Classic car to race - Page 4

This is also not an unattractive car:

Alfa Romeo 1650/1750 BMW 1600/1800/2002 Fiat Abarth 500 MK I VW Scirocco/Rabbit

If you elect to race any Lotus, the racing parts for some are relatively scarce and the cars relatively fragile. Talk with some of the Elite, Elan, Seven, Eleven, or 23 owners at the events. Any of those particular Lotus cars are the easiest to race in an historic events. If you want to run an Elan (or other Lotus for that matter), talk with Tony Thompson http://www.tonythompsonracing.co.uk/. The 23s can be raced with a little push-rod Ford or a Twin-Cam. Jerry Titus even raced one with an Oldsmobile V8 in some CanAm events in 1966.

When you choose your make/model, the more you are able to initially invest in a fully-sorted car with spares, the better off you will be than building one from scratch. Many season's-end package deals save you time and money once you know what you are looking for.

In talking with owners at the events you will get a feel for how close-knit the make/model owners might be. That's important when your car breaks at an event and you don't have the spare part you need. It's not uncommon for group goodwill within certain makes/models to put one or more cars (that would otherwise miss the race) onto the starting grid with loaned parts. Some marque owner groups just don't do that. Distinguising who they are is all part of your research and homework. Thorough research of that alone can be quite rewarding and cost saving for you.

No matter what you expect or how well detailed your budget projections may be, the first season always costs more than you can ever anticipate. It is part of the "charm" of historic racing! Additionally, transportation, accomodations, and related per diem costs mount quickly. Are you planning to have a crew with you at the events? Don't forget to factor them into your budget. They eat like horses and drink like fish. Fun has its price!

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Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of the 2002 immediately. Maybe a 3.0 csl is an option as well?

Another car to consider would be the Renault/Alpine A110, it was purpose built to do nothing else but race, and weighs in under the 2,000 lb. mark.

Wasn't the Alpine not more of a Rallye Car?

In a sense yes, but because of the physical characteristics of the car, it made for a pretty good occasional track car. As a daily driver, it would likely be less than stellar.

Some of the best rallye cars, perform well on the asphalt track (ranging from the Evo, Skylines and WRX to the Lancia's and Porsche 959).

Unfortunately there is not too much on the web about the A 110.

One a quick research, they attended the 24h hours of Le Mans regularly. They took away the victory in their classes and made it for the big pot in 1973 with Didier Pironi.

Yeah, it's crazy that there wasn't much pub about the car, but it's considerable less expensive than some of the other classic cars. I'm not sure how easy it would be to obtain parts though. There was also a Renault A310, but I'm not sure how the OP would feel about it's looks.

...then again, you can never go wrong with the BMW 2002, the older Jags, Lancia, or a past Lotus.

Jon,

As strange as it is, I was surprised to find that the 6 cylinder E-type is considerably less weight than the older XK's.

http://www.carfolio.com/specificatio...car/?car=58817

http://www.carfolio.com/specificatio...car/?car=39688

http://www.carfolio.com/specificatio...car/?car=28226

Get one of these...

http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/lotuses.htm

1989 bmw m3 (4 cylinder 200hp)