Sure, you can take the easy way out. Or you can do something interesting.... something challenging..... something different.

Up to you. :)

Interesting - Driving at track days, not to track days

Challenging - Running every session and bettering your lap times

Different - Skinny Ford stripes on a C5 Z06

:peepwall:

Well -- nobody knows what your skills are - or how many tools you have - and how many free hours you have.... And generally if someone asked the kind of question you did - people would mostly assume you were pretty clueless. That's not a mean statement - it's just factual.

I just rebuilt my brother in laws/Sisters 69 Camaro.... Motor rebuild (624HP / 581 TQ) - New trans - complete new front subframe - complete new rear end and suspension - all new Wilwood brakes - radiator - all new wiring - Ring Brothers hinges - some trim - some glass - gauges - dash - complete new interior - New show quality paint... We did it all (I've done many like this) and the bill was well over 100 grand.... YEP -- Just parts. But interior and paint were about 40K of that.

If you had to add labor you'd EASILY be in the 200 grand arena - and if you can't write checks for the first 100K -- don't even start because that's what it's going to cost you. Parts are parts - and you WILL want to do things that you didn't when you start the project. It's called the "well.... while I'm here I might as well do X" syndrome. AKA - Project Creep....

If you can't or aren't willing to do everything right -- don't start it -- it will just end up a big pile of old parts all over your garage until your wife makes you sell it for 10 grand.

These cars are really easy to tear apart... buying all the new stuff to put them back together - and the TIME it takes - that's where the men separate from the boys. You will get in there and find RUST.... Oh yeah -- it's an OLD car.... there will be rust where it doesn't belong... oh and that's when the fun starts....

Do it! It's the best thing you can do and you'll meet great people and have a ball.... Just don't underestimate the effort - skills - and cash it takes.

This is where the buck stops. Especially, if in terms of money you are "iffy" about. :drowninga:

the 55 is a project no matter what way i decide to take it. The easy way out for me is stuffing a 383 and a t56 in the thing and just driving it. I want radical. 8s (solid 8s) is radical with a big turbo. Also radical - having an old muscle car corner with Corvettes.

I like how you are egging me on :guns: :D

Skills - i can give you a run down of things i had a hand in putting together with my brothers

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...k/P1010058.jpg
This was my brothers project a few years back. We started on it and his boss saw how solid it was and offered more money than he had into it and took the money. I dont think it ever was finished.


Drag racing - not a big deal
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...6/80malibu.jpg
old race car - had to redo all the suspension. Added Spohn drag bar and control arms and this car became deadly. Little 327sbc would run in the 11s when it wasnt 90+ and humid. Used to drive this car a lot on the street but it was fun with the big cam and spool and after adding the spohn stuff we left the mufflers off.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...a/P1010044.jpg
this car would run 10.80s with the 427bbc. I blew that up and it got a 468 and when we got aggressive with it - went 10.08. Would normally run 10.20s during the race season.
We put a 540 in it but never raced it. It was easily into the 9s(test hits). Car is sold motor was not.

The jeep in the background is a Commando that my other brother built. It was a saved from the grave deal as well. Just a toy he built for his wife to cruise on sunny days. (i have no build pics but this was shortly after it was painted).

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...TiTurbo002.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...TiTurbo009.jpg
and this was my daily driver/sleeper for quite a few years. Made 450whp on a high setting (needed bigger injectors to go over 500). Would run mid to high 11s at 130 - yeah i had traction issues. This was my 2nd build of such a car.

So this is my background. Notice how i did not say anything about building a purpose built car to go around corners.

Thinking along the lines of the imports and Corvette guys - i think you can be a little lazy out of the hole and ramp up the power for ET at the top end. Not ideal but wont require a "drag only" suspension either.

I guess a late model comparison is a new Mustang 5.0 (well not the new 2015). Live axle rear end - these guys add turbos or superchargers with a set of drag radials/wheels and run 10s-9s all day long with basically mail order parts and tune. Switch to a different wheel and the car performs on a road course as well. How well - im not sure - i just remember reading that article of the 5.0 coyote running with a new BMW M3.

Im going to do something - just trying to figure out what before i spend a dime.

i was sold on a new z/28. Then they said 75k and i decided im not spending 75k on a new car. Had it been 60-65 id probably have one sitting in the garage right now

But at 75 - that just opens up a ton of options to me. And i guess that was my tipping point.

200k is a no!
100k is a stretch but im not planning on out sourcing much

Now if I can build it for 50k - great! But i have built things before and i believe i have a good idea.

To achieve your goal, you'll have more than 50K in just parts. That's a fact. Right now, I don't think there are many projects on this site that are doing any more work themselves than we are on our project and I can tell you first hand you,ll have more than 50 in parts.

Heck, by the end of the project you'll probably have 5K+ in new parts that don't end up on the car! :lol: It sounds like a joke, but isn't!

I'm always behind anyone that has the ambition and drive to take on a project like the one you described. I wish you the best of luck.

So I check out the Optima Street Car event at Sebring for a few hours last Saturday. A gutted, clapped out C5 FRC with heads/cam and coil overs was running as good or better lap times than the full on vendor-owned pro touring cars. Just sayin'. Then, if you want to run nines, buy a blower and a set of slicks. Replace the tranny and diff when it lets go. Then build a nice street car out of the '55. Just my .02.

Fully understand. A fully dressed frame from Morrison or RS will be 20-30k. Then transmission, drive shaft, exhaust, fuel tank/pump/lines, pedals and linkage, shifter, roll bar/cage, belts. I can see having 8k plus just in wheels.
(2 sets 1 drag and 1 road)

And thank you for the kind words.

And a thank you to everyone else - this has been helpful

Haha, I'm pretty sure you're talking about Karl Dunn's C5. It's definitely not "clapped out"

JCG and Danny Popp have both worked on that car.