any g bodies around here that compete in SCCA solo events?

[novaderrik]

i've decided that i am going to make my 87 Monte SS into a dedicated solo racer. the car is just too beat up to make into a decent driver, so i'm gonna sell all the parts that don't make it go, stop or turn and put a 305/TH350 in it, since that's what i've got laying around.
anyone have any good advice or suspension settings or anything to make this build go easy and stay relatively cheap?
down the road, if money allows, i might even take it to Brainerd for a real road course race, but for now, i'll stick to dodging cones in parking lots and maybe at the Car Craft nationals next summer.

[Norm Peterson]

Used to. Nowhere near prepared to the limits of the class, but fun anyway.




Still have the car, but I've been autocrossing something else the last couple of years.


The first big question is what class do you intend to compete in, as that determines what modifications are allowed. Along with that is what else have you done to it already?


Norm

[SicMonte]

www.scandc.com

that's all you need

[novaderrik]

www.scandc.com

that's all you need

that would require money.. this is a budget deal for me and my brother- maybe only see a few races next year. it's about as far from a "serious" effort as you can get- think of it more like setting up a car for the 24hours of LeMons than a "real" race car and you get the idea of where i'm at right now. stock suspension is the name of the game here. when i reach the limits of that- and if the money tree starts bearing fruit- then we'll start looking at upgrades.
i'm just looking for help with the setup- springs, shocks, decent cheap tires, etc to get the most out of the stock configuration for the time being. it's nothing i need to know today- i don't even have the car at my house to work on it right now- but rather info i'm going to gather over time.


as for what class- i don't know. i plan on selling of everything on the car that doesn't make it go, turn, or stop. the interior is too nice for a dedicated race car, so i will try to sell it. i only paid $300 for it last year- and used some of the spare parts that came with it on my other cars- soonce the interior is gone, it's essentially a free car for me. that right there kicks me out of the lower classes, which is probably good because i don't have most of the stock mechanical parts, anyways, and would have to spend money just to make it stockish.
looking at upgrading the brakes with junkyard parts- things like bigger brakes from later Caprices or 80's 1/2 ton 2wd pickups and stuff like that. i've got a junkyard up here that sells stuff dirt cheap, so figuring out what fits won't be too expensive.
i'm also not sure if want to do the TH350, or maybe put in that 700r4 that has the deeper first gear. i'd really rather have a manual trans, but i don't currently have one of those just laying around...

[Randy67]

Deciding on a class makes it easier to decide what to do. With no interior, you pretty much are limited to Prepared (CP) or Modified (EM). Locally, you could do pretty good in either with not alot of mods. Good thing that parts for your car can be cheap, since they use them in circle track alot.

I run CP now in my El Camino and do pretty good locally, but end up near the back of the pack at divisional and National events. Not many G-bodies show up, mostly camaros and mustangs. But I say go for it, it will be fun.

[novaderrik]

i'm not looking to win- i don't care if i ever win. i just want to do some kind of racing, and this seems to be about the cheapest form of racing i can find that involves more than going in a straight line.

are there any good forums out there where people talk about using an American rwd car in this form of racing like Pro Touring is talked about here?
i've found a few scattered forums, but they all talk about their Miatas and Hondas and stuff..

[NOT A TA]

Try grassrootsmotorsports.com Any forum with racing and turning is going to have a lot of imports but theres some american RWD guys there doing stuff on tight budgets.

[Randy67]

While its doesn't have a forum, the email lists is pretty good (join on the lower left) for the CP community which is a great group of guys and gals. Link: http://cp.carlc.com/

There is quite a bit of good info there. Check out the videos, especially the one named "Is too much power possible"

[DAK]

Much of my the suspension mods on my cutlass was low buc junkyard stuff. Some cutting an welding required. Checkout my cardomain.

[SicMonte]

What do you have done to the car so far?

You can use a 36mm hollow front sway bar from an iroc camaro on g bodies.

A fairly inexpensive upgrade would be an energy suspension urethane bushing kit.

another cheap upgrade is to buy some hollow square tubing, maybe 1" across, drill two holes and bolt it to the rear bumber mounts. This ties the frame rails together after the rear axle. It actually stiffens up the chassis quit a bit.

you can get some regal or cutlass front fender to core support supports from a junk yard. They might help.

That's all I can think of that are cheap upgrade to the stock suspension.

[novaderrik]

i haven't done anything to the car- i got it last fall, and so far the only thing i've done is unload it off the trailer at my mom's place, clean a bunch of trash out of the trunk and interior, put some S10 wheels on it that actually hold air, and try to figure out what to do with it.
last fall, i bought it and two other Montes for parts- an 84 SS and an 85 with a 4.3 TBI motor- all for $300. i took some parts off the other cars- the steering box, rear spoiler, and front frame braces off the 84 SS, the efi gas tank and a few odds and ends off the other one- and scrapped them.
i also have 7 aluminum SS wheels to work with- some are decent, some are beat up and corroded, but they are all straight..the '84 SS steering box is in my '74 Monte, and the frame braces are on my 84 regal T Type. so i figure i've got $200 into this thing so far after you take off what the steering box and frame braces are worth. i can get back some money by selling interior pieces and a few other odds and ends off it- maybe i can get it down to being a free car...

