if the track doesnt have st. johns ambulance then why does ur track ambulance say st. johns on it??
Ash ur right i was there for that meeting.
The question i have is why would i sink a 1000$ into a for fun car as some one mentioned when we have a $750 claim rule!!
Because your life is worth more than the $250 difference? Right?
If you can't get a caged 4-fun car built for under $750, you are either spending too much on parts, or trying to cheat. Like how much do you spend on the car to build? 300 bucks tops? 300 + 230 for a NEW cage = $530. Exclude the race seat from the claim. Who wants a seat that may not fit them anyhow?
The $ 750 claim rule was suspended @ the drivers meeting where they announced the new safety measures and rules for the class .
Heres what a car really costs .
Scrap metal is about $ 175 a ton right now so if the scrapper pulls the rad and the catalytic converter off of it he will get around $ 300 total for the car you want for a racer so i will use that as a base price.
The car has to be 15 years old for the class and in most cases it will be closer to 20 years old so here are a few of the things its going to need .
Brakes , odds are your beater will need between $ 50 - $ 300 in brake parts ,pads , shoes , rotors , drums , master cylinder , lines etc etc . If there is nothing else on your car that is perfect your brakes better be . This is not a performance issue it is the # 1 safety issue on the car .
Cooling , So you want to twist your 20 year old beater upwards of 6000 rpm odds are that either the rad , water pump , hoses etc on your old car are not up to the job , expect to spend $ 20 - $ 200 here . Again this is not about making it faster just making it live .
Oil Leaks your car is 2 decades old expect to have to correct several oil leak's $ 25 - $ 50 for gaskets and silicone
Tie rods , steering . Since your car will probally have 200,000 or more KMs on it look for many of these parts to be wore out . It is important that your car goes where you aim it and is not wondering all over the track . Costs here will be between $ 20 - $ 200
Suspension , bushings . Your hi mile car will need some attention here for sure . Those struts that have leaked all the fluid out are dangerous since holding the gas pedal to the floor while the car bounces wildly will end very badly . Even struts from the wreckers are around $ 80 . Bushings with a 1/2 inch of play in them must be replaced as well Look to spend $ 80 to $ 200 here
Fuel tank and pump , a marine tank with proper fittings and hi pressure fuel lines and clamps with a filter and a can around it is going to cost you about $ 100 . If you fabricate the stock pump into the tank . If you use an in line pump from the wreckers add $ 50
Window net , belts , fire extinguisher , seat and mounting kit .
Seats are $ 200 - $ 300 and a seat mount kit is $ 77 Belts are $ 125 - $ 140 Nets are $ 30 - $ 40 A good extinguisher is about $ 40
I really don't care for the CSC cage but at $ 230 its OK . The last time i welded one up it took all day and about $ 50 bucks worth of hydro on my meter . If Ross will do it for a case of beer with decent welds i should be able to keep him busy all winter . Ralph at CSC wants $ 600 to weld up the kit in a well prepared car .
I am skipping several items paint lettering numbers a bad CV joint etc etc etc and the $ 50 you will spend on fasteners and hardware a long with the 10 bucks for loctite . I also skipped all your time and the $ 200 you are going to burn driving around to get all this stuff in fuel . We still have not put a set of plugs cap and rotor on this beater so it will run decent .
I can not build you a safe decent car for any where near $ 750
You guys need to look at the old thunder car min cage. very simple and inexpesive. It was on the last page of the rules up untill a couple of years ago but no one would dare run it. One roll bar, two door bars down past your legs, one pass. door bar and one on each side going to the back.
Racingfreak, that ambulance is very very old and has been at the track many years. I believe the medics that were there saturday night were from the Orillia area. I know that Jay, our usual medic works out of the Toronto area. All are trained paramedics. I can see where you might think it was a St. John's crew, but I can assure you its not. I believe it may be an old St. John's ambulance, but it doesn't have St. John's on it. I have worked there for 7 years and its been there longer than I have! ;D