be sufficient for a rookie racer and then I'll go from there.

also my motor has like 4,000 street miles on it, so I doubt I'll find a better one in another car that has the same stuff I put in mine which is mostly the best you can get.

RogueVette

C5 huh. Well lets see..

Save a bunch of money over coils and go fater by running VBP leafs and Koni shocks

Keep the Stock Calipers and rotors. With the proper pads and fluid you'll stop crazy fast lap after lap. Plus you'll save on replacement rotors.

The rest of what Tom suggests sounds about right. You could likely get the cage done for alot less if you shopped around.

John Shiels

Also Splitternose, CF undertray to balance the wing 2000+

heavychevy

I've heard mention of leafs being used effectively before, I'll consider it for sure.

I have eradispeed rotors on the car now, but still stock calipers so I can go back at any time.

I know some cage guys, I think I can get it done for less than 8k as well.


Is the targa top going to be a problem though? I havent seen any C5 coupes raced before.

John Shiels

cheaper than a T-1 but you then only have one car. May be better to see what yours is worth. I have 450 rwhp nad less torque than you would have I think. It is fine for going real fast, It not how much power you have it's how much you get to the ground most of the time. Targa top should be mo problem an has better aero. Coil-overs are great but my VBP leafs are not being passed the last 5 years. I just got the Bilsteins re-valved.


What is your car worth?

Independent1

Not exactly an answer to the question you posed, but have you ever considered just buying a race car?

You can buy a real race car that will outperform your vette for about the same cost to turn your current vette into a race car.

Here is a link.

http://p081.ezboard.com/bdsrforum

Look at the C and D class sport racers. Can also use them in HPDEs because they are full bodied. Don't have to worry about making sure car meets rules because they are built for the rules and you will have ample opportunities to race the car.

They are also a lot less expensive to operate and maintain then a vette race car.

Keep your vette as a street car. If you turn it into a racer you will destroy its value and also no longer be able to drive it legally on the street.

Just some food for thought.

gkmccready

While everything you've listed would be nice to have. All you really need to do is add the safety equipment and go play in the NASA ranks... although with a built 427 you'll likely land in ST1 and be uncompetitive, at least you'll be out there! All the other goodies you can add as you decide what you think you're lacking.

Oyishdog

15k on top of the car is about right for a st2 car. st1 i would imagine would be $$$ since you will need bigger brakes, areo, and a laundry list of other misc items. i am still in the process of building my car over time...ontop of the car I am around 14k right now, but still need to get a good clutch/flywheel and some better brakes (want to go stoptech fronts). I guess I could consider the car "done" at that point, but then the maintenance starts...

Obviously, it depends on what you decide to buy...example, wheels, I went with oem c5 z06 rears since they are good size, cheap, and light. CCW's are 3 times the price. I also went with the full T1 suspension which is more $$ then coilovers. In the end it should all balance out.

AU N EGL

Forgot about that. If you want a wing, all the other aero goodies must go on as well. Kaaaching.

With that starting point you can see where or how costs might be reduced some here and there.

Dont save a few dollars on safety. Spend it appropriately.

If you dont have a suit, several changes of underware, socks and shoes, add those in too.

heavychevy

I have a clutch but understand completely the aero parts that are needed, this car will start to loose it on the rear end just taking a corner at 70 mph, I NEED downforce.

I'd ask around to see what people are going fast on that's reliable and easy to adjust, those are my only requirements, it doesnt have to be extravagant.


I'm not really interested in sports racers, but I also dont know much about them, I would need to find a lot of information on them to consider buying one. I'd much rather be in a full bodied car in the event of a crash as well.

I'll need some form of suspension and aero and being competitive in the region in ST1 or ST2 wont be a big deal, nationals is another story, but it would be 2010 before I got the car ready and my liscensing out of the way for that anyways.

I dont know what the car is worth, I had been trying to sell it with the malfunctioning Turbo's but they are being taken off now. So it's a 2001C5 coupe with a bunch of stereo stuff, nav, 19/20's, 25k miles with the motor, radiator, custom hood, and corbeau seats.

What do you think that's worth? I'd sell it for 30k.

0RAAMaudio

I have the main hoop, rear bars, harness bar, diagonal and Nascar door bars all sitting here welded up and ready to install that I would sell for a killer price. Just have to get the rest of the forward parts done to have a complete cage and save a bundle. Shipping would cost a bit but still keep this a great bargain.

This is out of a T1 car that was being converted to and raced as an ST2 car, it went to the Championships, it is a legal setup for SCCA and NASA if allowed to race in both

I was just going to rebuild the front half but since I bought all the equipment and a design program I decided to build the whole thing from scratch for the fun of it

If interested let me know right away please.

Thanks
Rick
rick@raamaudio.com
801-829-4997

0Randy@DRM

There is too much you CAN do. But let's look at what you have to do. Cage, and saftey equipment is first on the list. We can build a cage for about 4500-6000 dollars depending on options. That includes some of the gutting.
Coilovers are 1895 for our kit. You can spend up to 5 grand a corner on something really trick. But you just need something that works well and isn't going to add a bunch to the final cost, to get started.
Tranny and Diff coolers are pretty easy to install if you have some fab skills. They are a must in my eyes, with the horsepower and your location. 1250 for our kits.
The wing, it's not needed per rules, but will get you closer to the top of the pack. You can spend 100 dollars to millions on aero. Trial and error is the only way you will ever find out what works, unless you have a wind tunnel handy.
Gutting, can be as hard or easy as you make it. Spend time and money on the front end of the car and roof area. This is the best bang for the buck.
Wheels and tires, spend every penny you can find on this. lap times will go down if you are running good rubber with the right wheels!!!
Fire systems can be had for about 500 dollars. Don't be cheap here, I have a friend that works in the burn unit in a hospital. I don't think it would be fun hanging out in bed for years.
Intake, I don't know what you have or what you are looking to do.

Randy

John Shiels

I would guess my 99 if stock is worth 18-19 in good shape. Look up NADA and look in the forum F/S section to get an idea. Mods usually leave you taking a beating unless someone is hot for what you got. Go high selling you can always come down but you can't go up.

You might get more selling the wheels separately or even the radiator.
Do a careful review and add up everything your need in parts and labor you cannot do yourself. It always ends up more than you think.

If you get 25 and buy a turn key car from someone like Phoenix for 35 you will be way ahead with a car that is setup, sorted out and ready to go the next day. Joe A. at Phoenix will tell you the truth about a car and its capabilities or what it needs to improve it to a top level car.

If your car is loose at 70 MPH in a corner you have more than aero problems I would guess. Aero does cost a bunch fom the new suspension you will need to all the parts and painting and assembly if your not doing it yourself.

I can understand your fustrations with a car not working properly. When I did mine I decided on not going with a big motor but spending my budget on coolers and other stuff to make it last and be safer. My car has been a ton of fun and had a torque tube issue and a tranny issue. Every time I go to VIR something goes after driving 13 hr. one way.

AU N EGL

Actually we do here in NC. $690 for two hours your first time visit

http://www.a2wt.com/CARS.htm



MTIs video http://www.mtiracing.com/artmaverick...ng,aeropa.html

racerwannabe

i have a fully sorted ready to race C-4 world challenge car you can get and your problem is solved....runs SU and i think it's very competitive....sell for less than half of the cost of a new one...
Johnny