[79MALIBU]

that would require money.. this is a budget deal for me and my brother- maybe only see a few races next year. it's about as far from a "serious" effort as you can get- think of it more like setting up a car for the 24hours of LeMons than a "real" race car and you get the idea of where i'm at right now. stock suspension is the name of the game here. when i reach the limits of that- and if the money tree starts bearing fruit- then we'll start looking at upgrades.
i'm just looking for help with the setup- springs, shocks, decent cheap tires, etc to get the most out of the stock configuration for the time being. it's nothing i need to know today- i don't even have the car at my house to work on it right now- but rather info i'm going to gather over time.



as for what class- i don't know. i plan on selling of everything on the car that doesn't make it go, turn, or stop. the interior is too nice for a dedicated race car, so i will try to sell it. i only paid $300 for it last year- and used some of the spare parts that came with it on my other cars- soonce the interior is gone, it's essentially a free car for me. that right there kicks me out of the lower classes, which is probably good because i don't have most of the stock mechanical parts, anyways, and would have to spend money just to make it stockish.
looking at upgrading the brakes with junkyard parts- things like bigger brakes from later Caprices or 80's 1/2 ton 2wd pickups and stuff like that. i've got a junkyard up here that sells stuff dirt cheap, so figuring out what fits won't be too expensive.
i'm also not sure if want to do the TH350, or maybe put in that 700r4 that has the deeper first gear. i'd really rather have a manual trans, but i don't currently have one of those just laying around...

I run all the solo events I can. I have a 79 Malibu. Over time I have a decent amount of money and fabrication time in it.

To Keep if fun. .. Find out if you region runs a STO (street Tire Open) class. In Louisville Kentucky this class is getting very popular. Their is a limit on how soft a tire you can run. Keeping the cost down on tires. And thats pretty much the only rule (it must be a factory production car, no fabed chasses).

If no STO, the your stuck in CP. Keep the 305, it will allow you to run a lighter car. Spend your money on the biggest Hoosier A6's you can fit under the car. Upgrade over time from there. Start with tires, becouse sticky tires change everything.

I you try to run CP in the indexed classes. . .Well. . . You will probably finish dead last most of the time.

I run the 700r4. I picked it because of the over-drive. I still drive mine on the street and to the events. I say you could run either one, because you only use first to take off. Most of the time you get a rolling start, so there is no benifit to the lower gear. I have a lot more power then you, but i believe even with a 305 shifting from 1 to 2 anywhere but just after the start will just throw the car into oversteer. I would run the 700r4 if it was going to be a street driven car, other wise run wichever one has the cheapest availible stall convertors.

[Randy67]

If no STO, the your stuck in CP. Keep the 305, it will allow you to run a lighter car. Spend your money on the biggest Hoosier A6's you can fit under the car. Upgrade over time from there. Start with tires, becouse sticky tires change everything.

I would run the 305 only if I could get the car down to the 2700 lb min weight. If you can't get it below 3000 lbs, then stick with a 350 or bigger. No need to give up power if your car is too heavy anyways.

[novaderrik]

i'm torn between putting the 305 in it and putting a 94 Caprice LT1 in it.
the 305 just needs a head and a gasket kit- the LT1 needs about $500 to be spent on gaskets, a cam, and a timing set for it. i've got a Monte TBI gas tank, so the fuel system wouldn't be too hard to do. i've got the wiring harness all sorted out, i think, so it's practically a drop in deal.
i've also got an older 350 that needs a crank and heads..
but i'm more concerned with how to actually build the car than what's going to power it right now.

[Randy67]

Between a 305 and an LT1, no contest there, I would go with the LT1 in a heartbeat. Better torque and HP plus room to grow (hp wise) in the future.

[79MALIBU]

Run the LT1!

If your going to be heavy then may as well have the power!!

The LT1 will be more fun, it will be easyer to get the car to oversteer. Oversteer is always more fun than understeer. You didn't say you had other engines laying around . . .So fun factor makes this a no-brainer. Cool factor of the LT1 also goes a long way.

[novaderrik]

the only problem with running the LT1 will be that when i get it back in running condition, i'll want to put it in my 74 Monte Carlo.
i guess that's a tough situation to be in, eh?

[Norm Peterson]

So you swap the LT1 into the '74 after doing a more serious build on that other 350. The early part of your 'learning' gets done on the lower powered version.

Problem solved.


Norm

[SicMonte]

So you swap the LT1 into the '74 after doing a more serious build on that other 350. The early part of your 'learning' gets done on the lower powered version.

Problem solved.


Norm

I agree