racing bug has bitten...audio budget in serious danger

[tomlinmgt]

Very nice! Love the wheels, they really set it off :thmbsp:

Thanks Bob. There's no other wheel I'd rather have on it. Might like to try 17" torque thrusts, though. Anything bigger than that and IMO the wheels don't match the car's proportions any more. Bigger than an 18" and they start to look cartoonish.

 

[GuyK]

A set of magnesium Mini-lites looks good on cars of this vintage, too, especially those that will see a road-course. Myself, I wouldn't put anything larger than a 16 on this period auto unless larger brakes have been fitted and require the larger diam. Is there a fast ratio steering box available? I can't tell from the photo, but you might want to get long wheel studs and open lug nuts to retain the wheels. If I remember correctly, many tracks require them. Your results so far look like you have a very solid foundation to start from.

 

[tomlinmgt]

^^^

Yeah, the mini lites are definitely the wheel if you're goin for that period correct road race look. If I were building a proper vintage series racer that would be the wheel of choice. Those are 16's on it now and while I like the look (the new suspension will likely lower it another inch or so) my street/track tire choices are a bit limited.

The car does have a Saginaw quick ratio box and long studs on the rears. When I upgrade rotors here in the near future I'll put extended studs on the fronts.

You can see the lift bars (glorified slapped bars) behind the subframe connectors. Those are history as 60' times are not something I worry about any more. Probably gonna stick with leafs, but go with the spherical bushings and a spring with a front half that is more stiff than the rear half...which acts much like a traction device without compromising compliance. Evidently it's a very good system if you mate it with a shock that's matched to the spring and compares favorably to a 4-link...except nothing is adjustable.

 

[GuyK]

If you drop back to 15's, providing they fit over your brakes, the tire options open up quite a bit. At least, they used to. Last time I looked about 10 years ago, all the vintage racers had 15's on all their 'Vettes and Mustangs; I think even the Edelbrock camp (Vic Jr. and Cami and...). If you 're gonna auto-x or road race (if class rules allow), I'd do a four link for the adjustability. And as minimal as you think it is, you have gobs of room for tires compared to my little A-body MoPar. Talk about small rear tires! The biggest I can fit without offseting the spring shackles and moving the perch on the axle is about a 255.

If you stick with the leaf springs, are 'glass mono leafs an option? Thinking unsprung weight here. I know all kinds of easy stuff to do for my 'Cuda, but that's a torsion bar front end, so most isn't applicable in your case - front roll center too high? Dial it down with the jack screws in the lower control arms. Can't do that with the coils in a Camaro without a bunch of mods.

 

[BayouTiger]

I'm a die hard Mopar guy, but I started out in a 67 firebird. You've got so many more options for the Chevy platform.

I think HPDE is the most fun for the buck of it all. The wife and I run both our 4500lb 650+HP Challenger, as well as our Fiat500 Abarth in HPDE, also run the Challenger in Quarter mile and the Texas Mile. The wife loves the straight stuff, but I prefer the big track. I get asked about the racing aspect, but frankly I just love the driving. In my youth the competition would have been the draw, but now it just so much fun!

I also agree that it's all the more fun fighting the big girl through the turns. If I was going in for the competition, I would just skip the street car and get a thundercart. It's more fun for us to chase a 10 at the strip, then run a 185 standing mile, then turn a 2 minute lap at the road course. Then the wife drives it to work on Friday.

I think you'll have a blast with that Camaro!

 

[w1jim]

Buy a go-kart or two for you and your son; there'll still be enough left over for the occassional record.

My daughter started road racing her go-kart when she was eight and she switched over to autocrossing it when she was 13.
I think she really liked the fact that she was faster then 90+% of the cars, even though she had a restrictor plate on it.

 

[tomlinmgt]

If you drop back to 15's, providing they fit over your brakes, the tire options open up quite a bit. At least, they used to. Last time I looked about 10 years ago, all the vintage racers had 15's on all their 'Vettes and Mustangs; I think even the Edelbrock camp (Vic Jr. and Cami and...). If you 're gonna auto-x or road race (if class rules allow), I'd do a four link for the adjustability. And as minimal as you think it is, you have gobs of room for tires compared to my little A-body MoPar. Talk about small rear tires! The biggest I can fit without offseting the spring shackles and moving the perch on the axle is about a 255.

If you stick with the leaf springs, are 'glass mono leafs an option? Thinking unsprung weight here. I know all kinds of easy stuff to do for my 'Cuda, but that's a torsion bar front end, so most isn't applicable in your case - front roll center too high? Dial it down with the jack screws in the lower control arms. Can't do that with the coils in a Camaro without a bunch of mods.

I'm pretty sure a 275 is all I can get under mine...it has 255's in the rear currently and in a 16" that about as wide as you'll find.

All the outfits that are doin' handling performance oriented leafs have pretty much moved away from 'glass.

You can relocate the upper control arm bracket mounting point ("Guldstrand mod") and run a tall ball joint to get a more favorable geometry and achieve more aggressive alignment settings with the F-body GMs.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Buy a go-kart or two for you and your son; there'll still be enough left over for the occassional record.

My daughter started road racing her go-kart when she was eight and she switched over to autocrossing it when she was 13.
I think she really liked the fact that she was faster then 90+% of the cars, even though she had a restrictor plate on it.

I've considered carts and still haven't ruled them out. It's an unknown universe to me but I should take a closer look. What's a used, reliable turn key kart goin for these days? Ok to start off with a shifter?

 

[tomlinmgt]

If I was going in for the competition, I would just skip the street car and get a thundercart.

You talkin' about a recreational type go kart?

 

[w1jim]

A shifter kart would of course be fun but I'd start with a standard sit-up kart.
Learn how to drive with relatively low power before going for the big power and complications of shifting - at least for your son.

I have been out of the market for a while but I'd think you could get into a decent one for $2500- $3000.

I used to race a laydown enduro kart (as well as cars) - that's a whole other crazy world.

 

[Jeffery]

And most, if not all, of the F1 drivers started out in karts :yes:

 

[ra7c7er]

One tire for one of my old race cars cost more than my entire stereo setup and record/cd/cassette collection combined. Granted the same car also cost more than the 8 unit apartment building I live in right now.