Just seen that a 2.5 mile road race track is being built in Grand Bend Ontario, in the current Motorplex.

What I'm wondering is.. Would a 86-92 IROC, or Z28 be a good choice for something like this? I can fix just about anything on them, and they can be had at a decent price.. Just wondering if anyone on here has something similar, I'm looking into getting into this, especially since something close is opening up.

 

I don't see why it wouldn't be. You can build a killer suspension and braking package right out of a Summit catalog, and build an SBC to your heart's content. If I was you, I'd look for a high-mileage one you can pick up cheap, versus cutting up a clean original.

Hell, if you're going to make a road-racer out of one, and swap all the parts anyway, you could start with any third gen. An RS would be a cheap purchase, or even a base Firebird for something different. With the pop up headlights, I wonder if an RS or base Bird is lighter, seeing as how the Bird has no ground effects?

Good luck to you.

 

I was thinking the same thing, a high mileage car around here sells for under 1k, I wouldn't want to start with a 6, having the different K member and all, but I think it would be a good project!

 

The V6 doesn't have a different k-member, but start with a V8 anyway.

 

They will not be holding actual racing there. It will be used for lapping events.

There are losts of 3rd gen Camaros road racing in Ontario. Some are cars that raced Players Challenge, some are made into race cars from street cars like my 85 IROC.

Unless you enloy the building part, it is usually cheaper to buy a race car than build one. In the US they race American Iron and Camaro Mustang Challange. Here they run CASC GT Sprints and are vintage legal to run in G70 class with VARAC. Many weekends you can actually do both.

If you are building a cage, make sure it meets the CASC requirements regardless of what your plans are so it can be resold for race.

http://www.casc.on.ca/

http://www.varac.ca/

http://www.racingjunk.com/?source=logo

If you are planning to actually do wheel to wheel racing with CASC or VARAC then you will need a race licence. Registration is open now.

http://www.casc.on.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=21325

Kevin, the forum owner, has a nicely preppedcar for sale here.

http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.p...9&#entry155819

Gateway has a very fast nicely prepped 4th gen that can be seen here.

http://timewarpracingcars.shutterfly...arsforsale/184

 

I'd want to build one, I need something to keep me off this damn computer, sorry if this is a dumb question, but what exactly is a lapping event?
And that license, I don't quite understand what the cost, or where you have to go to get it is. Thanks, KP.

 

Racing is wheel to wheel with other cars on the track with you.

Lapping is an event where you are driving on the track with others, normally street cars. There are strict rules about passing, usually there is one spot on the track where you can paas but only when the leading car signals you to do so.

I believe the cost for the race school is $750. It is held in Shannonville. You do not need a race car to attend the school. Most people use their street car. You need a passenger seat and manual transmission.

 

When my Trans Am is all done with my motor swap, I want to start working on something else..

So Doug, what should I look for in a good chassis? I know i'd want a hard top, but should I look for a TPI car, or would that be a disadvantage?

 

I think the first thing if you want to go wheel to wheel racing and not just open lapping is to choose a series to race in, and read their rules. That way, you don't inadvertantly spend time and money on something that can't legally be raced.

 

Any good solid hardtop body would be good to strart if you wanted to do a ground up. $500 tops.

If you can find a car that already has some prep done to it it would lower your final costs.

Have you ever built a cage? I would not skimp on safety. I have a friend in Hamilton that can install a CASC legal cage. He also happens to be a race tech. For that matter I believe he has two shells sitting at his place. You could buy one of his shells and have him install the cage, then take the car for you to do all the mechanical work to it.

Call Scott Murfin at CanAlignment 905 690 3100 and tell him Doug Phillips sent you.

Or if you want a serious and fast race car for a great price and put your own motor into it have a look here. It is a friends for sale.

http://www.casc.on.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=21475

 

Prolly also be a good idea to go to one of the races in said series after you choose it, and buy a pit pass, and see what you're going to be racing against, before committing to it. It would REALLY REALLY SUCK to basically bring a rubber knife to a machine-gun fight.

We all LOVE to imagine that we can just drive our DD to some track someplace and whatever; reality tends to be a bit different. Likewise, we all like to imagine that we can mod our cars to our heart's content, and go race against people who (hopefully) have fewer mods than we do, so we can beat them. REAL racing isn't like that. There's rules that say, if you're in this class, you're allowed UP TO this whatever (CID, tire size, cam lift, brake mods, minimum weight, and so on), and if you exceed that in some way, you get bumped into the next class, where you're now in the "rubber knife vs machine gun" situation. Be informed before building your car.

 

All of this is total untrue for amature racing in Ontario.

The link I sent for the CASCAR is from the CASC web site. The site has an email link to obtain free passes to the GT Sprint series races. All pits are open and everyone is very willing to chat with newcomers or spectators.

The GT Sprints and the GT Challenge series can be run with ANY performance car you want to bring. The reason for that is that the 6 car classes are time based. The regulations control safety, not performance.

As an example I registered my car in GT4. At Mosport that means that all cars in the class run lap times in the range of 1:36 to 1:41. It is a wide mix of V8 Camaros, CASCARS, Hondas, Sentras, pretty much anything goes. This means that the class you are running in is based on both the perfomance of your car (power, weight, cornering speed) and the skill of the driver. The onlt risk is that if you run faster than your minumum lap time of 1:36, you risk being reclassified to the next faster group.

All GT1 through GT6 cars are on the track racing at the same time. GT1 cars can be as fast as 1:18, GT6 cars are running 2 minutes.

So there is always someone to race with regardless of your car or your skill. As you improve your driving and improve your car you can move up in class. It gets really fun when about 6 laps into the 20 minute race as you are racing for position, the GT1 cars start lapping you. Some of the closing speeds on the back straight can approach 50 MPH.

Here is some incar video of a friend in a 94 Vette. He runs GT3 and times are 1:32. Crappy start, should have been side by side. He passes my slow *** at 16 minutes.

http://www.vimeo.com/18230253

A weekend fee is $360. That gets you 3 20 minute races, a practice and qualifying session.

There are a couple of guys living near the track that still actually drive their car to the track to race. One in a Players Camaro running GT5 on Toyo street tires.