We’re Going Racing and You Should Too!

"RightFootDown" (rightfootdown) 03/02/2016 at 15:55 • Filed to: None

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My father always said “lead by example” and, if you haven’t noticed, we follow than mantra here at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . We have encouraged you to be an enthusiast ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and provided you with some of information you need to get into motorsports. Where it’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , we’ve got you covered with a lot more great content in the queue. Don’t forget to check out our epic !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , newly updated for 2016! So its no secret that we love a good track day—be it paved or tarmac—and since we are launching this new 2016 “get out and race” initiative, we are going to go with you. But first we need a car.

The Car

This car needs to do it all, from a motorsports perspective. We are planning to campaign this new vehicle in all of the series and racing formats mentioned above, and several others (doriftooo!). So it will need to tackle an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on a Saturday and be a simple wheel-and-tire-swap away from a taking on a tarmac event at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! the following day. I don’t care if we win any trophies, but I want it to be competitive in every series we enter. Which brings us to drivetrain. And I’ll admit, I’m already biased on this one. Having driven most front-engined layouts in anger on a track, I have a favorite. I’m in charge, so I can be biased. FWD can certainly be capable, and there are a lot of great options out there, but it’s not nearly as much fun. Unfortunately, while generally good at everything (except burnouts), AWD is a little cliché. Anyone can buy a cheap WRX and go racing. See below for my other reasons on why our #RFDRaceCar shouldn’t be AWD. No, in this case, RWD is the clear winner and naturally it is going to need a manual transmission. #gravelmachinegun #rwdrally

Up next is reliability, and it’s incredibly important. We want something bulletproof that we don’t have to spend our free time simply keeping in running condition. We want a boss of an engine that, even if it’s not insanely powerful, will get the job done. Ideally it won’t cost a lot of run and maintain either, and an extensive list of parts and upgrades at our disposal is certainly a factor. Basically, the same thing that WRC driver Hayden Paddon !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

While we are doing this for our own fun and enjoyment, RFD exists to entertain and inform on a nationwide, nay worldwide stage. So just like drivetrain, I think we’ll get a lot more attention by racing something non-traditional, especially on a rally circuit.

This caused some conjecture amongst the crew here, but personally I love the idea of a car with luxury pretensions, maybe even a sedan, ripping around a rally stage. It will really highlight how a well sorted chassis and some minor (at first) modifications can make a competitive (or at least fun and slidey) car. As I said, anyone can buy a WRX for this task, obviously it will work. Same goes for all manner of BMWs, but I question how cheap the running costs really are. Regardless, think “out of the ordinary”; I want to hear “oh hey it’s the Right Foot Down guys and their _____” and that blank be filled with something less common.

So what’s our budget? Around $5000 for the car; the point of this exercise is to show how cheap and easy it is to go racing, and that includes the car itself. Plus, we’re journalists, which means we’re poor, and RFD doesn’t have an umbrella corporation above us to pay for crap like this. So, as James May would say “the producers have given us $5000 pounds dollars, of our own money, to go out and buy something secondhand to turn into a race car”.

Modifications

We won’t give away all the top secret plans just yet, but imagine a phased approach to the modification of our new race car. We start small, get a baseline, and continue to improve the car until it’s a full-on track monster. We will need to pay close attention to the various class rules and regulations, but as long as we don’t build something that’s completely ineligible for an event, I don’t particularly care what class we are in.

So What Do We Need From You?

Sponsors
As I mentioned, we are poor, so we need partners in all of this. If you have a business or organization that you’d like to feature on the car itself, drop us a line on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! We will have a variety of ways to participate, from simple sticker placement of various locations and sizes around the vehicle, to other partnerships opportunities providing parts and/or labor to help us modify the car. This car will be present at dozens of events at many venues throughout the year and will get a lot of eyes on it, and we can also get your name out through the website and RFD social media feeds in the form of advertisements and product placement.

Help Us Choose A Car
You read our criteria, you read our budget, and you read what we’re going to do with it. So what should we go purchase? Post your thoughts in the comments below or via social media and use the hashtag #RFDRaceCar .

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William Byrd > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:01

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Woo hoo! Exciting!

Naturally, we have some ideas, some cars in mind, but we wanted to readers to help make the choice. So let us know what you’d like to see coverage of at RFD.

And make sure you get out and race!

