Retired SCCA car vs ProTouring for Track Day

[michics]

So I'm thinking about getting a retired SCCA Camaro or Mustang race car from the American Sedan or CMC series to be a dedicated track car. Probably a late 80's to mid 90's model. I have a 70 Camaro that was kind of built by previous owner to do track days and I have done a couple with it. But as usual it doesn't have the cooling ducts, oil coolers, and safety equipment to run some of the tracks. I live 3 hours away from Road America and that is one fast track. I guess my main thing is the safety side of it ( cage, fuel cell, etc. ) that you get with a race car.

So have any of you made this jump are you satisfied that you did it ? Any experiences you care to share will be welcomed. Did you find it to be more cost effective relative to your PT car ?

Thanks

[SSLance]

A new friend of mine recently bought this car and uses it for track days and he is having a blast with it.



The price to fun ratio is off the charts in favor when going this route vs trying to track your nice street car. I won't say I'm ready to go that direction just yet, but it is tempting for sure.

[michics]

Yep, I'm seeing camaro / mustang race cars for everywhere from 8K to 18K. I haven't looked at any yet so not sure what one can get. One thing I think we have to alert to is how wore out is the car. Meaning if the motor or drivetrain needs refreshing then the cost goes up in hurry.

[DBasher]

Great topic! I know of a couple guys here on the west coast that have done what you’re thinking. Take a look over in the race car threads and check out the two mustangs, both Dave and Rob bought used race cars and haven’t looked back.

I’ve gone a different route and purchased a cheap mustang that I can drive and bolt inexpensive parts on to make it handle and stop better. I found a few nice caged and “set up” track cars in the 7-12k range but like mentioned, the running gear is an unknown.

[Vegas69]

If you want to race, get a race car.

[michics]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

If you want to race, get a race car.

Agreed, but track days are not races. They are for the enjoyment of driving the road courses safely at speed. My pursuit of safety is from watching all of the inexperienced people buying new high hp cars and bringing them to the tracks and pushing to the limit. I've been to many track events and seen new high powered cars having off track incidents. Just recently at my local track on the same day during the first sessions in the morning new camaro and a new mustang had off tracks. The camaro jumped the guard rail and went into the trees. Air bags saved the driver and he walked away. Destroyed the car. This was on a little 1.9 mi 14 turn track. Now lets all go to Road America and envision what goes on with the 600 hp plus cars running there with speeds above 150 on the straights with only a factory seat belt. I have seen corvettes due off tracks at R.A. for various reasons with one guy being air lifted out to the hospital. Lets have fun but safely.

[Vegas69]

Track days are races in my opinion. I've been there with a high powered pro-touring car. Looking back, it wasn't very smart. If things went wrong, my car wasn't safe enough and the huge investment was gone due to no insurance on the track.

After building a pro-touring car and driving/racing it a bunch, I'm now of the opinion that I would build a race car OR a street car. You simply can't do both well in the same package. And their are many compromises in drivability and safety on one side or the other.

[DBasher]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Track days are races in my opinion.

There’s a name for guys like you....lol

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by michics

So I'm thinking about getting a retired SCCA Camaro or Mustang race car from the American Sedan or CMC series to be a dedicated track car. Probably a late 80's to mid 90's model. I have a 70 Camaro that was kind of built by previous owner to do track days and I have done a couple with it. But as usual it doesn't have the cooling ducts, oil coolers, and safety equipment to run some of the tracks. I live 3 hours away from Road America and that is one fast track. I guess my main thing is the safety side of it ( cage, fuel cell, etc. ) that you get with a race car.

So have any of you made this jump are you satisfied that you did it ? Any experiences you care to share will be welcomed. Did you find it to be more cost effective relative to your PT car ?

Thanks

I'm the Dave mentioned a few posts up. After throwing tons of money into a mostly running 68 Camaro (still in progress) I decided to wise up and buy something exactly as you allude to.

I bought a well put together (but untested) LS powered Fox Mustang. Great foundation and the majority of the safety stuff is already there.

Ran it twice so far (Sonoma and Laguna Seca) and it is a hoot. Just incredible value for barely into 5 figures. Heck, that gets you some wheels, tires and brakes in the pro touring world.

I am still trying to figure out how to finish my Camaro -- it's headed toward full race car but I am keeping it street legal and registered to be able to cruise around occasionally.

I don't disagree with Todd on that point (track car for track days, PT car for street driving) but I think there is something to be said for be able to drive a wicked track car on the street once in awhile. To each his own there.

[clill]

Taking your nice Pro-Touring car to the track is neat but it is also really hard on the car. Cheaper to buy a 20K race car that costs less than the paint and body work on many Pro-Touring cars. You need the space to house two cars though. You also feel better about beating the crap out of a race car versus the car you just built to perfection.