To Build A Track Car...
 

I decided to take a spare (sunroofless) car I have sitting at work. and do my best to make it more track worthy, yet keep it street legal.

Skimming through the SVX gravel rally car thread I learned a lot and stumbled on some new questions. A list needs to be made to make this a more smooth experience ...here's my early brainstorm..

1. Remove interior - I really like the dry ice idea. All of that sound deadening stuff is out.
A. power seatbelts are out. any serious track car needs racing seats/ racing harness. The ones on the gravel car thread look great! but I didnt see any info on type of seat or installation how to.

B. airbag system. depending on state laws, it may not be a good idea to remove it. but think of all those wires and sensors..plus the stock steering wheel has to go:)

c. Climate control..after removing the a/c there really is no need for the fancy climate module...just install a knob for fan speed and a switch for heat? Im not sure how this would be done..

d. Extra modules and wiring...Is it really a good idea to drop ABS? I didnt get into it while i was at the track but im just a n00b! Im sure it will save 20+ pounds between wiring and soleniods..motor etc..

2. install roll cage. serves a few purposes. harness bolting points, structural rigidity, saftey..I saw pictures but not actual dimensions...I guess that will be left to the people installing it.

3. Weight reduction - its obviously been done..but how? I read about bumpers being "gutted" and hoods being cut into..manual tranny..glove box doors..a few obvious things..but wheres the secret stuff?:p

4. suspension - I have coil overs for it...not sure how to calculate the proper spring rate...obviously I want the car to be closer to a 50/50 weight split. how much of a difference will ride height make? The spring seats (upper mounts) are starting to crack. What is a good solid upper mount? Swaybars, Im guessing the after market is limited, we have the adjustable end links. any reliability issues with those? Bushings, have to do more research.

5. Drivetrain - not going to jump into anything super expensive yet...ultimatly the car will need to be supercharged to keep up with monster vettes. 6 spd for durability off the bat though. keeping it mainly stock other than that...for now.

6. Brakes - I havent really seen anything concrete yet on the brakes except for the willwood kit. I may be missing something. I have read stock brakes work wayyy better when the car is below the 3k pound threshold.

got a PWR radiator for it...has anyone toyed with creating an oil cooler out of the tranny cooler provisions on these things? where would a good place to tap into engine for oil cooling.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Eric old man. :p

I am only 80, but having done quite a bit of motor racing, I can assure you that at 96 years of age, you should have gained more sense. Forget it. :D

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Be careful with the seat belts. Most racing harnesses are not street legal.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

sorry I cant forget it...the car i have is too rough of shape to be worth fixing and selling, I wouldnt break even on it...if i sell it on ebay it will surely be parted out..so this is the cars only chance to survive.

not being built for scca or nasa or any specific racing group ...just a track event car ..that will properly represent the SVX.

Thanks for trying to smash my hopes though...and im not really 96:eek:

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

I was planning of asking the same thing on here :lol:

Ive wanted to build some kind of odd ball subaru road legal track car and desided on using my spare JDM SVX.
Its tidy but its been played with too. so have desided to go down same route.

Ive partly pulled some crap out of it. all this audio wiring/TV ariels/gps cables came out. A massive pile.
It will be a long term project so not in a rush.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

You guys should probably look up some of the old VR-4 track cars before they were banned in America. I saw a long article on it's build that I printed out and filed away when I was still in high school. They had one in the JGTC series as well. It shares the similar obesity issues that the SVX does, with a lot of the weight being in the frame and subframe.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Im STILL trying to wrap my brain around a sub 2600# SVX. How on earth is that possible? My 96 mazda MX6 weighed that much.

Not in a rush to get it done either....Ive got a year before going back to the track. The car is at work, so when things slow down here and there ill go pull some stuff out/stare at it...

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Why where they banned?
Do you mean a GTO?

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

VR-4 is the twin turbo Mitsu 3000GT. Mitsu GTO to the rest of the world. I assume thats the VR-4 he means and not the Galant VR-4.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Yea, I forgot there were international people here. The Mistubishi GTO. It was banned (as the Dodge Stealth RT/T) because it was boosted and AWD from factory, and dominated every race it was in up until the ban. It lead to the production of the Dodge Viper.

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Eric pm me for a better option then gutting another.;)

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Ive been trying to look this stuff up but cant seem to find any thing so far?

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

I'm headed in this direction as well with my '92. 147k miles and fully depreciated. It is now equipped/modified as follows:
-'02 WRX 5 speed with Exedy clutch and Kartboy short shifter
-Koni/GC suspension
-Recaro seats and harnesses
-gutted interior from B-pillar back
-removed rear spoiler
-removed rear wiper
-numerous wheel and tire combinations

I know, I know...don't gut it, it's a poor performance car candidate, it's a GT car...it's my car, it costs me virtualy nothing to own and I've got a ton of spare parts. I'll enjoy it as I prefer and have all the parts to re-assemble it when/if I need to. In the meantime I'll have some fun when I can with it:D

Future cheap speed modifications pending up-turn in the Detroit automotive sector whcih is what my business supports. That'll happen:rolleyes::D

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Yes. It's heavy, but no heavier than a BMW 3 series. In fact, I have been able to run, from time to time, with unmodified E-36 M3's. They are 3500 lbs and 240 hp, not that much different from my SVX. Well set up, with stiff springs, good shocks and various mods to get rid of chassis and suspension slop, it handles reasonably well. There are some tricks to driving it on the track, to avoid power-on understeer, but with those in place, it's a very enjoyable track car. Now if only we could get rid of that pesky overheating problem ;). Stay tuned. :cool:

Re: To Build A Track Car...
 

Can't wait to see the results of your project :)