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:08

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How about a Capri? RWD, more of them cane with 4 speed stick shifts than automatics, the MK I was a nice notch back with a trunk, and the MK II was a hatch. The 2.8 V6 is basically a Ford Ranger truck engine, easier to find parts for than you think. There’s even a small hotrod after market.

The only ones I’ve seen go for more than 5k on ebay are the cleanest shiny examples.

And it’s got the same family DNA as the epic Escort. (An American marketMK II in the picture.)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:14

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5.0

Stick

RWD

Easily Modifiable

Awesome

Quirky

MERCURY

Brian Silvestro > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:14

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and the upgraded pads/rotors/fluid/ventilation is... where?

Brian Silvestro > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:16

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Buy any of these

240sx

AE86 GTS

MR2

IS300

SC300

E36 M3

Miata

Cressida

RX-7

Land Cruiser

ML55

WRX

Master Cylinder > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:18

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Fox-body Thunderbird Turbo Coupe? RWD, available 5-speed, kind of unusual but with a decent aftermarket since lots of Mustang parts will fit, and a decently reliable powerplant that can be built up to biggish power.

Nonster > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:22

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Hell yeah good luck! Not sure how far away you guys are but if you need a hand with wrenching, pit crew, etc. and are ever anywhere near Ohio like at Mid-ohio, National corvette museum, or Putnam park I’d be happy to help!

as for a car suggestion, the easy ones are Miata, 240sx, MR2, Mustang, or Camaro. All those are can be fixed with a hammer, their reliable, and they have good aftermarket support, but they’re not super unique or uncommon.

Therefore my vote is an El Camino! then you have a bed to haul tires and tools!

Nonster > Brian Silvestro 03/02/2016 at 16:25

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hmmm one of these is not like the others....

Master Cylinder > Master Cylinder 03/02/2016 at 16:28

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Alternatively, the MN12-chassis Super Coupe:

The MN12 ‘Birds have IRS and handle better. The supercharged 3.8 isn’t exactly bulletproof from what I hear, though. You can get them with a stick but instead of a nice, easily replaceable T5, it’s a variant of a truck transmission and much harder to find. Not as many Mustang parts will interchange, either.

Justin Hughes > Brian Silvestro 03/02/2016 at 16:31

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Your list looks rather similar to a lot of the ideas we’ve been tossing around...

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 16:42

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The racing seats, harnesses, and roll cage shouldn’t be split up into different phases. Running racing seats and harnesses without a cage is more dangerous than the stock safety system in the car.

DutchieDC2R > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 17:11

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AWD is cliche??? And you choose a rwd platform to go racing with..? Really..? Anyways, I’m overseas, no idea how I could be of any help, but if I can help out a fellow opponaut, I’d love to.

As for the car, here’s my list:

E30/E36

944 (Or any other rwd, front engined beater-type porsche from that era)

Older RWD Volvo’s (850?)

Mk3 Supra (or a mk4 if your budget allows it)

MR2

Older Boxster (s)?

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Brian Silvestro 03/02/2016 at 19:29

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Unnecessary for autocross

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > RightFootDown 03/02/2016 at 19:29

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My $1400 e36 has been less than $5k total (not counting safety equipment)

Brian Silvestro > Justin Hughes 03/02/2016 at 20:26

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I have a google doc of cars to buy in X price range, so people don’t have to keep asking

Brian Silvestro > Santiago of Escuderia Boricua 03/02/2016 at 20:27

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so I guess most of the pictures used in this post and the reference to track nights in america are just being ignored

Justin Hughes > Brian Silvestro 03/02/2016 at 20:31

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Some minor brake tweaks will be required for the track - pads and fluid at minimum. I’d slide that in just before the first track event.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Brian Silvestro 03/02/2016 at 20:32

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I figured level one would be autocross and rallycross. 2-3 is closer to HPDE, then 4 is stage rally and AER or similar

RightFootDown > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver 03/03/2016 at 12:10

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It was more of a rough outline, but yes you’re right. One could also make the argument that transplanting Recaro seats from the Evo X is more-or-less a “race” seat upgrade that’s perfectly safe and suitable without a roll cage. And that’s likely what we’ll do to accommodate multiple RFD drivers. Some are short and some are fat. The fat one has a yellow hat.

Running harnesses without a proper roll bar, kids, is a no go.