I have a specific one in mind...early '70s AMC Hornet. Help me find one, mofluckas. V8 preferred.

3/14/2011 12:57:21 PM

AWESOME!

I support your effort.

3/14/2011 1:22:40 PM

I wanna help! My qualifications are 16 years as a tire/oilchange jockey and I brew beer. Lots of beer.

[Edited on March 14, 2011 at 1:32 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2011 1:26:56 PM

you selling spots on the team?

3/14/2011 2:39:02 PM

This is in the VERY preliminary stages so far. LOTS of stuff to work out. I already have an Integra I could use for a car, but I also have a dream chump car idea, hence the Hornet...

Hard to sell spots on the team unless I get at least one fieldable entry together, and even if I go ahead and start work on the Teg, I still have to pony up for all new safety gear. I haven't been on track in over 10 years, and I need a new helmet, suit, and shoes. Car needs at the very minimum a roll cage right now. More later. If I can find the car I want to work with, I won't even touch the Teg...money doesn't grow on trees.

I'll keep y'all posted.

3/14/2011 3:06:38 PM

I know one of you bastards has a grandma that still has one of these.

3/15/2011 11:01:01 AM

'74 AMC Hornet - $2250
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/2261738763.html

3/15/2011 11:43:50 AM

Seen it. Stupid price, though it appears to be in good shape.

3/15/2011 12:01:17 PM

a 304 gremlin would be bitchen...



OMG paint it blue with flames!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1976-AMC-Pacer-/160556548295?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2561ea80c7



[Edited on March 15, 2011 at 12:46 PM. Reason : mirthmobile ]

3/15/2011 12:41:33 PM

Why an AMC Hornet?

What about a Datsun 510, or an FB RX-7, or Miata (maybe a Miata with a 302?) Might could even pull off a reeeally ratty e30 with a blown motor?


Also, 2 questions:

1. what's the difference between ChumpCar and 24-Hours of LeMons?

2. Can I call dibs as a co-driver? What do you think each person's share would be?

3/15/2011 1:28:07 PM

ChumpCar is really similar to LeMons, except that LeMons is an order of magnitude gayer. Chumpcar is more hardcore...and you're limited to a $500 piece of shit (not including safety equipment or tires/wheels/brakes). Of course there's some cheating going on, and some of the stuff is pretty nuts.

Why a Hornet? because it's a smaller car that you could get a V8 in...so any cheating penalties would be pretty small. And it's pretty much worthless, leaving a bigger value budget for mods that aren't very easy to hide. Add to that they handle really damn well for what they are. Of course, there's shock value, and I have a big weak spot for anything AMC (well, anything older...I think the Pacer is a godawful hunk of shit, and I'm not too partial to Gremlins either).

Did I say shock value? Underdog spirit? Just plain insanity?

The team that I hung out with this past weekend brought these gems with them:

'74 Ford LTD
'64 Chevy truck
'87 Toyota Supra

Now these were all hardcore cheaters, as each one had a Chevy LS V8 crammed in it, and they all had Wilwood four-pot brakes all the way around, and the domestics had tubular control arms, fat springs, etc. These guys just go to have fun and don't seriously compete. Their cheat penalties are above a hundred laps for each of the cars, pretty much taking them out of the running for a win. Their argument is that it's by far the most track time and the most fun you can have for the buck. And they are right. 7 hours each day for Saturday and Sunday. Entry fees are 500 per car and 100 per driver, and there's also fuel and consumables costs. They blew through about 250 gallons of gas and a set and a half of tires for each.

An FB RX7 MIGHT be competitive, but they're pretty slow and I wouldn't bet the farm on them for that kind of durability.

Find me a 510 for cheap and I'll think about it.

There were several Miatas out there...the 1.6L ones are the only ones that don't get penalized.

[Edited on March 15, 2011 at 1:50 PM. Reason : blah]

3/15/2011 1:48:44 PM

e30s are easy. my lemons car is a e30... 3 race survivor. fb rx7 are dead reliable. another team I hang with "purple people eater" has like 7 races on one and has come in top 5 Many times. ( this is all lemons but close enough)

3/15/2011 5:15:00 PM

E30 is a good car to start with, methinks. And there are quite a few to be found.

I've got a couple of friends that race FB's in SCCA IT7/ITA. I know how to work on them. They are much more reliable than any other Wankel that came later, in my opinion. But I'd rather do something with a cheap V8.

Just my 0.02. Errrrybody gots a different perspective.

3/16/2011 10:47:38 AM

Dan, lets put a stroked V8 into my Cherokee crawler. Aussie Locker in the front and Lincoln locked in the rear. Combine that with it's ridiculous top-heaviness and I think we have a winning track car, haha.

Does this bring back memories?



[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 11:14 AM. Reason : .]

3/16/2011 11:02:58 AM

might want to figure out what to do with that 'Teg first...

3/16/2011 11:09:01 AM

ok... so... chump car rules.... can you do any head/intake porting as long as its with a die-grinder in your garage or will this free modification result in cheater points???

3/16/2011 11:30:51 AM

My $400 318is would have been a killer chumpcar.

3/16/2011 10:52:50 PM

all I've heard is how bad everyone cheats

3/17/2011 8:11:04 AM

I got an auto civic that would be great for this. If I wasn't spending money on a superstock car I would do this.

3/17/2011 5:56:39 PM

http://pensacola.craigslist.org/cto/2211683941.html

3/18/2011 2:54:39 PM

I think a Mister2 would be a great one...but there's not much of that one left, and while the 4AGE engine is a GREAT motor, that's way too damn much money for not much left.

3/18/2011 3:17:57 PM

oh my mistake, didn't read it carefully. I thought he was listing parts he could part out. I thought it just needed a trans, starter, and springs (which you'd replace anyway).

3/18/2011 3:26:56 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Diamond-rough-needs-some-restoration-/220754732033?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item336601e401

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-Toyota-Supra-NO-RESERVE-/230598230035?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item35b0b9c013

[Edited on March 18, 2011 at 3:34 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2011 3:33:26 PM

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/03/attention-lemonschumpcaralms-teams-free-race-car/

3/18/2011 8:10:27 PM

I think that Eclipse GSX that I found might be a real contender.

There's also this:

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/cto/2225394580.html

[Edited on March 24, 2011 at 6:09 PM. Reason : think Brad would mill heads and punch blocks and stuff for free if we painted Loop Road on the side?]

3/24/2011 6:08:58 PM